HereComesTheSnow — Roleplayer Guild

Name:  Peak Martial Arts

Demonym (Optional)} : The Summit of Fists

Symbols ((Optional) such as flags, crests etc.)} : A stylized image of a mountain peak that looks remarkably similar to a fist if you look at it right. Coloration typically varies depending on the different colors of gi, shirt, what have you that help denote different types of students (I.E. A Black Gi denotes instructors or assistant instructors, a thick blue gi is standard for Brazilian Jiujitsu students, a Red Gi is for those who take primarily the Advanced classes, so on and so forth) that the emblem is emblazoned on. most commonly, you’ll find the logo in blue, upon a white background, as part of the student uniform.

History : Founded by the end of a long rivalry and the beginning of an alliance between Genji Gurren, a still-to-this-day-despite-pushing-seventy nearly six and a half foot brick of a lifelong martial artist-turned-hunter upon his retirement from duty, and Kyle "Compassrose" Vaughn, a passionate firebrand boxer and wandering student of a myriad of disciplines, the Summit rapidly found itself host to many of the greatest minds across all martial arts, through both personal connections and simple word of mouth. The group ended up housing some of the most highly-regarded karateka, kickboxers, grapplers, wrestlers... the list goes on and on. If you can think of a martial art, it probably has at least one Master at the Summit of Fists versed in it at a high level, even for relatively obscure things like Aura manipulation. It truly is a hub for all forms of unarmed combat. As of seven years ago, The Summit of Fists had opened their teachings to the public as Peak Martial Arts, beforehand being both shrouded in mystique and, to put it frankly, old-fashioned at times. Now offering "basic" classes drawing from a wide variety of arts, for all ages 3 and up from roughly 3:00PM to 9:00 PM, they have become an active, well-regarded part of Vale's community. 

Administration: Independent aside from the typical "we need to do this and that to legally do what we do here" stuff. While they do hold good relations with other local establishments, they're more at a personal, "our businesses help eachother" level than any real corporate alliances. The Pizza Parlor down the street often finds themselves serving hungry students fresh from practice, for example.

Society: A bit avant-garde in terms of what kind of place it is. With all the high-level martial artists and hunters that both train, teach, and in the case of the 7 "core" Masters, live here, it's a lively place to say the least, always abuzz with the kind of positive energy the sharing of ideas creates. Additionally, 150 or so normal students come in and out of that mid-sized facility every week, from kids as young as three to their 50-year-old parents. By necessity, it has a warm, friendly atmosphere that attracts those from all walks of life, be they soccer moms looking for a good way to burn calories, bullying victims who want to learn how to defend themselves and gain confidence, to even certain prospective and established hunters and huntresses looking to hone their skills and expand their knowledge. Whoever is teaching on the floor at that time, well, “has the floor” and are essentially in charge for the period of their class. While other Masters may pitch in and add their own little nuggets of elaboration, the current teacher is still the head honcho of the class, typically only deferring to the rare moment when Genji himself decides to step in and work on something. As the school’s grandmaster and co-founder, the benevolent and gentle old man is treated with utmost respect, and his wealth of experience and knowledge is always held in high regard. Those that begin to approach their black belt will begin to work as assistant instructors, essentially deputies to the masters that help divide the workload and improve their own understanding of the arts. The ubiquitous quote one would hear from each and every master on this: “To teach is to truly know.” And it does indeed hold true, as all those who begin to teach find themselves learning more and more about why they do what they do, why they move the way they move. In essence, both the students they help and they themselves learn from the practice. Like any dojo worth their salt, sparring is both regular, and full-contact. Control is preached above all else during this: the most common words you’ll hear before the first round of sparring on the floor? “We aren’t trying to knock each other’s heads off, here.” Those that fail to comply with this golden rule typically find themselves thrown in with one of the student instructors, disciples, or even one of the masters and are summarily humbled. That is, after multiple stern warnings.

Assets: Mid-sized location, with three floors. The first houses a general, average-looking mat that’s laid out well across most of the floor space, with benches set up on the left wall, mirrors on the right, and multiple bags near the back. This floor is used for the basic, more garden variety martial arts classes, where students learn solid fundamentals and understanding of the arts to roughly the same level as most modern chain schools (ones that are legitimate, that is.) The second contains a similar layout, but with additions such as a track around the mats, speed bags, ropes set up for drilling head movement, wing chun wooden dummies, and even a “smart arena” which can be set up as either a traditional boxing ring, or an octagonal cage for MMA. This floor is where the more private, one-on-one, in-depth lessons usually take place, for those that wish to further pursue martial arts and delve into the depths of both the art and science behind unarmed combat. So typically, those that are known as disciples rather than students. Where a student is one that learns the basics through the belt system, the disciples are those who take things one step further, devoting a larger part of their lives to martial arts. A good way to describe the relation between the two is that they are similar to a hobby and a passion, one may dabble and eventually learn a respectable amount, but the other is much more devoted to it and always has it on their minds.The third floor is home to the seven “core” Masters that work as both teachers of regular classes and Private coaches, containing rooms for each, bathrooms, a laundry room, and a smallish yet well-stocked kitchen. The other regular masters that teach and such live nearby, but these seven were the ones here from the beginning, the building thusly designed with seven in mind. Strong ties with local weightlifting gyms and, interestingly, cryotherapy centers. Have one hell of a secretary running the front desk. Highly regarded by the Vale community, by anywhere from soccer mom message boards to even a fair few hunters from the area.

Size: In the grand scheme of things, they are a small, tight-knit group, with only one location and roughly 150  regular students, counting those in basic classes. Never much enthused by the idea of expansion, they find their livings made comfortable enough and would rather stay centered and keep the quality levels of their teachings and, by extension, students, high.

Other: Oddly low crime rate in their little section of town. Despite this and certain rapidly deleted twitter pictures, any and all accusations of vigilantistic tendencies are denied. While the same cannot be said of a certain pair of sisters (one of which currently enrolled in Signal as of this year), it is important to note that both parties involved have made it abundantly clear that Peak does not endorse any form of “street justice” noting it to be the job of the police and that martial arts should only be used for either self defense or defense of others, barring, of course, competition.

Additionally, there are a decent number of professional fighters, hunters and huntresses that can trace their education in the fistic or grabby arts back to Peak, even from the time where they were more old-fashioned and took on disciples on a case-by-case basis, rather than allowing anyone to apply. With the influx of knowledge constant through both the sheer variety of people that drop by and the advent of the internet, they interestingly have begun to blend both old school “doesn’t this stuff only work in the movies?”-style training with contemporary, cutting edge ideas, such as using one of the aforementioned cryotherapy centers for quick recovery after long, grueling training sessions. While they respect traditions greatly, they are also very receptive to new ideas, something that likely stems from Grandmaster Genji himself. Despite his advanced age and over half a century of experience, he has what he likes to call “a novice mentality”: No matter how much you may know, or how long you’ve been around, there are always new things to learn. That is the beauty of martial arts. No matter who or what you are, you can always improve yourself every single day.
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