Lesson Two: Don't Let Me Kill You (Solo)

[Blythe]

OOCAgain, I have received permission from Alice to use Kariha in threads. 7 Spring, 511 AV Blythe had just walked through the open door of the suvai pavilion. Today, she was wearing a short white dress, with thin straps upon her shoulders. The cotton cloth ended approximately two inches above her knee, which would provide for greater mobility than the dress she had worn for her first lesson. Blythe's hair was tied up in a loose bun, and she was wearing her gladiator sandals. Not wanting to practice in them however, she pulled them off and left them by the door. When she had finished, she crossed to the center of the reed matts and found her teacher sitting on the floor in the lotus position. Kariha's eyes were closed, and her hands were resting atop each of her knees. Her palms were facing upwards, and towards the ceiling. She seemed rather relaxed. Blythe took another cautious step toward her. Kariha smiled and opened her right eye, the left remained closed. "Good to see you again Blythe," she said as she opened her left eye as well. "Good to see you again too," Blythe replied, as her teacher slowly got to her feet. Two katanas in black scabbards lay on the matt to the right of Kariha's feet. Kariha bent at the waist, and picked each of them up before straightening herself out. She handed one of the scabbards to Blythe. Blythe extended her right hand and took the blade from her teacher. "Thank you," Blythe said, as she gave a slight bow with her head. Blythe then tied the rope that dangled from the top of her scabbard around her waist, and secured it in place. The sword was resting on her left side. When Blythe looked up again, she found her teacher had already done the same. Kariha was smiling at her. "Today, I shall teach you how to defend yourself with the blade." Blythe nodded. "Draw your sword," Kariha instructed. Blythe reached her right hand across her body, and grabbed the hilt of her sword. She wrapped her fingers around it, and curled them into her hand. Her thumb was pointing into the wooden katana, as she slowly drew it from its sheath, and twisted her body into the starting position Kariha had shown her the day before. "Now there are several ways for someone to avoid being hit by a blade," Kariha explained. "The first is simply to dodge it by moving out of the way. Whether that means to duck, or jump, or move to the left or the right, or even backwards, depends on the fight. The second, is to block the attack with your own blade. This, although simple in concept, and in theory, takes a great deal of practice to master. Today, I shall show you the basics, and you can then begin practicing your blocks. Alright?" Kariha asked. "Sounds good," Blythe replied. "Good," Kariha said as she assumed the starting position. "The first thing you can do, is simply knock the blade out of the way. To demonstrate, I shall ask you to try and hit me with your blade." "Ok," Blythe said, as she stepped forward and sliced her wooden katana through the air. It made a low whooshing sound as it went, headed directly for Kariha's right side. Kariha, twisted her body around by twirling on her toes, and bringing her katana up to meet Blythe's. The force of her spin, coupled with her arm allowed her to knock Blythe's blade away upon making impact. Clack, was all Blythe had heard before she felt a sudden tug on the blade. The hilt seemed to be rocking lightly back and forth in Blythe's right hand, as though the impact had been too much for the blade to handle. Or perhaps it merely signaled the extent of Blythe's awe at the fluidity of her teacher's movements. Blythe tightened the grip on her blade and got the sword to stop moving, as her teacher returned to the starting position. "Now that you know what I meant, why don't I teach you how to do the same?" Kariha said. Blythe nodded, perhaps a little too enthusiastically. But Kariha didn't say anything about it, if she did notice. "Usually, this block is utilized when the tip of the blade is pointing directly at you, like when someone is lunging for you. However, it can be used effectively at other times as well." Blythe nodded. "Now, I am going to lunge at you repeatedly. Each time I do, I want you to not only try to dodge, if you can, but I want you to knock my sword away. Alright?" Kariha asked. Blythe gave a curt nod as her teacher took a few deep breaths to ready herself. "We'll start off slow and then pick up the pace. Ready?" Kariha asked. "Ready," Blythe replied as she held the hilt of her wooden sword a little more tightly, and took a deep breath in through the nose, and out through the mouth. All she had to do was concentrate, and she would get through the exercise without making too much of a fool out of herself. Blythe is definitely not ready. She is only saying that so as not to bother her teacher into doing her job, teaching! She'll be fine! You shouldn't underestimate her. Well the killer ballerina over there is going to kick her butt. Blythe only had a few minutes of practice, so unless Kariha goes easy on her, Blythe doesn't stand a chance. The other half of Blythe's brain sighed heavily. You really must learn not to be so negative. Kariha stepped forward slowly, and extended her arm out towards Blythe. The wooden sword she was wielding was pointed directly at the center of Blythe's chest, just above her belly button. Blythe took a half step to the right, and then whacked her sword against Kariha's. They made a clacking noise, before they were followed by the sound of Kariha's voice, "good, now keep it up," she said. OOCI know these moves probably have names, but I don't know them, so I'm simply going to describe them to the best of my ability. The stuff in bold is Blythe thinking. If the thoughts are spaced out, then it signifies one portion of the brain replying to another.

