Thought and Thinking Through (Bones)

[Naia Whitewater]

Speech | Thoughts

"Alright - no compromising," Naia said, more to herself than any other, a small giggle of defeat leaving her before she nodded shortly, taking every ounce of information she could from the words spoken prior, rolling them over in her mind as she made as many key little links between what was said and what occurred when she acted.

An analysis was, in short, something she took to with fervour, more so with fighting than writing. The later could scarcely be done without a wealth of background knowledge, and exploits into context and technique, often causing Naia to either ensure she was already well-read, or press herself to rectify such before taking part in the pleasure, but the former? At least something could be taken from a fight, regardless of level; even if such ‘taking’ was merely noting how stern or practised, or unbreakable a stance at a certain proficiency.

Her attempt at a punch was rather tragic, though it was interesting enough for the Svefra to see how the reaction played out. Her punch, rather than the full hit like she’d hoped, merely grazed him as he moved. For a man who was tall and broad, though not necessarily overly muscular in appearance, she hadn’t expected him to be that dense. It was like hitting a stone wall, not that she herself was particularly strong, and the hit not quite full on.

She wasn’t expecting the quick encroach into her personal space, the swift movements which transpired afterwards were a whirl of movement and splintering pain that tore up her side. It was nothing unbearable, though she still wished she could have done without.

The movement pushed her back a couple of paces, though her foot was light enough that she managed to catch her balance and mind before she was at too great a danger of falling. That little act, she thought, was turned out quite well for someone of her obvious lack of skill.

For the moment her mind was preoccupied, body shifting uncomfortably as she tried and tested a stance that pleased her, putting out of thought the dull pain that shot from her side, and mind still reeling at what had just occurred. “Dodge, and deflection?” she said, the increasing pitch to her words as she spoke practically screaming caution as uncertainty, quick breath a tell tale sign as to how out of practice she was.

As for the other, she didn’t have the faintest of ideas. “Bracing for impact, perhaps?- I’m drawing a blank.” She shook her head as she tried to clear her words, the frown that took over her as she slackened her attempt at a stance pushing her closer to the 'thinking' mindset, though still nothing well enough that she could draw on anything more than the odd past experience. A tick more whirling thoughts and she offered a shrug, as much of a sign that she was unsure as she could muster.

[Ssafirsotibones]

Bones' somewhat odd spin move came off without a hitch. As he had hoped, suddenly getting so close was a unexpected move, one that likely would only work once, but which was effective nonetheless against a foe trained more traditionally in unarmed combat. The elbow to her side was also unexpected, a part of ones body not often used in standard unarmed fighting. Usually it required you to get far to close to use ones elbow, closer than a kick or punch normally required. However the human female dealt well with the small burst of pain, keeping herself from going down and or from quitting. She perhaps had some potential. “Dodge, and deflection? Bracing for impact, perhaps?- I’m drawing a blank.” "The ssree I teach are ssusss: dodging, deflection, and blocking. In order of eassse of ussse and preferencce in combat. Dodging isss avoiding sse attack completely. Deflecting isss redirecting sse blow wiss minimal usssage of your own ssstrengss, to make it go where you want, generally away from you. In ssat you ussse sse power and force of your opponentsss blow, inssstead of your own ssstrength. You have ssseen me ussse boss of ssessse." "And wiss blocking, it requiresss sse mossst physssical ssstrengss and egg-ssertion, asss you meet your foesss attack head on force wiss force. It requiresss sse mossst physssical ssstrengss, and isss usssually only usssed asss a lassst resssort, if you have no time for sse ossersss." Bones paused for a moment in his explanation, and then waved the human female away. "Alright, we will take a break from sssparring for now, to try out ssessse ssree. I will come at you ssslowly, and give you an attempt to ussse each of ssessse reactionsss to a blow. But each time I do it, I will come a little fassster, until by the fifss attempt I will be moving at normal ssspeed. Ssen we will ssswitch to sse next defenssse." With that said, Bones would slowly approach Naia, starting out making a very slow punch aimed at her torso, easy for her to dodge. Then he would make another punch, slightly faster, but aimed a bit differently, and then another, until at the fifth one he was making a normal punch, this one aimed at her left shoulder. It was a training exercise Bones had used before, and it seemed to help his students in understanding the various ways of defense, going from slow to fast. He would then pause to critique her on her actions, before going on to her defending by deflecting. speech : "The three I teach are thus: dodging, deflection, and blocking. In order of ease of use and preference in combat. Dodging is avoiding the attack completely. Deflecting is redirecting the blow with minimal usage of your own strength, to make it go where you want, generally away from you. In that you use the power and force of your opponents blow, instead of your own strength. You have seen me use both of these." "And with blocking, it requires the most physical strength and exertion, as you meet your foes attack head on force with force. It requires the most physical strength, and is usually only used as a last resort, if you have no time for the others." "Alright, we will take a break from sparring for now, to try out these three. I will come at you slowly, and give you an attempt to use each of these reactions to a blow. But each time I do it, I will come a little faster, until by the fifth attempt I will be moving at normal speed. Then we will switch to the next defense."

