Nashi - Teaching Regimen

"I'll be th'first one to tell you, I ain't easy t'get along with. I say what I think, an' if you don't like it, that's just too damn bad. If you can't handle that, you best go find somebody else to teach you. Now, that said, I got a lotta background an' a lotta practice an' I think I can give you some insight on what you're doin'. I can damn sure make you stronger in a big damn hurry. But you're gonna have t'prove to me that you're worth the time an' effort an' that you're doin' it for the right reasons. I ain't in this for money or glory, so I can afford t'be picky." -- Nashi Yamashima

Nashi doesn't deal well with big crowds, and that reflects in her teaching style as lessons are almost exclusively conducted one-on-one. Any lesson taking multiple sessions to complete, those sessions may be completed with no less than two weeks and no more than one month between sessions. While Nashi's techniques are few, her techniques are not really what she's set out to share. Her 'curriculum,' as informal as it is, is as follows.

Lessons Offered

What is Ki, Exactly? - The most basic of concepts that Nashi teaches: the fundamentals of ki energy. What it is, how to sense it, how to use it. This class comes in three sessions, and for all sessions the student will be assumed to have a temporary KiPL of 100.

The first session is mostly discussion of the principles and philosophy behind using one's own life-force as a weapon and armor, as well as the principles of movement and sensing. Before progressing to the second lesson, the student must be able to demonstrate their ability to utilize those senses and movement ability to track and catch Nashi while blindfolded in the thick woods surrounding the dojo.

The second session demonstrates the principles of combat - throwing as well as taking kicks and punches, as well as simple ki blasts. Before progressing to the third and final lesson, the student must be able to demonstrate their progress by blocking all the ki-blasts Nashi throws, and being able to catch at least half of them and throw them back.

The third and final lesson consists entirely of a low-powered spar between Nashi and the student. The student must be able to demonstrate adequate mastery of all the basic abilities of a ki fighter, using ki senses as well as bodily movement and durability to survive a round with Nashi. (Grants a Ki PL. Fail = No PL granted. Pass = Ki PL of 100. Good = Ki PL of 200. Excellent = Ki PL of 300. Since this one doesn't have a tech day cost, extra credit training does not apply.))

Controlling the Ascension - Having long since mastered the Saiyan birthright of transformation herself, Nashi has much insight to offer on controlling one's emotional state until the transformation comes at will. Both Saiyans and halfbreeds can benefit from this instruction and an increased understanding of their nature.

The first level of this technique will consist mainly of Nashi finding out what drove the student's first ascension, and encouraging them to focus on that particular emotion, draw it out, and feel it as if it were real. She will then use that, as well as any other perceived weaknesses in the student, to help them climb toward enough of a level of upset to trigger their ascension again. In order to pass the lesson, they must be able to demonstrate enough understanding of the situation and enough control over their emotional state to dismiss it, as well.

The second level will consist of further discussion of detaching the ascension from your emotional state and simply calling on the power at will. In order to pass the lesson, the student must be able to resist becoming angry enough to ascend regardless of the harassment Nashi throws at them, and then be able to summon the strength at will when commanded to do so. (Both levels of Emotional Control may be taught. Each level is taught in one session, combining the discussion and practical elements of learning the technique. The first level must be mastered before the second is taught.)

Wielding the Whip - Nashi's uncommon weapon of choice is a family tradition, and a difficult one to master. In one session, she can teach the basics of the weapon, but it is up to the student to take that instruction and push it through to complete mastery. If the student is lucky, they'll be able to successfully hit a target without cracking themself in the face by the end of the lesson.

In a second session, she can lead her student toward further precision and skill with the weapon. This will generally take the form of a game requiring the student to exercise increasing skill in blocking Nashi's whip-strikes with their own. (Teaches Weapon Proficiency Level 1 or 2: Whips)

Guarding Your Weapon - (Prerequisites: Weapon Proficiency Level 1, any weapon) In a single session, teaches the student the finer points of using their ki essence to protect their weapon from battle damage by linking it into their own bodily durability. In order to pass, the student must be able to maintain the integrity of a wooden replica of their weapon of choice while Nashi repeatedly assaults it. (Teaches Durability Sharing)

You've Been Disarmed, Now What? - (Prerequisites: Must have passed the durability sharing lesson with a score of Good or better.) In a single session, teaches the student how to manifest the weapon with which they are most proficient, formed entirely of their own ki. In order to pass, the student must be able to form a basic, working version of their weapon of choice out of projected ki, as well as demonstrating the ability to maintain its integrity while attacking, blocking, and throwing ki blasts. (Teaches Create Weapon for one specific weapon, chosen by the student according to their known proficiencies.)

Hit 'Em When It Counts - Sometimes, you'll get one really good shot, or there will be one really critical moment in a battle when you just plain can't afford to miss. In a single session, teaches the student how to focus all their ability on one, single, critical moment. This lesson probably won't seem much like a lesson. It takes the form of walking through a series of increasingly complicated stunts, feints, and tricks while Nashi and the student juggle a small ki blast back and forth between them at increasing speed. (Teaches Skill Shot.)

The Blade-edge Whip - (Prerequisites: Must have passed both initial training with the whip as well as the lesson in ki manipulation with the whip under Nashi's training, and have scored Excellent in both.) If few of Nashi's students will learn the whip, fewer still will be taught this prized, brutal wounding technique that allows them to use tightly focused ki form a blade on the striking edge of a flexing whip - carried or created. This is a more complex technique, and will take two sessions to learn.

