Private Finished Everybody was Kung-Fu Fighting

Monday morning, around 9am, a crowd had gathered around a circular area in the park that was closed off by steel barriers usually used in parades to keep people from running into the street. But in this ring-like formation were a couple of performers donning different costumes themed after different countries. The costumes ranged from simple ones that farmers would wear, to really elegant ones that the rich in formal gatherings could be seen in. Lei Ling was wearing something like the latter. It was a red Cheongsam with floral patters in dark red, white and gold. She was simply waiting at the side until it was her turn to perform with her partner who was at the opposite end of the make-shift arena. She had been practicing for this for months now. It gave her something to do, and it fed the nostalgia of home. While the fight was choreographed, the familiar movements were comforting. As the soundtrack changed, Lei Ling took to the arena, as did her sparring partner. She was wielding a short sword with a red tassel hanging from the hilt while her opponent was wielding a spear with red feathers below the head. The demonstration started with the two of them sizing each other up, and as the song switched gears, the two of them clashed. Lei Ling was on the defensive for the first part, dodging the spear in the essence of the matrix dodge, only going at blinding speed. The sharpness of the spear was displayed when it struck her dress from the hip, all the way down, ripping the dress but freeing her leg so she could move freely. That part of the performance had always made her nervous. After all, she could have had a spear right in her leg at that point. But as the song shifted, to a more feminine touch, it shifted to the second part. It was her turn to style.

As another thrust went for her, Lei Ling let it pass by the side of her head and dug the sword into the side of the spear, making a clear carve and showing that the sword was just as sharp as the spear. With her other hand, she grabbed the spear's shaft, dislodged her sword, and made a full 360-degree turn with the sword outstretched, which her partner ducked under perfectly as she vaulted over the spear which she then drove into the ground and snapped it in half where she dug the sword into. Her partner used what was left of the spear and the two of them did a little fencing, which only made the wooden remnant smaller with each clash. They took a short pause for the audience to have a chuckle as her partner realizes that the stick he had was now useless. The song shifted again as part three of the performance came into play, which started with Lei Ling giving swipes and thrusts with her sword which her partner had to dodge and parry with his gauntlets. Lei Ling's sword was eventually knocked from her hand and the pair proceeded to fight it out in hand-to-hand. This was where the performers could give it their all as the risk of serious injury wasn't as large. They took turns doing impressive kicks and parrying each other's blows. They vaulted over each other, they threw each other off shoulders only for them to land flawlessly. Everything was done with impressive speeds, their strikes were almost a blur. The last part of the performance came up, and that was marked by two additional performers joining in. Lei Ling and her first partner stood back to back as the two new performers attacked them. They were playing on the trope of enemies being temporary allies when a common enemy pops in. The fight was more of the same, but made better with the addition of tag-team combos. It was the most energetic part of this performance, and the crowd was pumped, gasping and cheering at the biggest and flashiest moves. Their part soon ended as the song mellowed, and Lei Ling and her partner bowed to each other as the other two lay flat on the ground and turned to return to their own side of the arena as another set of performers ran into the spotlight. Lei Ling took a seat by the barriers to watch the others, taking a few sips of water. That really got her heart pumping. Only a shame that she couldn't be there longer.

She was enjoying the rest of the show on the sidelines when this younger person behind the barrier called her attention. He spoke, but she couldn't understand exactly what he said. She said something in Chinese, confused, but then she realized something. Blushing out of embarrassment, she held up a finger to tell him to give her a second. She pulled a necklace from a bag under the bench she was sitting on and put it on then turned to the person. "I'm sorry, I didn't want to lose my translation charm, so I left it in my bag. I hope you're enjoying the show!" She greeted him with a warm smile. She hoped that he did. She gave it her all in that performance. While she didn't really do a lot of performing, she did know a lot about martial arts. It was a big thing in the family. So it wasn't that hard to get the movements right. It was actually a lot easier when it was synchronized with the music. Everyone had different tempos when they fight, and matching and out-pacing was something she was taught to do for a number of reasons, mainly that she'd want to be as fast as her opponent, or faster. The music made it so the two of them moved at the same pace, no more guessing and lesser need for watching every move.

The boy complimented on her display, and she gave him a smile. "Thank you, but the choreographer's the one to praise for that arrangement. I just followed her lead," she said, waving a hand dismissively. She didn't have the talent nor the vision to string together something like that, but she could follow it well. Her face lit up a little when the boy asked to spar. "Oh, so you know some martial arts too? I'd be happy to spar." Its been a while since she had a sparring session. Her sisters that were here weren't the type for such things, so she hadn't been doing much in that area. That was what drew her into this, she craved the familiarity, even if no one really fought. "Once the show's over, we can do that."

Lei Ling watched the rest of the show, chatting with the other performers as they went to grab a drink after their parts were done. It was great to hear the cheers and laughs from the crowd. She was more of a crowd person herself, as in someone who is in a crowd, watching rather than being the thing people watched. But maybe it was because she lived in a small quiet community where nothing too crazy happens. She did enjoy this, and maybe she'll do some more of it with these guys. That would be something to look forward to. Once the show ended, all the performers gathered in the center as their choreographer said some final words to thank everyone for watching and to look forward for more fun stuff in the future. And everyone packed up their things. The barriers were all gathered up in one place and then *pop*, someone just teleported all of it away. Same went for most of their gears and props. After she helped, Lei Ling picked up her bag, waved goodbye to the others as they all splintered off to do their own thing. The cleanup was pretty quick, and she went back to the person who approached her before. If he was serious about sparring, then she just couldn't let that opportunity pass her by. "Thanks, it took us four weeks to get everything as polished as it was. Glad to hear that it was all worth it!" She chuckled with relief now that it was over. "So, you wanted to spar, right?"