WINTER'S POV:
"Ok, medyo nahirapan pa kayo. Let's do some drill that can help you build the muscle on your legs para maging madali ito, a little bit faster and a little bit sharper." kaya tumango naman sila.
"Wow! Nahihirapan ako pero nagawa ko parin naman." sabi ni Alexis.
"I-try ko nga sayo Lexis, sabihin mo lang kong masakit ba o hindi." sabi ni Samantha.
"Gago kang babae ka, eh kung ikaw kaya ang sipain ko diyan." sabi ni Alexis kaya natawa na lang ako sa kanila dahil sa totoo lang, madali lang naman silang matuto.
"Tama na yan, let's do some drill na magpapadali sa Multiple kicks niyo. The first drill is pretty easy. All you have to do is get up in your fighting stance, make sure that your base leg is turned all the way. Bring your knee up and you're just gonna hold your foot with your knee up high just like for 30 seconds. The whole time make sure you're holding up to the wall, dahil wala namang wall dito except doon sa gate na yun, doon na lang tayo sa puno na yun so you don't have to worry about balance because we just want to work on building the muscle in this leg so that it can have the strength to put out all those kicks."
"You're gonna do this for 30 seconds, you can do up to three sets with both legs, do as much as you can take. If 30 seconds seems way to long and your legs is just burning and it's dropping, maybe do 20 seconds and just try and keep up there as long as you can. You always want to strive for quality over quantity."
"If you're finding that this gets a little bit easy what you can do is bring your leg up here and you can start to leave the wall for a second. So just touch, leave, touch, leave, that way you can start putting your balance into play as well. But if you find yourself starting to struggle, go ahead and touch the wall so you can regain your balance and when your ready let go of it and keep your knee up." pagkasabi ko non ay agad naman nila itong ginawa. Nagtutulakan pa nga sila eh kaya ayun natumba.
"A-aray! Ikaw kasi eh!" sigaw ni Samantha.
"Anong ako? Ikaw kaya tong unang tumulak sakin!" sigaw rin ni Alexis.
"Tama na nga yan, tumayo na kayo dahil may kasunod pa." kaya tumayo naman agad sila.
"The next drill is gonna complement the first drill. Before we we're just holding our knee up like this so that your leg gets the strength to hold it up. This time you're actually gonna extend your kick out and hold that for twenty to thirty seconds as long as you can, three sets on each leg and just hold it because now you're getting the power to actually keep it out there because you're gonna be doing a lot of these kicks so you want your leg muscle to have all the muscle to hold it out there."
"And the third drill might be the hardest one, this is the one where were gonna practice those kicks in and out in and out, but we're gonna do them slow motion once again to build that muscle that's gonna help your leg get the strength. So once again holding onto the wall, bring your knee up. We're gonna kick out slow motion, hold it out, pull it back in slow motion."
"This might feel easy at first but the more reps that you do, your legs are gonna start getting a little bit tired and that's when it starts really building the muscle. Try and do 10 to 20 of these slow motion, so you can start building up the muscle that you want to be able to do these kicks."
"Ok, the next drill is focused on helping your body learn how to stabilize itself because you're gonna be standing on one leg and the other leg is gonna be doing a lot of movement so the first thing that you should try and grab is something to destabilize you and that something- well you can use anything you want. You just want something that's not flat ground to make this a little bit more challenging. Go ahead and put it on the floor, put your foot up on top of it and hand against the wall you're gonna do those some drills but now it's gonna be a little bit harder because you're ground is a little bit unstable so you're gonna have to either hold, or hold a kick, or do those slow motion kicks. If you want you can even practice your fast motion kicks trying to keep this leg balance the whole time."
Agad naman nilang ginawa ang sinabi ko tsaka hindi naman sila nabigo, nagawa nga nila kaya ang lawak ng ngiti nila. Marami pa akong tinuro sa kanila katulad ng Jump side kicks, Roundhouse kicks, tinuruan ko rin sila kong pano ito iwasan at iba pa. Pagkatapos nilang kumain ng lunch ay nagpahinga muna sila, nakahiga nga sila dito habang nagce-cellphone. Nasa gitna ako at nasa left side si Samantha at nasa right side ko naman si Alexis.
