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ysabetwordsmithThis story belongs to the series Love Is For Children which includes "Love Is for Children," "Hairpins," "Blended," "Am I Not," "Eggshells," "Dolls and Guys,""Saudades," "Querencia," "Turnabout Is Fair Play," "Touching Moments," "Splash," "Coming Around," "Birthday Girl," "No Winter Lasts Forever," "Hide and Seek," "Kernel Error," "Happy Hour," "Green Eggs and Hulk," and "kintsukuroi."
Fandom: The Avengers
Characters: Phil Coulson, Nick Fury
Medium: Fiction
Warnings: Minor character death. Bullying. Fighting. Suicide attempt (minor character).
Summary: This is the story of how a little boy named Flip grows up to save the world a lot.
Notes: Hurt/comfort. Family. Fluff and angst. Accidents. Emotional whump. Disability. Sibling relationship. Nonsexual love. Parentification. Manipulation. Coping skills. Asking for help and getting it. Hope. Protection. Caregiving. Competence. Toys and games. Comic books. Fixing things. Martial arts. Gentleness. Trust. Role models. Military. BAMF Phil Coulson.
Begin with Part 1, Part 2, Part 3, Part 4, Part 5, Part 6, Part 7, Part 8, Part 9, Part 10, Part 11, Part 12, Part 13, Part 14, Part 15, Part 16, Part 17, Part 18, Part 19, Part 20, Part 21, Part 22, Part 23, Part 24, Part 25, Part 26, Part 27, Part 28, Part 29, Part 30, Part 31. Skip to Part 34, Part 35.
"Little and Broken, but Still Good" Part 32
When Phil is twenty-six, he decides to try out for his fifth degree black belt. It feels strange to think of limiting himself to karate after exploring so many other martial arts. At SHIELD, almost everyone knows some style or other, and plenty of people know several. It's easy to find sparring partners and Phil has picked up all kinds of new things. His control makes him a popular man on the mats.
Now Phil understands why Sensei Takenaka urged him to explore mixed martial arts. Each one has its own strengths and weaknesses. By learning what works for him, and then combining the best techniques from different systems, Phil can assemble a personal style that capitalizes on his own body and mind. He still remembers his first love, though, so he signs himself out on leave.
As exciting as he finds mixed martial arts, though, returning to karate feels like coming home. Phil takes a few days to practice before his test. He goes to Sensei White's dojo on Tuesday night for open sparring and works his way up through the ranks. He lets the novices practice against him before stepping into the corner claimed by the other black belts. Only then does Phil actually work up a sweat. He loves karate. It's familiar in a way that nothing else is. He goes back again for the open sparring on Thursday.
Saturday is reserved for competitions and testing. Phil surreptitiously wipes his hands on his gi. He has been studying karate for two-thirds of his life, and still feels like he has barely learned a fraction of it.
Sensei White steps forward, they bow, and everything whirls into motion. Only snatches of it register in Phil's memory -- the swift tap of wrists against forearms, the patter of feet on the mats, the cup of Sensei White's hand over his throat as he tilts Phil over his knee. This test challenges him in ways that even SHIELD sparring rarely does. Phil has met very few people with his master's quicksilver energy.
It ends, as it always does, with Phil staring at the ceiling. He is gasping for breath as he accepts the belt. He's proud of his new Godan status, though.
"Tell me, what have you been studying?" Sensei White asks him with a thoughtful look. "I can see that you have branched out now."
"Russian sambo, tae kwon do, judo, krav maga, muay thai, escrima, and ninjutsu," Phil says. He breathes deliberately as he tries to get his wind back. "Those are the ones where I have a regular practice partner. Everything else, I learn catch-as-catch can."
"Hmm," says Sensei White, staring at Phil with half-lidded eyes. Then he shakes his head. "Keep doing that and you will soon spoil your balance."
Phil still has a row of yellowing bruises from the last time he fell off the plum-blossom poles in ninjutsu practice, but he's using unfixed rather than fixed poles and he's up to the two-foot-high set. However, he hasn't gotten this far by ignoring expert advice. "What do you see going wrong with my balance, Sensei?" he asks.
* * *
Notes:
Hybrid or mixed martial arts involve combining techniques from the most effective schools. Learn how to create your own style.
Karate advancement has an orderly progression through levels, marked by belt colors and titles.
Phil's new arts include Russian sambo, tae kwon do, judo, krav maga, muay thai, escrima, and ninjutsu. Watch some real live ninjas.
Plum-blossom poles are a traditional training method. Here's video of the training bowls. Although the examples here are for fixed poles, I have seen a documentary of ninjas working on much narrower poles of varying heights, with a widened base and top, which are not attached to the floor but require the climber to have perfect balance in order to move from one pole to the next without tipping them. Phil is learning the unfixed poles because he is a BAMF (and has not got the sense of self-preservation that God gave to Steve Rogers ...)
