Fighting Spirit PV Jorah Moussa Closed

Jorah was not an early riser, not in the slightest, but he needed to get up early to catch Gris. Rumor has it that she practices Kung Fu by the Great Lake in the early hours of the morning while the other students sleep. He needed to find the Gryffindor student before she left her practice. Now Jorah wasn't fond of the Gryffindor students in general. He thought they were loud and obnoxious trouble makers. Worst of all, one of them had stabbed him at the ball, but he needed Gris's help. He heard how she tried to fight the half-giants off with her bare hands! Jorah was terrible at magic, so when it came down to a fight, he relied on a bat and his Beater skills, but there wouldn't always be a bat around for the young Ravenclaw to use. He got lucky at the ball by improvising a bat out of a table leg, but he couldn't rely on luck to protect him, he needed to learn how to defend himself. Whether it be from creatures or from the other students themselves, Hogwarts was full of dangers. If he could convince Gris to teach him Kung Fu, he could protect not only himself, but Ruthie as well. She seemed pretty shooken up after the ball, not herself. Jorah needed to be there for her, to make her feel safe again. If not, he feared she might leave the school and he would be lost without her.

Jorah suited up into some loose clothing and tiptoed past his sleeping dormmates towards the common room. At 6:00am, he exited the Ravenclaw space and ran down the West tower stairs. On his way to the Lake, he popped inside the Great Hall for a light breakfast. A couple sausage links, a few gulps of orange juice, and an apple for the road. Under normal circumstances, he would eat much more than this, but on the off chance Gris decided to train him, he didn't want to fight on a full stomach and puke in front of her on his first day. Jorah made his way to the Great Lake. From a distance, he could make out a figure in red standing near the water's edge. He quietly approached, realizing it was Gris warming up. He watched her move gracefully and with purpose before eventually interrupting her peace with a "Good morning! Sorry to bother you. I'm not sure if you remember me, but I'm Jorah...you blatched me at our Quidditch match. Well um, I just...I just wanted to see if you were accepting students. I want to learn Kung Fu."

Interacting with @Jorah Moussa

The peace was suddenly broken the moment she heard a familiar voice, she stopped her movements and turned around to see who it was. To her surprise, it was the Ravenclaw beater and also someone very important to her friend Ruthie. Seeing him well and alive made her a bit relieve because she could still remember like yesterday how the poor boy was stabbed with a very sharp knife on the back. She later learned that it wasn't the Half-giant kidnapper who did it, it was one of the Gryffindor who failed to arm at their target and accidentally injured the Ravenclaw boy instead. She still felt bad for Ruthie who witnessed such horror and cried for him like she lost someone really precious.

"O-oh, good morning, Jorah! I didn't really expect to see you here, you seem ok again, that's good." Griseldis let out a small sheepish laugh and continued, "I do remember you cleary...I erhmm...didn't even get the chance to apologize that I blatched you at our Quidditch match. I meant no ill intention but it was the heat of the moment trying to help my team, so I'm really sorry." Griseldis gave Jorah an apologetic bow. After that, she looked up at Jorah curiously, "You said you want to learn Kung Fu...from me? May I ask why? For what reason?" Griseldis simply asked. Jorah must have done some research and heard from other People about her that she often practice martial arts at the Great Lake early in the morning, she never intended to keep it hidden though. And normally people wouldn't just specifically find her to just learn martial arts, there must be a reason why this Ravenclaw would want to learn how to fight with bare hands instead of wits and knowledge of magic.

Gris welcomed Jorah, "...you seem ok again, that's good." Yeah, mostly ok, he thought. At her words he felt the recurring ache in his back from where he was stabbed. He rolled his right shoulder back to work out the pain. Gris went on to apologize for blatching him at their Quidditch match. "Haha, no worries." He returned her bow with a slight bow of his head. "We got our own licks in. All is fair in Love and Quidditch." Finally, she asked why he wanted to learn Kung Fu. It wasn't a flat out rejection. Good, this is a start. He had gotten his foot in the door, now he just needed to convince her to take him under her wing...er paw.

Ahem, Jorah cleared his throat. "Well the truth is...I'm a garbage spellcaster. What I do have going for me is my strength, but I don't have the skills to apply it in a fight. I heard what you did. You broke that half-giant's jaw with your bare hands! I want, No, I need to be able to do that. Without my bat, I'm nothing. I need to be able to defend myself with just this," he held up a clenched right fist. "I cant let anything happen to"...he thought of Ruthie..."my friends. Will you teach me"...he brought his hands together and gave her a proper low bow of respect..."Sensei?" He held the bow until she answered.

