Every Fiber of My Being Wants To Puke At Once When I Say This...

[Hills]

"...I need your help."

Following another defeat in their most recent match, Saoirse had been helped backstage by Alizeh to make sure the damage to her leg would be treated properly. A brief examination by one of the on-site medical staff had determined that she wasn't in danger of permanent injury; a few days of being careful and she'd be back to normal. After the doctor had moved on, an awkard silence had sprung up between the two wrestlers. After a few moments, Saoirse had forced herself to speak, swallowing what remained of her pride as her need to improve warred with her perceived dignity.

* * *

Saoirse feels her cheeks start to burn in embarassment at the memory and intensifies her shadow-boxing routine, driving out as much conscious thought as she could. Her envisioned opponent quickly withers under the ferocious barrage of strikes, even as Saoirse tries to find exploitable holes in her combinations. Her skill has improved tremendously since she arrived in LAW, albeit primarily in the areas she was already strong in. That wasn't what she needed in order to round herself out and actually start winning her most challenging matches. Striking alone simply wasn't enough to overcome every opponent, no matter how good she got at it.

Her request for training had been accepted by the Emerald Storm, who, after comparing schedules for a bit, had agreed to meet her semi-regularly at one of LAW's gyms to train her in mat wrestling, much to her relief. Saoirse might have been able to find another tutor, but she absolutely did not want to. Alizeh was on a short list of people she both respected and felt even slightly comfortable reaching out to for helping with her wrestling.

Very short.

One person.

The dire state of Saoirse's social skills is no better represented than her current surroundings. Having arrived excessively early and taken up a matted corner of the gym, the furious intensity of Saoirse's practice had lead every surrounding occupant to slowly edge further away from her until she had found herself mostly alone in this section of the gym. As this had happened, her awareness of the area around her had slowly fallen away, her usual vigilance lapsing as it finds only empty space and the direction of her thoughts grew consistently more inward. Someone could walk up right next to her and she wouldn't even notice...

[Bare]

Today was sure to be a... Interesting day for sure. But a fun one. It had only been two weeks since her hellish two out of three falls bout with Wyvern and while Alizeh had walked away with the win, it was by a very narrow margin. Now here she was about to help the woman get even better by helping her improve her technical game. But in doing so Alizeh would improve her own toughness and skills in turn. After all, iron sharpens iron as they said, this was just a way for Alizeh and Wyvern to clash WITHOUT almost severely injuring each other... Hopefully.

Spoiler

Wearing a pretty simply set of training clothes in a green sports bra and black shorts, Alizeh would walk into the gym and spotted Wyvern pretty easily. After all she just had to look in the general direction that people were moving away from. Heading in Alizeh would sure enough see Wyvern, shadow boxing with enough ferocity that one could mistake her for John Wick on a bad night. 'No wonder people ran.' Alizeh thought to herself as she approached fearlessly towards Wyvern.

In fact, as Alizeh drew closer she realized that the woman seemed totally in the zone, and not at all cognizant of what was happening around her. Which made Alizeh get a shit eating grin. 'Though I think if I just shout in her ear I'll get punched.. hmm.' Alizeh thought to herself before sneakily approaching the dark haired woman from behind... and then swung her arms up, aiming to slide them under Wyvern's armpits and pulling back to lock in a... "Full Nelson!" Alizeh yelled in a chipper tone right behind Wyvern while pulling her back, pressing her back right up against Alizeh's chest. "Sup Saoirse." Alizeh would say casually after with a voice that barely suppressed her snicker or delight.

[Hills]

Saoirse's square, coiled stance, while a good position for a punching match, places her entire body in an ideal position for Alizeh's sneaky prank. With the Irishwoman's complete lack of awareness of her surroundings, the American wrestler is able to easily sneak up and lock in a full nelson hold. Almost immediately, Saoirse's entire body stiffens as she suddenly becomes aware of her situation. A high-pitched noise of surprise, not quite a squeak but too high-pitched and short to be a cry, is forced from her lips before she's able to regain control of herself. Almost instantly, though, her training and keen mind take over.

She recognizes the voice. It's Alizeh.

They were meeting today for grappling training.

A full nelson is a wrestling hold.

Sneak attacks are a good way of training for live combat. Ergo, they must be starting already.

