Completed [Iron Fist School]Glory of a Gladius[Savio]

[Ssafirsotibones]

Bones had simply meant to knock the blow wide, he had not meant to disarm Savio. However, perhaps in part due to his own skill and strength, and in part due to his foes lack of said things, he did. He then watched as the boy man rushed off to do as he had ordered, practicing making blows on a dummy. Bones took the time to calm himself. His breathing was not overly affected, nor was he really tired not having even been using his full strength... But he took the time to let the battle fade from him, to calm himself... The last thing he wanted was his blood lust or hunger taking over, and so instead he took some moments to breath slowly and evenly, clear his mind, and calm himself. He gave him his time to respond, giving how he felt he should deal with it, without commenting. "You are not wrong. But not being wrong, doesss not make you right. Ssough really, wiss sssuch quessstionsss asss ssat, ssere might not be a exact right anssswer to achieve. Sse fact ssat you consssider it now, isss sse important ssing. Asss inevitably, an opponent sssuch asss ssat will face you. Or perhapsss a opponent wiss both qualitiesss in excessss of you, boss ssstrengss and ssspeed. For now, ssskill will be your failing, asss it will pale in comparissson to anyone even ssslightly ssskilled in wielding a blade. Only time will fix ssat. Time, practice, and training." "If nossing elssse, I could assssissst you in sssome sssimple defensssive techniquesss. Ssere are ssree main waysss to deal wiss an incoming attack. You can avoid it asss I did. If you are not were sse blade travelsss to, you will not be hit. Sse sssecond isss to block. Meet force wiss force, wiss brute ssstrengss overpowering ssem. Ssisss can be tricky, asss if you aim wrong sse enemy blow will jussst glance off and perhapsss ssstill hit. Or it might even ssrow your own blade back at you." Bones paused for a moment, letting what he said sink in, before going on to the last one. "And finally, isss to deflect. Deflection isss much easssier to ussse ssan a block, asss it requiresss lessss brute ssstrengss, but more planning. Inssstead of trying to ssstop sse blow in itsss tracksss, you sssimply guide sse blow ssso ssat it missssesss you. Much easssier to do. You ussse your foesss own momentum and power againssst ssem to make it missss. For ssstopping a ssslash or blow once you launch it isss not easssy. But redirecting it isss to a degree." Bones paused for a moment, and then brought his fake wooden blade up before him. "Alright, ssso I will ssshow you. Come at me, sssome ssslashesss, sssome ssstabs, and try to hit." speech : "You are not wrong. But not being wrong, does not make you right. Though really, with such questions as that, there might not be a exact right answer to achieve. The fact that you consider it now, is the important thing. As inevitably, an opponent such as that will face you. Or perhaps a opponent with both qualities in excess of you, both strength and speed. For now, skill will be your failing, as it will pale in comparison to anyone even slightly skilled in wielding a blade. Only time will fix that. Time, practice, and training." "If nothing else, I could assist you in some simple defensive techniques. There are three main ways to deal with an incoming attack. You can avoid it as I did. If you are not were the blade travels to, you will not be hit. The second is to block. Meet force with force, with brute strength overpowering them. This can be tricky, as if you aim wrong the enemy blow will just glance off and perhaps still hit. Or it might even throw your own blade back at you." "And finally, is to deflect. Deflection is much easier to use than a block, as it requires less brute strength, but more planning. Instead of trying to stop the blow in its tracks, you simply guide the blow so that it misses you. Much easier to do. You use your foes own momentum and power against them to make it miss. For stopping a slash or blow once you launch it is not easy. But redirecting it is to a degree." "Alright, so I will show you. Come at me, some slashes, some stabs, and try to hit."

[Savio]

Savio listened to Bones’ advice closely, making sure that it stays in his memory. Savio was well aware how physically weak he was. And he was sure that there were more men like Ximal out there that would easily overpower him without the use of weapons or magic. That’s why Savio was coming to Bones to learn how to use a weapon. Unarmed combat is a useful skill and Savio wanted to focus on that, but knowing how to use other forms of combat would give him the edge he will need if he was ever in danger.

