Fanfic:Amayani's Beginning Unarmed Combat
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Lesson 1 - Stances
Jip
Jip stood silently watching the students file into the class. Most were new trainees as this was usually the first class trainees were placed into. Of course there were also some novices and soldiers as the class was open to everyone. Jip stood silently at the front watching the students, young men and women who through training would be turned into weapons. Jip felt guilty for that, but only until he remembered what would happen if they failed, if he failed them.
Most trainees unless they were very new knew Jip because Jip was the Master of Training, he was always teaching one group of students or another, he met knew trainees as they first became drin'far'ji but he knew from memory that that first day was often a blur. Still for those meeting him for the first time, or paying attention for the first time they may have wondered why such a man had even became Master of Training or indeed a Gaidin in the first place.
Despite being small Jip looked the part, he had mastered the stony facial features over time but the second he opened his mouth he came across as nervous, frightened even. He struggled to look his students in the eyes most of the time, and when he did they tended to shy away from what they saw in there. Frightening enough for new trainees who saw the emptiness and a longing for death, even more frightening for trainees who had been in the Tower long enough though, his eyes symbolised the price of failure. Courage is fear when it has said its prayers Jip sunk into the void without effort. He had thought hard before deciding to use the void to teach classes all the time. When he was a Ji'alantin and first started teaching he had been able to teach by memorising what he wanted to say, but since Isabel's death it was much harder than before to speak out loud. He knew people struggled to understand him so the void was the best option.
“Welcome to the Unarmed class, I am Jip Gaidin. I hope you have all warmed up before you came. If not you should do so now." He waited, watching as those that had not warmed up did so; he was silent for a few moments and looked around the class again. It was mainly the new drin'far'ji and a few novices and soldiers that had not warmed up before hand. The Ji'alantin knew better. “Warming up is very important, you can injure your selves if you don't. From now on I expect you to warm up before class." His voice was quiet, and the emotionless blank tone of the void seemed strange even to him.
“Today we will be learning basic stances which are used in unarmed fighting, at their very basic for the way your body is stood are similar even when you have a weapon in your hand, which is why learning to fight unarmed is important." He then moved into an offensive stance, his left leg was in front with his foot pointing ahead of him and his right foot was behind and at a slight angle to the side. His body was facing forwards and his weight was equally distributed on both sides. “Remember to keep your knees bent to make a strong stance," he told the class quietly. His right hand was at his side, in a fist, ready. His left hand was in front of him also in a fist. “This is called offensive ready stance."
“The opposite is defensive ready stance," he continued switching with a jump so that his right leg and arm were in front and the left were behind. “When you are in defensive stance the weight should be slightly more on your back foot."
Jip stood upright once again, “Now you try," he moved through the class checking the students stances and helping those that needed it.
The Offensive and Defensive
Amayani do Ciresh a'Sorene
Amayani walked into the classroom, still warm after the recent exercises out in the Yards. There were several trainees in the room already, both Drin' and Ji' as well as a few Novices and Soldiers, and more still arrived. Yani gave a nod and a smile to some of the familiar faces, and fell into line with the others, eyes and attention on the Gaidin leading the class.
Jip Gaidin, the Master of Training, was a man who struck her as a bit odd in this place. Not to be mistaken, she had much respect for the Gaidin, almost all the trainees she knew of did. But he seemed a bit misplaced, with his stutter and seemingly nervousness. Though it was not her place at all to think such things, and she dismissed her thoughts as Jip Gaidin started talking, his voice the plain emotionless tone of what she was starting to recognize as the Void, a feat she was yet quite unsuccessful in.
The basic stances weren't completely unfamiliar to her, as similar stances were used in most of the physical training around the Yards. She watched as the Gaidin showed them first the offensive and then the defensive ready stance, and then the class spread out a bit to practice the stances.
Yani moved her body into the offensive stance, her left foot forward and her right foot at an angle behind her, her knees slightly bent to better her balance. Her weight was evenly distributed on both her feet. Keeping her body facing forward, she placed her right hand in a fist at her side, just above her hip, and her left hand out in front of her, also fisted.
Shifting over to defensive, she didn't think she'd manage the jump switch Jip Gaidin had made, and instead took a step backwards with her left foot. She turned her right foot so it pointed forward, twisting the left out a bit, and her left knee slightly more bent then the right so that her weight was a bit more back then centred. Her arms also changed positions as she moved, so that her left hand now was at her side, and the right in front.
Shifting her weight again, she moved her left foot forward again, mimicking a slow punch with the switch of her arms as she returned to the offensive stance. She went over the two stances a couple of times until they felt more natural.
Pass!
Jip
Jip watched Amayani silently as she went from one stance to another. She did not seem to have any majoy difficulties in any of the stances and he nodded silently in approval as he past. The void did not allow much emotion at all so the nod was emotionless but she would understand she had passed.
