[Flashback] The Way Of The Sword (Solo)

[The Academy] First class with Oliver Camlach.

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[Flashback] The Way Of The Sword (Solo)

Postby Eridanus on January 19th, 2012, 3:14 pm

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"Like the gathering step, you can also pass forward and pass backward. Make sure you get both down pat when practising on your own. Now, we will go on to what probably is the hardest part of the footwork, which is called sloping. It requires proficiency of both the gathering and passing steps, and though it is difficult to master it is immensely rewarding for it allows you to flank your opponent while constantly maintaining your guard. This is what makes the difference between a trained swordsman and an untrained one. The hypothetical swordsman I raised earlier who could defeat you? He would use this step to crush your defences."

Camlach again looked at Eridanus for any reaction, but his student was so enraptured by his lecture that he went on, "There are four types of sloping, and they are all diagonal, obviously. What are they?"

It was a freebie question, and Eridanus eagerly answered, "Forward left, forward right, backward left, backward right."

"Correct, except remember to add the word 'sloping' in front. In future if I ask you to 'slope front right' or 'slope back left' you should know what I am referring to."

The instructor settled into the stance that Eridanus should be familiar with by now, with his right foot forward. He gestured for his student to do the same, but beside him rather than facing him so that he can replicate his movements more conveniently.

"Follow carefully. As this is an advanced technique I will go through all four sloping movements. If at any time you have any questions please stop me and clarify. Clear?"

"Yes sir."

"Alright, we shall first begin with the 'slope front left', or sloping to your forward left position."
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NOTICE: I am currently mostly inactive til August. As such, guild activities are temporarily halted (watch out for major revamps, changes and organizations when I'm back in full force). Any activity with Eri will be rather slow as well, but I am slowly readjusting back to "Mizahar life", so to speak, so do PM me if we have a thread that I left hanging and we'll talk.



"You must be one hardcore scholar, Eri." (Laszlo)
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[Flashback] The Way Of The Sword (Solo)

Postby Eridanus on January 19th, 2012, 3:31 pm

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"First, you shift your right foot like so. Take note of the difference in position and angle," the Denvali stopped and waited for his student to follow.

Eridanus moved his right foot forward, but angling his foot more to the right as he did so such that his heel covered more distance than his toes. Out of all the positions that he had been in this was probably the most awkward one so far. Comparing the difference between his stance and his instructor's, he made the necessary adjustments to resemble Camlach and looked at him for the next step.

"Now you move your left foot all the way front. It may not be noticeable, but the angle is indeed slightly different. Here, I will do it again; watch closely. Now you try."

The vantha complied, raising his left leg that was behind and placing it far in front of his right, pushing it further forward until his legs were a shoulder-width's distance apart. He angled his left feet a tiny bit to the right, and now his body's angle was now opposite. He looked closely at his instructor's feet and again made the necessary adjustments.

Finally, he looked up and he realized that his new position now had him still facing his imaginary opponent in an optimal stance, but instead if his opponent were facing him earlier, now he would be facing his opponent's shoulder. It was a simple but effective step for flanking yet maintaining stability and optimum combat efficiency.

"I see that look of comprehension on your face. Don't be surprised, I'm not a mind-reader. It's just that I've been teaching for so long and with so many students that I can predict what they will realize at what point. You're not the first to come to that realization, trust me." Oliver remarked, then chuckled as the mixed expression of curiosity and alarm began to form on his student's face.
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NOTICE: I am currently mostly inactive til August. As such, guild activities are temporarily halted (watch out for major revamps, changes and organizations when I'm back in full force). Any activity with Eri will be rather slow as well, but I am slowly readjusting back to "Mizahar life", so to speak, so do PM me if we have a thread that I left hanging and we'll talk.



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[Flashback] The Way Of The Sword (Solo)

Postby Eridanus on January 19th, 2012, 3:31 pm

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Over the next half-bell Camlach would patiently demonstrate and re-demonstrate the four possible sloping steps, slowly working out the kinks in Eridanus' understanding and to correct any posture flaws. The idea of each sloping step was to rotate one's position with respect to the opponent but still facing the opponent assuming no movement on the other's part. It was the perfect step in the footwork to navigate the areas covered by the strictly directional gathering or passing steps.

When he was sure that Eri fully understood the four sloping steps, Camlach proceeded to have his student practice, content to simply observe his student, only stepping in to correct any mistakes made that the vantha had not already self-corrected. Footwork was something many warriors paid little attention to, and it usually was the main reason why the Denvali militia could easily triumph over the wild-land bandits who relied on pure savagery and combat experience.

