Trying to hit something...anything (training)

Age : 32 Posts : 159

Toyata was looking across the field that he had chosen for his next period of intensive training, on either side of the field stood large oak and pine trees, the large peaceful oak trees on the right side of the field and the more delicate and flexible pine trees on the left, he remembered; how he had been allow to use this place. He had talked to the owner of this area about permission for using this little clearing between lines of the plantation. At first the farmer had hesitated, as he had previously allowed shinobi from the village to train on his property, the result: half of his plantation burned down, due to the use of fire element jutus. However when Toyata had explained that he possessed no fire element jutsu what so ever and that he was fairly skilled at using water techniques the farmer finally gave in and allowed Toyata to make the area.

Using large branches and old logs he had found in the nearby area Toyata had been able to create a handful of targets, which he had placed throughout the field and between the nearby trees. This would be excellent for practicing with the shuriken, kunai and senbon he had brought with him. The aspect of long ranged fighting had never been very much in Toyata’s mind, however recent events had made it clear to him that he would need to improve this particular skill set.

Standing in front of three targets, set at ten, twenty and thirty paces, Toyata throw first a kunai at the closest then the one in the middle and finally the furthest target. All of the kunai thrown had hit their respective target with decent penetration, they were however not spot on. Repeating these throws over and over, Toyata began to feel his muscles automatically doing what they were meant to do. Slowly his aim improved and the speed by which Toyata was able to accurately aim, throw and hit his targets likewise increased. Repeating this for several hours, the motions began to solely muscle memory. When feeling completely confident with throwing the kunai, Toyata began the process all over again this time using senbon and finally shuriken.
Feeling the need to improve even further Toyata began throwing more than a single weapon at a time; this proved quite a challenge to make all of the thrown weapons hit accurately at the different targets. He had difficulty finding a reliable way to hold the weapons, which made an accurate throw possible and yet still the other weapons comfortable to throw at the same time. The day was coming to an end when the old farmer came by to see who the training was going. He observed for a little while, before turning around and making his way home, but not before making a comment.

”You need to relax your wrist and shoulder.”

Being stubborn of nature Toyata dismissed this notion and continued experimenting in his usual manner. As the sun was nearly set Toyata had to admit that he had made little or no progress in several hours, something in his approach had to change, because he was not going to give up on this until he had mastered the art. Toyata chose not to go home, but spent the night curled up beneath a large willow he found at a nearby creek; while not very comfortable it had its charms, like the sound of running water in the background, the nighttime animals that appeared and the view of the stars.
The following morning after a night with little sleep, Toyata quickly ran a few laps around the field to make his stiff joints loose after the night. Deciding to try and follow the farmer’s advice Toyata was pleasantly surprised when it actually worked. The process felt more natural now and the different weapons once again found their respective targets, hitting with deadly precision. Using most the day to improve this Toyata felt extremely confident with his abilities concerning the long ranged aspect of battle. Gathering things and making ready to leave Toyata playfully ran by the poles and throw three kunai at them, he was completely confident that they would all be bull-eyes, they weren’t.

Returning to the field once again the next day Toyata spent the day improving his aim both when moving himself by running or jumping while throwing and by hitting moving targets by using logs suspending in the air, and letting them go from side to side using a few wires. Though Toyata was great at the different shuriken techniques this was a significant challenge, one that would prove very difficult to master. However after spending more than ten hours a day for two weeks straight, Toyata had finally become able to hit even a moving target while running with pin-point accuracy.

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