Lesson 2 - Falls
Jip
The stances had gone well, some understood it better than others but in the end they had all managed to stand in the correct offensive and defensive stances. Next was falling. “Now can anyone tell me why falling correctly is important?" Jip asked, still enveloped in the safety of the void. He waited until someone had given the perhaps obvious answer and nodded.
“The idea is to absorb the shock with the parts of you that won't hurt, so not bones." He held up his arm and pointed to his palms and forarms. “You do not want to hit your wrists or elbows, or the bones," he told them.
“Also fall in the direction you are being thrown or pushed. Go with the momentum, don't fight it or you will be more injured." He paused a moment to let this sink in and then started to demonstrate.
“First is forwards, put your hands in a triangle like this," he demonstrated by holding his hands up in front of him, palms facing the class and thumbs and first fingers meeting to make a diamond shape. He then crouched down and fell forwards letting his arms collapse into him and the soft parts of his forearms take the impact. “When you fall try and get as low to the ground in control before you fall to lower the risk of injury."
The next two were backwards fall, not straight back though more to the side, he explained why, “falling straight backwards is dangerous due to the spine and head hitting first is likely. This also prevents hitting joints like elbows and knees. This time you want to absorb the shock instead of getting low." He bent his right leg and fell to the ground, landing along his side with one leg bent and his arms bent to the side.
“If you have any questions raise your hand, if not you may begin practicing." He started to walk around, going to those who were confused first and then moving to check on the others.
Catch me as I fall
Amayani do Ciresh a'Sorene
Amayani had Iip Gaidin's demonstrations in her mind as she stood, debating inwardly on how to proceed. First thing's first, she thought and pictured the forward fall in her mind. It went against her better instincts to fall willingly, but if she didn't learn this now, she would most likely get hurt when she really needed it.
Taking a deep breath to calm herself, and pushing the doubt out of her mind as best she could, she held her arms out in front of her, elbows a bit bent and the thumbs and first fingers meeting. Falling forward from standing position, she stumbled a step and fell hard on her knee. Then she remembered what the Gaidin had done. Picking herself up, rubbing her knee in the progress, she held her arms up in position once again. This time she bent her knees into a crouch before following the momentum forward, her elbows collapsing as her hands met the floor, breaking the fall so she came to a stop inches above the ground.
She rose back up on her feet, rubbing her palms slightly, and went through the fall a couple times more until she started to get the hang of it.
The next was the backward fall. If she'd had doubts at doing a face palm, it was nothing to how she felt about taking the floor to the back of her head. Just try and remember what he did, she told herself, and cast uncertain glances at the floor behind her. Oh, blood and bloody ashes, lets just do it.
She leaned backwards and to the right side, bending the right knee until she had no choice but to follow the fall through. But her instincts screamed at her, and she lifted her upper body up, taking the fall with her butt and right hand. Cursing herself as she sprawled on the floor, her hand hurting, she picked herself up again and clenched her teeth. She was going to do this. Standing ready again, she bent her leg and let herself fall, this time not panicking. She landed on her side in a kind of a rolling motion, her hip taking the worst part before her upper body followed.
That was better, at least, she thought as she stood up again, but not good enough. She fell backwards again and again, to both sides, until she landed without too much pain.
Pass!
Jip
Jip watched the drin'far'ji as she practiced her falls. She seemed to have some issues, mainly with making her body fall when all instincts worked on not falling. Still she would get it right with practice. "You are doing well Amayani," he told her as he past her.
Lesson 3 - Rolls
Jip
They all did well at the falls, and now it was time to move on to a lesson that Jip thought was one of the most important of all. One of the most important parts of any kind of fighting; rolling. Not just how to land safely but get out of the way of any future dangers as well. “Rolling is important, one of the most important things you will ever learn."
He looked around and then crouched in the offensive ready stance, it was best to start learning from crouching and then move up to rolling from standing. “To do a forward roll you bring your hands both to one side and roll over your shoulder, in this case your left shoulder. The idea is to roll from your shoulder to your opposite hip." He demonstrated, putting his hands on the right side and rolling over his shoulder coming back into a crouch. “You can do this on both sides," he demonstrated rolling over his right shoulder instead.
“To roll backwards," he said, still crouched in offensive stance, “lean backwards onto your shoulder and you kick both your legs over the shoulder that you are rolling over," he demonstrated rolling onto his back and kicking his legs over his shoulder, coming into a crouch upright once again.
“Once you have these from crouching you can try them from standing. The idea with a standing forward roll is to get as close to the ground as possible, then it is the same, rolling from shoulder to opposite hip." He demonstrated, bending his front leg until he was close to the ground and then rolling forwards. “To roll backwards from standing just sit down and let the momentum let you go backwards, kick your legs over your shoulders again like before." Once again he demonstrated rolling smoothly and returning to a standing position.