"How's the training, do you have fun?" tanong ko sa kanila.
"Oo, masaya naman pala. Nakakatuwa lang kasi dahil kahit ilang oras pa tayong nag training ay marami na kaming natutunan. Masisipa ko na si Samantha o masusuntok." sabi ni Alexis na may ngiti sa labi.
"Anong tingin mo sakin? Hindi iiwas? Anong silbi ng tinuro ni Winter satin kung pano ito iiwasan kung hindi ko gagamitin?" bara naman ni Samantha.
"Ikaw tong walang kaya sakin, kaya kong paramihin ang sarili ko kaya gugulpihin kita!"
"Tama na nga yan, tapos na ang oras niyo. 2 laps na lang ngayon. Faster!" sabi ko kaya tumayo naman agad sila.
Pinanood ko lang silang tumatakbo hanggang sa natapos sila, tinuruan ko na naman sila ng ibang techniques para magawa nila ito ng maayos. Hindi rin nagtagal ay napagplanuhan namin na bumalik na sa Academy, may practice rin kami sa Dance Club.
Pagdating namin sa Academy ay nandon na ang Rangers, I think naglalagay palang ng mga gamit nila sa Van. Paglabas namin sa kotse ay agad namang tumakbo si Samantha at si Alexis para yakapin si Claire. Ok? Ang oa nila.
"Waaaah! Claire!!"
"Teka lang! Papatayin niyo ba ako?" kaya agad naman silang kumalas sa yakap.
"Oa niyong dalawa, mawawala nga lang sila ng ilang araw ganyan na kayo maka-react." sabi ko sabay kuha sa bag ko.
"Bakit? Hindi mo ba kami mamimiss?" tanong ni Claire.
"Mamimiss naman, sadyang oa lang talaga tong dalawang to." sabi ko kaya tumawa naman sila.
"Sigi na! Magpaalam na kayo sa iba diyan, nahiya pa kayo." sabi ko sabay tingin kina Samantha at Alexis. Sinamaan naman nila ako ng tingin kaya tumawa na lang ako.
"Sayang Winter, baka hindi kami makarating agad sa duel niyo. Tutulong sana akong gulpihin siya." sabi ni Irene sabay lapit sakin.
"Anong nakain mo at nagsinungaling ka saking babae ka?" sabi ko sa kaniya.
"Hayaan mo na yun." kaya inirapan ko siya.
"Pag maaga kayong maka-balik, isasama kita sa duel. Knowing Katelynn, may tinatago yun halata naman. Maybe may gagawin siya patalikod ng hindi ko mahahalata but malakas ang paniniwala ko na hindi lang siya ang lalaban. That's why, ikaw ang kasama kong labanan siya. You in?" sabi ko sa kaniya.
"Ofcourse!" sabi niya.
"So see you on Friday, kung maka-abot kayo." sabi ko sabay yakap sa kanila.
"Nga pala, kung may magtatanong sayo kung may partner kana sa Party sabihin mo meron na." sabat ni Chief.
"Yeah whatever." sabi ko kaya tumawa naman sila.
"Edi wala na akong problema, may partner na ako." sabi niya sabay pasok sa loob ng Van.
"Sa Friday ah?" sabi ko kay Irene kaya ngumiti naman siya tsaka pumasok na sa loob ng Van.
Agad naman kaming pumasok sa room namin tsaka umupo muna sa sofa dito. Deretso na sila doon sa kwarto nila dahil gusto raw nilang matulog muna. Ako naman ay nandito lang sa sofa nakahiga, maya-maya rin kasi ay pupunta na ako sa Dance Club para sa practice.
KAIRON'S POV:
"Chief, sa Abingora City matatagpuan ang Clear Quartz sa loob ng Ravaryn forest. It says that 'this white crystal is considered a "master healer." It's said to amplify energy by absorbing, storing, releasing, and regulating it. It's also said to aid concentration and memory. Physically, clear crystals are claimed to help stimulate the immune system and balance out your entire body. This stone is often paired with others like rose quartz to aid and enhance their abilities.'" sabi ni Irene.