The first session will carry on from the principles learned in the ki manipulation lesson. By extending the use of the ki sheathing the whip, by the end of the first lesson, the student will be able to strike targets at an increasing distance, starting at the normal reach of their whip, and working up toward a target about half again their normal reach away.

The second lesson works toward perfecting the form of the attack. By the end of the second lesson, the student must be able to actually create the ki-blade along the whip, and be able to maintain the blade's integrity to strike at multiple targets. (Teaches Hasakikei.)

Will You Just Stand Still? - (Prerequisites: All prior whip techniques must have been learned from Nashi with a score of Excellent.) There are times when the only way to defeat your opponent is by immobilizing them. At present, this is the pride of Nashi's small arsenal of tricks, and those who learn it will be even fewer than those who are gifted with the blade. In three sessions, Nashi will teach the student how to ensnare an opponent in ki-strengthened coils of a whip and temporarily render them completely immobile.

The first session is essentially a lesson in how to properly wrap a moving target in a coil of a thrown whip. It amounts to a sort of game of whip-tag, and by the end of the lesson, the student must be able to successfully use the whip to catch Nashi by the wrist or ankle while she's dodging, pick her up, and throw her.

The second session extends the lesson by teaching the student how to use the ki manipulation skills they have already learned to add strength to the grab-and-throw technique without actually dealing damage. This lesson takes the form of a short hunting trip into the woods surrounding the dojo, and the student must demonstrate the ability to snare a small animal such as a rabbit, fox, or coyote in ki-sheathed whip coils, then release it, all without dealing it any harm.

The third and final lesson proceeds on to combining this with the reach-extending portion of the Hasakikei technique. Very similar to the first lesson, the student will be chasing Nashi as she moves at speed slightly faster than they can keep up with, but slower than their ability to wield a whip. The lesson will be considered successfully completed when the student is able to snare her and wrap her arms entirely, pinning them to her sides. (Teaches Wrap. Those who complete this lesson with a score of Excellent will be gifted with a whip of the same style as Nashi's own.)

Other Activities

Even the students who are not learning any actual techniques from Nashi, who are training their own techniques or training for strength, will occasionally and at her discretion be subjected to impromptu tasks or tests, which they must pass to her satisfaction in order to continue under her. There is no set regimen for this except that it will occur approximately once every month to six weeks for each student, or whenever they next visit Nashi for a lesson if it is longer than that time span between visits. A similar sort of task will usually also be used as a sort of initial 'admissions test' for any already-powered student who has convinced Nashi to teach them.

Some examples of things that might happen include: A race at lowered power over the surface of a nearby lake (test of speed and flight ability) Free-climbing a tall cliff with one's power as completely suppressed as possible and without using flight (test of concentration) A wrestling match where no kicks, punches, or ki blasts can be used (test of strength and strategy) A fox-hunt where Nashi lowers her power as far as possible to a KiPL of 1 and hides in the woods, and the student must find her within the bounds of a set time limit(test of acuity of ki sense) Being repeatedly snared and thrown by her whip and demonstrating their ability to recover and land on their feet, and eventually strike back while recovering (test of reaction and orientation, as well as using strength to block/resist instead of taking damage to durability)

Grading Scale

As befits her nature, Nashi's grading scale is pretty simple. For purposes of determining students' tech day costs for a tech taught by Nashi, the following formula is used: base cost, then bias is applied, then the discount applicable for their score in the lesson. All students with a bias of worse than Neutral will be treated as if their bias were Neutral for purposes of determining tech cost. Fail - Technique is not learned. The student may re-attempt the lesson after no less than two weeks have passed, and may request additional tutoring during that time. Pass - The student demonstrated an adequate grasp of the principle, but no more than that. Tech is learned at base days, plus tech bias. Good - The student demonstrated a better-than-average grasp of the concept. Tech is learned at base cost minus ten percent. Excellent - This will be a rare mark indeed. The student demonstrated an outstanding grasp of the concept and performed exceptionally well or offered some unique insight. Tech is learned at base cost minus twenty percent.

Teacher/Student Sparring

Nashi is available to spar with her students at any time that she is not already conducting a lesson or otherwise occupied. Her students gain a flat 8% of their own KiPL from sparring with her, as well as from any lesson taken with her. Once per week, students in good standing may opt to take a two tech day credit in lieu of PL gain for a spar, to be applied toward any kiPL technique that character has in development. This must be decided before the actual RP starts, and will take the form of the student demonstrating their work on the chosen technique during the spar while Nashi offers her own advice and insight on the workings of the technique. In turn, from each spar or lesson, Nashi gains a flat 2% of her own PL, regardless of whether the student chooses PL gain or tech days.

Extra Training and Training RP

Students may request extra training for techniques Nashi is teaching. Those with a score of Good in the applicable lesson may request training up to twice per week, with each session granting one extra TD toward a tech Nashi is teaching. Those with a score of Excellent may request extra training as much as four times a week, with each session granting one extra TD.

Students may still solo or participate in normal group training RP's toward their own original techs, regardless of extra TD earned from lessons with Nashi. Students learning techniques from Nashi may still solo toward those techniques once they have finished all applicable teaching sessions, but may only group train with other students.