Posted by Ensign Viyara Nazeen (Scientist) in Gymnasium - Working Out The Kinks

Posted by Lieutenant Commander Daggum Hammor (Chief Operations Officer) in Gymnasium - Working Out The Kinks

Posted by Ensign Viyara Nazeen (Scientist) in Gymnasium - Working Out The Kinks
Posted by… suppressed (7) by the Post Ghost! 👻
It had been a long few days and Daggum needed a break. Something that could be done with little mental investment and that could maybe help him sleep that night. The gym was clear at the moment, most of the crew having gone on leave or made their way to the station and it’s amenities. So, pulling a pair of black sweat pants over dark blue shorts and sporting a dark grey tank-top under a matching black hoodie, Daggum made his way to the ship’s gym.

It was dark when he walked in and the lights came on as he crossed the threshold. No one there, and he smiled. Dropping his bag next to the large blue mat on the floor near the weights, he started to stretch and warm up.

Hammor, Ops

It was only moments later that the doors to the gym opened again and if the expression on the woman’s face was any indication, they didn’t open quite fast enough for her liking. For once her dark purple hair was pulled back in a tight ponytail to keep the strands out of the way that usually fell into her eyes. She was dressed in a very pair of very short pants and her top was barely more than a sports bra. For some reason, she seemed to be wearing some sort of fingerless gloves. With her cheeks slightly flushed, it seemed that she had already run here and she only came to full stop when her heterochromatic eyes landed on Hammor. “I didn’t expect to run into anyone else in the gym at this time of day,” she said without so much as a greeting. Without waiting for a reply she made her way towards one of the punching bags at a light jog. The moment she had positioned herself correctly, she started to hit the bag. From her footwork, the way she moved her body and everything, it would probably be obvious fairly quickly that she was not a novice to this.

~Ensign Nazeen, Scientist

Hammor continued to stretch, but he watched her reflection in the mirror in a way he hoped wasn’t obvious. From the way she was going at the bag, she was either thinking about something or the bag had said something about her mother. He stretched out his arms and back, then moved to his legs. For a figure as large and muscular as the Orion was, he was also surprisingly limber and flexible.

Hammor watched for a few minutes and then, nonchalantly, said “You’re good. I’m not one to critique a stranger, but if you slide your right heel back about ten centimeters, you’ll get a decent amount more power out of your left.” One of the few advantages to growing up as Hammor had… you knew how to fight really well.

Hammor, Ops

Stopping for a moment, Viyara twisted her head to look at Hammor before turning her attention back towards the punching back. She took a moment to adjust her position according to his suggestion and then looked at him once more. “Like this?” she asked while bunching a little, testing how the shift of her foot and weight felt. While it felt different, she also noticed right away that this small adjustment felt good and … right. Not to mention that she liked the idea of more power. At least when it came to this. Here she was fully in control and at the same time could let go. If she ever asked a counsellor they would probably also tell her that this was a much better coping mechanism than some of the other things she tended to do.

~Ensign Nazeen, Scientist

Hammor watched her first couple of punches and nodded approvingly. “Yeah… you got it. And if you really wanna throw some hurt behind it, pivot in on your opposite foot from your punch, then push off on your toes right before you make contact.” He realized how convoluted the instructions sounded and said “Hamg on, better if I show you. You mind?” He gestured from himself to the bag with a look of asking for permission to interrupt her.

Hammor, Ops

With her fists in position in front of her face, Viyara listened closely, trying to match his explanation to her posture and movements. At his suggestion however, she let her arms dropped to her side and took a step back. Gesturing towards the punching bag with a wide smile she , said, “Please be my guest.” With her eyes always on Hammor, she moved a few steps further back till she had the perfect view so she wouldn’t miss a thing of his demonstration.

~Ensign Nazeen, Scientist

Hammor nodded once and moved to the bag. “Now, I’m pretty sure you know this; but all of your power comes from your foot, up through your legs, back, shoulders, down your arms and into your punch. So you have to make sure that you set your feet right to deliver the most controllable force… right?” The big Orion then dropped almost too naturally into a fighter’s stance. His legs were shoulder width apart and his hands were in loose fists. “So this is where you started off, right? So when you jab -” and he let fly a left jab that rocked the heavy bag backwards about two feet, “- you have decent power but you are short-changing yourself.” He looked over his shoulder at her. “Adust your feet out like this- ” and he opened his stance by about 5 centimeters, “- and then pivot your hips into the arm you are throwing your punch with as you push off the floor with your foot.” He looked back at the bag. In a swift motion, his left fist flew forward while his left hip and shoulders turned inwards at the same time. There was a much louder THWACK as his bare knuckles impacted the bag… which rocked back a full forty-five degrees from vertical. As it swung back, Hammor caught it and set it to hang motionless. “There, you try.” and he stepped away to give her room.

Hammor, Ops

Viyara had been nodding here and there while murmuring a “yes” or “mhmm”. Some of things she already knew and others made perfect sense, but were things she had never really thought about. As Hammor stepped away, Viyara moved swiftly into position, mimicking his stance perfectly. She moved her head form one side to the other, making her neck crack a little, before loosening her shoulders some as well. In slow motion she then gave the new movement a try without actually punching the bag. Just to get a first feel for it. Once she was back in the first position she punched in earnest, making the bag swing a little more than she thought it would. “Wow, that felt good,” she laughed and there was twinkle of mischief and energy in her mismatched eyes.

~Ensign Nazeen, Scientist

Hammor smiled and said “Yeah, it should. You’re delivering more force through your fist, so less comes back. It’s not as jarring to you… more so to your target. I’d recommend working on that for a while to get used to it. If you try to throw full force behind it before you are ready, you could make a mistake and that really hurts.” and he laughed. “Trust me. I know it for a fact.” He then nodded once and moved away to go back to the mat; where he began to do slow, meticulous movements that looked to be a combination of dance and some kind of martial art.

Hammor

Viyara laughed lightly as well. “True. I’ve made that experience before as well,” she grinned. For a few moments she watched Hammor in silence, trying to figure out what exactly he was practising, but found that she wasn’t able to pinpoint it. Some things looked familiar, while other aspects of his movements looked rather foreign. Shaking her head slightly, she returned her focus towards the punching bag and practised the movements he had shown her for several moments. With each punch she felt more certain and more comfortable. So much so that she eventually started to vary and even mix in a few kicks here and there. It felt incredible to let go of all the thoughts and especially emotions that had been building up inside of her since her arrival on this ship. Yet with as much force as she was putting behind each punch and kick, it wasn’t too long before she felt her arms and legs starting to tremble. With a sigh she dropped her arms once more and then moved over towards the mat where Hammor was practicing. “What are you doing?” she asked curiously while stretching her arms and legs some.

~Ensign Nazeen, Scientist

Hammor exhaled slowly as he turned at the waist and pushed his hands, palms first, forward… as if pushing an invisible wall. “Tai chi… old Earth practice… helps me meditate… focus and release tension…” and he moved through another movement before coming back to stand normally. He looked down at Nazeen and said “If you’d like, I can show you some things. It makes for a good cool down, at least.”

Hammor