SnitchSeeker.com - View Single Post - Flying Lesson 1

Felixir · 05-28-2021, 01:09 AM

SPOILER!!: Individual Responses

SPOILER!!: Violet

"Important points both," Kamran said, nodding at the Slytherin student. "I would hope it goes without saying, why we want to avoid injuring ourselves, but it's just as important to keep the broom in good working order. Not only a matter of respecting your tools, but the cost of replacing a broom is no joke for many people, and you never know when you might need it next." Anything could happen, even in the moments after damaging said broom. A practical answer for a practical question.

SPOILER!!: Ash

Kamran took the answer in his stride; he'd heard worse from kids determined to disturb him over his years of teaching, and he'd seen a few catastrophic landings himself, and taken part in events where they had occurred. Uncommon, but perfectly possible. "A good reason why it's wise to know proper form, yes. Even if you do more-or-less stick the landing, it could still be hard on your body. Getting into the habit might mean doing prolonged damage to yourself, and it becomes difficult to unlearn." Exploding broom? There was a story there, and Kamran wasn't sure he wanted to know it.

As for learning to land without a broom, Kamran remained stoic as he answered. "Not today, I'm afraid. Thank you for sharing, Miss Fox."

SPOILER!!: hot mes-... Remy

"You certainly could, if you were unlucky." Not even worst case scenario, but Kamran wasn't out here to scare the students. Well. Maybe he kind of was, but only to the extent that it got them to pay attention to what they were doing. Not scare them off completely. A little fear was healthy. "Very good. In a normal flying situation, considering what you're about to do before you do it is invaluable. The more you fly, the more it will become almost second nature to do things like stick a proper landing, though even then it serves to be mindful. This is why, during the learning phase, you're given more time to think about what you're doing, so you can build good habits from the start." Eventually they wouldn't need that time. Or, at least, they'd need less of it. "Then, in less controlled environments, you'll be prepared."

SPOILER!!: V

Leave it to a Slytherin to be the one to potentially expose the gaps in Kamran's knowledge. Not that he didn't know a little science and physics, nor think it didn't have its place in learning and mastering flying, but it just wasn't where his interest naturally went.

"I think you might be right, but I'm afraid that my knowledge on the concept doesn't go much further." No point denying it. It had been years since Kamran did much in the way of learning about physics, and he didn't tend to teach that way either, other than in layman's terms. Personal preference. All the same, "Very good, Miss Gellar."

SPOILER!!: Lisa

Correction. Leave it to a Slytherin... or a Ravenclaw.

"Thank you for expanding, Miss Nam," Kamran nodded to her, then glanced over at Gellar, to see if she got that, and looked back at the Ravenclaw again. "Yes, that's a common problem, especially when starting out. Most people eventually get used to how to relate all the different input together, it takes practice, and some trial and error, but that's why we learn, of course." Also a good argument for taking it slow and not launching into flying high and fast until the landing was more or less under figured out.

SPOILER!!: Atlas

Quote:

Originally Posted by sweetpinkpixie

Returning Remy's smile, Atlas tried to curb his focus back towards the professor...but it was kind of distracting when there was already a broom in his hands and he had the urge to bat it back and forth like the pendulum on a grandfather clock. Left hand, right hand, left hand, right hand, almost whacking himself right in the nose, left hand. It wasn't distracting enough that he couldn't hear what the professor was saying at least...mostly because it FELT like the man was addressing him directly with this whole crash landing angle because, well, that had been mostly working for him once he had sorted out the timing to jump OFF his broom before it his the pitch. That is during those handful of times he hadn't been thrown off his broom. He hadn't broken any bones OR brooms so...that was already an accomplishment on it's own according to most of the answers regarding the importance of a good landing. Sure, the pitch had charms in place typically so they WOULDN'T break anything but...why bother if no matter what it was going to be 'safe', right?

"Newton," he chimed in after the not-a-crybaby first year Slytherin had mentioned 'some guy'. He had also mentioned him in Ancient Runes so so it was pretty neat to see how muggle concepts were still super pertinent to wizarding society and magical physics. Take THAT, Neo Alliance. "Sir Isaac Newton. Mathematician, physicist, astronomer, theologian, author, and a key figure in the scientific revolution." Just for some context because clearly some people needed to know about 'some guy' so they could stop calling him 'some guy'. Sure, Lisa had elaborated a LITTLE bit more bit...he had started and there was no stopping now."His first law is also known as the Law of Inertia which states that if a body is at rest, it will remain at rest unless it is acted upon by a force, OR a body is moving at a constant speed in a straight line, it will keep moving in a straight line at constant speed unless acted upon by a force. So...yeah. Basically. You, a falling object, are going to keep falling until the ground acts upon you and brings said fall to a sudden stop. So...an object is just going to keep doing what's it's doing...but it's the Second Law you really gotta think about when it comes to falling, because in falling the only force acting on us is gravity pulling us back down at varying accelerations depending on our mass and net force and stuff. The more mass the more inertia. Like...trying to catch a falling bowling ball is going to be harder to stop than a beach ball. But then you gotta ALSO think about the Third Law, which is basically that there is a force exerted on an object, then it it going to exert an equal force back. So like....If I were to try and dismount from my broom only a foot in the air while kind of just coasting parallel to the ground ... it's going to be a pretty safe landing without much risk of injury. No worse than it I were to jump as high as I could and come back down. ...I mean....unless I twist my ankle...which I've done...but anyway...less everything and the force I am putting into the ground with my landing it going to be pretty minor and therefore the ground, er, pushing back at me isn't going to be much. Hence not likely to cause injury unless you're just clumsy. But if you're high up and come ZIPPING back towards the ground and all that...there is gonna be a lot of push back and you're going to get hurt. AND, for the record, capes don't help with this. You might THINK they would because of some additional wind resistance or whatever but...they don't. You just sort of end up with fractured bones when you jump off from somewhere high and then free fall back to the ground." He paused a moment to take a breath because he had NOT been while speaking. "Basically...landings are all about the physics, but Cushioning Charms on the ground cheat that so...if those are in place it is just easier to fall off and let the magic do the work for you."