[Blythe]

Blythe smiled triumphantly, just as Kariha rounded on her. Kariha twisted her body to the right, and then extended her arm once more, her sword was headed directly at Blythe's left side. Blythe raised her sword quickly, and then brought it down on top of Kariha's sword. Instantly, Kariha raised her wooden sword out from beneath Blythe's and twirled her body around, she swiped Blythe on her right side before returning to the starting position. "Try not to leave yourself open for attack Blythe. Pick up the pace as I do, and do your best to block." Blythe nodded as she lifted her sword again. "I'll do my best," Blythe said simply. Blythe had just returned to the starting position when Kariha lunged for Blythe again, Blythe side-stepped to the left, and smacked her teacher's wooden sword again. The swords made a loud clack on impact. Kariha smiled, several beads of sweat had appeared on her brow, and the occasional strand of blonde hair that had snuck out of her ponytail clung to her skin. Blythe felt as though she could hear her teacher's heart pounding next to her own. Kariha twisted her body again, and her sword shot out at Blythe, Blythe deflected it instantly. At this point, teacher and student stood back to back, beads of sweat on both of their brows. Chests rising and falling with each breath. Kariha seemed to give a slight nod to Blythe, as though silently communicating her satisfaction in her student, or perhaps hinting at her next move. Each of their swords were raised. Each of them stood in silence, student waiting for her teacher to strike, teacher waiting for the best moment to strike. Finally, Kariha moved, she twisted her body to the left, and struck out at Blythe's side. Blythe twisted to meet her, and blocked the wooden blade just in time. Clack. Kariha twisted to the other side, and Blythe followed her movements, their loose strands of blonde hair swirled wildly about their faces as they repeated the movement back and forth. Twist, block, twist, block. Clack. Clack. Clack. The two kept twirling, dancing with their wooden katanas, their dresses swirling around their tiring bodies. Each of the woman was nearly breathless, their chests rising and falling rapidly as they twisted this way and that, one blocking the other's advances, the other trying to tire her student out enough where she could strike. "That is enough," Kariha finally said, when Blythe seemed to have grasped the concept well enough. Blythe nodded, as she and her teacher returned to the starting position. "Now we practice a more simple block, where one merely raises their sword to meet that of another. It is best for when one is low on energy, and simply needs to keep the sword away. It seems to be used far more often than the block I already showed you," Kariha explained. Blythe nodded. "You ready Blythe?" Kariha asked. "Ready," Blythe replied. "Then attack me," Kariha said. Blythe swiped her wooden sword in a downward arc, towards the right of her body. Kariha blocked it easily by tilting her sword slightly to the side, and bringing up to meet Blythe's. "Like this," Kariha explained, "now attack again." Blythe took a half step back, and pulled the sword a little closer to her, before raising it, and then bringing it down forcefully, so that it would whack her teacher atop the head. Kariha, seemingly unfazed by her student's attempt at an attack, raised her sword calmly, and held it over her head. When Blythe brought her arm down, her wooden sword met with Kariha's. The impact of the swords sent a loud clicking noise through the pavilion, but did little to displace her teacher's sword. Blythe didn't move, and simply stared at her teacher. How could such an impact not cause her arm to waver, even in the slightest? As if sensing Blythe's feelings, Kariha pushed her sword to the right, in a wide arc, causing Blythe's sword to return uselessly to her side, as Kariha once again, took up the starting position. "Now you shall try," Kariha said. Blythe simply nodded nervously. Practicing with someone far more skilled than herself was starting to ware Blythe out.