In the next half-bell, Eridanus practised the four sloping directions diligently, ensuring that his body was always in the right position and angle. He began excruciatingly slowly, and though there was the temptation to go faster he knew that having the right foundation was key. Thus he resisted the urge to do so, moving slowly until he was sure that every conscious and unconscious movement was correct - with the aid of his exceedingly patient instructor - and slowly increasing the speed that he was doing so when he was.

He was getting better in tiny amounts, but it was a good start and it served as a good base for self-practice between this class and the next.
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NOTICE: I am currently mostly inactive til August. As such, guild activities are temporarily halted (watch out for major revamps, changes and organizations when I'm back in full force). Any activity with Eri will be rather slow as well, but I am slowly readjusting back to "Mizahar life", so to speak, so do PM me if we have a thread that I left hanging and we'll talk.



"You must be one hardcore scholar, Eri." (Laszlo)
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[Flashback] The Way Of The Sword (Solo)

Postby Eridanus on January 19th, 2012, 3:48 pm

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When that half-bell passed, the somehow infernally accurate body clock of Oliver Camlach silently rang in the Denvali's mind, and the instructor clapped his hands to gain his student's attention.

"Very good, be sure to practice this as diligently in your free time as you did now. We will be ending soon, don't worry. I am quite certain I can see your brain exploding with an excess of information," Camlach joked.

"Master Camlach! I..." Eri protested, and the Denvali raised a hand for silence. "I jest, but just do your best to stay with me and it'll be soon over and we can go for our midday meal where we can leisurely discuss the specifics of today, or to talk about something else entirely if you wish."

"To recap-" Camlach began, and he once again settled into that familiar basic stance, moving his front foot forward and then bringing his rear foot up to match his new position. "What am I doing?"

"Gathering forward," Eridanus chanted.

"And now-" The instructor moved his left foot slightly forward so that both feet are roughly parallel similar to a normal standing position - albeit with back straight and knees bent - and he shifted his right foot forward again to match the original stance.

"Gatheri-... wait no, but it isn't passing too," The vantha wondered aloud.

"Correct!" Camlach chuckled, and upon the look of confusion on his student's face he explained, "It is neither the gathering step nor the passing step. What I just did is called the half pace. Let me show you again."

The Denvali repeated his movement several more times, executing the half pace forward repetitively as the vantha followed him, watching closely.

"Now, what's the difference between gathering and half-pacing?" Camlach directed his question at his student again, testing his ability to retain previous information as well as his skills of observation.

Eridanus took a short while to bring back the memory of what a gathering step was like, and he mentally compared the new technique he was being taught to that. Soon, the difference came to mind, the only reason he was being able to have such mental clarity due to his meditative background.

"Opposite advancing leg," Eridanus answered simply, drawing another nod of satisfaction from his instructor, but this time with a little grin as well.

"Excellent. The half pace is exactly the same as the gathering step, and one might even go as far as to say that they serve the same purpose in terms of covering space. Now what would one imagine the difference between the two to be?"

The vantha went into a deep thought again. He had honestly no idea what the difference was, except that it was executed by a different leg. He did notice that the distance covered by the half pace was much lesser than that of a normal gathering step though, and he pointed it out.

"Well, yes but if one wanted to cover a shorter distance one could just take a smaller step while gathering forward." Camlach replied, "The main tactical difference is that half paces are subtler due to that lesser distance, and so you can slightly shift your position without your opponent knowing if he was not paying enough attention. This can make the difference between getting steel in your ribcage and having that same steel land a quarter-inch away from your ribcage. Also, as it is much like normal walking, it is more natural and thus your body can perform it much faster than the gathering step, which requires you to move forward with your forward foot, which is an unnatural movement."

Camlach paused, looking at Eridanus critically before he continued, "However there is a big flaw in half paces that you must be aware of and to protect yourself against, and I will show you. First, we will practice the footwork."
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NOTICE: I am currently mostly inactive til August. As such, guild activities are temporarily halted (watch out for major revamps, changes and organizations when I'm back in full force). Any activity with Eri will be rather slow as well, but I am slowly readjusting back to "Mizahar life", so to speak, so do PM me if we have a thread that I left hanging and we'll talk.



"You must be one hardcore scholar, Eri." (Laszlo)
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Eridanus
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[Flashback] The Way Of The Sword (Solo)

Postby Eridanus on January 19th, 2012, 3:57 pm

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Eridanus settled again into the basic stance, his right foot forward and left foot backward. He shifted his left foot forward so that both feet were almost parallel, then shifted his right foot forward to maintain the integrity of the stance. He did so several times, and he had to admit that the instructor was right on both counts.

It was easy to notice for one was so used to seeing normal people walk that one brain tended to dismiss such movement, and doing so in combat could be the cause of one's downfall. He found it way easier to move as well, and therefore faster. Out of all the footwork introduced thus far this was probably the one he had the easiest time with.