[Naia Whitewater]

Speech | Thoughts | oocSorry for the delay! And I accidentally posted as my main, in case you got a notification about some random PC >.>

'Partially right', she thought, nodding slowly as Bones continued his words, finding that understanding the oddities of the man's speech was becoming something easier done as the patterns that arose were slowly becoming more clear.

Dodge, deflect, block. Naia rolled the terms over in her mind, throwing in tidbits of information as they came, her own little notes about what she believed to be her own capabilities soon enough thrown into the mix. She wasn't strong, though neither was she particularly fast. Her build was solid and meant for labour and harsh living, her muscle in recent decline in the seasons most recent. 'I have a lot of catching up to do.'

She almost loathed herself for how much she'd let herself slip.

She mediated to herself which she was likely to use best, whether she still had the strength to block, could muster the speed for a decent dodge, or the eye for delfection. When a Bones gave a gesture that she took as a dismissal of sorts, it was only three setbacks that the Svefra gave, mind still busied with thought and worry, plotting and planning and making a dozen short promises to herself. Start this, do that, don't stop.

The exercise that the instructor announced took her off guard, not sure what exactly it was she expecting to leave his lips in the first place. "All right. Ready in three," she breathed, playing once more with her stances as she sought something comfortable enough, Bones' warnings on the importance of holding oneself ringing in her ear as she watched him advance.

He followed through with his words, the first punch slow and simple, Naia trumping her first thought to dodge as she recalled his intention to increase his speed, instead opting to deflect the blow as it came at her.

Her attempt at mimicking the deflection she'd seen both the teacher and others use was mediocre, the moment rather awkward though no less efficient in getting the job done.

Already in the from for deflection, the second blow that came was a similar reaction, Naia shifting her stance and adding in greater force to the movement as she let it follow on from her first, her aim to finish the act as quickly as she could so that she had time to prepare for the next.

Her thoughts went straight to how she saw Bones move and react in the prior spar of sorts, trying her best to use the extra exertion and slight falter in her stance in her second deflection to help her clear herself out of the way of the third, moving as though to correct her stance too rushed as she decided to make best of her own lack of skill.

This, of course, then lent problem to when the fourth hit came, with by then little time react, squaring herself heavily on her feet as the punch hit her before she could properly block. The pain that shot through her was nowhere near the worst she’d ever had the displeasure of feeling, though she wasn’t keen on the thought of being hit with one of greater force, twisting her body slightly as she shifted back and attempted a block in a slightly different position.

Naia took a rushed step backwards, then, decidedly ignoring the dull ache that came from where she was hit, almost preparing herself for another barrage as she saw him, at least what appeared to, prepare to speak. She dropped her guard and rolled her shoulders, expression obviously one where she was not at all pleased with herself.

