[On days that Johnny is... otherwise occupied (such as being dead), one of his more experienced students—"team captains," for lack of a better term—takes the lead for the class. A naive few of the students might believe that they'll get a break from Johnny's bonkers training methods. And sure, Sayo led the warmups as normal, went through the routine technique exercises without yelling or calling any of the students names. A perfectly polite, pleasant substitute teacher, a breath of fresh air in the usually beer-and-spit smelling atmosphere of Cobra Kai.

If you know Sayo, you're already aware that this is the first warning sign.

After the first twenty minutes of class proceed in a blessedly normal fashion, Sayo orders everyone into a group at the back of the warehouse, and calls a single student forward. You, perhaps.]

As I'm sure Lawrence-sensei has drilled into your skull by now, in Cobra Kai, the best defense is a good offense. Don't just strike first, strike first-er. Et cetera. [She pronounces it properly like a huge nerd.] However, that doesn't mean you can charge in mindlessly and expect to get anything but your ass chopped, sliced, sautée'd, garnished, and served to you on a silver platter. You need to be aware of your opponent, react to where and how they'll strike and dodge.

Some senseis will tell you this is a matter of concentration, focus, insight. That's, as Lawrence-sensei would put it, bullshit. It's not a matter of perfect clarity. It's a matter of learning how certain muscles move, perceiving every inch of your enemy, seeing where they tense and where they relax before they strike. Of course the specifics vary with style, practitioner, and individual technique, but there are a few general principles you can learn to watch for if you practice enough with this in mind.

The tricky thing is, of course, doing that without relenting for a single second. And teaching how to maintain that b-word, [since Johnny isn't here Sayo is free to make fun of his aversion to the concept of "balance" in martial arts,] is the purpose of today's exercise.

You're going to want to hold still.

[Without any further warning, the unlucky student is lifted by a mysterious force accompanied by an unearthly scream, up to one of the creaking catwalks of the warehouse. A strange creature swoops from behind them to hover at Sayo's shoulder with a cackling screech.]

Speaking of paying attention, you should notice several details about this arrangement that should deeply concern you! [Sayo shouts from below as she... pulls a kiddie pool full of foam blocks out of who knows where she'd been hiding it and slides it under the catwalk?] The first is an abominable lack of workplace safety standards or general architectural sense in the construction of this warehouse. This catwalk is, for some ungodly reason, entirely disconnected from the rest of the network. I think the shoddy craftsmanship is part of the reason why this warehouse was abandoned in the first place.

The second is that directly behind you, there is a hole in the catwalk, going all the way to the back wall. A similar segment is missing from the other end of the catwalk. Don't worry, if you fall through you should land safely. I made an oath to not murder anyone in Trench, and I've managed to keep to my promise so far.

The third is that there is a large goat demon currently lumbering down the catwalk in your direction. [Dressed in an extra-large Cobra Kai gi as it whuffles nervously and looks side to side, no less.] And of course, there's the harness currently attached to your torso.

[Sayo strides over to the wall of the dojo, where a winch wrapped in rope connects upward to the back of the harness, and to a hefty-looking weight on a different catwalk, poised on the edge and only kept from falling off thanks to the taut rope attached.]

This exercise is simple, [she says, having constructed a fucking SAW trap.] When I activate this device, one of the gears inside the trap will begin moving, pulled by the weight on the other catwalk as it descends due to gravity. The gear will release the rope's slack as it turns, so it won't directly pull you off the catwalk... at first.

However, it will eventually run out of extra rope, and will start pulling on you instead. Due to the weight's mass and the way this contraption is balanced, you will very quickly fly backward, fall through that hole, and land in nice, soft foam. Hypothetically. I haven't tested it myself. [That part is a lie, but fear is a good motivator.] If you don't want the honor of being the first test subject of this contraption, there is a way to escape.

Moving forward will pull on a different gear from your side, which, while it motion, will push a ratchet into the first gear, preventing it from turning, thereby preventing the weight from descending. But! [She snaps her fingers.] The moment that you stop or get pushed back, the ratchet will recede, and the weight will begin falling once more.

Of course, there is Goat-kun standing in your way. [The giant goat demon stands tall when he hears his name, taking up a fighting stance. Determination and conviction shine in his eyes!] And he will make every effort to prevent you from moving forward, including attacking you with his incredible strength and equally incredible lack of speed. Fortunately, he is as dumb as a brick and doesn't know any particular style, which means it's easy to read his movements once you observe him for enough time. [Goat-kun deflates slightly.] The narrowness of the catwalk means you will have little time or space to react late, so you will need to learn how to read his tells, which are fairly universal among fighters so knowing them should prove useful for the tournament, and conserve as much movement as possible while evading or blocking so you can focus on driving him back.

[Goat-kun is also narratively inclined to lose fights to opponents that are hypothetically much weaker than him, making this a far less daunting prospect than how it may appear at first. Sayo isn't letting that part slip, though.]

Once Goat-kun falls through the hole on his side of the catwalk, his weight will activate a mechanism that will release you from your harness. That is your goal.

Oh, and also. [She smiles devilishly.] If I judge your performance to be exemplary, you will face a human opponent capable of more than just basic thought and who knows the rules of this little contest inside and out.

Clear? Crystal! [Sayo didn't even pause.] Then five, four, three-

GO!

[And the device activates. The clock is ticking.]

((OOC: You can take part in this ridiculous exercise, take Sayo on after beating poor Goat-kun offscreen if you think your character is skilled enough, or badger Sayo about how insane this is from the sidelines. Your choice!))