He directed the students to get into three lines at the end of the mat, “Try at least two turns at each of the rolls, one turn on each side." He stood and watched as the students began to roll. Watching for those who had questions or troubles and giving those who completed the rolls feedback on how well they were doing.
Rollin' Rollin' Rollin'
Amayani do Ciresh a'Sorene
Rolling. Now that was something she could do. She remembered when she was a little girl, playing with her brother out in the lawn, turning a somersault around on the grass.
She began with the forward roll, crouching down and placing both her hands in front and to the left side. Bending her head out of the way to the right, she pushed off with her feet, rolling over her left shoulder to her right hip and coming up in a crouch. That was the idea, at least. Her first roll was more straight, ending in her sitting on her butt. She crouched and tried the same again, this time doing it more correctly. And then another time, but over the right shoulder this time.
Smiling satisfied, she tried the forward roll from a more standing position. She bent the front leg, leaning forward and down. Hands on the floor, she collapsed her elbows and rolled over, ending in a half-good crouch.
The next was the backward roll. She crouched down, leaning backwards, and rolled over her back, kicking her feet from the ground as she had her weight on her shoulders. She twisted the roll a bit to one side, and came around on her left shoulder and ended up sitting on her knees. It was a short way from that and onto a crouch, or up into standing. Getting ready again, she did another backward roll, this time over her right shoulder, and ending in a proper crouch this time.
Pass!
Jip
Jip watched the drin'far'ji rolling, she had gotten the hang of it quickly and seemed comfrtable with it. Jip nodded at her, "Well done," he told her and moved on to the next student.
Lesson 4 - Footwork
Jip
Jip looked round at his students. The lesson before had went well and they had learnt the basics of stance, how to fall and how to roll correctly. They had all done and this lesson they were going to learn how to move. “I hope you have all warmed up today," most nodded though Jip saw a few shuffled feet. No one owned up to not doing so though and Jip just hoped no one hurt themselves.
Wrapped in the safety of the void Jip looked round at those who he was helping turn into weapons, “Today we will learn how to move. Footwork is important; you use it to both increase and decrease distance." He looked round his students, “The first rule of any type of fighting is don't get killed," he saw a few smirks but he was being totally serious. “Don't get hit, get out of the way. To do that you have to know how to move smoothly and correctly."
"The first of these is called an 'advance'. Simple enough you move forward stepping forward with your front foot and then bring your back foot forward to close the distance. The reverse of course is a 'retreat'. Again you move your back foot backwards and bring your front foot with it. This is often done at an angle, to get out of the line of an attack." He demonstrated both, remaining in offensive stance as he did so, his knees still bent. Then he switched to defensive stance and demonstrated again.
“Now we will go onto what is called a pass. It is not too difficult," he stood once again in the offensive stance, keeping his knees bent and his arms in position he brought his back foot forward until it was a shoulder length in front of the other. The foot that was now at the back he moved so it was pointing at an angle. He was now in defensive stance but a pace ahead.
“If you do it backwards it is called a pass-back," he demonstrated, bringing his front foot backwards and straightening the other foot. He was back in an offensive stance. “You can of course do any of these movements doubly and cover more distance. It is just like walking, one foot in front of the other, except for being in the offensive and defensive stances."
“The final, more complicated movement is a jumping advance," he demonstrated, from offensive stance he leapt forwards landing in the same stance. “You need to use your hips to give you the momentum to go forwards, or backwards." He demonstrated once again, this time backwards.
He looked round the class with empty eyes, “Practice these now I will be coming round so ask any questions that you have."
Step Lightly
Amayani do Ciresh a'Sorene
Amayani was still sore after the last day of falling and rolling, but she didn't have any visible bruises at least. She didn't bruise easily, and for that she was glad. Today the first thing on the schedule was footwork. She watched Jip's movements as he talked and demonstrated, memorizing them for when they were to practice them.
First was the advance and retreat, two similar but opposite moves. She slipped into the offensive stance, left foot forward, knees slightly bent and the weight mainly on the balls of the feet. Moving her left feet just above the ground, she took a small step forward and followed with her right foot, keeping the stance. Doing it the other way around, the retreat, she moved her right foot backwards a small step, and followed with her left foot. Repeating the advance and retreat, both in offensive and defensive stances, she danced back and forth, light on her feet.
Moving over to what was called a pass, she started in the offensive stance again, left leg forward, her arms in position. She moved her right foot forward, turning her left foot out to an angle, and swapped the position of her hands in the same movement, so that her right hand now was in a fist in front of her, and the left at her side. Repeating the step backwards, she moved her right foot to the back position again, making a punch with her left hand as her hands swapped position. She did it a couple of times more before moving on.