Wyvern's chain of logic, impeachable only by so much as the slightest application of common sense, takes a fraction of a second to process. Overcoming her surprise, she drives one foot lightning fast towards Alizeh's with a powerful stomp. As soon as it lands, connecting or not, she takes advantage of the solid footing to snap her head back, attempting to break through the full nelson's control enough to deliver a reverse headbutt into Alizeh's face.

[Bare]

Alizeh really had no intention of holding Wyvern in this hold for too long. It was just supposed to be a... cheeky, fun way of saying hello to the woman since she looked distracted. Unfortunately what Alizeh should have considered was that Wyvern was in combat mode, and as such was on high alert in terms of reactions... which was why Alizeh soon took a pretty brutal stomp to the foot. "YOWCH!" Alizeh cried out before Wyvern took it a step further and practically flung her head backwards to drive it into Alizeh's chin!

"UGH! Agh..." Alizeh cried out before groaning in pain as she backed off Wyvern, holding her jaw as she did so. "Agh... well guess we can skip full nelsons then.." Alizeh said softly as she straightened up, rubbing her jaw softly. "But damn even when you're distracted you still hit like a truck." Alizeh said with a chuckle, trying to laugh off what just happened as best as she could.

[Hills]

Saoirse turns around slowly after breaking Alizeh's hold, examining her intended sparring partner, pausing when she finishes. While her escape effort had proven successful, something causes her to hesitate rather than celebrate. Now that she can see Alizeh directly, the older wrestler's body language and facial expression is off compared to what Saoirse would expect, even to someone with her (complete lack of) skill at reading people. She quizzically tilts her head to one side as she considers what to say.

...Were we...not starting yet?

The combination of Saoirse's hesitant tone and blank expression can be described only as innocent, an almost child-like demeanor completely devoid of guile or malice. It could even be cute to someone who hadn't seen her in action. Or, perhaps, to someone who had, but was able to look past the Irishwoman's propensity for violence. Either way, it cuts a total contrast to the ferocious Wyvern Alizeh has seen before.

[Bare]

Holding her jaw following the surprise attack from Wyvern in response to her... surprise attack Alizeh would focus on the woman and blink slightly as she saw the expression on her face. The slight head tilt, the unsure, almost innocent look in her eyes, If Alizeh didn't know any better she'd almost say that the woman was kawaii. 'Like a lost puppy.' Alizeh thought to herself. Though she dared not articulate said thought, knowing that Wyvern wouldn't exactly... appreciate such a sentiment. Though she would chuckle again at what the woman had said about not starting yet.

"Yeahhh that was just a prank." Alizeh said laughing lightheartedly while giving a little wave. "Figured it made sense as a hello, buttt I should have also proably considered you'd react on the fly like that." Alizeh said bashfully with a chuckle before overlooking the woman. "Speaking of starting though.." Alizeh said with a clap of her hands. "You seem pretty warmed up, so I think we could probably go!" Alizeh said enthusiastically, as if she already forgot that Wyvern had just headbutted her in the skull moments before.

[Hills]

"Oh." A blank expression conceals whatever feelings Saoirse might have had on her mistake, the previous openness fading as her confusion is settled. "Sorry." Another pause. "Sneaking up behind me..." Saoirse breaks eye contact for a moment, looking off into one of the wall mirrors lining the outside of the room. Alizeh can almost see the memories of innocuous actions gone wrong floating through Saoirse's mind. This is a recurring issue, it would seem. ...generally isn't a good idea. I'm just glad I knew it was you. Snapping out of her reverie, she returns her full focus to Alizeh.

So. You've had plenty of chances to see what my grappling skill looks like. I have an OK theoretical background. I can put someone in an armbar or something easily enough from neutral, but I have a lot of trouble with transitions and escapes. I rely mostly on my martial arts training for my foundational techniques, and only my manca training really covered traditional grappling as it's applied today, and that's not always easy to integrate with the rest of my martial arts. I'm not trying to turn myself into some kind of submission artist, but I need to be able to defend myself and break out properly. Just striking doesn't cut it anymore.

As she explains, Saoirse rolls her shoulders and loosens up in preparation, but fortunately makes no moves to just attack Alizeh and see what happens.