The vantha did not notice Camlach silently approaching him, and as he was in the midst of executing another half-pace, the Denvali pushed him gently but firmly, and the vantha toppled to the side, yelping in surprise.

He recovered from the ground, dusting the sand from his pants and he picked up the wooden sword that he had been holding all the while, turning to face the instructor. Camlach was looking at him meaningfully, as if expecting an answer.

Eridanus did not know what he was expected to answer, and mentally went through the previous events. It was then that he realized that Camlach mentioned something about showing him the biggest weakness of the half pace technique.

Was this it? Instability?

"Is this the weakness you were talking about, Master Camlach? The instability?" He asked in an unsure manner, and Camlach's eyes twinkled as he grinned.

"Exactly. You must always take note of this flaw, for despite the advantages of the half pace, it is a risky move to pull off as you are at your most vulnerable when you are in the midst of executing it, for all your body mass is centered in one location. That is why you must master this technique completely and be able to flawlessly execute the entire half-pace so fast that your opponent cannot target you when you are at your weakest. I'd much rather you gather all the way than use a single half pace if you are not sure of it."

Camlach then had his student do the half pace several more times before he called for his student to return to him.

"Your brain still functioning? Last one, I promise. Let's do this, alright?" Oliver Camlach said encouragingly.
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NOTICE: I am currently mostly inactive til August. As such, guild activities are temporarily halted (watch out for major revamps, changes and organizations when I'm back in full force). Any activity with Eri will be rather slow as well, but I am slowly readjusting back to "Mizahar life", so to speak, so do PM me if we have a thread that I left hanging and we'll talk.



"You must be one hardcore scholar, Eri." (Laszlo)
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Eridanus
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[Flashback] The Way Of The Sword (Solo)

Postby Eridanus on January 19th, 2012, 4:07 pm

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Eridanus was physically tired from the constant holding of the blade up, and the toll of always having to grip the sword up came in the form of protesting muscles. His entire body had been worked out quite thoroughly as well due to the various footwork he had been practising throughout the couple of bells the lesson had been going on for. Most of all, he was mentally aching for he never had to accept so much information in one go before. Usually he could control the flow of information he received, but now he had to discipline his mind in terms of mental stamina to be able to handle this new regimen.

"Let's do this!" The vantha whispered encouragingly to himself, and he nodded to Camlach with conviction.

"The last part of footwork is the compass pace, or the compass step. I realized that I should have taught you this before the sloping step, but what's done is done, and you'll learning this easier because of it."

Oliver angled his forward right foot to the left by pivoting forty-five degrees on his toes, then shifting his left foot accordingly such that now he was facing ninety degrees to his left instead of the front.

"That's it. A simple way of pivoting. Only thing you must take into consideration is that your pivot should be on your toes. Also, most people make the mistake of moving the other foot in an arc of a circle when they do the compass step, which wastes time. It looks like you're pivoting in a circle and that is why most people make that mistake. Instead, you should move your other foot in a straight line for efficiency."

Camlach watched Eridanus as the vantha pivoted as described, now being able to do this more easily due to having spent the previous bell painstakingly practising the flanking techniques.

"Watch out for your stance. Moving your other leg in an arc helps you to maintain your stance, while moving it straight may disrupt it if you're unaware. Ideally you should move your leg in a straight line yet keeping your stance constant," Camlach added helpfully.

The student tried a few more times, changing the magnitude of his pivots as he executed his repetitions dutifully.
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NOTICE: I am currently mostly inactive til August. As such, guild activities are temporarily halted (watch out for major revamps, changes and organizations when I'm back in full force). Any activity with Eri will be rather slow as well, but I am slowly readjusting back to "Mizahar life", so to speak, so do PM me if we have a thread that I left hanging and we'll talk.



"You must be one hardcore scholar, Eri." (Laszlo)
First winner of the prestigious Mirage's No Kill Medal.
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[Flashback] The Way Of The Sword (Solo)

Postby Eridanus on January 19th, 2012, 4:22 pm

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Camlach watched for a chime or two, and then he clapped his hands again, causing his student to direct his gaze at him.

"Actually, I have one little bit more, you can read about it in the manual though, but do you still have any strength to continue for a little while?" Camlach asked.

Inwardly, Eridanus groaned, for he thought that it was finally at an end. His body screamed for him to stop and rest, but he was always a sucker for taking the harder path, and the logical part of his mind told him that he would have an easier time self-practising later on if he had proper instruction now instead of having to figure it out from the manual.

"Yes sir. Is it really the last one?"

Camlach chuckled, "Yes, it is really the last one. Good. I like diligence and discipline in my students."

