Strange New Things

[Mayu]

Eden smiled and grabbed her gym bag, she wore stretchy black pants and blue sneakers. Locking her door when she walked over and nodded. "Of course I missed you Rex" She said happily. But putting her bag in his car she looked up at him "Capoeira? I have never done it, seen it a few times. Hope I don't fall flat on my face" She giggled and stroked his cheek and was rather happy to be there with him. She pulled her hair up in a pony tail to get it off her face and hugged him, very happy to be doing this.

 

[DrStein]

Rex did the gentlemanly thing and got the car door for her. They drove off to a shopping district along the river where an old warehouse from the 1920's had been converted to a martial arts school and supply store called The Warriors Club. The door was painted red and above was the sign with the logo showing the silhouettes of two combatants facing each other in broad fighting stances.

The inside smelled much like any other gymnasium with cleaning products and the moisture from the showers and locker rooms competing with the smell of canvas, vinyl, and sweat. Two men were sparring in the boxing ring while half a dozen people were gathered near the octagon for a jiujitsu lesson. "Come on," Rex said as he took Eden's hand. He led her through the backdoor. Several training courses and practice dummies were set up in a fenced-in yard. A smooth, slate square off to one side was populated by a small group all in white who were already warming up. "That's our group there. You go get changed. Class starts in 5 minutes. Also, no shoes. In capoeira you always train barefoot."

Rex retreated to the men's locker room to change himself. When he came back out he was wearing the same white T-shirt with a Brazilian flag on it as the others in the yard and the same style of loose-fitting white pants with a woven belt, the ends of which hung from his left hip down to his knees. The T-shirt was much tighter than the pants and showed some of the contours of his physique. He met Eden outside and smiled at her. "You ready?"

 

[Mayu]

Eden had no idea what was going to happen here, she was a black belt when it came to defense but never had done much. She learned how to do some martial arts moves from movies, like Jackie Chan's movies. He was the greatest when it came to what he could do, or was since no one allows him to do his own stunts any more. Which was understandable since he was almost pushing 70 and could easily get hurt much more then he was hurt while he was getting hurt when a stunt went bad in his movies.

But once they got to the place, she followed him in. Unsure what was going to happen here, she was also a fast learner as well. She was unique in what she knew, and how she could learn. Which was by hands on experience. But when he told her what he did she nodded, she did not know how she felt about being bare foot. But would allow herself to do it, she went into the girls locker room and removed her shoes and socks. Grabbing her bag and opened it up, smiling a little bit as she got into tighter fitting clothing.

Sure it looked to tight but actually it helped her train for all sorts of things, so she came back out once she locked her locker and sighed a bit. Walking up to Rex and smiled a bit, hearing what he asked she nodded. But then she heard music coming from some place, it was Madonna's song "Hung Up" Smiling at the beat she looked at a wall closest to them and took off running towards it, lifting her foot onto the wall at the right time and scaled the wall a little then pushed off so she flipped around and landed on her feet, her way of warm ups.

 

[DrStein]

Rex gave a slow clap at that little display. "You like to show off, eh? You asked for it." He led her to the group and gave a quick round of introductions before the class was off and running. First were the warmups, emphasizing cardio, stretching and tumbling. It was easy to spot the long-term practitioners like Rex. Their movements were fast, fluid, almost effortless.

Then came practicing the actual moves. Capoeira differed from a lot of martial arts in that the focus was mostly on the legs. They stayed in almost constant motion and it wasn't long before every in the class was sweating bullets.

Finally, came the dance. The instructors got out their instruments and performed as a rhythm combo while students paired off and sparred before their classmates. Unlike most people's idea of sparring however, the capoeiristas engaged in an elaborate dance. Every swing was matched with an evasion, every sweep a dodge. When Rex came up with a sinewy looking Brazilian, it was clear that they were both masters. The speed was like a Hollywood blockbuster. They mirrored each other's movements perfectly. They gradually got more and more confident in their movements until the dance was as much acrobatics as it was martial arts. When it finally ended, Rex was grinning from ear to ear. He shook hands with his partner and did a celebratory aerial backflip before getting back into line to watch the next two fighters.

 

[Mayu]

Eden smiled at him not really meaning to show off, since she was not that kind of girl. She just wanted to get ready to do something major, and it was how she relaxed. Showing off a little skill, but her biggest skill was able to watch moves being performed and being able to memorize them. That was her biggest ability in all this. She figured she would not be participating since she was new and had never done anything like this before. Though she just waited to see what was going to happen.

And then she watched Rex with his partner and watched how their hands were, how their eyes were and their feet. She watched how they moved, it was graceful and almost like water nothing could hurt them. Her storm eyes looking around seeing how everyone was moving how they reacted. And she was also learning the rules all at the same time as well, she brushed a strand of hair out of her eyes. Watching Rex smile big time, he had a charming smile and wondered if his partner was his girlfriend.

She watched the fighting come and go but she was never asked to do anything, she just did what they did as a group. Placing her hands on her hips, as she rotated both ankles trying to shake away she just sat down on her knees and was enjoying herself, she said nothing to anyone. And did not even look at anyone but Rex, she was nervous around people that much she did know and it was beyond annoying for her. But tried not to make a big deal about it, silently sighing as things ran in her head.

 

[DrStein]

At the end of the dance, everyone except Eden had taken a turn. That was when Rex held his hand out to her and inclined his head toward the center of the circle. He led her into the middle of it and the instructors started playing again.

Rex was experienced enough to adjust his skill level to another. Capoeira dances were a back and forth. One person made a move, and it was followed up with a move from the partner. Despite the graceful, whiplike speed Rex had moved at before, he telegraphed every one of his moves to Eden clearly, giving her time to evade each sweep of his legs. When it came time for her to move, if he saw no move being telegraphed, he would start an evasion to prompt her.