[The Anthonius Fighter's Pit ] Zero Sum (Archailist)

by **Nayato** on June 6th, 2014, 11:27 pm

2nd Day of Summer, 514AV.
Midday, 12th Bell

Continued from A Morning for Melee

As usual Nayato was early arriving to his training sessions, not because he had a pressing need to be beaten into a pulp by his patron, at least not that he knew of. No, he was actually quite punctual in that he hated to make people wait on him. Ser Cagus had informed the crow-eyed squire to come absent of his armor save for his gauntlets and buckler shield. And so he waited by the racks of weaponry the fighters pit offered while dressed in only his bucksink pants, boots that came with his borrowed armor, steel gauntlets on both hands, and buckler shield strapped to his left forearm.

He glanced over the modest collection of weapons as he waited. After a moment he looked away, his gaze centered on someone calling out towards him. ”Nayato, ready to be punched in the face?” asked Ser Cagus, the knight tensed a little bit. “While I can't say that I am particularly excited about it, I am at least ready for what may come. I mean you did broadside my head with a sword this morning.” He responded with a smirk.

"So what are we waiting for than? Lets get to work." Cagus spoke in lighthearted retort to the more serious squire. The knight battered his fists together causing the gauntlets to clatter. "We are wearing our lovey gauntlets to keep our fists unbroken. As you can see, we are also wearing bucklers and hitting solid steel hurts. " He spoke before reaching to remove his gauntlet from his right hand. "Unlike slugging brawlers, Boxing is a true sport... a craft of strategy and tactics. It is the methodical and way of the fist. There is no kicking in boxing, and I find it best to avoid kicking when In heavy plate armor." The man spoke as he walked out onto the dirt covered ground of the pit to begin the lesson; Nayato walking after him while looking around to the others training around them.

For some reason, the squire most notably could only think about how he was soon to be hit in the face with a gauntlet covered fist. They were unpleasant thought of the future that made the squire stoic as he listened to his patron. "Before a boxer can even think about throwing a punch they first need to learn to have a proper foundation. And that foundation comes from a correct stance." The knight put his gauntlet back on and entered into a boxing stance with his fists balled. "Watch and repeat. Now take the stance."

Nayato stood across from Ser Cagus trying to emulate the mans stance as best as he possibly could. It was a stances reminiscent of the one he took while fighting with a sword and shield. He stood with his feet hardly wider than his shoulder width with his knees slightly bent. He was a right handed person so felt it natural to keep his right foot behind him with his left foot as the lead.

He lifted his hands up into balled fists with them both at chin level. He held his left hand out further, keeping his right back just inches from his chin. Ser Cagus shook his head once he noticed. "Tuck your elbows in place, it will ready you to protect your face and body. This is the upright stance, it will be your sword as it is the perfect stance for attacking. The knight then crouched slightly, lowering his stance. "This here is Half-Stance. It is the sword and shield. Best used when you are neither sure of attacking or defending.

Nayato shifted the spacing between his feet by a few inches to keep his balance as he entered into the half-stance. "Like this?" Ser Cagus exited his stance to walk in a circle around Nayato. The knight held out a hand to pull Nayato's fists up into a proper guard. The mans foot nudging at his to help him stand correctly. "Good."

Ser Cagus stood to Nayato's left side and took up his boxing stance again. He was lower than the previous stance, practically hiding behind his arms as he tucked in to himself. "This is the third and final stance. Your full crouch shall be your shield. They are the three primary stance in boxing, so remember them."

With his weight slightly forward, Nayato leaned and crouched down. He kept his chin down like the way Cagus was standing, letting his fists protect his chin and arms hiding his body. "Keep your back heel off of the ground. Stay on the balls of your feet. Don't stand on your toes! It will keep you swift, yet stable."

As the lesson moved on Nayato adjusted his stance, practically bouncing on the balls of his feet as he held his hands up. "Upright, Half-crouch, and Full. Pretty straightforward." The knight huffed a chuckle. "As straightforward as two people punching each other until there is one winner and one loser. It is the sum of all sport. And speaking of, you should join the upcoming shield games."

Nayato had heard of the shield games but never thought about entering them. It wasn't even on his mind until now. "I'll think about it."

by **Archailist** on June 16th, 2014, 11:41 am

My Words | Your Words | My Thoughts

There were few times in the world that he could find to break out of his training routine. And how strange could it be that the squirrel used all of this time for more training. Not with his patron, however - the man was strong but.. well, he was strong. That was about it for what the Pycon could say about his patron, Ser Iros. For the most part, the squirrel found himself able to evade the Akalak's spear and Lakan attacks, and that was about all the man really had. With more practice with the man, came even more ease at understanding and excelling above his movesets and attacks. They were strong when they eventually did hit - punching the squirrel into a mess of clay or throwing him pretty much all the way across the arena that they'd chosen for the evening. However, that was pretty much it. He still needed to find a good way to provide adequate offense, but as long as he could keep on evading over and over, it became more of a secondary requirement.

However, Fist offered no such respite. The female Pycon that stood on the edges of the Fighters Pit came with no weapon, just as the Pycon had expected. However, she did seem to glance up and flex the fingers that made up the majority of her face when she saw the particular squirrel. Just seeing the female was pretty damn intimidating - since Fist was probably one of the most able creatures in terms of combat on this side of Mizahar. She had more speed than even the Pycon himself, and the ability to bash most things in her way to a veritable pulp. "Oh, you're back, Arch." Just another day, he guessed. Hopefully this time, he'd be able to offer something of a real challenge.. rather than the last time they'd met. "Guess you want more help, then. Your Py-Ken has been coming along but you know it needs rigorous work if you're going to be able to pack more of a punch." Fist spoke in the usual gruff, no-nonsense tone that had always made her shine in the squirrels eyes - or at least, not in a literal sense. He could only nod to her words.

"I'm just really struggling to make my punches... hurt." He decided he might as well cut the chat and get to the point, since there was no point messing around with the female Pycon. Fist held out one stubby hand and the Pycon deposited 5GM. Just like that, he found himself suddenly being lifted by those stubby arms - since the female almost dwarfed the squirrel with twice the size of him - and set down instead at a larger space, with a wider scope. He could see to his side that another squire and his patron were practicing some very odd hand-to-hand techniques, and further down was Gerard himself and a commoner, battling it out and occasionally yelling out tips and helping pointers along the way. All of that was forgotten, soon enough, when the arm-shaped Pycon begun talking once again.

"Your problem is that you don't harden your clay. You need to focus more clay into the areas you want to punch with. You use your tail as a weight to perform acrobatics, and you push more clay into the tail when you want to use it more for your balance. Same goes for your fists. You need to put more clay into them." Well, as the squirrel listened carefully to every word and then looked down to his paws, he knew it made sense. She wouldn't be telling him all of this if it didn't make perfect sense. So he nodded quietly. But before his mind could wander on the subject, she soon brought him back from the brink. "Do it, right now. Take the clay out of your body and put it into your arms. Don't let the arms swell, make them more dense. Feel them becoming heavier, and harder. This is what you need to do whenever you fight - don't just try to whack them with all of your body. Focus your clay into individual parts, and hit them with those. Put them into your arms, your legs, your tail, your head. Doesn't matter what. Focus on it."