Completed [Training Grounds] Old Dog, New Tricks

[Jantys Vane]

Jantys takes the advice silently and equivocally, nodding his head a little bit as he processed the information. He imagined the exchange from another angle, and realized the knight was quite right; all of those options would have been effective. He felt a bit dull for not having thought of any of them. I guess that's why I'm training, though. Better to petch up now than in a swordfight. Although, to be entirely honest, he could imagine no time in which he would be in a swordfight. He frowns a bit when Markus says not to wince. He supposed that made sense, but it seemed a bit difficult. Not if you think about it in terms of tavern fights. Wincing doesn't weaken the blow, but not wincing lets you stop a second one, doesn't it? You try and get back in the fight as soon as possible. He just had to have faith in his abilities. He nods as Markus steps back, and raises his shield. So basically I think he's saying I should get in my opponent's face, give them no arm room to swing around by blocking their attack sooner than they though. Dimly he realized that would be a pretty effective tactic in a fistfight as well. As Markus's blade comes down, Jantys hardens his features, stepping forward before the blow and blocking the strike without a change on his face. As he does so, he swings an underhanded horizontal cut at Markus' side, remembering what the knight said about counterattacks.

[Markus Andres]

Boom. Markus' sword connected with the raised shield. Heavy clang could be heard when the metals connected. The squire performed admirably. Stepping forward and blocking the shield and got in close and prevented Markus from retrieving the sword with ease. Markus wouldn't know if Vane's face changed, but he did see something else that did worry him. The squire's right arm was sweeping in from the side. Easily deflected if Markus had his shield. He had not expected the squire would actually attack. He had slacked his defences. But one thing he did note, the timing, outstanding. The second clang was a little more painful to Markus than the first. Luckily the armour and padding absorbed most of the force in the attack. The attack was sloppy, however. It helped a lot to soften the power in the blow. The squire was not accustomed to striking yet. That was about then that Markus decided it was time to have some fun with the squire. He let go with his left hand from the hilt and swung his arm down. Trapping the blade between his arm and torso. Markus' sword would slide on the shield and then strike directly down towards the wrist of the old squire. Aiming to disarm the squire and relieve him of his weapon. Naturally, the squire could at any time pull the blade directly back. Markus would just slap the sword hard with his own. Even if he didn't disarm him, Markus would step back and away. "Excellent. The timing on your counter attack was great. Though, when fighting armoured opponents, try to stab rather than cut. Focus the energy of your attack into a single point and pierce the armour rather than cut. As you can see" Markus gestured to the area where the squire had struck. There was a minor scrape but nothing serious on the armour. "It isn't as effective against armoured opponents. Unarmoured, swing away." Had Markus gotten his sword he would hand it back to the squire. "The timing was there. But your swing needs practice." Markus advised. "Try that swing again. Then follow up with a diagonal swing down at my left shoulder." He ordered. Stepping back and holding his sword ready to deflect the attacks.

[Jantys Vane]

Jantys felt a moment of elation as his attack hit, which was unaffected by it failing to do anything; he was just glad he had managed to get a hit on the knight. It's not so hard. Just like fistfights but a little more complex, that's all. Speaking of complex, the knight did something Jantys didn't expect in the slightest; he trapped the other man's blade with his arm and side. In a brawl, such tactics were more commonplace, but it seemed almost absurd in a knightly duel. Jantys' instincts told him to let go of the sword and punch the other knight in the mouth, but before he even had time to let go, the knight's blade rapped down smartly on the elder man's wrist. Pulling back and letting go of his sword, he takes a step back even as the knight does. Jantys grunts, his mind thinking over what the knight had said, then notices his mistake. "Ahem. Yes, ser." He takes back his sword, readying a position again. As he does so, he stands a little closer than he had before; he figured some more mobility would make it easier to transfer momentum to the swing. Well, he didn't figure that exactly; it was more instinct than anything else. Also, he mentally reminds himself which was the knight's left side; he didn't want to look stupid and swing at the wrong one. He raises his shield, then chops at the other knight's side, bending and whipping the blade in an arc with his shoulder. Whatever happens to that, his next move was to pull back his arm and swing a swift follow-up attack at the other knight's left shoulder. This one was more of a straight chop.

[Markus Andres]

oocApologies for being slow!

Markus nodded to the squire to let him begin. The squire was easy to read. Markus' master had once told him that to beware of novices in combat, for they knew not what they were doing, a master you could somewhat predict to behave in a certain manner. Novices, unpredictable. But having told the squire how to attack made it much easier to read his attacks. The defensive shield in place. There were mistakes. Openings. But none so grievous that Markus had to exploit them. Markus' sword went out. Blocking the first strike with a seeming ease that only years of training could afford him. Naturally, once again it helped tremendously that he knew the follow up attack beforehand. The squire's movements. Easy to read. Slower than they ought be. Less refined than a regular knight's. Still better than Markus expected a drunkard from the tavern would be capable of. Perhaps marginally better. Though the double strike was not committed to muscle memory like Markus' attacks. Markus had stepped back between strikes. Putting some distance between the two fighters. Markus' sword went up and blocked the overhead chop by holding the sword horizontal. As the blades connected, Markus began his own swing. Sliding the squire's blade to the crossguard where he could better control it. Guiding the squire's sword around and away from Markus. There was no other purpose than Markus not wanting the sword looming over his unprotected head. Looking at the squire, it was hard to determine what was most important to teach him. With Savitaire it had been easy, he was a fresh squire who Markus knew somewhat where he had him. The squire before him, knew the basics at least. But how much he knew in total was beyond Markus. His strikes, simple as they were still needed work, but that wasn't something Markus could help with in a single training session. He made a mental note to find this squire again later this season or early next season. Just to check his progress. Instead, there was something he could teach the squire did he not already know it. A simple question could make it clear to Markus how much the squire knew. Markus rubbed his chin again. "Right. Needs work. All I can say is, strike fast and strike hard. Always. - For something different. If I or anyone in this room was to attack you now. What would your defensive capabilities be?" There were the two obvious possibilities, both were attached to each their arm. But did he know more than that, as a brawler, he probably could name a few other. Yet, Markus was curious as to what the squire would know.