After Bones’ first pause, he continued to point the three different types of defense; Avoiding, Blocking, and Deflecting. The teacher’s explanation was detailed and logical. It made sense to Savio how and when each form of defense could come in handy, though Savio doubted that he would be much good at blocking. Avoiding and deflecting seemed like the go to moves Savio would use.

Once the brief lesson was done, Bones lifted his wooden Gladius in a defensive position and commanded Savio to attack him once more. Savio felt dread seep into his mind as he too lifted his blade.

Savio took a deep breath and stepped forward to Bones. He then attempted to lash out with a stab, aiming for Bone’s chest. If it was blocked, Savio would then try to slash at Bone’s left arm, and then follow that attack with another slash to Bone’s right hip.

Savio’s form was still terrible and his stance was off balance since he didn’t know the proper stance for someone who was welding a weapon.

[Ssafirsotibones]

As they slipped into the fray once more, Bones eyes narrowed, his face growing serious as it usually did when he focused on a fight, as he slipped into the stream of battle and blood and fury and pain and instinct and rapturous joy of victory. The first incoming blow was the easiest to deal with, the thrust. A incoming thrust was dealt with in a similar way to how one dealt with a incoming fist in unarmed combat. You altered the direction it was coming in at, its leading edge, so that the rest would follow, and the blow would go wide. However a thrust was very hard to outright block, since the tip of the blade which was the leading end of the blow served as a very small target. Bones slashed upward with his blade, smacking the length of the wooden gladius on its left side about midway down its length. Once it hit, Bones applied pressure, making it go wide. Instead of the tip of the weapon smacking into Bones chest, it veered off and went wide of his chest by a good foot. Then he pulled his blade back and released as Savio's weapon went off to the right and moved in for a slash. A slash was trickier to deflect, and in fact was easier to use a block with, at least compared to a stab. He applied force again in another slash, but this one was angled differently than the last. This one was a upward slash, aiming for the underside of the oncoming blade. Unlike a a thrust which used linear motion coming right at Bones, which was easy to track and tell were it would be, the slash was angling in from the side, and instead Bones had to aim were the blade would be in a ticks time, intercepting it mid slash. There was a dull thunk of wood on wood, which reverberated up the sword wielding arm of Bones, as the slash of Savio went high, over Bones arm, and just over his head. Bones had almost petched that one up, and quite nearly got smacked in the forehead by the blow of Savio. He took a half step back, and looked at Savio, trying to keep his breathing even. All on instinct, next to no direct planning or thought out reactions. After all, thinking would spend precious bits of ticks, which he could not afford in a fast paced exchange. Instead, he did as he training taught him to do, react by instinct to keep himself from harm. That fact that he was still alive meant it had more or less worked so far. Though a few scars on his body would argue otherwise. The final blow came in low, aimed at his hip. Which meant for this blow, he would want to send the attacking weapon downward, along with gravity, and down into the floor they stood on. He used an overhanded strike, coming down on top of the incoming blade of Savio to sweep it downward. However his aim was off just a few inches, and only his blade tip struck the blade of Savio. It wobbled and swerved a bit, but still came down, grazing Bones thigh with a good smack of the wood. Bones let out a hiss of pain, and took a hurried step backward. "Not bad, not bad. Now why don't you try to defend sssome of mine? I will make ssem ssslow, ssso ssink it ssrough, how to offssset sse motion, and redirect it." Bones would pause for a few moments, and then slowly move forward at a snails pace, aiming a thrust at Savio's chest. Once he avoided this thrust with a deflection or redirection, he would reset and do the same thrust again, only slightly faster. And faster. By the fifth thrust, he was doing it as full speed. He would do the same thing with a slash aimed at Savio's knees, slowing speeding it up after each one till the fifth was at full speed. Giving him ample time to think at first, and then at the end simply reacting without thinking as he had drilled it. Such drilling was basic, but was one of the easiest ways to learn techniques, and would come in handy when you did not have time to think in a real fight. Or if needed he could use it with a slight bit of deviation, once he got a bit better. speech : "Not bad, not bad. Now why don't you try to defend some of mine? I will make them slow, so think it through, how to offset the motion, and redirect it."