[Bare]

Crossing her arms while smirking at Wyvern as she blinked and processed what Alizeh said she had to suppress another chuckle. 'Totally a tsundere.' Alizeh thought to herself as she waved her hand dismissively at Wyvern's apology. "I had a feeling it was a bad idea, honestly I'm just surprised you stopped at a headbut." Alizeh joked before taking a moment to pause and listen to Wyvern as the woman spoke, detailing her problems with her submission game making Alizeh nod in understanding. "Hm alright." Alizeh said, already starting to think of a.. lesson plan so to speak. "Escaping and transitioning huh? Luckily the key to improving in both those areas is rooted in the same concept." Alizeh said, still mulling things over as she brought her fingers to her chin in a thinking pose.

Starting to pace some Alizeh would talk while walking, but didn't leave the mat she now shared with Wyvern. "Despite the wide variety of submissions, the ones popular in wrestling have more similarities than you'd think, so understanding the limbs they target and how their locked in is probably the most important aspect in terms of escaping." Alizeh explained, stopping her pacing to look at Wyvern directly. "Take any boston crab variation, the sharpshooter, calf slicer, etcetera. They all rely on using leverage and having a strong base. Twist yourself out from under them or take their legs out and the hold is done, it's why with my Emerald Twilight I make sure to hook my leg around a targets arm to keep them anchored and unable to move much..." She said before flashing a small smile at Wyvern. "Something I'm sure you're... familiar with." Alizeh said since the move had defeated Wyvern not once but twice, but also using the chance to gauge how Wyvern was taking her words. Granted she may have fully understood all this without Alizeh having to say it, but if she did a refresher never hurt, and it still served as a good segway for what Alizeh had in mind in terms of training.

[Hills]

Wyvern listens patiently to Alizeh's explanation, her expression totally blank and her body motionless as she does so apart from her head swiveling slightly to follow Alizeh's pacing. As always, though, her eyes maintain tight focus throughout, belying her lack of body language. In theory, she already know most of what Alizeh was describing, but hadn't had it brought together before in one place like this. Bits and pieces picked up over time rather than a single, unified explanation like the one she was now receiving. The closing section of the American wrestler's dialogue definitely smarts at Wyvern's pride. Being defeated twice was bad enough, but that it was by the same move simply added insult to injury. She is, however, not about to take her frustrations out on Alizeh. The only person she had to blame for her failure was herself.

"I am familiar with the concept and its effects, yes." She purses her lips almost imperceptibly. "Basic biology and physics. Apply the strongest parts of your body to the weakest parts of theirs. Generate mechanical advantage to amplify the effect. Stop them from doing the same. Increase pressure until something breaks. The more moving parts a hold has, the harder it is to apply and the more effective it is once it's complete. An armbar can be executed almost instantly, but leaves most of the opponent's body free. A scorpion crosslock takes about four decades to lock in, but effectively erases the opponent's ability to move entirely."

[Bare]

As Alizeh focused back on Wyvern she was a little perplexed to see the woman almost dead like in terms of her posture and expression, but at this point Alizeh was kinda just used to that being normal for Wyvern, so she didn't think much of it. Instead Alizeh focused more on Wyvern's reverb of what Alizeh said, nodding along as she did so. "Nerddddd." Alizeh whispered out teasingly before smiling and nodding with a more seriously response after. "Pretty much. But it's also the sign of a particularly good submission user when they CAN apply such a hold relatively quickly, since its basically a representation of how often they practiced it." Alizeh said before rolling her neck.

"However as you mentioned it's all about body parts, strongest to weakest yeah. But regardless of strength relative to yours, every body part has its strengths and weaknesses when it comes to holds." Alizeh said before holding her hands out, open palmed towards each other as a visual presentations. "No matter the hold, there's always a certain part of the user or targets body thats instrumental in keep it locked in. Like a load bearing wall. Take it out, and the rest will fall apart on its own." Alizeh explained, moving one of her fingers away and then having the rest of her hands fall to her side to demonstrate.

"This is especially true for more complex ones like the scorpion cross lock. In that case it's the users arms. Everything is dependent on them to hold you up and keep up the pressure. If you can shake or shimmy your arms enough, their eventually going to give out, then bam you're free. Its just about lasting long enough to cause enough disruption." Alizeh said as a means of furthering the example Wyvern had brought up, figuring it'd be a good way of continuing the train of thought.