[Jantys Vane]

Jantys stepped back, glad the knight seemed satisfied with the bout so far. Of course, he knew he needed work, but the knight didn't point out anything else, so Jantys figured he didn't have any glaring weaknesses in his form. Lowering his arms and loosening them, he keeps an eye on the knight as he asks his question. Jantys raises his brow and surprise, beginning to grimace in response to the question. Well, ser, if it were a knight such as yea or any a th' others, I'd begin prayin' to Kelwyn. 'Bout the best hope ah'd have, ser." He scratches his cheek, his fingertips rasping a bit against the day-old stubble. "Guessin' that's not what you were lookin' for as an answer. Ah'd guess ah'd... Fight yea on diff'rent terms, ser. Ah know if ah skilled oppon'nt tried t' take me down, th' best ah could do would be t' try an' surprise em, ser. They'd smash right through any defense ah could muster, so some kinda counter-attack." He goes on his haunches, poking at the ground. "Ah'd probably duck, with m' shield over m' head, ser, an' stab forward hard as ah could. An' pray." He stands straight again, stretching his back just a little with an appreciable crack. "If ah thought ah could take em, like a squire or somesuch, I'd block w' my shield an' fight like ah been trainin'. Like ah knight. E'ther way, I'd want t' end it quickly, ser."

[Markus Andres]

It was very hard not to frown at the very obvious defeatism the squire showed at the promise of fighting a knight. Markus never liked defeatism, he had felt it grip his own heart too many times. He hated the feeling. Resignation to death was never a way to engage in a fight. But the squire was quick to backtrack from that way of thinking and instead gave him something a little more useful. At last, some fighting spirit. "Duck with the shield over your head and stab out?" Markus repeated the words to the squire, hoping he would catch just how ridiculous that style of attack would be. "That would be a very defensive attack to say the least. Leave you rather immobile should the stab not meet its target. If I swept your attack aside and simply kicked up under your shield, you'd most likely end up on your ass." Markus' words were instructional, but he still couldn't hide the fact that Vane had chosen a poor defensive position. "In other words, you're making yourself an easy target to hammer away upon. Any dodge might leave you tripped and sprawling on the floor. Always try to remain standing in a fight. Offers the best of mobility and balance. Even skilled opponents make mistakes, especially if they think you'll be an easy defeat." Saying this seemed almost silly. But the squire had offered a half-assed counter attack. The last thing he said, however, was right after Markus' heart. Finish it quickly. Markus was a very aggressive fighter and when he ran into someone better than him or even similarly skilled than him, he always improvised and tried to think of unorthodox ways to tackle the problem. Reckless fighting very much described Markus' style. He had armour and a heater shield to protect him from unforeseen counter attacks. But it had taken Markus years to master that art and he had far from perfected it, Razkar had proven that much by simply thwarting every attack. Would be reckless and stupid to aspire other fighters to fight the way he did. "But you are very right about wanting to end it quickly. As you have probably noticed by now. Wearing heavy armour taps your endurance rather quickly. But when I asked you, I was talking more on the... Theoretical level of combat. I mean, you have nothing to fear from me at this range." To illustrate his point and make sure the older squire was listening, the Bastard came down diagonally before the squire. Just outside his shield, another quarter of an inch and the tip would have scraped across the shield. "My effective attack range is somewhere about the range we're at right now. So you know I can't strike you without stepping forward. That is the first thing you do in combat. Look at your opponent. His weapon, his height, arms, etcetera. If you can strike at him and he can't counter attack... Keep him at that distance. That was one example, there are three more, four more technically, but your armour is not a defence you should actively rely on in combat." Markus let the usual smile grace his face for a moment as he looked at the squire. "I know, I know. You came here for a fight and instead you got a lesson. Just humour me, Vane. What other three defences could you think of?"

[Radiant]

Jantys :

Experience

Skill	XP Earned
Observation	+2 XP
Rhetoric	+1 XP
Weapon: Longsword	+2 XP
Weapon: Shield	+2 XP
Endurance	+1 XP

Lores

Lore Earned

Markus: Syliran Knight

Code Of Conduct: Addressing Superiors With 'Ser'

Combat: Wincing Is Bad

Combat: Intercepting Attacks

Longsword: Stabbing Against Armoured Foes

Loots

+1 Shield Point

Markus :

Experience

Skill	XP Earned
Observation	+2 XP
Leadership	+1 XP
Teaching	+3 XP

Lores

Lore Earned

Jantys: Squire

Combat: Wincing Is Bad

Combat: Intercepting Attacks

Longsword: Stabbing Against Armoured Foes

Loots

+1 Shield Point

Notes :

Hmm... I got the feeling that this thread ended because of inactivity. I gave what I could.

Markus, as you are a Master in your sword and shield, I can't give you any points from him teaching a novice. You do get the Teaching skill though!

My radiance is not bright enough?

If you have any questions or concerns regarding your grade, beam me a PM and we can work it out.