The last was the jumping advance. Standing light on her feet, she kicked off with the back foot in a leap forward, keeping her stance and landing on the balls of her feet. Kicking off with her front foot this time, she leaped backwards again, and repeated the moves a few more times.
Pass!
Jip
Jip watched Amayani as she practiced the footwork. For most drin'far'ji this was not a new concept, though Amayani learning the bow may not have used it as much as someone learning the sword or dagger for example.
Still she was doing well and Jip nodded at her before he moved on to help another student.
Lesson 5 - Punches and Blocks
Jip
Once the movements had been practiced it was time to add in blocks, and punches. The two went together Jip thought as it was easier to practice blocking when you had something coming towards you to block. “Now that we have the movement," he began, his voice sounding alien even to him. Attacks were his most hated part of what he taught, and it made him feel worse that most his students seemed to enjoy it the most, “We will add in our arms to punch. Stand in offensive," his students did so and so did he. His knees were bent and one arm was in front while the other was at his side.
“Now step forward in a pass," he did this slowly and as he did so he brought his back arm forward. His hand was in a fist. His knuckles had been facing upwards and now they had turned a right angle, so his knuckles were facing outwards from him. “Bend your knees on impact and don't make your arm stiff. Use your hips and torso to give the punch more power. Compared to your body your arms are very weak." He demonstrated again, over exaggerating the body movement.
“Now if someone is coming to punch you, you need to be able to block." He gestured at the Ji'alantin who had came in to help him with this, while also taking the class as a refresher, it was always good to go over basics. The Ji'alantin stood in offensive stance while Jip stood in defensive. As the Ji'alantin punched slowly and clearly Jip stepped back into a ‘retreat' at a diagonal angle stepping inside the punch.
“You bring your fist to hit their arm to block, try and hit upwards and outwards in order to take some balance. It is not a punch, but rather like you are trying to catch something at spead and their arm is in the way." He demonstrated the movement alone, bringing his wrist back sharply and closing his hand into a fist at the last minute.
The Ji'alantin punched again on the other side and Jip repeated the movement, moving to the inside of the punch and blocking with his fist. “Again you must use your body to give you both the strength and the angle."
“Pair up," he told them, “One person punch twice while the other blocks, then swap and keep going until you feel you have both the punches and the blocks correct." Jip started to move around the room again to check they were not confused.
OOC: Just NPC a partner to practice. I just paired them up to add realism as it is easier to visulise the blocks when it is done against someone else.
Hit me
Amayani do Ciresh a'Sorene
When Jip Gaidin told them to pair up, Amayani turned to her right and shot a questioning look at the drin'far'ji standing there. The boy, younger then herself by the looks of it, but also taller then her, and most likely Andoran by his looks. He nodded back. "You want to go first?" he asked, and fell into a defensive stance. "Sure," she replied with a smile, and moved into the offensive stance, left foot forward and the arms in position.
Taking a step forward with her right foot, she brought her hand from it's position at her side, up and forward in a punch, twisting both her hip and upper body as well as exhaling quick as she punched, all to add strength to the punch. The other drin reacted, blocking her punch by pushing her arm out and away from himself. Taking another step, she exhaled and punched with her left arm. He stepped back and blocked her punch again.
Yani nodded once at him and switched to defensive. "Your turn." The boy quickly changed into offensive and threw a punch at her. Stepping back, she hit his arm, deflecting the punch to the side so it missed her. He took another quick step, directing a punch at her face, and she retreated another step, blocking it with her other hand.
They repeated this a couple of times, punching twice, then blocking twice. They both advanced to slightly more challenging punches, one she aimed at his stomach, and he jerked back as he missed the block. And a punch he aimed for her shoulder, she blocked wrong. It missed its intended spot, but hit her other shoulder instead. She realized she should have blocked it the other way.
Pass!
Jip
Jip saw Amayani block the punch wrong but apart from that the pair had done well, they seemed to know what they were doing.
He approached them and spoke to Amayani quietly, "Do you know how you went wrong?" He asked, he tried to let his students figure out their own mistakes as much as possible, but if they were confused or struggling he would step in to help.
Re: Pass!
Amayani do Ciresh a'Sorene
Amayani looked up as the Master of Training approached them. Or, in fact she looked a bit down, seeing that the man was shorter then herself.
"With the block, sir?" she said as he asked her what she'd gone wrong. "I should have blocked it with my other hand, or at least the other way, I think."
Re: Pass!
Jip
Jip nodded, "Yes you needed to push the punching arm away from yourself and outwards as to knock your oponent slightly off balance." He waited to see if she understood.
Lesson 6 - Basic Kicks
Jip
The punching and blocking had done well, each could make a simple attack and simple defence of that attack. Next was kicking. He told the students to get back into their own spaces after the partner work and then waited until the room was quiet again.
