Breaking You In

[CaptainL]

Kristin had to admit, there were a lot of things she expected might happen when she dashed toward Shanty, but her doing a cartwheel to get away from her was not one of them. As soon as it happened, the blonde screeched to a stop; she stared off into the distance for a moment, blinking. "...Eh?" She knew that pro wrestlers got away with a lot more leeway than what she was used to from the Olympics, but this was a new one. One thing was for sure - Shanty was quite acrobatic if she was able to pull off such moves. In fact, the more Kristin thought about it, the more she was convinced Shanty was taunting her by dancing away from her as though it took her no effort at all! Her eyes narrowed into a glare as she went to storm toward Shanty, this time trying to throw a kick at her ankle to trip her up. "It's not funny-!"

Meanwhile, Kaoru listened to what Pom had to say. She nodded her head at the mention of catch wrestling - it seemed she was up against a fellow grappler, which should prove interesting. But...this part about a dark side was definitely interesting. She stopped and tapped at her chin. In truth, Kaoru didn't know if it was interesting in a good way or a bad way. But it seemed like Pom was more than meets the eye, either way. For all her meek, unassuming demeanor, it seemed she had something up her sleeve...

"Dark side, you say?" she mused. "That sounds...dangerous. Well, I'll try not to provoke you too much, okay? Just take deep breaths and keep your cool. It's only a spar, so there's no reason to get worked up, right?" She settled in a stance, rolling out her neck and her shoulders to make sure she was properly limbered up. Then, she faced Pom with a smile - she didn't want to make the prospect too intimidating to her. "Ready when you are!"

[ClockwerkSamurai12]

Pom: O-Oh.. okay, please be gentle. (She sheepishly enters her stance)

Shanty would end up taking a knee from the kick, only for her to rush at Kristen and preform her UpperCutlass signature! If that worked, she would be able to follow up with her Heave-Ho signature before rolling backwards and preforming a handstand with ease.

Shanty: Dat di best yuh got?

[CaptainL]

Kaoru could see how hesitant Pom was, but she still wasn't going to rush her. It was better, she knew, to let her take things at her own pace and ease her way into the routine. As long as they were sparring in the gym, there was no pressure on her to perform to a competitive standard. Kaoru would let her work through her nerves while it was still safe for her to do so. "Alright, I'll try my best, I suppose!" she muttered, settling into a stance of her own. There, she would work her way in toward Pom and grab for her collar and elbow to apply a lockup; if that worked, she'd try to drag her forward enough to throw her arm over her head and squeeze it against her side. She wanted to see how well she could react to such a threat!

Shanty, though, was putting up a lot more of a fight. As it so happened, more than Kristin had come prepared for! She'd managed to knock Shanty off of one foot, but only for a few short seconds before she threw herself backward through the air with a flip, aiming a kick squarely at the blonde's jaw in the process! Kristin's head snapped backward from the impact, and she coughed out a spray of spittle as she went stumbling back a few steps. But that was all Shanty needed to set up her next move - when she grabbed Kristin and threw the two of them over in an arc, hurling the Canadian onto her back!

The impact of her back against the mat drove the air out of Kristin's lungs, causing her to wheeze and gag; her legs kicked up into the air before she fell back down flat, and the canvas rumbled beneath her. Groaning under her breath, she started to roll over to her side. She was still sore from the landing - but when she saw that Shanty was still dancing around and doing handstands with ease, her brow narrowed in frustration. Was she just showing off now? Kristin didn't have the patience to deal with that. If she thought she could get away with mocking her, Kristin would show her where that attitude got her!

"No, actually!" If Shanty was still upside down, that meant that Kristin would be able to go for her legs before she had the chance to right herself. She would suddenly shoot upward to grab Shanty by one leg - and throw herself to her back while lifting her knee, such that Shanty's shin would come down against it for a shinbreaker!

[ClockwerkSamurai12]

Pom locks up with Kaoru before her muscle memory caused the Skittish Shepherd to escape the immediate headlock, grabbing her opponent’s arm and putting it behind her back in a hammerlock.

Pom: I mostly acted on instinct there, you’ll have to forgive me..

Meanwhile, Shanty notices Kristin coming before grabbing hold of Kristin’s head with her legs and perfectly executes a headscissors takedown as she rolls backwards into a capoeira stance.

Shanty: Ya don’t stand a chance against mi Grapplobatics mon, so let’s see if ya got some rhythm in ya!