[Savio]

Savio paid close attention to how Bones deflected each of his attacks. He was just slow enough for Savio to be able to see each movement. He watched as Bones blocked his stab by altering the direction, and then his first slash by blocking it with an upward slash, preventing Savio’s wooden blade from going where he had intended and moved it higher with a loud thunk. The clack of wood on wood sounds throughout the room, and it made Savio’s arm vibrate with the clashing energy that ran the course of the weapons. Savio was surprised at how close his weapon came to hitting Bones in the forehead.

A simple mistake; no one was perfect.

Bones seemed to realize his folly and took a step back, but Savio followed him to continue his final attack. Bones went to block it, but one again he goofed; his blade only barely touching Savio’s weapon. This caused Savio’s wooden Gladius to wobble slightly and move higher than he had intended, actually hitting Bones’ thigh. This surprised Savio a great deal.

Savio gave Bones a concerned look has he heard the teacher hiss in pain and take another step back from his student. But Bones’ praised reassured the young man that he was fine. Savio nodded at the other man’s suggestion and slipped into a stance that had mimicked his opponent’s.

Savio watched as Bones eased forward at a very slow pace. At first it confused Savio, but realization was quick and Savio then understood that Bones wanted him to get used to the movements. Savio thought back to how Bones had redirected his own thrusts and copied the movement. The maneuver felt foreign to him, but it had successfully knocked the blade wide. Bones did this over and over again, each time gaining speed. After about five thrusts, Savio had become accustomed to the motions of deflecting the weapon. By the time they had reached full speed the motions were natural, like it was second nature. Savio grinned to himself at how well he was doing.

Then Bones switched to slashing at Savio’s knees, and like he had done with the thrusts he started off slowly and worked up towards the speed. Savio blocked the slashes with a downward slash of his own, making sure that he didn’t make the same mistake his teacher had when they were sparing earlier. Soon, the blocking had also become instinctual. Savio found that this form of teaching was much easier for him, and he caught on quicker.

[Ssafirsotibones]

Of course, if he had been doing this at full speed, as he would in real combat, Savio would not have been nearly as successful at defending himself. He also would not keep using the same move over and over again. But this was about teaching him to react correctly to moves, to learn how to better defend himself. Fluidity to his responses would come in time. For now, he just needed to know the basics of how to respond to a few basic moves. Which could be expanded on later. By the time he was done with all of the attacks, Savio was actually doing decent enough, able to block them. Though it was as much to booster the boys confidence in himself, that he could do it, that he could defend himself, as it was about learning. For once you knew you could do it, it was a simple step to go on to more and more and learn better and better ways to defend oneself. "Alright, I ssink ssat isss good for ssisss lesssson. Till we meet again. Make sssure to practice, to familiarize yourssself wiss sse weapon, and don't ussse it for real until you are ssskilled enough. Asss you are now, you would be cut down. But sssoon enough you will be ssskilled enough to fight." With that, Bones headed over and placed his wooden weapon on the rack, and returned to sit in the position he had been in when Savio first arrived. It had been a fruitful first meeting. speech : "Alright, I think that is good for this lesson. Till we meet again. Make sure to practice, to familiarize yourself with the weapon, and don't use it for real until you are skilled enough. As you are now, you would be cut down. But soon enough you will be skilled enough to fight."

[Balderdash]

Delicious rewards! Happy days and jubilation!

Bones :

Skill	XP Awarded
Teaching	4
Weapon: Gladius	3
Observation	1
Rhetoric	2

Lores: Always Gotta Be Packing, Savio The Tiny Baby Man, Promoting the Gladius, When To Block And Deflect, Savio's Weak Stance

Items and Consequences: A light bruise on the thigh- it'll heal over the course of four days.

You! :

Skill	XP Awarded
Weapon: Gladius	5
Observation	2

Lores: Recovering From A Rough Night, The Virtues of the Gladius, The Drawbacks Of Long Blades, Wait And Observe, Deflecting Is Superior To Blocking (For Little People)

Items and Consequences: Whoo! More bruises! One on the thigh and side. They will heal over the course of four days.

Mmm! Feel that training burn. Short, snappy, and to the point. I liked it.

If you have any questions or concerns about this grade, please PM me. A happy you is a happy Balderdash!