"It's also say na hindi raw masyadong delikado ang lugar na yun pero may mga wild animals parin raw na makikita. 4 to 5 hours ang byahe, pag nakarating na raw tayo sa Abingora City ay may hotel raw doon at ipakita raw ang card na to para makuha yong room na ni-reserved para satin. 6 hotel rooms ang naka-handa na para satin. Tsaka may pocket money na 10,000 para gamitin sa pagkain natin o anything na may kinalaman sa pera." sabi niya kaya tumango naman ako.
"Wala bang nakalagay kong saan talaga nakalagay ang Clear Quartz na yan? Yung exact place?" pero umiling naman siya.
"Sigi, kung gusto niyong matulog, matulog na lang muna kayo. Gigisingin ko na lang kayo pag nakarating na tayo sa Hotel na to." sabi ko kaya tumango naman sila.
Habang nagmamaneho ay nakatingin lang ako sa paligid, medyo malayo na rin kami sa Academy pero hindi pa kami nakalabas sa Mystic City. May limang City kasi dito sa Mystical World at ang Mystic City ang Main dito, every city have 5 Village and 1 Academy. Excited na rin ako sa leveling at sa party na magaganap, pero wala pa akong suit na napili. Gusto ko kasi na terno kami ni Winter, partner kami eh.
Tatlong oras na akong nag dra-drive hanggang sa nakita ko na ang Entrance ng Abingora City, medyo nakahinga na ako ng maluwag, letse! Pagod na rin ako. Hindi nagtagal ay nakarating na kami sa hotel na tutuluyan namin kaya pagkatapos kong I-park ang Van ay inutusan ko si Kenneth na gisingin sila.
"Excuse me Ms. I'm one of the student in Mystic Academy. I believe na may reservation ang principal namin dito?" tanong ko sa babae.
"Can I see the card?" kaya binigay ko yung card sa kaniya.
"Ok, here's the keys. Nakalagay na diyan ang number ng magiging room niyo. Hope you have a good stay in here."
"We will, thank you."
Lumapit na ako sa kanila na nakatayo lang sa likod ko tsaka binigay na ang susi nila. Room 400 sakin, 401 is for Kenneth, 402 is for Kenjie, 403 is for Kurt, 404 is for Claire and 405 is for Irene.
"7:00 PM na, pumasok muna kayo sa room niyo tapos kita tayo sa lobby para kumain ng hapunan sa malapit na restaurant dito." kaya agad naman silang nagsikilos.
Pumasok na rin ako sa room ko tsaka pabagsak na humiga sa kama na nandito, kinuha ko agad ang cellphone ko tsaka tinitigan muna yong wallpaper ko. Kung ano ang wallpaper ko noon ay ganun parin ngayon, hindi halata na kami yun dahil nakatalikod kami, t*ng*na miss ko na siya. Naisipan kong tumayo na at lumabas sa room ko, agad naman akong naglakad papunta sa lobby, dala ko ang pocket money na pinadala samin ni Ms. Principal.
"Nagtanong tanong ako sa mga tao dito and they say na may malapit dito na restaurant, limang blocks lang ang layo so doon na lang tayo." sabi ni Claire kaya sinundan na lang namin siya.
Pagdating namin doon sa sinasabi niyang restaurant ay pumasok na agad kami at umorder na ng pagkain. Hindi nagtagal ay natapos na kaming kumain at bumalik na sa hotel. Nagpaalam na rin kami sa isa't-isa tsaka pumasok na sa room namin. Dahil wala akong trip ay tinawagan ko na lang si Winter.
"Yes?" D*mn....I really miss her and gago....malala na talaga.
"Hoy!" kaya tumawa naman ako.
"Ano ba yan walang hello?"
"Edi hello?"
"Tsk. Nga pala, anong ginagawa mo?"
"Nakahiga, kakatapos lang kasi ng practice namin. By the way, nakarating na kayo sa City na yun?"
"Oo, bukas na namin sisimulan ang Mission."
"Kwento mo sakin ah? Kung anong nangyari diyan?"
"Ofcourse, alam ko naman na magtatanong ka pero mamaya na siguro pag makarating kami diyan sa Academy. Aalis ka diba? Kwento mo rin sakin."