“We will now go on to kicking. The first is the ‘side-kick'," Jip went into the offensive stance and spoke as he demonstrated, “first start by rotating on the ball of your forward foot as you lift your back leg up. Then rotate your front foot so that your heel almost points to your target ahead of you. The object is to both shift your weight to your front leg, knee still slightly bent, and deliver an unconstrained kick with your back foot." He demonstrated, kicking so that the arch and heal of his foot where what would hit the target. “The motion should snap swiftly from your knee, lean slightly backwards as that makes it easier." Jip returned to the offensive stance."
"The next kick is called 'round house'. It involves the same motion as the sidekick except that you hit not straight on ahead, but from the side with the top of your foot. Not the toes though," he warned and lifted his foot gesturing to where you should kick with. The sole of the foot just below the toes, this is for softer target areas only like the stomach and the thigh." Jip demonstrated again going as slow as he could, this time arching his back foot from the side to strike the air with the top of his foot.
“The final kick I will show you today is called the axe kick. It starts the same, transferring the weight onto the front leg but this kick is forward and you bend your knees swinging your leg upward using your hips. This is one of the those rare times I'd recommend locking your knee as it comes in to cut like an axe. The contact area is along the arch, thus you want to angle you foot, “he demonstrated turning his foor on its side so the arch would hit the target. “A more advanced version of this, is to strike the opponent with your heel while swinging back into position. Using the first rising motion as a feint."
“Practice these now," Jip started round the room once more.
Getting my kicks
Amayani do Ciresh a'Sorene
The last lesson of the day were kicks. Amayani watched the demonstrations and explanations with interest, eager to try them out. And thus she smiled as their teacher told them to practice the kicks.
She started with the side-kick, moving into the offensive stance that was becoming almost natural now. First she went through the moves slowly. From her stance, she rotated her body a quarter, lifting up her right foot so her knee was in hip height. Struggling a bit to keep her balance, she leaned towards her left side and straightened out her foot horizontally, keeping her foot turned sideways so that the outer edge would hit the imaginary target. As she did this, her left heel turned further forward. Retracting her foot before she lost balance, she twisted her left foot back a bit and sat down the right, so she ended up facing forward.
Feeling she got it, somewhat at least, she added more speed to her movements. She rotated her body, bringing up her leg, and kicked in a swift motion, exhaling in a huff as she did, and retracted just as quick. She repeated this a couple of times with each foot before she moved on.
The next was the roundhouse kick. This was similar to the side-kick, but still different. Starting in the offensive stance again, she brought her knee up to hip height without rotating. Then she rotated her body, pivoting her left foot and following the momentum from the turn with her leg, snapping it into a kick with the balls of her feet hitting the "target", her toes curled back and thus out of the way. She then snapped the lower part of her leg back and pulled her foot back slightly as she put it down, ending in a forward stance.
She went through the roundhouse kick again, lifting up the knee, rotating, kicking, recoiling and down. Doing this a couple of times more, she started to get the hang of it without loosing too much balance.
The third and last kick was the axe kick. This was a more straight forward and upward kick. Bending her front knee a bit, she kicked off with the back foot, kicking upwards as high as she could, toes contracted backwards so that the ball of her foot would hit on the way up. On the way down, she kept her knee straight, bringing the foot down with force. Her heel or the bottom side of the ball would hit the target on the way down. As it was now, she didn't get her foot very high, but she knew with more practice, that would improve.
As before, she repeated the kick a couple of times on each foot before she felt she got a bit more hang of it.
Re: Getting my kicks
Jip
Jip watched Amayani as she went through each of the kicks in turn. More practice would be required but she was doing very well for just starting out. Jip nodded at her, "Well done Amayani," he told her quietly.
Lesson 1 - Escaping
Jip
The class was a little smaller now, as some students had only turned up to do the first half. Both parts were important though Jip thought as he watched the students file into the class. When it was time to begin he waited until everyone's attention was on him, he did not ask them if they had warmed up, they should know that they should by now.
“Today we will go on to how to release yourselves from grabs. Again this is something basic and simple to master and yet people often do not know how and it can save your life," The Ji'alantin who had agreed to help him came to the front and reached out grabbing Jip's left wrist.
“It is useful to step away a little as it takes you out of range of any punches that could be coming with the other fist." He did so and twisted sharply out of the Ji'alantin's grip. He held up his hand to the class. “The weakest part of a grab is where the thumb and fingers meet, you bring your wrist out of that point. Twist your wrist so it is the narrowest part going through."
The Ji'alantin grabbed his wrist again and Jip demonstrated slower, using his body, bending his knees, not relying on his arm strength his twisted to the side, moving his arm around and out of the grab.
