[Flashback] Training with the Bull (Part I) [Solo]

[Shakaar]

Shakaar 47th of Summer 507AV It had been 10 days since the Bull had finished working with Shakaar his “investment”. So Shakaar had been taking a much needed rest. He hadn’t been fighting in the ring either; it had been a very slow time for the pits. However this didn’t bother Shakaar, he had spent his free time healing up from the damage that the Bull had inflicted on him. His back had only recently closed and he was beginning to feel whole once again. His body was once again becoming strong and the pain was starting to leave him. He had spent hours cleaning and wrapping his wounds to ensure that they didn’t infect. He had washed the dirty rages clean and had attempted to keep his wounds as sanitary as he could in such a place as the pits. Through some miracle it worked, his wounds remained without infection and he managed to get them healed in a relatively short amount of time. There were still small amounts of bruising but that wasn’t something to be worried about. You could get a bruise walking down the street. Such trivial wounds meant nothing to Shakaar. This day he sat in his bleak room and stared disinterestedly at the walls. He was bored, he hadn’t fought for over a week and now that he was healed it was starting to grate on him. He was a born fighter and the pits had fed upon that spirit. Shakaar was never happy to just sit around, he wanted to go out and do something. Preferably it would involve the killing of something else but that isn’t always an option so a brawl at least would be welcome. He had even thought about starting a fight with another slave of the pit, but Ahajii had talked him out of the deed. Telling him that if he broke a possession of the Bull, he would be punished and it wouldn’t be a light punishment to be sure. So in deference to his brother’s wisdom Shakaar had agreed to stay in his room. This agreement had caused him to wonder what in the name of all the god’s was he going to do with himself. He had tried meditation, and that worked about as well as a fish trying to fly. He couldn’t focus, even with Ahajii mentally slapping him every time he lost concentration Shakaar drifted into subconscious thought, or he would start watching a fly move around the room. In short he quickly stopped trying that exercise. Instead he tried to do some body building. This worked out for some time. He spent a while doing pushups, he made sure to keep his back perfectly straight and his arms in the proper positions. He then moved on to some squat techniques a Myrian prisoner had taught him while he was still in the slave market. These were said to give you legs of steel, and hey they hurt like hell so why not believe it! After that he took a break, his arms were burning and his legs felt like lead. He reached into a bucket and pulled out a cup of water. He let the life giving liquid dribble down his chin as he immersed himself in that one moment. Joy was such a rare experience for the Akalak that he enjoyed it as much as he possibly could when it did come. So he rested and prepared for when he would work again.

[Shakaar]

Shakaar When he had rested Shakaar started back into his exercises. He repeated what he had done previously, except that this time he worked harder. Attempting to push back his pain and continue on his willpower alone. This way he could know that he was working to his utmost and not meeting a mental quota. It was during the squats that his legs collapsed from under him, he lay on the floor panting and his legs felt as though had been stabbed by a sharp knife. After about a minute of rest, Shakaar forced himself to sit up. Then he stood, albeit a little shakily and walked over to the water bucket. Once again he let his head back and fully appreciated the cold liquid water as it washed down his parched throat. After he had recuperated from the second and more intense workout Shakaar decided that he would try some of the more sane training exercises that the Bull had taught him. He walked over to the hard earthen wall and began to punch it. Earth would hopefully be more forgiving then stone, even if it was hardened from years of weathering. He stood there beating his knuckles into the wall, but also bending his knees slightly so that he would also be working out his leg muscles both the lower and upper leg. He continued doing this until his knuckles ached from punching and his arms were starting to feel numb from the jarring of the blows. So he walked over to the water bucket once again, but this time Shakaar rubbed the cool liquid on his aching arms. He felt the aching subside at least a little and started to rub up and down the aching muscles. The feeling that he shook his arms to pieces subsided fairly quickly due to the massage and the cool down. Now that he had done this Shakaar was once again at a loss, he couldn’t decide what to do next. So he decided to practice his forms. Every martial artist has a form that they follow; some are very rigid and traditional, others are fluid and new to the artist. But they at least have a few movements that they have set into a movement for solo practice. Shakaar didn’t have a form per say, but he did have a series of strikes that he would practice throwing with precision into thin air.