... Okay. Leave it to a Slytherin... or a Ravenclaw... or a Gryffindor to absolutely expose the gaps in Kamran's knowledge. With gusto. Actually, Kamran was just waiting for one of the Hufflepuffs to chime in too; his money was on Yoon, for some reason.

Kamran waited patiently for Flamsteed to get to the end of his answer, though there came a point where he started to think about prompting him to wrap it up, as they only had so much time. "Thank you for elaborating. Learning flying through practical instruction is more than enough to master the skill, but knowing and applying principles like these to enhance your know-how can be very beneficial. We'll cover the physics of flying techniques here and there, but not in so many words." That wasn't a pointed comment about the infodump, rather Kamran preferred layman's terms, especially when crossing over into other territories, not least because flying itself was his actual wheelhouse.

"Though I have to pull you up on that last part. You're in the Training Area, Mr Flamsteed. Charms on the ground are a precaution for those who are still learning, and in case of nasty spills; relying on them is the easy approach, yes, but it's lazy, and not particularly wise in the long term." Flamsteed was smarter than that. He ought to know - or be taught - that not all terrain he might fly over would be so forgiving. "You may want to be prepared for the day I decide to remove the charms on the ground without warning." And they were not the kind that were detectable until the moment of impact, so it would be quite the surprise.

SPOILER!!: Claudine

"Good, thank you, Miss Blaze," Kamran replied to the Slytherin with a nod. "Being mindful of others is extremely important, including making sure you have the right space to land, and paying attention to your surroundings until you reach the ground." He would also argue that paying attention to one's surroundings was good form in general, and generally smart, but he supposed he should stick to the topic of flying. "That's also a reason relying on a crash-landing is ill-advised. A person voluntarily relinquishing control does not mean they're no longer responsible for who gets hurt as a result of their actions." Something for everyone to keep in mind. Responsibility. Kamran was big on it.

SPOILER!!: Mamie

Turov raised a very good point. "Absolutely. A crash-landing is essentially giving up control and hoping for the best. In certain weather conditions, this control is vital for working both against and with the weather, compensating to achieve the desired result. Nobody wants to end up in the lake when they're trying to reach the ground."

Actually, some of them probably wouldn't mind, Kamran didn't doubt. Just going to go ahead and gloss over that.

SPOILER!!: Ollie

Burke had touched on a point that Kamran had been wondering would be voiced or not. He nodded. "Pain and injury are always best avoided, and you raise another good point. Not looking silly, looking like you know what you're doing. It's not terribly important as long as you're getting the technique right, but if you are getting the technique right, you'll more than likely look poised and in control." Not always, granted, but usually. There were some flyers who got their technique wrong but still seemed to think they looked impressive. Kamran was usually just embarrassed for those people. "Good. Thank you, Miss Burke."

SPOILER!!: Alfie

Practical. "Location, location, location." These kids and falling into lakes, though. Kamran wasn't sure if he ought to be concerned. Was that a thing that happened often? "Whether travelling, or during a sports event, or just practicing in an area like this, it's good form to make sure you have a space to land, one that's safe for yourself and others. Good."

SPOILER!!: Ivy ;-;

Ah, Kamran had a similar story like this, as it happened, though with him in the role of guardian, so he more or less sensed where it was going.

"Thank you for sharing that, Miss Grimm," he replied, with a nod of acknowledgement. "Absolutely. Be careful, and learn the techniques in preparation for when it's just you and your skills." He'd repeat that sentiment several dozen times if necessary, though not because this particular student needed to hear it.

As he finished, Kamran made to move on, but paused for the briefest of moments. But then it passed, and he moved along to the next student, resolving to simply keep an eye out.

SPOILER!!: Emmersigh

Quote:

Originally Posted by DaniDiNardo

What was once a sullen expression quickly turned into a wide, eager grin. All the woes and sadness from a moment ago dissolved in the blink of an eye—or rather the words of the Professor. Emm’s whole expression lit up, her eyes shining with new hope.

It...it worked!!! Oh sweet holy Merlin, it worked!! All the detentions didn’t seem to matter so much anymore. The fact Kazmi wanted to see her after class was of little consequence because she wouldn’t be needing her broom. Wouldn’t be in the air. Wouldn’t be subjected to the very topic the Professor was bringing up.

Emm gave a firm nod, acknowledging she’d heard his non-request. She did her best to remove the stupid grin from her face but Circe she was practically floating on cloud 9 here.

That “little stunt”, like they all liked to call it, actually worked.

Now she could confidently participate in the lesson. Everything was great. “Well, Professor, there’s a good chance if you aim for the ground, it’ll embrace you like a friend whose boyfriend you stole back in first year—painfully and without mercy. It’s not gonna tell you not to, it’s not gonna try to cushion your fall, it’s gonna make sure it breaks as many of your bones as possible and make sure you don’t get to participate in any recitals for the foreseeable future and if the ground REALLY liked their ex, you’ll probably never dance again in your entire life but it’d probably be your fault ‘cause if you knew you did all that, you shouldn’t be trying to embrace that ground in the first place. So in short Professor, the ground is a scorned lover that loves no one and gets mad when you leave it to take to the skies and when you get back to it it’s gonna be mad enough it makes sure you regret it and the only way to avoid all that unnecessary teen drama is to never leave the ground—unless like you’ve got jumps to make, or like...like you’re strapped into something more long term like a serious relationship or seatbelts because then it’ll never let that happen and will be the hero from all the legends that saves the day and your face and your legs and maybe your spine.”

This was a GREAT day.

Cambridge was living in dreamland if she thought she'd really come out on top with this one. Yes, she'd got out of flying for today, but Kamran was fairly determined to make sure she didn't try a similar little stunt again, and that meant an unpleasant time in her near future. It would have to.

Another infodump, and this one...

... was this another one with a story behind it? Did he want to know? He didn't want to know. Maybe it wasn't. Sounded like she was just trying to make a very elaborate and dramatic ~~and incorrect~~ point.

"Hit the ground too hard, and it'll hurt you, yes." That was the gist of it. The more applicable part. All that about the ground being a sentient and vengeful being about those who try to leave it though... that suggested something else. Something to talk about later. "Maybe consider that the ground is not as vengeful as you think it is." Or at all. Just an idea.