Interacting with @Jorah Moussa

Griseldis was glad that Jorah was understanding and accepted her apology, now she really believed that Jorah was a good person, no wonder he was Ruthie's important friend. After she asked him to tell her the real reason. She watched as the Ravenclaw cleared his throat and his expression looked like he was trying to build up some courage to tell her. And what she heard kind of surprised her, first he said how bad he was at spell casting and would rather improve his own strength instead of magic. And when he mentioned about how she broke the Half-Giant's jaw, Griseldis cringed a bit at the memory because it was her first time for giving someone with such a heavy injury. She did inform her grandfather about it but he replied to her that she did it to protect her fellow students and no need to feel bad at all.

She patiently listened to Jorah, there were a few things she wanted to point out to him and when he called her "Sensei" in the end it kinda caught her off guard. The Ravenclaw might not know but "Sensei" was the term for “master” used in Japanese martial arts. But Griseldis is half Chinese, not Japanese and Kung Fu is a Chinese martial art. The Chinese word for that should be "Sifu", the word has a similar meaning to "Sensei", in that it was a broad term for a skilled person or a master of a particular discipline. But then again, the "Sensei" sounded better than "Sifu" so she decided not to correct him about it.

Griseldis took a brief moment to think then looked at the Ravenclaw in front of her, she could really see the determination in his golden-brown eyes. "Jorah, even when you're not good at spells you still shouldn't say something like being a garbage spellcaster. You can learn how to fight anytime but you should never forget that you're a wizard, magic is still part of you. I wanted you to remember that." She said in a serious voice but it wasn't like she was scolding him, it was more like she wanted him to understand the reality of himself. "My grandfather was a very famous Kung Fu master in China during his youth, not only did he teach me the martial arts but also the true meanings of using them. It's very important to understand yourself first." Then Griseldis's face changed to a concern one, "Hmm, with all due respect...I'm still a student myself so I'm not sure if I'm qualified to teach you. I don't know if my grandfather will allowed it...but..." Finally, she smiled of a sudden idea in her mind, "I would never reject someone who has an honorable reason to practice martial arts with me."

Sensei. The minute the word came out of his mouth, Jorah felt foolish. His face was flush with embarrassment though Gris could not see it from how he held his body facedown in a bow. He wouldn't be surprised if she turned him away right then and there. Why would she waste her time on a random first year like me? Gris responded in a serious tone reminding Jorah that he was a wizard and to have some more self respect. Jorah stood back up feeling even more foolish. He had showed Gris respect, but saved none for himself. Though magical energy followed through Jorah's blood, he didn't feel like much of a wizard. Compared to his classmates, he was a below average spell caster. He had difficulty with even the most basic of spells and when he was able to successfully cast a spell it wasn't that powerful. He made up for these weakness by relying on his physical strength and flying skills. It's easy to look like a competent wizard when you're good at Quidditch.

Gris went on to explain that her grandfather was a master of Kung Fu. Wow, a Kung Fu master! Jorah imagined a wizened old mad throwing much younger men across a room and tearing through wooden planks with his fists as if they were tissue paper. Was there a form of Kung Fu that used a bat? Could he incorporate Quidditch into Kung Fu? Jorah made a mental note to ask Gris later. She explained how her grandfather might not allow her to teach. Jorah's heart sank. He was going to tell her that it could be their secret, that what she knew was enough to be a bada** at the ball. Before he could argue back, she smiled and agreed to train him. Jorah was ecstatic! He did his best to hide his smile and remain stoical, but there was no hiding the enthusiasm in his speech. "Thank you, Gris! I won't let you down! I'm ready when you are! What should we practice first, spinning kicks, choke-holds, breaking boards with my fists?!?" Jorah's excitement was escaping him.
Tag: @Griseldis Edelhardt

Interacting with @Jorah Moussa

Once again, Griseldis was surprised that he quickly thanked her after she said that he could practice with her. She didn't really mean that she would really train him like how her grandfather trained her in the past. But Jorah seemed to misunderstand and already thought that she was going to train the Ravenclaw martial arts. Griseldis still felt a bit unsure about the whole situation because she knew her own limits and not yet a teacher material. "W-wait, Jorah! Don't thank me so...soon....", however, looking at how excited the Ravenclaw was it kinda stop her to explain her true intention.

Oh well...looks like I have no choice but to go with the flow now. My grandfather is not going to like this when I owl him about it... Griseldis thought, she could already see her grandfather making a disapproval face in her head. "Ah...nevermind, but we aren't doing all those you mentioned. Well...in your case, not yet of course because we need to test a few things like for example...your strength endurance, agility, balance, reaction time and to find your inner peace.", there weren't really any techniques such as "spinning kicks" or "breaking boards with fists" when performing Kung Fu, perhaps Jorah only saw those from Japanese animes or mangas. So Griseldis could only smile at him awkwardly and again, the same thing with being called "Sensei", she couldn't bring herself to correct him and not letting him feel embarrassed. Then she remembered what her grandfather taught her during her martial art trainings during her childhood. Before she started to practice King Fu, she needed to improve her stamina, strength, reflexes, her patience, and most importantly, it was to control her own inner peace.