[Shakaar]

Shakaar Shakaar stood facing the back wall of his room. He was no longer without focus, when he began to think of a fight every emotion left him and he let his body do it all. His mind merely watching to see if intervention was necessary. He had found this a useful tactic as it let him focus on the battle without stressing over his movements, mind without mind. It was the way of the warrior. He stepped forward with his left foot, bringing his hands close to his face. His left hand was slightly lower than the right. This was to create a power and speed difference that would give a sense of timing and rhythm to his blows. His head suddenly bobbed to the side; a feint designed to trick his opponent into following him. Instead of moving his right leg shot up high and came crashing down in an arc shaped like that of an axe. He followed this with a flurry of punches and then dropped toward the ground with a knee. This opponent would now be finished, so he turned quickly to the left and charge as he turned. Slamming his imaginary opponent into the wall and caving in his face with several well placed blows. He now stood listening, he then whirled around to find two more opponents, these men held daggers. He started to weave, side to side until he saw an opening. One of the men faded to the right, so Shakaar charge to the left, bringing one opponent into the middle and the other directly behind him. Shakaar let out a twisted grin, and then quickly shot out his foot. It caught the first man in the shin causing him to look down. He then brought his fist straight into the man’s jaw, dropping him out cold. He caught the knife up off the floor and took it in his hand using it like a bar to increase his striking power. While he knew little about dagger combat, he knew a lot about taking up objects and fighting with them so he used that philosophy. When the second man came forward, he was slightly more tentative. So Shakaar feinted straight forward then right, finally throwing the knife towards the man’s chest. Predicatively he failed to pierce the chest; however he did cause the man to flinch which was just as good in his book. This single flinch gave him the time to charge forward and bring his knee into the man’s gut, and then drop his elbow onto the man’s head. Shakaar kneeled on the ground and pulled himself out of his very realistic daydream / training exercise. He shook his head and then walked over to the bucket again, this time it was more for pleasure although he did work himself hard throughout the entire form. Shakaar was not one to let himself off the hook very easily.

[Shakaar]

Shakaar “It’s time” mentioned Ahajii to Shakaar. Shakaar sighed and then proceeded to let Ahajii control the body. “Complaining Bastard…” muttered Shakaar quietly in the back of their mind. “Oh be silent you big baby… It’s once a day and all you have to do is sit here and watch. Now if you would please be shut up… I need some peace and quiet. Every day Ahajii took dominance of the body and he went through a series of meditative drills and balance holds to improve his speed and clarity in combat. He loved to just sit and listen to the sound of the world around him. It gave him a sense of unity with everything around him. Shakaar of course thought of it as a petching waste of time and energy, but that didn’t bother Ahajii in the slightest. So he sat down and crossed his legs, placing his hands in his lap. When he closed his eyes all he could see was blackness, it covered everything. He found peace in the nothingness; it was the only place that he could go that was nowhere. It wasn’t in the blood pits where he was held captive, it wasn’t in the city of Sunberth where he had been sold, it was a place where he alone could reach. He spent several hours in this dream like state, with neither a person to interrupt his meditation nor Shakaar to break his concentration. For once his brother was just being silent. After this period of rest came to an end Ahajii stood and stretched out his back. He would now go onto a series of holds that would induce flexibility, alignment, and strength. He firmly believed that these exercises were the key to a victory in combat. He was in fact so sure that this was the key to their success, that he ignored Shakaar’s scoffing and took credit for their wins. Every day he did these holds, every day he became stronger, faster, and more flexible. It was only a matter of time before these forms ran out of power for him, and when that happens he would need to find better holds with which to increase his ability. The first hold that he would go into would stretch his upper legs and some of his lower legs. He had been told that it would also increase the strength of your core muscles. He had no way of knowing but hey maybe it did work. He took his right leg and bent it forward bending its knee but keeping the left leg straight back. He then proceeded to bend his body in several ways to promote alignment in his back. He held this pose for several minutes and then released it. His body was covered in a thick lather of sweat. While these poses may not look like a lot of work they most certainly gave you a run for your money. His next stretches were simple. Now that he was warmed up he could properly stretch out his arms and legs in order to prevent any injury due to overextension when in combat. He took his arm and stretched it hard across his chest, while at the same time trying to move his chest in the opposite direction to put the most amount of pressure on his shoulder muscles. Then he took his arm and slung it over his head, pulling down to stretch out the chest and the area under his arm. The arms didn’t take too long and felt very nice when the pressure was released. He was breathing slower now, and he could feel his heartbeat begin to slow. Bending over he took his right leg and brought it out horizontally from his body. Then he bent over each leg in turn and stretched out the entire leg. He then came to the center and came up very slowly. This finished his stretches. The only thing left was for Shakaar to give the same comment he gave every other day at about this time “Well are you quite finished you son of petching fish!” --END--