SPOILER!!: Kinsay

Quote:

Originally Posted by ArianaBlack

Weekends were fine by Kinsay. She never had an issue with waking up super early. In fact, she preferred it to staying up super late, which made things a little difficult because her best friend in the entire world was not an early riser by any means. And. They shared a bed at Hogwarts.

Speaking of the best friend, Kinz felt far more at ease when she arrived....... Even if her arm was still in a sling. This, of course, worried Kinsay so so so so much. If she could trade places with Emm, she absolutely would. In a heartbeat. Thankfully, Emm didn't look terribly miserable at the moment, which is probably the only reason why Kiz resumed her star jumps until class began - which it did, only moments later.

The question was simple enough, but Kiz was a little slow to put up her hand (unusual), which meant that she had to wait for everyone else to share their answers first. It wasn't so bad because she agreed with a lot of them, but when Atlas started sharing his answer, Kiz checked out very quickly. How someone could speak for that long without tiring themselves out was a total mystery to the littlest James. Maybe some people just liked the sound of their own voice.

Also hard to follow? Emm's answer. Kiz was used to the way Emm told stories, but this was a tough metaphor to follow. She nodded encouragingly despite this because that's what best friends were supposed to do. And when it came to her turn, she tried not to panic.

"Proper form is important for sticking landings in gymnastics too," she offered softly. "It's kinda similar because maybe you can get lucky when you land wrong after flying and you don't actually hurt yourself that much. But if you land improper all the time, it's still a higher risk for injuries, just like in gymnastics. Because you're putting all that pressure on the same joints over and over."

Also. "Are there brooms that will land for you automatically?" Not that Kinsay wanted a broom that would do all the hard work for her, but maybe some of her classmates could benefit from one of those.

Ah. Kamran had been waiting to see James' hand go up. Had started to wonder, but was pleased with her answer when it came.

"Precisely. Most sports can of course result in injury or overstressed bodies, even if the athlete in question has perfect form all the time, but throw in improper technique and the process speeds up exponentially. Very good." And, of course, it wouldn't be a James answer without a James question. "I daresay there are; broom-makers are constantly working on developing their designs in such ways. Regardless, I'd hope everyone would make sure they can land properly on their own before relying on a feature like that, just in case." Kamran figured he didn't need to tell James that, but just for the others who might have been getting ideas. Flamsteed had already mentioned the Cushioning Charm 'cheat', and Kamran was eager to nip any similar mentalities in the bud.

SPOILER!!: Cece

"An excellent point, Miss Summers." Confidence. Often the root of the issue where some of these younger students were concerned, and something they'd need to build up. It took as much effort as learning to fly, and just like learning to fly, often they needed a little outside help to get them going. "Confidence is key. As well as having the knowledge that you can handle yourself in the air, it can trigger a positive cycle. As a person's confidence in their flying ability builds, they become more willing and open to mastering new techniques, which in turn builds more confidence, and so on. It has a massive impact in everyday life too."

Over-confidence should be avoided too, but that was probably another discussion for another day, with another student.

SPOILER!!: Heath

As Jones told his story, Kamran got the most vivid flash of memory of all the students he'd ever had who'd been likely to try a trick like that, or similar. Far, far too many of them. But not very surprising.

"I agree, Mr Jones, and thank you for sharing that. Unnecessary risks are often a big factor in flying injuries." Often, not always. Actually, Kamran didn't have the statistics to hand, but speaking from teaching experience alone, that was absolutely the case. "Sometimes landings are more complicated by necessity, and it can be useful to know how to adjust to the circumstances but, as with anything, anyone employing fancy tricks just for the sake of it should be prepared for the consequences. And an excellent point: even the strongest flyers can make mistakes. None of us are infallible."

Alright, time to move along. There was little need to go through it all again. "We've covered this briefly before, but I'll run through the basic landing technique with you all now."

While he gave his explanation, Kamran held a hand up in the air, and steadily brought it down as he spoke, illustrating a landing. "Decide where you're landing. While in the air, point the broom handle towards the ground. The angle will determine how steep the descent is, which contributes to your speed." It should go without saying that they ought to factor this in if they didn't want to go straight into a dive. "Before reaching the ground, pull back gradually on the handle to level off and slow down. Where possible, aim for an even distribution of weight between your feet, and bend your knees slightly as you land. Make sure to take the responsiveness of your broom into account, especially if it's not one you're familiar with."

Were they sick of his voice yet? Never fear, it was time to get into the air. After a few more words ~~from our sponsor~~.

"Everyone who's not grounded-" Cambridge. "-mount your brooms, loop the training area, and then practice landing. Those focusing on the basic technique will be doing so within this coned-off square; fly at a low height if you must, but I'd like you to fly a little higher or faster than you did last lesson." He had an alternative for any who couldn't bring themselves to do that either, but hopefully that wouldn't be necessary. "Those of you looking for an additional challenge can increase the difficulty by attempting to land on a smaller area - those podiums just down the way - or by any other variation you can think of elsewhere around the perimeter. As long as you're focusing on your technique, and being sensible." No foolish injuries, please. Multiple healers in this school might mean a mega headache if anyone got hurt on his watch. Maybe Healer Poppy would bring bread though, so it wouldn't be all bad.

Kamran would, of course, be watching. "Practice as many times as you wish, but I want everyone to try at least once. As always, feel free to share constructive criticism with each other." He gave a shrill blast on his whistle. "Off you go. I'll blow the whistle again when we're moving on."

Now then. The wayward Gryffindor. "Miss Cambridge, you can stand by me." Outside of the basic landing square, that is, until he flew off to see how everyone else was getting on. "Watch the others and see where they're going right or wrong. Give feedback if they want to hear it, or tell me what you'd tell them."

OOC: We have reached the mini-activity. I hope the instructions are clear, but I know there are many words here ~~I'm so sorry~~ SO TO RECAP:

- Everyone is to get in the air and loop the area
- Beginner flyers/those wishing to practice the basic landing technique described in this post, practice landing in the coned-off square
- More experienced flyers can practice landing on the small platforms further along (3ft by 3ft, no higher than 5ft off the ground) or other variations of landing around the perimeter of the area (eg: approaching the ground at a faster speed, or from a dive (be careful), with less control (be careful), dismounting into a run, an extra light and stealthy landing, etc)
- Feel free to have your characters share constructive criticism with each other (in pairs or groups or just as passing comments)
- You can do this in as many or as few posts as you like
- The ground of this area is charmed; please keep the information from this thread in mind

I'll be posting throughout the activity as Kamran observes. If your character needs him, just approach or flag him down. We'll move along in no less than 72 hours from the time of this post (no earlier than 2am BST on 31st May). PM or VM me with any questions. And have fun! Please.