"The last one is called the triangle step. It is really just that, footwork that resembles a triangle. You place your rear foot forward such that both feet are in a parallel position, but wider apart, then you move your other foot back. This is a little like the passing step in that you will end up in a stance mirroring your previous stance, but this step keeps you in the same position, while the passing step will necessarily require you to move forward."

Eridanus settled into the stance for the last time, and his arms shook a little as he raised his practice sword. It had been pretty light the first time he lifted it out from the sack, but now it weighted at least three times heavier, and Eri could have sworn that the sword had been getting heavier by the chime.

Dragging his leg forward to resemble the parallel position, he fought hard to keep his stance accurate, back groaning as he forced it to remain upright and he shifted his other leg back, again making adjustments to remain faithful to the ideal posture.

Camlach tutted and poked several parts of the vantha's body with his wooden sword to shift them into the correct position, but he did not comment for he knew that his student was already tired but making an effort. That was enough for him. Talent was nothing without determination.

Clapping his hands for the last time for the day, the instructor remarked, "And we're done! At ease, student Eridanus."

At which point Eridanus slumped his shoulder, drooping his sword on the ground and using it as a cane to support himself as he allowed himself to breathe more comfortably.

"We have gone through the anatomy of the sword, its various characteristics and advantages. The grips. The basic posture. And the footwork. Humour me, what footwork did we do?" Camlach asked Eridanus.

The student was tired, but he forced himself to maintain mental clarity as he meditatively banished the fatigue from his mind as much as he could, reviewing the event-choked bells that have passed by.

"Gathering... passing... sloping... half-pace... compass... triangle..." Eridanus stated one after the other.

"Very good. You are allowed to keep your practice sword as long as you remain within the premises of this school. Deposit them with the armory clerk before you leave, and next time for future classes please draw it from the clerk before you come to the courtyard. Furthermore, you are allowed to draw the practice sword for your own practice sessions in this Academy, but remember the sword must never leave the campus grounds. Understood?"

Eridanus sighed with relief when Camlach really ended the lesson, and he could feel his spirits rising a little. "Yes sir," He replied, with a little more spirit than he had earlier.
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NOTICE: I am currently mostly inactive til August. As such, guild activities are temporarily halted (watch out for major revamps, changes and organizations when I'm back in full force). Any activity with Eri will be rather slow as well, but I am slowly readjusting back to "Mizahar life", so to speak, so do PM me if we have a thread that I left hanging and we'll talk.



"You must be one hardcore scholar, Eri." (Laszlo)
First winner of the prestigious Mirage's No Kill Medal.
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Eridanus
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[Flashback] The Way Of The Sword (Solo)

Postby Eridanus on January 19th, 2012, 4:24 pm

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Camlach went to the corner of the courtyard where he placed the sack of weapons and hauled it up easily, beckoning for his student to follow him out of the training area.

Their first lesson in this specially customized, accelerated course had went smoothly, and his student showed exceptional dedication to the lesson. Honestly, he believed the vantha to have great potential which was why he himself had put so much into structuring the lesson and teaching him patiently.

Camlach would be looking forward to the next lesson.
Image
NOTICE: I am currently mostly inactive til August. As such, guild activities are temporarily halted (watch out for major revamps, changes and organizations when I'm back in full force). Any activity with Eri will be rather slow as well, but I am slowly readjusting back to "Mizahar life", so to speak, so do PM me if we have a thread that I left hanging and we'll talk.



"You must be one hardcore scholar, Eri." (Laszlo)
First winner of the prestigious Mirage's No Kill Medal.
User avatar
Eridanus
It's Peanut Butter Jelly Time!
 
Posts: 1893
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Joined roleplay: October 24th, 2011, 2:03 am
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[Flashback] The Way Of The Sword (Solo)

Postby Legion on February 3rd, 2012, 4:31 pm

Thread Award


Eridanus
Long Sword +5, Observation +3, Meditation +1, Bodybuilding +3
Student of Oliver Camlach, The Academy (location lore), Oliver Camlach (person lore), Anatomy of a Sword, (Suvan/Denvali) Swordsmanship: Footwork, (Suvan/Denvali) Swordsmanship: Sword Grips, (Suvan/Denvali) Swordsmanship: Standard Posture

Consequence & Commentary
Congratulations on achieving expert level in long sword! I admit to having been tempted to knock off a point or two due to the increased difficulty, however the sheer length and detail of your thread absolutely constituted +5.

As for Denvali swordsmanship having originated in the Suvan Empire, you are correct that such is the case and you have permission to have Camlach reveal that to Eridanus in later threads.

Well done all around. Feel free to contact me with any questions or concerns.
Legion

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