Griseldis had a feeling Jorah might get disappointed after she explained that they couldn't straight up practice Kung Fu yet but at least she knew all should begin with the basics. "So...I would suggest that we start by testing your strength endurance. Do you think you can do 50 pushups?", Griseldis secretly was able to do 100 pushups but she was merciful enough to reduce the numbers of pushups to a half so that it wouldn't be too extreme for a starter, she asked Jorah and would wait for his answer.

Gris tempered Jorah's excitement, it seemed spinning kicks weren't on the agenda for today. No matter, he assumed they would be doing something cool soon and then Jorah would be the one taking out giants with his bare hands. Jorah's imagination abounded with valiant scenes of him throwing and punching half-giants and cloaked figures wielding knives. There were two things he was certain of; One: no one expects the Spanish inquisition. Two: no one expects a fist in a magic fight. When Jorah finally did get the hang of spell casting, he could always switch to dueling with Kung Fu as a back up, or he could use his magic to enhance his Kung Fu. Jorah's mind further exploded with imagery of a magical protective shimmering golden aura around his body. His opponent's green, red, and blue spells would all bounce off of his aura as Jorah came charging towards them. He would return their kind gifts with a flaming fist of magical fury. With his strength and the magic of the universe, he could be unstoppable.

Gris suggested they start by testing his endurance. "Do you think you can do 50 pushups?," she asked. "Yes teacher, I do them all the time during Quidditch practice." Jorah extended his arms back, one after another to stretch out his chest muscles before hopping down onto the green grass beneath him. "One...Two...Three..." Jorah counted off each push up. "48...49...50!" Jorah finished with plenty of strength to spare. He bounced back up to his feet. "Ok, what's next?"

Interacting with @Jorah Moussa

Griseldis wanted to know his limit of endurance first so she asked Jorah if he could try to do 50 push-ups. The Ravenclaw didn't hesitate at all and seemed very eager to do as told, he called her "teacher" this time instead of "sensei" and told her that he all the time during the Quidditch practice. She watched as Jorah first extended his arms back, then stretched his chest muscles a few times. After that, he hopped down on the grassy ground and began doing his push-ups. While Jorah counted each push-up he did, Griseldis stood there looking at him quietly and was very impressed by it.

Griseldis waited patiently until Jorah finished his 50th push-up and he bounced back up to his feet. Asking what was his next task to prove himself. "I got to admit, I really didn't expect that you were able to do 50 push-ups so easily." After that, Griseldis looked around the area once again, and saw a certain object she needed and nodded to herself. Looking back at the Ravenclaw, she pointed at a big rock lying beside the river shore, "Now, your next task is to pick up that big rock over there, you lift it up over your head and don't move for an hour. It's a test to see your strength and endurance limits."

She was now interested to see how strong the Ravenclaw boy could really be and how long he could last within an hour standing there while lifting a big rock. An hour is quite merciful compared to the training she received in the past from her grandfather.

"I got to admit, I really didn't expect that you were able to do 50 push-ups so easily," Gris said. Jorah did his best to keep himself from smiling, but he couldn't help from feeling a sense of pride. He wasn't good at much, but he was stronger than most of the other boys his age. He took pride in being good at something. Jorah prepared for the next test.

Gris turned towards the river and pointed at a large rock which was half submerged in the sands of the shore. She instructed Jorah to pick it up and lift it over his head for an hour. "An hour!?!," Jorah said incredulously. The rock was about the size of a cantaloupe. Sure, he could raise it over his head, but to keep it there for an hour felt like Gris was asking for too much.

"Yes teacher!," he finally said before doing as instructed. Jorah took up a squat next to the rock and dug it out of the sand. The top of the rock had a thin slimy layer of algae which made it slippery to the touch. With both his hands, Jorah grabbed the rock from the bottom and stood up, lifting the rock over his head like it was nothing.

Ten minutes passed and Jorah could feel his palms starting to get sweaty and his shoulders beginning to ache from a buildup of lactic acid in the muscle. Twenty minutes passed and his arms were beginning to sway as he struggled to stand still. His shoulders were burning! Thirty minutes went by. It felt like he had been holding this rock for an eternity. All Jorah could think about was how his shoulders were on fire. He tried to remain still, but his arms were shaking uncontrollably as they reached muscle fatigue. Jorah felt the rock slipping between his hands. It was going to fall on his head if he didn't drop it soon. Jorah was no Atlas, he gave up with a shrug. The stone plopped onto the ground before him. His arms were dead. He looked up at Gris defeated. "How long was that?," he asked.
Tag: @Griseldis Edelhardt