05-28-2021, 01:09 AM	#34 (permalink)
Felixir Forum Manager Book Club Mod Alley Proprietor Banshee Join Date: Dec 2008 Location: ¯\_(ツ)_/¯ Posts: 50,171 Hogwarts RPG Name: Charlie Upstead Gryffindor Fifth Year Hogwarts RPG Name: Aurelio Kaiser Slytherin Third Year Hogwarts RPG Name: Alexei Petrov Slytherin First Year Hogwarts RPG Name: Yves Flamel Slytherin Sixth Year Hogwarts RPG Name: Achilles Zacharias Ravenclaw Third Year Diagon Alley Proprietor: Ezekiel Ransom-Kruus Ollivanders x12 x12	re-arranged some science-y people who tried their best to break my brain (jk ily) Lovely™ \| Captain Hurted \| Ariana's Bane \| Resident Antagonist \| Unparalleled Delight SPOILER!!: Individual Responses SPOILER!!: Violet Quote: Originally Posted by MadAlice Violet had warmed up--at least she could do that--and now was standing with the other students grouped around Professor Kazmi holding the school broom she'd picked up on her way in. No, she had not 'forgotten' her broom; it was just that, even after 3 years and counting of Hogwarts, she still didn't have one of her own. Her grandfather could afford it, but maintained that he was not going to waste the galleons on a broom for her until she could demonstrate some degree of competence in using it. Which so far she hadn't, at least not according to his exacting standards. Violet didn't much care--she didn't like flying and figured she would not be much better on a fancy broom than on the school brooms she'd been using. But she was not going to lose points or damage her academic standing by missing a class, so here she was. And--landings! They were talking about landings--about time! Violet rather thought they should have done this in first year, that would have saved her a lot of bumps and bruises. She definitely thought that landing was very important. Raising her hand, Violet said, "Good form is important in landings in order to avoid injuring yourself. Or damaging your broom," she added, though she was a lot more concerned about damaging herself. And...anecdotes. Well, there were a lot of stories about bad landings she could tell about herself, but she really didn't want to volunteer that. And she was reluctant to talk about other students, in case they should retaliate by telling an embarrassing story about her. "Important points both," Kamran said, nodding at the Slytherin student. "I would hope it goes without saying, why we want to avoid injuring ourselves, but it's just as important to keep the broom in good working order. Not only a matter of respecting your tools, but the cost of replacing a broom is no joke for many people, and you never know when you might need it next." Anything could happen, even in the moments after damaging said broom. A practical answer for a practical question. SPOILER!!: Ash Quote: Originally Posted by astrocat Ash's mood improved significantly in the short span of time she had been in this class, for two reasons. One, no less than four people had chosen to stand near her. Sure, maybe they were actually just standing near Mamie, but Mamie was standing near her, and it totally counted. Good news! She had friends. She smiled softly at them, offering up a collective "Hey." The other reason was Cambridge. Ash wasn't happy that Cambridge had gotten herself injured- she did have empathy, y'know. But Cambridge walked around thinking she was all that and labelling Ash as a idiot with no self-preservation. The tables had turned. Ash wasn't sadistically gloating about Cambridge's injury, but... karma. Anyway, she was in a good enough mood to smile, which was rare for her. It really was a nice day. ...the question though. Not so nice. Ash grimaced at it. "Even if you don't crash, your legs can get messed up if you land wrong. Good landing is also important because you don't want to go full-speed face-first in the ground and die. " Dramatic? Kinda. True? Absolutely. You could die if you crashed. It was probably less safe than a car. "Um... one time, my broom exploded and then I fell and broke my arm. I don't suppose you'll be teaching us how to land after you've already lost your broom though..." And there wasn't really anything she could do about that landing either- pureblood supremacists had exploded her broom and she fell and broke her arm. Not really... an avoidable... accident. "That's the only really bad landing I can remember." Even though she remembered everything that happened since she arrived for second year with absolute clarity. Meaning, she landed just fine. Except, of course, when her broom exploded. Kamran took the answer in his stride; he'd heard worse from kids determined to disturb him over his years of teaching, and he'd seen a few catastrophic landings himself, and taken part in events where they had occurred. Uncommon, but perfectly possible. "A good reason why it's wise to know proper form, yes. Even if you do more-or-less stick the landing, it could still be hard on your body. Getting into the habit might mean doing prolonged damage to yourself, and it becomes difficult to unlearn." Exploding broom? There was a story there, and Kamran wasn't sure he wanted to know it. As for learning to land without a broom, Kamran remained stoic as he answered. "Not today, I'm afraid. Thank you for sharing, Miss Fox." SPOILER!!: hot mes-... Remy Quote: Originally Posted by Emzily Once Remy had caught her breath, she realised what a HOT MESS she was, and the professor had NOTICED, too. "Sorry, sir. I--I mean Professor Kazmi." Not only that, but he had noticed her picking up a broom because she had forgotten to get one before class. The embarrassment was REAL, but she refrained from apologizing a second time. She gave a polite nod in return to Ollie before her attention was on Atlas who stood beside her. Remy smiled wide at her friend before listening to Professor Kazmi starting the lesson. I mean... "I think it's best to aim for good form when landing." As if you wouldn't? "You could probably break your legs if you didn't do it safely." Not that it had happened to her or anyone she knew, but it was just obvious, wasn't it? Remy shuddered at the thought. "I think you need to think of how you are going to land before even descending." But that was just her opinion as a beginner. "You certainly could, if you were unlucky." Not even worst case scenario, but Kamran wasn't out here to scare the students. Well. Maybe he kind of was, but only to the extent that it got them to pay attention to what they were doing. Not scare them off completely. A little fear was healthy. "Very good. In a normal flying situation, considering what you're about to do before you do it is invaluable. The more you fly, the more it will become almost second nature to do things like stick a proper landing, though even then it serves to be mindful. This is why, during the learning phase, you're given more time to think about what you're doing, so you can build good habits from the start." Eventually they wouldn't need that time. Or, at least, they'd need less of it. "Then, in less controlled environments, you'll be prepared." SPOILER!!: V Quote: Originally Posted by kayquilz Victoria thought that flying was one of her favorite classes. It didn't require as much mental effort as, say, potions or Transfiguration...not as much concentration as DADA or Charms....and was a complete snore!fest like History or Muggle Studies could be. Like, it was FLYING. It was COOL. And V had no desire to sit here and chat. She wanted to FLLLLLY. But having