[Blythe]

Blythe raised her sword again, as she waited for her teacher to attack. Kariha raised her sword, and then slowly lowered it so that it would hit Blythe on the head. Blythe twisted her wooden katana to the side, so that the blade ran shoulder to shoulder, and lifted the blade above her head, so that she could block Kariha. The two blades clicked together, and Kariha said, "good, now keep it up." Blythe nodded as she forced her hand upwards, pushing Kariha's blade away, and her body back into the starting position. Kariha smiled, and tried again, by swiping her sword outwards and towards Blythe's right side. Blythe lowered her blade, and twisted it so it ran down the side of her body, she effectively blocked her teacher's advance. Blythe's teacher smiled once more, before she twisted her body around to the left side, and swung her wooden blade outwards. It struck Blythe between her ribs. Blythe winced. Sometimes her teacher seemed so soft in her methods, and at others, she seemed to take on a quick pace, and a jagged edge. Instantly, her teacher returned to the starting position, she was twirling her blade menacingly, as Blythe stood, her blade crossed over her chest in a defensive stance. Kariha lunged, and struck Blythe just below her heart before retreating, only to swipe sideways along the length of Blythe's body. Blythe blocked it, and the two wooden blades were interlocked, teacher and student staring intently at each other. Each was waiting for the other to make a move. Eventually, Kariha pulled her blade away, and the fighters sprung apart from one another. They seemed to be staring each other down, just before Kariha performed one of her signature twirls, and began to swipe at Blythe's sides. Rapidly, the woman leapt from left to right, striking her student repeatedly. Occasionally, Blythe would block by swinging her wooden sword to the side, but most of the time, she would fail in her task. Blythe's face was growing red and her blood was starting to boil, she wanted nothing more than to strike her teacher with her wooden blade for making such a fool out of her. Perhaps her reaction was only natural, and to be expected, for her teacher instantly sheathed her wooden blade. Blythe followed suit, and the two bowed to each other. "Now Blythe, it is only natural for a fighter to grow angry, especially when they feel rather defenseless. So, to combat that, many fighters learn to meditate to help calm themselves down after a rough fight," Kariha explained. With that, Kariha's legs bent along with her body, and she was soon resting on the mats. Kariha assumed the lotus position, and closed her eyes. "Come, join me," Kariha said. Blythe still somewhat annoyed, but not wanting to seem rude, followed suit, and assumed the same position as her teacher. When Blythe had settled into position, her teacher said, "now close your eyes." Blythe obeyed, "and begin breathing in through your nose, and out through your mouth." Blythe did as she was told. "Now, try to hold your breath for a few seconds before letting it out with a sigh." Blythe nodded, as she took in another breath, and held it for five seconds, allowing the air to fill her lungs before letting it out with a sigh. "Very good," Kariha said as the two continued the exercise for a few more minutes, and Blythe finally began to calm down. When Kariha sensed her student calming, she said, "now slowly open your eyes, and stand up." Blythe nodded, as she took a few more deep breaths before opening her eyes and standing up. When her eyes had opened, Blythe realized that her teacher had already beaten her up. Blythe smiled weakly, and bowed her head slightly. "Thank you for the lesson," Blythe said, as she straightened herself up again. "You're welcome," Kariha replied, as Blythe turned to leave. She walked out the door to the pavilion, and then headed back home to Keyta and her family.

[Alice]

Blythe

Experience: 4 Katana, 1 Meditation
Lores: How to Defend Oneself, Two Ways of Blocking Strikes, How to Calm Down After Battle

Comments

Good thread. I like how detailed you describe each move and how Blythe sometimes finds it hard to keep up with her teacher. It’s what makes the thread realistic.