[To be continued in Part 33 ...]
Fandom: The Avengers
Characters: Phil Coulson, Nick Fury
Medium: Fiction
Warnings: Minor character death. Bullying. Fighting. Suicide attempt (minor character).
Summary: This is the story of how a little boy named Flip grows up to save the world a lot.
Notes: Hurt/comfort. Family. Fluff and angst. Accidents. Emotional whump. Disability. Sibling relationship. Nonsexual love. Parentification. Manipulation. Coping skills. Asking for help and getting it. Hope. Protection. Caregiving. Competence. Toys and games. Comic books. Fixing things. Martial arts. Gentleness. Trust. Role models. Military. BAMF Phil Coulson.
Begin with Part 1, Part 2, Part 3, Part 4, Part 5, Part 6, Part 7, Part 8, Part 9, Part 10, Part 11, Part 12, Part 13, Part 14, Part 15, Part 16, Part 17, Part 18, Part 19, Part 20, Part 21, Part 22, Part 23, Part 24, Part 25, Part 26, Part 27, Part 28, Part 29, Part 30, Part 31. Skip to Part 34, Part 35.
"Little and Broken, but Still Good" Part 32
When Phil is twenty-six, he decides to try out for his fifth degree black belt. It feels strange to think of limiting himself to karate after exploring so many other martial arts. At SHIELD, almost everyone knows some style or other, and plenty of people know several. It's easy to find sparring partners and Phil has picked up all kinds of new things. His control makes him a popular man on the mats.
Now Phil understands why Sensei Takenaka urged him to explore mixed martial arts. Each one has its own strengths and weaknesses. By learning what works for him, and then combining the best techniques from different systems, Phil can assemble a personal style that capitalizes on his own body and mind. He still remembers his first love, though, so he signs himself out on leave.
As exciting as he finds mixed martial arts, though, returning to karate feels like coming home. Phil takes a few days to practice before his test. He goes to Sensei White's dojo on Tuesday night for open sparring and works his way up through the ranks. He lets the novices practice against him before stepping into the corner claimed by the other black belts. Only then does Phil actually work up a sweat. He loves karate. It's familiar in a way that nothing else is. He goes back again for the open sparring on Thursday.
Saturday is reserved for competitions and testing. Phil surreptitiously wipes his hands on his gi. He has been studying karate for two-thirds of his life, and still feels like he has barely learned a fraction of it.
Sensei White steps forward, they bow, and everything whirls into motion. Only snatches of it register in Phil's memory -- the swift tap of wrists against forearms, the patter of feet on the mats, the cup of Sensei White's hand over his throat as he tilts Phil over his knee. This test challenges him in ways that even SHIELD sparring rarely does. Phil has met very few people with his master's quicksilver energy.
It ends, as it always does, with Phil staring at the ceiling. He is gasping for breath as he accepts the belt. He's proud of his new Godan status, though.
"Tell me, what have you been studying?" Sensei White asks him with a thoughtful look. "I can see that you have branched out now."
"Russian sambo, tae kwon do, judo, krav maga, muay thai, escrima, and ninjutsu," Phil says. He breathes deliberately as he tries to get his wind back. "Those are the ones where I have a regular practice partner. Everything else, I learn catch-as-catch can."
"Hmm," says Sensei White, staring at Phil with half-lidded eyes. Then he shakes his head. "Keep doing that and you will soon spoil your balance."
Phil still has a row of yellowing bruises from the last time he fell off the plum-blossom poles in ninjutsu practice, but he's using unfixed rather than fixed poles and he's up to the two-foot-high set. However, he hasn't gotten this far by ignoring expert advice. "What do you see going wrong with my balance, Sensei?" he asks.
* * *
Notes:
Hybrid or mixed martial arts involve combining techniques from the most effective schools. Learn how to create your own style.
Karate advancement has an orderly progression through levels, marked by belt colors and titles.
Phil's new arts include Russian sambo, tae kwon do, judo, krav maga, muay thai, escrima, and ninjutsu. Watch some real live ninjas.
Plum-blossom poles are a traditional training method. Here's video of the training bowls. Although the examples here are for fixed poles, I have seen a documentary of ninjas working on much narrower poles of varying heights, with a widened base and top, which are not attached to the floor but require the climber to have perfect balance in order to move from one pole to the next without tipping them. Phil is learning the unfixed poles because he is a BAMF (and has not got the sense of self-preservation that God gave to Steve Rogers ...)
[To be continued in Part 33 ...]
Thoughts
Date: 2014-08-15 07:17 pm (UTC)Because you're an astute reader.
>> Oh yeah, 'cause we've seen the end result.
And the bit with the flour. <<
That too.
>> Is it Monday yet? <<
Don't make me drive this story around the block an extra time. ;)