The Ways of the Ninja [PRIVATE/Henrex]

Henrex's head tilted to the side as Ritsuko stated about his hand positioning, something that Henrex was genuinely confused about. He wasn't really expected something like that to be a point that she would make about this exercise. Taking a moment to look at his hands and their grip on the wooden weapon, he could see how it looked a bit more refined than others. So, as he softly shook his head, Henrex held his grip a little bit higher for her to see.

"While that could be something that people notice, that's unfortunately not what I'm talking about," He said. "The main achievement that I was going for with that grip was stability."

Turning the weapon over and softly tapping the pommel, the end of the sword, Henrex looked at Ritsuko to make sure she was paying attention.

"When you grip a sword with two hands, you need to wrap your pinkie around the pommel of the weapon."

Henrex wrapped his pinkie around the weapon as an example. "This will allow for your strikes to have less shaking when blades collide."

Turning the weapon upright and performing the grip again, Henrex gestured to Ritsuko to perform the same.

"The addition of stability also allows for more strength and weight of the weapon to be used," He said. "Which is why my strikes felt more powerful than normal. They were sort of 'enforced' because of a simple grip."

As he said this, Henrex's hand lightly drifted upwards, before his arm whipped outward, releasing a strike from the right side. Under the assumption that Ritsuko was holding the same grip as he had, he hoped that she would be ready for the attack that would come. As the strike flew, Henrex's pinkie lowered down the handle as he performed the grip as best he could with one hand. Which, enforced with his strength, would allow for as much stability and force as a two-handed grip.

"...And, if you have the strength for it, you can perform this with one hand instead of two." He said, holding his weapon in place, before lowering it.

"Which gives you more versatility, especially if you're using a two-handed sword style."

Excitement flared through his veins as he spoke and acted. There was a large amount of passion that went in what he did -- all of his work was something that he was immensely proud of. So, it would be obvious that a warm smile would be burned into the male's cheeks. It was good to see someone so enthralled by such an ancient form of combat and way of life.

Even further, Henrex was far too curious to know how others would interpret the teachings that he was giving them. Everyone thought differently, especially when it came to how to interpret the Five Rings. It was something that would allow him to grow with his own knowledge, and allow him to think and expand his own understanding of Soke's teachings. It was an amazing way to grow, both for him and for someone else.

Therefore, Henrex was keen to listen and break down what Ritsuko had said. The stability and confidence of wielding a sword was most certainly one way that she could interpret the Ring of Earth. However, this was something that Henrex found was a common theme when it came to this. From observing the various other students that Soke had taught, as well as some of the people that he gave advice to within the Iga mountains -- everyone had taken it in a literal sense.

So, the male's head would nod softly as he spoke.

"That's a good example. While it's more showing the literal meaning, it is definitely a good way to think about it. Stability and confidence in the way you swing your sword. The strength of your grip, and the ability to continue your advance, no matter the enemy."

Henrex nodded again in understanding. This was the beauty in the way of the ninja. There were so many ways that you could see their methods and training. All of it was able to compiled together in a way that would bring an immense bout of knowledge and understanding that would end up reaching out and having some sort of meaning for just about everyone that looked at it.

So, Henrex would continue with the lessons. The two would go over the other four of the Five Rings, which would only be the first of what would be to come. Over the course of the next few days, the two would start going over the various skills that a ninja would learn. Naginatajutsu, shurikenjutsu, disguises, all of it. This would be a constant theme over what would eventually build into the weeks of teaching. Eventually, it would all lead into kuji-in -- the ninja's magic.

Ritsuko would be taught the nine core hand seals -- Rin, Hyo, To, Sha, Kai, Jin, Retsu, Zai, and Zen. There would need to be a large deal of development within these skills, as they were powerful and needed to be practiced upon in order for her to be able to draw out the full potential of the way of the ninja.

Therefore, over the course of the time that they spent in their training, Ritsuko would leave with a plethora of new strength, skill -- and hopefully -- knowledge that she would be able to draw from in the coming months, which would eventually lead into the new year.

And all the while, Henrex would become immensely proud of his student, watching her grow and improve as a person. With some practice and proper guidance, Ritsuko had the potential to become an amazing ninja.