been in Kazmi's classes for a bit now, she knew to expect the lesson to move on eventually. But she couldn't - or wouldn't???? - stop wiggling, not even to answer the question. it seemed OBVIOUS didn't it? Only a complete IDIOT would rely on a crash!landing to stop their movement. BUT OH. THIS REMINDED HER OF - "Inertia!" How did she even know that word? "Isn't crash landing an example of inertia???????" Was that related? Whatever. It was probably, like, the biggest word she knew, and so she was going to flaunt it. Even if she didn't know how to spell it or say it properly. "Some guy made a law about movement, I think." Which was dumb. How did that work, anyway? Leave it to a Slytherin to be the one to potentially expose the gaps in Kamran's knowledge. Not that he didn't know a little science and physics, nor think it didn't have its place in learning and mastering flying, but it just wasn't where his interest naturally went. "I think you might be right, but I'm afraid that my knowledge on the concept doesn't go much further." No point denying it. It had been years since Kamran did much in the way of learning about physics, and he didn't tend to teach that way either, other than in layman's terms. Personal preference. All the same, "Very good, Miss Gellar." SPOILER!!: Lisa Quote: Originally Posted by Watson Lisa gave Professor Kazmi a smile as he said it was good to see her. Huh. Had he known that she was thinking of dipping out of class....? She wanted to be GOOD at flying and didn’t want to be embarrassingly BAD at it. Besides who’d be friends with her if she couldn’t fly? She appreciated Claudine’s smile and the offer to stretch. She nodded to the older girl and began stretching as she tried to take her mind of things. She did offer a smile to the two others that joined her. She even learned one of them was Claudine’s SPECIAL friend - she had all the questions later for him. All the questions. She really, really, really didn’t want to fly. She had so many bad experiences with crashing, tumbling, and more. She had done several questionable ~~crash~~ landings because she had misjudged the distance for landing and the speed at which she had been going at. V’s comment made her raise her hand. “That was Sir Isaac Newton’s first law of motion. An object will not change its motion unless acted upon by a force.” And as for crash landings, she flushed. “I... have had several ... landings of such nature cause I misjudged the distance from the ground and the speed of force... to which I was traveling at..” Correction. Leave it to a Slytherin... or a Ravenclaw. "Thank you for expanding, Miss Nam," Kamran nodded to her, then glanced over at Gellar, to see if she got that, and looked back at the Ravenclaw again. "Yes, that's a common problem, especially when starting out. Most people eventually get used to how to relate all the different input together, it takes practice, and some trial and error, but that's why we learn, of course." Also a good argument for taking it slow and not launching into flying high and fast until the landing was more or less under figured out. SPOILER!!: Atlas Quote: Originally Posted by sweetpinkpixie Returning Remy's smile, Atlas tried to curb his focus back towards the professor...but it was kind of distracting when there was already a broom in his hands and he had the urge to bat it back and forth like the pendulum on a grandfather clock. Left hand, right hand, left hand, right hand, almost whacking himself right in the nose, left hand. It wasn't distracting enough that he couldn't hear what the professor was saying at least...mostly because it FELT like the man was addressing him directly with this whole crash landing angle because, well, that had been mostly working for him once he had sorted out the timing to jump OFF his broom before it his the pitch. That is during those handful of times he hadn't been thrown off his broom. He hadn't broken any bones OR brooms so...that was already an accomplishment on it's own according to most of the answers regarding the importance of a good landing. Sure, the pitch had charms in place typically so they WOULDN'T break anything but...why bother if no matter what it was going to be 'safe', right? "Newton," he chimed in after the not-a-crybaby first year Slytherin had mentioned 'some guy'. He had also mentioned him in Ancient Runes so so it was pretty neat to see how muggle concepts were still super pertinent to wizarding society and magical physics. Take THAT, Neo Alliance. "Sir Isaac Newton. Mathematician, physicist, astronomer, theologian, author, and a key figure in the scientific revolution." Just for some context because clearly some people needed to know about 'some guy' so they could stop calling him 'some guy'. Sure, Lisa had elaborated a LITTLE bit more bit...he had started and there was no stopping now."His first law is also known as the Law of Inertia which states that if a body is at rest, it will remain at rest unless it is acted upon by a force, OR a body is moving at a constant speed in a straight line, it will keep moving in a straight line at constant speed unless acted upon by a force. So...yeah. Basically. You, a falling object, are going to keep falling until the ground acts upon you and brings said fall to a sudden stop. So...an object is just going to keep doing what's it's doing...but it's the Second Law you really gotta think about when it comes to falling, because in falling the only force acting on us is gravity pulling us back down at varying accelerations depending on our mass and net force and stuff. The more mass the more inertia. Like...trying to catch a falling bowling ball is going to be harder to stop than a beach ball. But then you gotta ALSO think about the Third Law, which is basically that there is a force exerted on an object, then it it going to exert an equal force back. So like....If I were to try and dismount from my broom only a foot in the air while kind of just coasting parallel to the ground ... it's going to be a pretty safe landing without much risk of injury. No worse than it I were to jump as high as I could and come back down. ...I mean....unless I twist my ankle...which I've done...but anyway...less everything and the force I am putting into the ground with my landing it going to be pretty minor and therefore the ground, er, pushing back at me isn't going to be much. Hence not likely to cause injury unless you're just clumsy. But if you're high up and come ZIPPING back towards the ground and all that...there is gonna be a lot of push back and you're going to get hurt. AND, for the record, capes don't help with this. You might THINK they would because of some additional wind resistance or whatever but...they don't. You just sort of end up with fractured bones when you jump off from somewhere high and then free fall back to the ground." He paused a moment to take a breath because he had NOT been while speaking. "Basically...landings are all about the physics, but Cushioning Charms on the ground cheat that so...if those are in place it is just easier to fall off and let the magic do the work for you." ... Okay. Leave it to a Slytherin... or a Ravenclaw... or a Gryffindor to absolutely expose the gaps in Kamran's knowledge. With gusto. Actually, Kamran was just waiting for one of the Hufflepuffs to chime in too; his money was on Yoon, for some reason. Kamran waited patiently for Flamsteed to get to the end of his answer, though there came a point where he