“If your opponent does go to punch you step to the side of their punch. Use their arm which is grabbing yours to block their punch." He demonstrated again. This one was harder but it was the same idea. The Ji'alantin grabbed his wrist and then aimed a punch at Jip's stomach. Jip stepped across, crossing the Ji'alantin's arms and bent his knees so that the arm that was grabbing knocked the arm that was punching downwards.
“Pair up again and try these two grabs." Jip began walking round the pairs to advise and help.
OOC: Again just NPC a partner for this exercise :)
Let go of me!
Amayani do Ciresh a'Sorene
As Amayani entered the classroom, and watched the trainees arriving after her, she noticed that the class had diminished in size. She didn't understand why people passed on this opportunity. She didn't enjoy fighting this close to people, personally she liked to keep them at arrow's range, but she knew the value of such lessons.
She listened to the Master of Training as he went through the first subject of today's training: escaping from grabs. It didn't seem very difficult when he showed it, and when they were told to pair up, she found herself facing the same Andoran boy. At her insisting, she started with the grabbing.
As she grabbed him around the wrist, she came across the first problem. His wrists were quite strong, and her hand was too small for her fingers to close all around. The boy easily escaped from her grip no matter how hard she tightened it, and if her nails had been any longer they would've left marks on his arm.
After some tries they changed, and she came across the second problem, which was the complete opposite of the previous. His hands were large, and her wrists weren't the biggest ones. And thus he could lock his fingers over his thumb, taking away that weak spot. She tried to twist and yank her arm free several times with no luck, each time she got more and more annoyed and determined to do it.
She stepped towards him, using her whole upper body to add force as she twisted her arm downwards hard and quick, and finally his grip broke. "Hah!" she exclaimed in satisfaction as she'd finally found a way to do this. She let the boy grip her again and tried the same tactic a few times more, breaking free almost every time. At the end her wrist was quite sore from the Andoran's strong grip.
Pass!
Jip
Jip watched as the two practiced, Amayani had the problem of being much smaller than her oponent but she worked out how to get round that herself. Jip nodded to her as he moved on to the next pair.
Lesson 2 - Basic Wrist Locks
Jip
When everyone had come to terms with the grabs Jip drew their attention back to the front of the class. “You seem to have got to grips with the grabs, we will now move on to wrist locks. Again these are useful if somebody grabs you."
The Ji'alantin held his left hand out in front of him palm up and Jip took it. Jip's left hand held the Ji'alantin's at the part of the hand that joined the thumb to the rest of the hand. His right he placed at the other side, just below the little finger. He did not grip with his right hand, it was merely to steer.
Slowly so that everyone could see he pushed the hand up, so that the palm was no facing the Ji'alantin. Then he twisted it to the left.
“In practice this can be done when someone grabs you," the Ji'alantin grabbed Jip's shirt near the collar. Jip brought his hands up to his chest, as if he was about to surrender. He had stepped backwards, using a pass at the same time, to get out of range of the other fist. He slipped his left hand across so that it touched the Ji'alantin's hand. He bent his knees and turned both his hands, breaking the Ji'alantin's grip on his shirt, so that the student could now see his own palm.
He then repeated the movement from before, stepping to the side as he did so. He bent the Ji'alantin's hand in towards the trainee and twisted to the side. “It is important to keep your elbows tucked into your sides when you do this, use your body not your arms."
“Pair up again and practice these." Jip watched again as the students practiced and started his rounds of the room once more.
Locking?
Amayani do Ciresh a'Sorene
The next they were taught were wrist locks. Yani paid attention to the descriptions, and watched the demonstration closely, trying to memorize the moves. The Andoran approached her once again, apparently he liked to fight with people smaller then himself. Or maybe it was just her. Either way she offered him a smile, and told him to start.
She held her left hand out so that the boy could practice the lock, and winched slightly as he gripped a bit hard on the part where the thumb joined the rest of the hand. He shot her an apologetic look as he released, but she just waved it off. She proceeded to gripping his collar in a firm grip, holding her right hand ready for a punch. The boy stepped back and grabbed her hand, and she couldn't help but winch again as he twisted if out of its grip. He was strong, but she had to get used to that, she told herself. They went through it a couple of times more, and this time she held her face blank as he locked her wrist.
They changed positions again, and Yani tried the wrist lock the simple way first. As the boy held his hand out, she gripped it at the same place with her left hand, and with her right hand guiding it but not really gripping, she twisted it towards him and to the side. As it was just a practice now, he didn't offer much resistance.
The Andoran drin then grabbed her collar, a bit low and too close to her breasts for her liking, and she shot him a glare as she held up her hand. Stepping back, she laid her left arm across his, grabbing around his hand, and pressing her thumb and fingers into the weak area, she twisted his hand out of its grip on her collar, using her whole body to add strength. She tried it some more times, each time the boy held his grip tighter so she had to use more more force and flexibility to get his grip loose and lock his wrist. She didn't manage it each time, as he was quite stronger then her, but that just increased her determination. She would have to get stronger, and she had to come up with ways to get things done when strength wasn't enough.