"I can't, masyadong personal eh. Sasabihin ko na lang sa susunod, pag handa na ako."
"Ahm....Winter?"
"Hmmm?"
"Kung hindi kami makaka-uwi sa Friday, pwede bang hintayin mo kami? Baka sakaling maka-uwi kami ng gabi."
"Hmmm....sure! But sa Sabado hindi ko na kayo mahihintay. Alam na rin ng dalawa na aalis ako, gusto ko sana silang isama pero busy ako doon eh."
"And also, if may chance na magiging parte ka ng Ranger, papayag ka ba?"
"Ofcourse, pero dapat sina Samantha at Alexis rin. Hindi kasi ako sanay na iwan sila."
"Oo nga naman."
"You know what? Nung turuan ko yung dalawa kanina ay makikita mo talagang gusto nilang lumakas. Physical combat pa lang ang tinuro ko sa kanila, nakakatawa lang kasi dahil minsan nagrereklamo sila." kaya tumawa naman ako.
"Tapos? Sa weapon? Anong ituturo mo sa kanila?"
"Katana, marunong akong gumamit nun dahil main weapon ko yun together with the bow and arrow and a gun."
"Sa Party, may isusuot ka na ba?"
"Wala pa eh, but knowing Ate Autumn? Tutulongan niya tayo diyan, so dahil sabi mo ikaw ang partner ko o date ba or whatever, yan kasi ang tawag ni Alexis at Samantha doon. Kailangan terno tayo." kaya napangiti naman ako.
"Yes, ako nga."
"Pero hindi kita masasamahan papasok, maghahanda na kasi kami sa backstage nun para sa opening."
"Ok lang atleast ikaw yung partner ko."
"Ok, so it's settled then. Ibababa ko na tong tawag inaantok na ako eh. Goodnight, goodluck sa mission niyo diyan and also sent my regards to them."
"Sure, goodnight rin Winter. Regards na lang rin ako sa dalawa diyan." sabay baba sa tawag.
Bigla naman akong napangiti tsaka napatingin sa kisame. Pinapakita minsan ni Winter ang soft side niya pag kami lang ang kasama niya. Minsan sa classroom rin, nakakatuwa lang kasi dahil sabi ni Tita Sandra, bumabalik na raw yung batang Winter na nakilala nila.
WINTER'S POV:
(Wednesday)
"WOW! Ang ganda naman nito Winter, may pangalan ko pa." sabi ni Samantha sabay haplos sa pangalan niya.
"It's so sharp, siguradong putol ang ulo ng tao sa sobrang tulis nito. Nakakatakot na tuloy gamitin." sabi naman ni Alexis na parang ayaw ng hawakan ito.
Dumating na kasi kahapon yung tatlong katana na ni-request ko kay Dad, Silver ang kay Alexis, Blue naman yung sakin and yellow naman ang kay Samantha. Kahapon kasi ay ginawa ko silang manok, joke lang. Naglaban kasi silang dalawa ang believe me, walang talo and wala ring nanalo. Tie sila.
"Ready na ba kayong gamitin yan?" kaya sabay naman silang tumango excited ata sila.
"Ngayon tuturuan ko muna kayo kong pano ito hawakan and then gamitin. Pero bago yan, lumayo muna kayo sa isa't-isa, mahirap na." kaya agad naman silang lumayo sa isa't-isa.
"So today, you will learn on how to hold or grip a Japanese katana."
"A right handed person should have his right hand about an inch from the hand guard, or tsuba, holding it in a relaxed yet firm grip primarily with the bottom three fingers of each hand gripping the handle. The strongest part of the grip should be from your little finger to your middle finger. The index fingers should barely be touching and very flexible." kaya agad naman nilang sinunod ito.
"Ok, ganyan nga. Ngayon naman kong pano ito gamitin."
"Tip #1 is Slice. The basic action of cutting with a Katana is to draw slice it through the target. If you just 'hit' with the sword, the edge needs to muscle through the target, and it is more akin to a hack than a cut."
"Sure enough, with enough speed and considerable force behind it, it is possible to cut through standard targets this way. But cutting in this way means that you are only really utilizing around 25% of the swords cutting ability - and worst case scenario, you end up baseball batting a water filled bottle across the yard rather than slicing it like a knife through butter."
