Anger Management and Emotional Control | Monday | Period 1

[justonecondition]

Class was meeting in the Danger Shop again today, which was programmed to look like a gym. Although Bruce was in his usual tweed, he had asked his students to come with clothes they wouldn't mind working out in.

"I know we already covered exercise once, but I thought it couldn't hurt to try another take on it," he said. "Without the rain this time, because you only need that kind of unpleasantness once. Getting your heart rate up can be a good outlet regardless of the exercise, but getting physical with another person - uh, in this particular context - can be extra effective as outlets go. So I thought I'd have you try some light hand-to-hand sparring, for anyone who's comfortable with that. If you'd rather not, you can feel free to use the cardio machines instead."

He nudged a box forward, which contained padded gloves and bag mitts. Quickly, he gave a basic tutorial of how to put on the gloves and mitts, but stopped short of explaining how and where to punch. "Pair up and take turns, uh, punching," he said. "And please wear the safety equipment. Thanks."

Teamwork, Monday, Period 3

[psychoticbiotic.livejournal.com]

Class met on the school grounds today, where Jack had sectioned off four plots of grass shaped like small landing strips and scattered with frisbee-size silver hoops.

"So today," she said, "We're going to work on trust by playing minesweeper. Way it works is, you guys pair off. Then one on each team, the minewalker, goes into a field while the other, the guardian, stands outside the rope and shouts instructions on how to get across without stepping on those silver frisbee things. Those are mines. Once the first person is across, they leave the area and take the place of the guardian.

She smirked. "Simple, right? Except there are two catches. First, the minewalker is blindfolded. Second, the mindwalker can't talk. So before anybody goes onto the field, you should take a minute and figure out your strategy for communicating. Winner is the first team to get both people across without setting off the mines."

Roller Derby, Danger Shop, Monday afternoon after classes

[furnaceface]

"Right, then. Today we'll be learning about the different positions that you might end up playing in an actual game, once you all get to that point where you can stand on your own two feet," Jono said, taking point on today's Roller Derby meeting. "A full team has three positions played out by five players. There'll be one Pivot, three Blockers, and a Jammer."

He got all of this information off the internet this morning, for the record. It was a wonder he figured out Google in order to get that far, but he was stubborn and he needed something to focus on, so researching Roller Derby was going to be it.

"The Pivot blocker, the one whose helmet cover gets a stripe on it, is the player who usually starts at the first starting line, in front of everyone else. She - or he, given our coed team - serves as the leader of the team. Generally, since she-or-he is in the front, that position is also the team's last chance to stop the other team's jammer from pulling ahead."

Easy enough, right?

"The team gets three other blockers, who don't get helmet covers, sorry if you had your heart set on fancy headgear. These three play both offense and defense, and it's their job to protect the team's jammer while keeping the opponent's from pulling ahead.

"Speaking of the jammer - the one whose helmet cover has a star on it, by the way - this player is the one who lines up at the second starting line and who starts playing at the second starting whistle. It's the jammer's job to pull ahead of the group, getting through the opponent's blockers, as quickly as they possibly can. If she - or he - gets ahead of the group without committing a penalty, the jammer also gets to stop the jam whenever by putting his-or-her hands on his-or-her hips." Political correctness was going to be the end of Jono's voice today. Lord. "The jammer is the one who scores points for the team, getting a point for each opponent blocker passed after lapping the other team entirely. So, for this position, you're going to want someone fast on those skates and nimble."

That seemed to just about cover it, so Jono nodded toward the safety gear and skates again.

"I'm not going to assign positions to any of you ladies - or Sparkle - today. That's something for you to sort out amongst yourselves with Zee. But if you would all be so kind as to pull on your gear and skate laps, perhaps attempt to pass one another as you go, that would be lovely. I'll be sitting in the bleachers if anybody needs anything."

[Open!]