Pass!
Jip
Jip watched as Amayani practiced the wrist lock. She was getting it for the most part though she could not use her strength, it was not a problem, it just meant she had to use more skill in the technique which would come in time.
"Keep your elbows tucked in at all times, it will help you remember to use your body and not just your arm weight." He told her before moving on.
Lesson 3 - Theory Lesson One
Jip
For this lesson they had moved away from a practice room and into an actual classroom. They had learnt some of the basics of unarmed fighting, now they were going to learn some basic theory. Hopefully with the two together they would improve their understanding of not just unarmed, but all fighting.
Jip took the chalk and wrote on the board in clear large letters. "There are four 'grounds', four concepts that you need to know, to understand and use for attack and defense," he explained as he wrote.
1. Judgement
2. Distance
3. Time
4. Place
He pointed to each word as he explained it, being careful to say the word out loud in case there were those in the class who could not read. He could remember being a drin'far'ji unable to read and taking this class himself. Theory lessons had been very difficult.
"The first of the four grounds is 'judgement'. It defines the ability to maintain the ideal distance between you and your opponent. That distance is the second ground and that is when you are out of range of your opponent, ideally so you can hit them but they can't hit you back." Jip looked round the class to check everyone was understanding.
"The third ground is time. Timing is very important as there is usually a small window where you can attack without being attacked in return. The last ground, is place. This refers to the opening given by your opponent in their defenses through which you deliver you attack. So pretty much through judgement you keep your distance, distance allows you gain the time you require, through time you safely earn the place in which to strike your opponent."
He paused to see if anyone had any questions, then he turned back to the board and wrote again.
1. Judgement
2. Measure
3. Pressing In
4. Flying out
"In addition to the Four Grounds there are the Four Governors to regulate action and keep you defended." He explained before once again pointing to each of the governors.
"Judgement. The first Ground and the first Governor. This is the knowledge that the enemy can reach you and when you can reach them. To be able to judge where you have to be in regards to your opponent. The second one is measure. Measure the knowledge on how to make your space defensible or invade that of your opponent. This can be helped by making your stances as loose and fluid as possible."
He pointed to the last two, “Flying in and flying out, you press in on the opponent seizing your chance. But you also must be ready to fly back out the instance your opponent offers up an action that would bring you harm. Advance but know when to pull back."
He looked round the classroom again. “Does anyone have any questions?" He waited; answering any that came his way. “I would like everyone to write one sentence about each of the grounds and governors. I will come round to check your answers, if you cannot write you can give the answers to me orally when I get to you." Giving them a few moments to write and think Jip started his rounds of the class.
The Grounds and Governors
Amayani do Ciresh a'Sorene
They moved from the practice classroom and into a nearby one that was more a real classroom, with chairs and desks and pens and paper. It was time for theory, boring tedious theory. She'd disliked all the theoretic stuff her parents had forced her and her brother to attend, learning this and that about the noble life. This was different, at least, this was something she could actually find use for.
She listened to their teacher, trying to make sense of what he was talking about. Most of it she seemed to get, at least more then some others, who did have questions. After listening to their questions and the answers they got, she managed to get some holes filled as well.
She picked up her pen and dipped it in the ink. Resting her wrist on the desk, she started writing in the flowing handwriting that her mother had insisted she'd learn, and learn well. Her writing language on the other hand was usually short and consistent. She'd never fancied the long, pointless sentences that her mother loved so much.
The Grounds:
Judgement – Judging the distance between yourself and your opponent, in order to keep an ideal distance. Also judge the reach of your opponent and your own.
Distance – Keeping out of range from your opponent, but close enough that you can attack, if possible. Perhaps to the side, if their reach is longer, or behind.
Time – Timing your moves, so you can make use of opportunities and gaps in their defense.
Place – Where to strike, so that counter attacks are avoided.
The Governors:
Judgement – Much the same as the first ground. It's knowing when to reach your opponent, to block or dodge their attacks.
Measure – It's about knowing how much space you got to use for a defensive maneuver or an attack.
Pressing In – It's knowing when to move in for an attack.
Flying out – Similar but reversed, when to move back in defense.
She laid her pen down and leaned back in her chair as she waited for the Gaidin to come around to her.
Pass!
Jip
Jip walked through the class picking up the sheets to read or listening to those who could not write answer him and give him definitions.
He got to Amayani and read through her sheat about the grounds and governers. It seemed she understood the lesson fine and Jip nodded. "Well done Amayani," he told her, handing her back the sheet so she would remember what she had learnt.