[Ssafirsotibones]

Bones gave the human female some time to adjust and set herself, before he began the exercise. Her stance was slowly getting better, but was still sloppy. "Hold yourssself loossse, ready to move, but sssolid enough to react and not give in. Don't be a sssolid wall, ssstrong but inevitably toppling under a great blow. Ssso you do not want to jussst plop yourssself down and resssign yourssself to ssstopping any blow to come. Inssstead you want to ssstay sssoft and fluid, willing to give if ssere isss a need. Be like a blade of grassss, ssstanding upright, but letting anyssing ssat ssstrikesss it flow right off." Naia reacted well enough to the first blow, and the second, deflecting it as instructed so it would go flying by instead of striking. But then, those first two blows where slow and easy to deal with, having little force behind them. The third strike though struck true, and she did little to avoid it. For the fourth strike she tried to twist her body as Bones did sometimes, but did not quite do it properly. After a few tense moments it was made clear Bones was done, and Naia waited for his recap as promised. Bones paused for a moment, and looked her over, before replying. "You mussst react earlier if you want to properly ward off sse blow by deflection. Try sse motion I usssed, bringing sse palm of your hand up to my wrissst, and pussshing ssere. Ssat isss sse easssiessst place to apply pressssure and guide sse blow away from hitting you. Here, try it a few timesss, right here. Jussst practice sse motion. Ssen you can try a few deflectionsss asss I move." Bones would hold up his right arm, and slap his wrist with his left hand, showing Naia where to push. Then he would keep his hand up and arm extended before him, and allow Naia to aim for his wrist and push his hand wide. After letting her do this a few times with his hand stationary, he would do another slow moving punch, one that she would surely be able to react to in time, to give her the chance to try out the wrist push method at least once. He would do one more of these slow punches which where easy to react to, before doing a third blow at normal speed and strength aimed at her left shoulder. Aiming so far away from her center of mass would mean she would not need to modify the aim of the blow very much to make it miss. So while the blow itself was normal speed, it was purposely aimed off center so as to make it easy to deflect. But then this was almost as much about making her understand the concept, and to belief she could do it, than to make her do it in actual combat circumstances. speech : "Hold yourself loose, ready to move, but solid enough to react and not give in. Don't be a solid wall, strong but inevitably toppling under a great blow. So you do not want to just plop yourself down and resign yourself to stopping any blow to come. Instead you want to stay soft and fluid, willing to give if there is a need. Be like a blade of grass, standing upright, but letting anything that strikes it flow right off." "You must react earlier if you want to properly ward off the blow by deflection. Try the motion I used, bringing the palm of your hand up to my wrist, and pushing there. That is the easiest place to apply pressure and guide the blow away from hitting you. Here, try it a few times, right here. Just practice the motion. Then you can try a few deflections as I move."

[Caela Dorin]

Grade Awarded Naia Whitewater Experience Skill XP Earned Endurance 3 Observation 3 Socialisation 2 Planning 2 Unarmed Combat 3 Lores • Lore Earned • Nykan Monks: Should Be Treated with Respect • Nyka Location: Iron Fist School • Bones: Has a Lisp • Bones: Unarmed Combat Instructor • Creating a Plan of Attack • Punches Can Be Deflected • Unarmed Combat: Pivotal Kick • Unarmed Combat: Don’t Sacrifice Footing • Defence Techniques: Dodge, Deflect, Block Ssafirsotibones Experience Skill XP Earned Endurance 1 Investigation 1 Observation 4 Socialisation 1 Teaching 4 Unarmed Combat 3 Lores • Lore Earned • How to Get Warm • Teaching Through Sparring • Unarmed Combat Technique: Double Handed Leg Grab • Unarmed Combat Technique: Spinning Elbow Strike • Teaching Defence Techniques Additional Comments I was enjoying this thread but it’s a shame that it was cut short. I find Bones’ training methods interesting to say the least but it’s a good thing that Naia could be obedient and take a bit of a beating too! Naia, I’d recommend using more detail to describe your style of fighting. You aren’t experienced in combat so even describing your attempts at a stance would be good. Where are your feet, what are you doing with your hands, how are you shifting your weight, etc. Detail is always a good thing in your writing as it lets the reader form a good picture of what’s going on and I found that a little difficult at times. Just a little bit of advice for the future that you are welcome to accept or reject as you see fit. Please edit or delete your grade request and PM me if you have any questions or concerns about your grade. x