started to think about prompting him to wrap it up, as they only had so much time. "Thank you for elaborating. Learning flying through practical instruction is more than enough to master the skill, but knowing and applying principles like these to enhance your know-how can be very beneficial. We'll cover the physics of flying techniques here and there, but not in so many words." That wasn't a pointed comment about the infodump, rather Kamran preferred layman's terms, especially when crossing over into other territories, not least because flying itself was his actual wheelhouse. "Though I have to pull you up on that last part. You're in the Training Area, Mr Flamsteed. Charms on the ground are a precaution for those who are still learning, and in case of nasty spills; relying on them is the easy approach, yes, but it's lazy, and not particularly wise in the long term." Flamsteed was smarter than that. He ought to know - or be taught - that not all terrain he might fly over would be so forgiving. "You may want to be prepared for the day I decide to remove the charms on the ground without warning." And they were not the kind that were detectable until the moment of impact, so it would be quite the surprise. SPOILER!!: Claudine Quote: Originally Posted by FearlessLeader19 Arms over her head while she leaned her body to the left, Claudine watched the others join the gathering. “Hi, Lisa.’’ Claudine gave the little Ravenclaw a lopsided grin. It was only lopsided because she wasn’t standing straight. “Stretch with me?” And there was Bella. “Hi. Bella.” Claudine was pleased to see that her fellow Snakette got right into stretching. She wasn’t surprised to see the boyfriend joining the little group. “Hi, you.” She gave him a warm smile as she stretched to the right. The girl finally stood straight as Kazmi called the class’s attention. Ah, landing. A good topic in Claudine’s opinion. Her hand went up. “Good form is important not only to you but to others. I mean, you can injure someone who might accidentally be in the way as you try to land.” "Good, thank you, Miss Blaze," Kamran replied to the Slytherin with a nod. "Being mindful of others is extremely important, including making sure you have the right space to land, and paying attention to your surroundings until you reach the ground." He would also argue that paying attention to one's surroundings was good form in general, and generally smart, but he supposed he should stick to the topic of flying. "That's also a reason relying on a crash-landing is ill-advised. A person voluntarily relinquishing control does not mean they're no longer responsible for who gets hurt as a result of their actions." Something for everyone to keep in mind. Responsibility. Kamran was big on it. SPOILER!!: Mamie Quote: Originally Posted by Waddles Mamie didn't have any anecdotes about crash landing. She'd always been very careful, especially now that she had her own broom. She was fairly certain if she crashed and broke her broom, her parents would never let her fly again. Like, almost positive. It had been hard enough convincing them to let her get a broom the first time, when she had a very good track record with crashes. (Read: zero crashes) And she didn't even really know anyone else who'd crashed. Most of the people she'd ever flown with were here today, or some of the older students who played Quidditch that she'd roped into helping her train. And they obviously didn't crash. ~~At least not when she could see them.~~ As she listened to the other students' answers, she nodded along. Violet had a good point, Ash had...well, she was descriptive, even the first years had good points. She tried to think if there was anything that had been left out. Well...only one thing. She raised her hand. "If there's wind, aiming for the ground won't work because you might not crash where you wanted. You might end up in the lake instead," she said. Turov raised a very good point. "Absolutely. A crash-landing is essentially giving up control and hoping for the best. In certain weather conditions, this control is vital for working both against and with the weather, compensating to achieve the desired result. Nobody wants to end up in the lake when they're trying to reach the ground." Actually, some of them probably wouldn't mind, Kamran didn't doubt. Just going to go ahead and gloss over that. SPOILER!!: Ollie Quote: Originally Posted by wednesday Ollie could tell you exactly why you don't want a crash landing, just look at her legs! She was covered in bruises from falling off the broom, or crashing into the ground with the broom, or crashing into someone or something with the broom, etc., etc. "Well you don't want a crash landing because it hurts... and you'll look silly." That was something else she disliked about flying class, she looked like she didn't know her stuff. Flying wasn't something you could study for and for Ollie it didn't come easy. She figured that any of the responses from her peers could be about her. Burke had touched on a point that Kamran had been wondering would be voiced or not. He nodded. "Pain and injury are always best avoided, and you raise another good point. Not looking silly, looking like you know what you're doing. It's not terribly important as long as you're getting the technique right, but if you are getting the technique right, you'll more than likely look poised and in control." Not always, granted, but usually. There were some flyers who got their technique wrong but still seemed to think they looked impressive. Kamran was usually just embarrassed for those people. "Good. Thank you, Miss Burke." SPOILER!!: Alfie Quote: Originally Posted by littledhampir Alfie knew all about the importance of landing. Once he had managed to stay on his broom for more than five minutes he still hadn't learned right away about the best way to land. That had ended in some minor injuries but it was fine. It was fine! A little bruising never hurt anyone and there had been no lasting damage, see? A lot of people were talking about the potential of getting hurt, or damaging the broom if you didn't land properly. He definitely agreed, but he didn't want to say the same thing everyone else was saying. So he raised his hand. *"You also have to make sure you're landing in the right place* too. What if you ended up falling in a lake or something?" That had never happened to him but honestly he wouldn't be surprised if it did at some point. Practical. "Location, location, location." These kids and falling into lakes, though. Kamran wasn't sure if he ought to be concerned. Was that a thing that happened often? "Whether travelling, or during a sports event, or just practicing in an area like this, it's good form to make sure you have a space to land, one that's safe for yourself and others. Good." SPOILER!!