Shall Never Surrender - (For ThatPolishDude)

[TheLoneWanderer]

Good. She was understanding. Perhaps he'd tell her why he was hung up on LAW...and even under another federation in another life. That would come later, when there was more trust in the bond between them. He gave a slight nod to her actions. Regarding the hug, it felt nice. Her musculature curling around him as he did the same to Huan warmed him up quite well on the inside. Before Senji could focus on the nuances of that, he had things he needed to attend to first involving himself. The question of having a type grazed through his mind in terms of self-reflection, but he buried that thought just as quickly as it came.

A deep sigh came as he attempted to clear his head. The forehead flick made him give a dry chuckle. Senji felt better now, even if he simmered with his own feelings on different matters a fair amount of times.

"It isn't my issue that you're very good at them.", Senji responded as a half-compliment. If he were to wager, Huan was better than him in terms of strangles and grounded striking. However, he probably edged her out in pretty much everything else. Her Rear Naked Choke would definitely grow more potent as she continued to learn more herself, that was assured. Senji began to massage his neck, taking in the previous round to apply different strategies. He may have not enjoyed losing like a jobber but he could afford it in this set up.

"I may have mentioned this before but it's great that you're knowledgeable enough to not----crush my windpipe. Again, I apologize for pushing against you so hard in a sparring match. It was for the same purpose as last time we trained together, I wished to see how long I could endure it."

Senji crawled closer to Lei, moving to lay down in front of her and beckoning for her to get in mount. Senji made sure to take full, lengthy breaths especially since he was fresh out of two chokeholds.

[ThatPolishDude]

Huan wouldn't move, her look grew rather stern at the mention of him testing his endurance.

"Going like this will get you injured, eventually beyond coming back to fighting." Her voice was dry, matter of fact, slightly reminding of over a 10 years difference between them, most of which Huan spent fighting. You need to know when to tap. You might think that just because you wake up from a choke that it's all good but it's not. I have seen careers end by your approach, yet to see anyone past 25 trying what you are."

Huan didn't like bringing that part of herself forward but she had to be honest, he was playing a dangerous game with not much to gain. It might be easily forgotten with her demeanor but she was for a very long time at the top of women's MMA and never lost in that format since getting to the top. That brought a lot of experience, both in having friends retiring after an injury and in unwittingly contributing to others going out of business and she wasn't about to indulge that behavior in anyone.

[TheLoneWanderer]

Senji reversed his position and listened. The words hit him in a way he wasn't used to. Senji diverted his eyes towards the knees he sat on. Throwing what she said away would be dumber than anything else. Was he getting too careless? She didn't want him to become the human equivalent of a vegetable, that's all. He recognized the tone. It struck him as the fact that he was walking a thin line. He needed to back off to a proper side. Now.

"------Yes Huan. I didn't mean to anger you. I'll listen."

Senji pinched the bridge of his nose in shame. He'd killed the mood hadn't he? He inwardly thought ill of himself for souring it. The inner turmoil of violence and the desire to overcome had overpowered his rationale, clearly. He kept his head down, palms on the top of his thighs. It seemed he was thinking and not talking. He didn't it perceive it as appropriate to launch into some tirade when Huan hadn't responded yet. He'd misstepped in an unintentional fashion as well. Senji took a deep breath and bit his lip. He had to fix this spark he ignited, even if she was to tear into him more on that off chance. Senji wouldn't yell back. That was childish. He was young but he was usually calm, reasonable, and kept to himself nowadays.

[ThatPolishDude]

Huan would put her hand on top of his head and ruffle his hair slightly.

"I'm saying you have to learn there are times when pushing harder won't do you any good. Giving up isn't a weakness, it means you know yourself and where the limits are. You won't last longer in a properly locked choke with enough practice, nor will your bones be harder to break, it's always better to walk out and be able to come back than to push that one time too many. You never know which one it will be."

She smiled slightly and thought 'God, I'm getting old, playing a wisened mentor as if I never was that dumb'. Still, someone needed to say this to him, or else he could learn the hard way.

"Fighting is more than what you do on the mat." She knocked on his skull slightly. "This matters too, and I don't jus mean getting mentally ready for a fight. Staying in touch with yourself, taking time, just having fun."

Now she would say the next words in an overly serious voice that could not be taken seriously no matter how hard one tried. "That being said, my student, your next assignment is to chill the fuck out." Now she was smiling widely and would push his shoulder a little. "Remember, nobody here is trying to hurt you but they might if you push to hard, so don't"

[TheLoneWanderer]

Her advice was taken in. It was processed. And it would get a response. Senji smiled to himself at the head ruffling, her fingers going back and forth across that ginger head of his. He gave another sigh before going to get to his feet. He could keep the tough nature. Just throw what she mentioned out to the wind. Senji supposed he could do that. Otherwise....what she said may come to pass. After that he'd have no one to blame but himself. She would get several light nods as if he was considering what to say and decided on a starter.

"If you don't want to keep me for longer, I'll be heading home for the night? How about you?"

Senji got to his feet as to thrust his chest out and then bring his arms into the air to stretch them out towards the heavens. The shift of his bones amongst each other as well as the muscles were always satisfying. He checked himself from head to toe, finding that all he needed was rest. Senji hadn't pushed his limbs hard enough as to where he needed a lengthy like last time. In regards to stamina, Senji was sure he could last for a few more, minutes-long rounds before gassing out completely. If Huan was still seated, Senji looked down at her. He was liking her as a master. She was pleasant and firm to the point where he still didn't feel undermined. She'd earned his respect so far, not letting him down yet. Lei was trying to help and he was looking forward to fighting or interacting with her more aside from the hobbies he committed to at home and the job he did here to support himself. A match was probably in the cards for him soon. That said, he was thankful Brightspring was assisting him in improving whether the match was sooner or later.

[ThatPolishDude]

"I'll be going too, no point lingering just for the sake of it."

She said as she stood up and started to get ready to head out herself. In this training, she really thought that the most important work was spoken and that Senji would internalize it at least a little. That as well as coming to terms with whatever was plaguing his mind and moving on from whatever it was.