Lesson 4 - Theory Lesson Two
Jip
Once everyone had given correct answers Jip cleared the board and began writing again. "There are eight ways to move when attacking, four which are good, and four which aren't," he told them as he wrote.
1. The Time of the Hand
2. The Time of the Hand and Body
3. The Time of the Hand, Body, and Foot
4. The Time of the Hand, Body, and Feet
He pointed to each as he explained them. "The four 'true' ways are: Attacking by moving the arm, which is the fastest but also the weakest. Attacking by using the arm with the torso which is both fast and strong. Attacking by moving the the arm, the torso, and the foot which is only somewhat fast but strong. And lastly by attacking using the arm, the torso, and both of your feet, it's not fast but it's the strongest." He glanced round the class, hoping they made
"Above all it requires moving the arm first to protect yourself. The true times refer to the comparative speeds, in descending order, of the various parts of the body. The movement with the hand is fastest because you're not moving anything else while the complex arm, torso, and feet movement is the slowest. These are especially vital when you use weapons and don't generally use kicks." He turned and wrote on the board again.
1. The Time of the Foot
2. The Time of the Foot and the Body
3. The Time of the Foot, the Body, and the Hand
4. The Time of the Feet, the Body, and the Hand
"Now for the bad or 'false' times, they are: moving one foot. Moving one's foot and then their torso. Moving ones foot, the torso, and then the arm. And lastly the moving of the feet followed by the torso and the arm. The false times are descending in respect to the moving parts. You must be aware that these are all slow and create openings that your opponent will take advantage of, and you will not be able to defend in time. For example if your opponent steps forward and then brings the sword up they are using false time and gave you the time to prepare an attack."
He glanced around again before asking, “Does everyone understand?"
When he had answered all the questions that came his way he continued. "Much combat is watching to see if your opponent breaks any one of these rules. If they don't then you have to make openings, feint and make them strike at you when you are prepared and they are not. But know that they will be seeking to do the same. Be on constant watch for signs of weakness, use everything you can learn."
He looked round once more, “"For anyone who has ever played the game 'Stones'? Fighting is like that only much faster. And the outcome is if you lose you die." Or so they said, Jip had never played stones ever.
“Now If you do not have any questions please write at least one hundred and fifty words on the true and false times, as well as how you can use these to your advantage in battle. Again for those that cannot write they can speak their answer when I get to them." He stood silently allowing them time to write and think before he started checking answers.
Re: Lesson 4-Theory Lesson Two
Amayani do Ciresh a'Sorene
Once their teacher had done his round and approved their papers, or orally descriptions by those who couldn't write, he continued the theory, describing the "true" and "false" ways to attack. She listened to what he told them, and turned her attention to her paper when they were told to. She stared at the blank sheet for a moment, letting her mind work on the information before starting to write. Setting her pen on the paper, she started writing.
The good and the bad ways of attacking.
The best attack is a quick one which doesn't leave you open for counterattacks. The "true" ways of attacking are all quick ways, but descending in usefulness.
The quickest way is to attack with your hand, a quick punch, but this is also the weakest as it's only the strength of your arm that goes into this punch.
Putting your upper body behind the attack increases the strength but slows it down, as you have to move your torso as well as your arm.
By adding the movement of your feet, you gain strength in the attack, but it's slower. Though this is a way of closing the distance as well, so it is useful.
So, the best attack, when you combine both speed and strength, would be an attack where you put your body behind the punch.
The "false" ways are all slow attacks, and they begin wrong. Moving ones feet before anything else would only leave openings that the opponent can make use of.
A "false" attack could be like this: Stepping forward, bringing your upper body with you and towards the target, and then punching. Not only would this leave no strength in the punch, as it's only the arm's strength that is behind it, but you would also leave yourself open for attacks the whole way.
Yani put down the pen, and looked up as the Master of Training approached.
Pass!
Jip
Jip picked up Amayani's paragraph and read though it before nodding, "Well done Amayani," he said before handing the paper back.
Lesson 5 - Final
Jip
It was the last day of the unarmed course, and the final test. Today they were out in the sparing arena, Jip hoped that they had all learnt a lot from the class and that the theory he had taught them had had time to be at least partially understood.
“For your final assessment you are to pair up and spar, make sure to give everyone plenty of space. I will be coming round to asses you." They all paired up and Jip began to walk round watching them all.
OOC: The final test! For this you can either NPC a partner and write it all in one post. (Of decent length- at least 500 words please!) Or you can spar with another character, either one doing the class or some other person. If you want to spar but cannot find a partner feel free to email me and I will spar with you
Pass!
Jip
OOC: Pass well done and good spar!
This post certifies that Amayani do Ciresh a'Sorene has passed the Beginning Unarmed Class and has earned 2 unarmed points! Well done!
