7th of Winter
Today, Reed warmed up with a pollaxe. Though blunted, it still cleaved chunks out of the practice dummy he was swinging against. The ‘dummy’ was made up of two thick, roughhewn logs, strapped crosswise with rope. “Remember your form Reed” Kaer admonished from the side, holding a pole axe of his own. Chagrined, he imitated his mentor, griping the lower end of the haft with his right hand, and the upper with his left. “When sparring, you are going to want to jab with the bottom till you force an opening. From there, you’ve got three great choices for a strike.” Demonstrating, Kaer swung forward with the bottom of his pollaxe, striking the dummy with the metal que end before he took a step backwards and swung the head downwards. The axe cracked into the head of the dummy and sliced off the top few inches.
Taking a step forward, he went through the strikes in slow motion. First, he swung the bottom of the axe out, and swept the cue in upwards. It bounced off the arm, so he pulled back, trying again. He wasn’t used to working with such reach before, and to be honest he was exhausted from his training earlier in the day. As hard as they worked him in the pits, he didn’t have to do it strapped up in a harness of plate. That made everything immensely more exhausting. His second swing paced the arm but missed the top mark he was going for. He tried again, going even slower this time, and tapped carefully a place on the “upper chest” of the dummy. Then pulling down with his right, and up with his left, he worked the head of the pollaxe carefully through an arch till it came gently to rest against the side of the dummy’s head.
Muscles trembling, he held the pose for a few moments before letting his arms droop, pollaxe held horizontally before him. “I like it”
“You are holding it a bit too close to the head and too far from the end, but you are getting the picture” Kaer replied sternly, showing him again how he was holding the weapon. Reed nodded and adjusted his grip on the haft. Right foot forward, and left back a step, he held the pollaxe at an angle. Like Kaer was doing, he carried it horizontally, the metal butt waving in front of him. According to Kaer, this was so he could fend off strikes, and provoke an opening before swinging in with the slower, heavier end. It made sense to him. Whether it had been a cage fight or the pits, swinging around heavy objects tended to make you vulnerable if you couldn’t swing them fast enough. That’s because they were much more predictable when it came to strike with them, so you either had to surprise them with speed, or force them into a position where they would not be able to dodge or counterattack in time. Even better if you could do both. Personally, Reed preferred a good chair, but he was quickly growing fond of the power behind the pollaxe. Plus, a chair would have a hard time against armored opponents.
After jabbing the dummy with the metal butt in a straightforward strike, he tried swinging it like Kaer had and promptly missed. His axe head buried itself in the soil after hitting nothing but air. Halfheartedly, Reed tried raising it from the soil, but burned out, he leaned against the pollaxe instead.