"The way to use a Katana properly is to cast it out like a fishing line and draw cut the blade inwards using the elbows close to the body. 1). Blade is held almost vertical above the head. 2). It is cast out like casting a fishing line and then 3). as it contacts the target, the elbows draw it towards the wielders body and 4). the elbows are used like a brake to ready for a follow up if necessary."
"This casting and draw cutting action causes the cutting edge of the blade to SLICE across the target with the curved surface of the blade, and simply by modifying your technique slightly to include an inward draw cut action, the ease of cutting becomes extremely noticeable compared to just striking out - which is certainly NOT the way to use a Katana properly."
"It is not a particularly big action (it is actually quite subtle) - but once you have it down you will definitely notice the difference and it will dramatically improve your test cutting results as you maximize the amount of cutting surface that passes over the target."
"Tip #2: HOLD it properly, and watch your cutting ,speed and technique improve instantly. In order to use a Katana properly, you need to hold it the right way - because by gripping it the right way, you will further improve your cutting abilities, as well as move and cut FASTER (and as everyone knows, mass x speed = cutting power)."
"Thankfuly, it is not hard to do - as Darren McNamara writes in our free ebook Japanese Sword Arts 101. "The grip for a Japanese sword is like that of a tennis racquet, a golf club, or a cricket bat. So ask your local sports teacher, golf-pro, or your Dad for any tips on structuring your grip if one is handy to you."
"For a right handed grip, your right hand should be about an inch from the hand guard, holding it in a relaxed and firm grip primarily with the bottom three fingers of each hand. Use a Katana Properly by Holding it Properly. Strongest part of the grip should be from your little finger to your middle finger. The index fingers should barely be touching."
"Grip near the bottom and the top of the handle for maximum leverage and control. NOTE: Spend a fair amount of time practicing the grip to make sure that you don't hold it too loosely. It is a cardinal sin to accidentally lose control of a blade when cutting."
"The feeling you should have is that the sword is kind of floating - indeed, the more you put a death grip on it, the less control you have. Indeed, one of the best tips I ever got was from a Shihan and suggested to grip the sword more like a paintbrush instead of strangling the thing. I tried this out and immediately noticed much cleaner, easier cutting."
"Tip #3: Edge Alignment. Even if you manage to fluff up the correct slicing action and strangulate the grip until your knuckles turn white, good edge alignment and enough speed can work wonders. Conversely, if you use the correct cutting technique and hold it the right way but don't line up the edge properly with the target, you will either scoop your cut or lose control and completely botch it up (quite possibly bending your blade in the process)."
"Holding the Katana the right way and holding it correctly goes a long way to ensuring correct edge alignment - but it is something that you should pay attention to and try to improve at every opportunity. One way of improving your edge alignment is by cutting suspended sheets of paper. This requires PERFECT edge alignment and perfect speed and is best practiced with your sharpest blades."
"I will give you 20 minutes to practice those tips na binigay ko dahil may gagawin kayo maya-maya." kaya agad naman silang nag practice.
"Wow! Ang galing ko na!!" sigaw ni Alexis.
"Wow! I didn't thought na makakahawak ako ng katana. Pero ngayon medyo marunong na akong gumamit." sabi naman ni Samantha.
"Oo nga, with just a mere sight of a sword ay matatakot pa ako noon, pero ngayon hindi na."
Nakatingin lang ako sa kanila na masayang nag pra-practice but nabigla ako nung nagkatitigan sila tapos sabay ngiti ng nakakaloko. Gago! Alam kong iniisip ng dalawang to. Mag spa-sparring sila.
"Hey! Don't you dare!" sigaw ko kaya napatingin naman sila sakin.
"Diba sabi ko yung tips or the techniques lang? Bukas niyo pa gagawin yan! Gusto niyo bang mamatay?!" sermon ko sa kanila.
"Mamaya ko pa kayo tuturuan ng ganun! Jeez, don't be so careless! One wrong move is dangerous."
"Ikaw kasi eh!" sigaw ni Alexis tsaka sinamaan ng tingin si Samantha
"Ako na naman?"
"You want to do it right?" kaya tumango naman sila.
***