*: Ivy ;-;* Quote: Originally Posted by AlwaysSnapesGirl Everyone so far was sharing pretty good reasons it was important to have a good form for landing. A few of them were thoughts that had also popped into her head, but there was also a memory that jumped to the forefront too. And Professor Kazmi had said they could offer an anecdote for an answer as well. So she was going to go with it. "Well, there was this one time when I was really young," she began, raising her hand, "and I stole my mum's broom and tried to fly it in our backyard. And I wasn't a good flier yet, and I almost crashed into the ground at one point, but luckily Mum had found me by that point and saved me with magic." She paused for a second, a recent conversation with her dad rising unwelcome to the surface before being shoved back down. "So, um, the moral of the story is to be careful with landing because you might not always have someone there to save you from getting hurt." Although now she was feeling...a little deflated, so she was going to focus on listening to the rest of the answers. That would distract her and she'd be fine. Probably. Ah, Kamran had a similar story like this, as it happened, though with him in the role of guardian, so he more or less sensed where it was going. "Thank you for sharing that, Miss Grimm," he replied, with a nod of acknowledgement. "Absolutely. Be careful, and learn the techniques in preparation for when it's just you and your skills." He'd repeat that sentiment several dozen times if necessary, though not because this particular student needed to hear it. As he finished, Kamran made to move on, but paused for the briefest of moments. But then it passed, and he moved along to the next student, resolving to simply keep an eye out. SPOILER!!: Emmersigh Quote: Originally Posted by DaniDiNardo What was once a sullen expression quickly turned into a wide, eager grin. All the woes and sadness from a moment ago dissolved in the blink of an eye—or rather the words of the Professor. Emm’s whole expression lit up, her eyes shining with new hope. It...it worked!!! Oh sweet holy Merlin, it worked!! All the detentions didn’t seem to matter so much anymore. The fact Kazmi wanted to see her after class was of little consequence because she wouldn’t be needing her broom. Wouldn’t be in the air. Wouldn’t be subjected to the very topic the Professor was bringing up. Emm gave a firm nod, acknowledging she’d heard his non-request. She did her best to remove the stupid grin from her face but Circe she was practically floating on cloud 9 here. That “little stunt”, like they all liked to call it, actually worked. Now she could confidently participate in the lesson. Everything was great. “Well, Professor, there’s a good chance if you aim for the ground, it’ll embrace you like a friend whose boyfriend you stole back in first year—painfully and without mercy. It’s not gonna tell you not to, it’s not gonna try to cushion your fall, it’s gonna make sure it breaks as many of your bones as possible and make sure you don’t get to participate in any recitals for the foreseeable future and if the ground REALLY liked their ex, you’ll probably never dance again in your entire life but it’d probably be your fault ‘cause if you knew you did all that, you shouldn’t be trying to embrace that ground in the first place. So in short Professor, the ground is a scorned lover that loves no one and gets mad when you leave it to take to the skies and when you get back to it it’s gonna be mad enough it makes sure you regret it and the only way to avoid all that unnecessary teen drama is to never leave the ground—unless like you’ve got jumps to make, or like...like you’re strapped into something more long term like a serious relationship or seatbelts because then it’ll never let that happen and will be the hero from all the legends that saves the day and your face and your legs and maybe your spine.” This was a GREAT day. Cambridge was living in dreamland if she thought she'd really come out on top with this one. Yes, she'd got out of flying for today, but Kamran was fairly determined to make sure she didn't try a similar little stunt again, and that meant an unpleasant time in her near future. It would have to. Another infodump, and this one... ... was this another one with a story behind it? Did he want to know? He didn't want to know. Maybe it wasn't. Sounded like she was just trying to make a very elaborate and dramatic ~~and incorrect~~ point. "Hit the ground too hard, and it'll hurt you, yes." That was the gist of it. The more applicable part. All that about the ground being a sentient and vengeful being about those who try to leave it though... that suggested something else. Something to talk about later. "Maybe consider that the ground is not as vengeful as you think it is." Or at all. Just an idea. SPOILER!!: Kinsay Quote: Originally Posted by ArianaBlack Weekends were fine by Kinsay. She never had an issue with waking up super early. In fact, she preferred it to staying up super late, which made things a little difficult because her best friend in the entire world was not an early riser by any means. And. They shared a bed at Hogwarts. Speaking of the best friend, Kinz felt far more at ease when she arrived....... Even if her arm was still in a sling. This, of course, worried Kinsay so so so so much. If she could trade places with Emm, she absolutely would. In a heartbeat. Thankfully, Emm didn't look terribly miserable at the moment, which is probably the only reason why Kiz resumed her star jumps until class began - which it did, only moments later. The question was simple enough, but Kiz was a little slow to put up her hand (unusual), which meant that she had to wait for everyone else to share their answers first. It wasn't so bad because she agreed with a lot of them, but when Atlas started sharing his answer, Kiz checked out very quickly. How someone could speak for that long without tiring themselves out was a total mystery to the littlest James. Maybe some people just liked the sound of their own voice. Also hard to follow? Emm's answer. Kiz was used to the way Emm told stories, but this was a tough metaphor to follow. She nodded encouragingly despite this because that's what best friends were supposed to do. And when it came to her turn, she tried not to panic. "Proper form is important for sticking landings in gymnastics too," she offered softly. "It's kinda similar because maybe you can get lucky when you land wrong after flying and you don't actually hurt yourself that much. But if you land improper all the time, it's still a higher risk for injuries, just like in gymnastics. Because you're putting all that pressure on the same joints over and over." Also. "Are there brooms that will land for you automatically?" Not that Kinsay wanted a broom that would do all the hard work for her, but maybe some of her classmates could benefit from one of those. Ah. Kamran had been waiting to see James' hand go up. Had started to wonder, but was pleased with her answer when it came. "Precisely. Most sports can of course result in injury or overstressed bodies, even if the athlete in question has perfect form all the time, but throw in improper technique and the process speeds up exponentially. Very good." And, of course, it wouldn't be a James answer without a James question. "I daresay there are; broom-makers are constantly working on developing their designs in such ways. Regardless, I'd hope everyone would make sure they can land properly on their own before relying on a feature like that, just in case." Kamran figured he didn't need to tell James that, but just for the others who might have been getting ideas. Flamsteed had already mentioned the Cushioning Charm 'cheat', and Kamran was eager to nip any similar mentalities in the bud. SPOILER!!: Cece Quote: Originally Posted by TakemetotheBurrow So Cecelia wasn’t short on landing horror stories, but she preferred to keep those to herself. She’d been young and inexperienced waaaay back when she was learning how to fly, but things were different now and shouldn’t people live in the present? Mhm, they should. Thinking about proper form during landings did make her think of something else, though. ”I think it builds confidence. It’s like, when you learn to do something properly and you practice it a lot and you get it down, then when something goes wrong in the air and you need to make an emergency landing, you’ve got more confidence because you know you’ve got the skills and reflexes you need to land without hurting yourself.” "An excellent point, Miss Summers." Confidence. Often the root of the issue where some of these younger students were concerned, and something they'd need to build up. It took as much effort as learning to fly, and just like learning to fly, often they needed a little outside help to get them going. "Confidence is key. As well as having the knowledge that you can handle yourself in the air, it can trigger a positive cycle. As a person's confidence in their flying ability builds, they become more willing and open to mastering new techniques, which in turn builds more confidence, and so on. It has a massive impact in everyday life too." Over-confidence should be avoided too, but that was probably another discussion for another day, with another student. SPOILER!!: Heath Quote: Originally Posted by MadMadamMalfoy Heath had just enough time to return Claudine’s smile with one of his own before the lesson began. As he listened to Professor Kazmi, he began to relax a little. Was today’s lesson about landing? He hoped so! That sounded fairly safe, and it was one of the few aspects of flying that Heath did well. As he considered why it was important to have good form in landing, the obvious answer that came to mind was to avoid injury. But that had been said many times, and there were only so many ways to word the same information without being repetitive. Oh? They were allowed to tell stories too? That might make things easier. Searching his memory, he recalled a story his quidditch-obsessed brother told him when he was just learning how to fly. There was no need to worry about him using names! Despite the fact that Fiy was not only not in this class but had not been in this school for eight years, Heath didn’t want everyone to know that he was related to Fiyero Jones… the quidditch player who looked nothing like him. He raised his hand and said, “My brother once told me a story about a bad landing he had. He was trying to show off and land while standing on his broom, but he fell off and broke his arm.” What could be learned from that? Don’t try any fancy tricks while landing, for one. “I suppose the thing to take away from that story is to keep landing simple. Don’t try to improvise with fancy tricks, and don’t get overconfident…. That and even the strongest flyers can make mistakes.” As Jones told his story, Kamran got the most vivid flash of memory of all the students he'd ever had who'd been likely to try a trick like that, or similar. Far, far too many of them. But not very surprising. "I agree, Mr Jones, and thank you for sharing that. Unnecessary risks are often a big factor in flying injuries." Often, not always. Actually, Kamran didn't have the statistics to hand, but speaking from teaching experience alone, that was absolutely the case. "Sometimes landings are more complicated by necessity, and it can be useful to know how to adjust to the circumstances but, as with anything, anyone employing fancy tricks just for the sake of it should be prepared for the consequences. And an excellent point: even the strongest flyers can make mistakes. None of us are infallible." Alright, time to move along. There was little need to go through it all again. "We've covered this briefly before, but I'll run through the basic landing technique with you all now." While he gave his explanation, Kamran held a hand up in the air, and steadily brought it down as he spoke, illustrating a landing. "Decide where you're landing. While in the air, point the broom handle towards the ground. The angle will determine how steep the descent is, which contributes to your speed." It should go without saying that they ought to factor this in if they didn't want to go straight into a dive. "Before reaching the ground, pull back gradually on the handle to level off and slow down. Where possible, aim for an even distribution of weight between your feet, and bend your knees slightly as you land. Make sure to take the responsiveness of your broom into account, especially if it's not one you're familiar with." Were they sick of his voice yet? Never fear, it was time to get into the air. After a few more words ~~from our sponsor~~. "Everyone who's not grounded-" Cambridge. "-mount your brooms, loop the training area, and then practice landing. Those focusing on the basic technique will be doing so within this coned-off square; fly at a low height if you must, but I'd like you to fly a little higher or faster than you did last lesson." He had an alternative for any who couldn't bring themselves to do that either, but hopefully that wouldn't be necessary. "Those of you looking for an additional challenge can increase the difficulty by attempting to land on a smaller area - those podiums just down the way - or by any other variation you can think of elsewhere around the perimeter. As long as you're focusing on your technique, and being sensible." No foolish injuries, please. Multiple healers in this school might mean a mega headache if anyone got hurt on his watch. Maybe Healer Poppy would bring bread though, so it wouldn't be all bad. Kamran would, of course, be watching. "Practice as many times as you wish, but I want everyone to try at least once. As always, feel free to share constructive criticism with each other." He gave a shrill blast on his whistle. "Off you go. I'll blow the whistle again when we're moving on." Now then. The wayward Gryffindor. "Miss Cambridge, you can stand by me." Outside of the basic landing square, that is, until he flew off to see how everyone else was getting on. "Watch the others and see where they're going right or wrong. Give feedback if they want to hear it, or tell me what you'd tell them." OOC: We have reached the mini-activity. I hope the instructions are clear, but I know there are many words here ~~I'm so sorry~~ SO TO RECAP: - Everyone is to get in the air and loop the area - Beginner flyers/those wishing to practice the basic landing technique described in this post, practice landing in the coned-off square - More experienced flyers can practice landing on the small platforms further along (3ft by 3ft, no higher than 5ft off the ground) or other variations of landing around the perimeter of the area (eg: approaching the ground at a faster speed, or from a dive (be careful), with less control (be careful), dismounting into a run, an extra light and stealthy landing, etc) - Feel free to have your characters share constructive criticism with each other (in pairs or groups or just as passing comments) - You can do this in as many or as few posts as you like - The ground of this area is charmed; please keep the information from this thread in mind I'll be posting throughout the activity as Kamran observes. If your character needs him, just approach or flag him down. We'll move along in no less than 72 hours from the time of this post (no earlier than 2am BST on 31st May). PM or VM me with any questions. And have fun! Please. __________________ Days of Potter 2023:___________________________ Which Bertie Botts Flavour Are You? You are Chocolate!