fandomhigh | Basic Sword Skills [Thursday, Period Three]

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fencing

Basic Sword Skills [Thursday, Period Three]

The large collection of weapons was gone this week. Instead there was a rack of oddly-shaped practice weapons. There were a few variations in size and length and shape, but all of them were too thick and oddly rounded. Not all that blade shaped, really. Max stood in a stance of relaxed attention, his hands grasped loosely behind his back and his eye critical as his students began to arrive.

"This week," he announced loudly, "we will be examining the skills involved in footwork. I talked about this with some of you," he shot Serena a quick glance, "last week, but today it will be our primary focus. Sword work, like most forms of fighting, is heavily dependent upon your ability to move in the direction you need to whenever you want. Of course most effective attacks require you to push most of your weight in one direction or another to either provide power or reach or both."

He looked around to make sure everyone was listening. "For today, however, we're going to focus on simply staying centered and mobile. Which is why we have these." Max's grin as he waved at the odd practice weapons was the sort of darkly amused expression that tended to be found on people who were dearly anticipating getting a good laugh at everyone else's expense. "The reason each of these blades looks odd is that they're designed to shift their balance points unexpectedly. As you move the blade you'll find that it is highly unpredictable and you'll have to both pay close attention and maintain a centered stance in order to keep it under control. Extend yourself too far on a strike and the blade may very well pull you over."

"So everyone grab a blade and find some space. I'm going to go over a few standard movements and you're going to practice them, remembering to focus on the way you move your feet and commit your weight."

Once everyone had a blade Max ran through a half dozen or so very general attacks. The sort that would be at least somewhat useful with any weapon. "Now practice those," he ordered as he began wandering among the students correcting their mistakes.

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Foot loose and fancy-free

Jack Priest

Morgana

Serena van der Woodsen

Zayne Carrick

Eric van der Woodsen

Karla

Listen up or get bopped, questions are also appropriate

Feel free to mention anything you want Max to correct or approve of.

Jack was trying to practice. dance," he said to himself, in Spanish, which he repeated in English. Let's dance. Put on your red shoes and dance the blues.

His boots were ox blood red ... and he kept singing.

Let's dance to the song
they're playin' on the radio
Let's sway
while color lights up your face
Let's sway
sway through the crowd to an empty space

It wasn't bad, if your idea of swordwork was heavily influenced by musical theater. Jack, however, was mortified.

Max did some staring. He opened his mouth like he was going to make a suggestion, but...

He really didn't have any advice to give on this particular subject.

Morgana might not have been strong, but she was graceful. Her attacks were not very forceful, but she did maintain her balance, and that seemed more important at the moment.

Edited 2009-07-16 19:53 (UTC)

Max watched her for a while before nodding in approval. She knew how to move. Not every style required brute force, after all.

"Good." The girl had potential.

As Eric started out, his focus was good and so, too, his control; as he kept going, though, he started to have to exert more and more force to keep the blade controlled as it shifted its balance. He managed, but barely -- and he was going to be sore tomorrow.

Max watched for a bit before walking over. "You're having to strain to hard. That's usually a sign that you're over extending at least a little."

Karla moved, managing not to get overbalanced by the weapon very often. She'd started out planning to adapt regular dancing moves to footwork, but after a few minutes, it turned into a dance.

Then the singing started. Again!

Thus saith the Lord:
Since you refuse to free my people
All through the land of Glacia...
I send a pestilence and plague
Into your house, into your bed
Into your streams, into your streets
Into your drink, into your bread
Upon your cattle, on your sheep
Upon your oxen in your field
Into your dreams, into your sleep
Until you break, until you yield
I send the swarm, I send the horde
Thus saith the Lord

She turned, she stomped, she lunged, she whirled. It was a dance full of rage and pain ~~joy and celebration~~, that had her leaping and swinging, thrusting and spinning.

Once I called you uncle
Once I thought the chance
to make you laugh
Was all I ever wanted...

I send the thunder from the sky
I send the fire raining down
I send a hail of burning ice
On ev'ry field, on ev'ry town

This was my home
All this pain and devastation
How it tortures me inside
All the innocent who suffer
From your stubbornness and pride...

She spat the last few lines there, and her swings grew a bit wilder. She was managing to remain on her feet though, and those few times she stumbled, she'd managed to regain her footing within a few beats. Err, seconds.

I send the locusts on a wind
Such as the world has never seen
On ev'ry leaf, on ev'ry stalk
Until there's nothing left of green
I send my scourge, I send my sword
Thus saith the Lord!

I send my scourge, I send my sword
Let my people go
Thus saith the Lord

You who I called Uncle
How could you have come to hate me so?
Is this what you wanted?

I send the swarm, I send the horde...

Then let my heart be hardened
And never mind how high the cost may grow
This will still be so:
You had better let my people go...

Let my people go!

Karla lunged, thrusting her weapon into the heart of an imaginary enemy. The heavy weapon shifted and pulled her down with it. Karla, sweating and panting, fell, landing hard on her ass. It was sad how that was the least injurious to her dignity.

Max couldn't resist. He offered a slow-clap.

"...I hate this place," Karla muttered, covering her face.

"Could we skip over the part where I'm mortified right to the part where you tell me all the things I have to work on?" Karla asked, plaintively.

He chuckled and nodded. "I think we can do that. But you better remember how generous I'm being when the island makes me do something ridiculous again."

"Thank you," she said with real gratitude. "And if I'm around when Fandom-weirdness strikes, I promise to hide you behind a sight and aural shield until you've recovered."

"I appreciate that," Max chuckled. "Though those I can handle myself."

"Have you sung yet today?" Karla asked, rising to her feet, unaware that in a few short hours, she'd be longing for the time when she'd only humiliated herself in front of a few classmates.

"Not yet," Max shook his head. "I'm hoping it'll stay that way." No one had ever accused him of having a very good singing voice.

"Lucky," Karla grumbled. Karla sang well, but she preferred to have a choice in the timing and the subject matter. "It's less fun than it looks."

She'd happily trade a day of getting pounded on in sword-practice over any more singing.

"Then let's get to the class part of the day. And we'll hope that neither of us burst into song in the middle of it."

"Sounds great," she agreed fervently. "Besides, you enumerating all the things I need to fix should keep us busy till class ends." She sounded positively cheerful about that.

Max must have agreed because that's what he started to do.

"First of all, control your enthusiasm. A sword is a precision weapon, not something you just swing around wildly."

"Hopefully I'll be less enthusiastic when I'm not in the middle of a song-and-dance routine" Karla looked absolutely appalled at the idea of ever being in that same circumstance ever again, "but duly noted, sir."

"Every time you move you need to have a specific purpose. A block, a dodge, a strike... It helps avoid wasting energy with unnecessary movement."

Karla nodded, concentrating. She'd called in a notebook and pen so she could keep track of everything Max said.

Max chuckled at that. He wasn't used to having such studious students.

It was amazing how seriously someone would take lessons, if they had firsthand knowledge that this might be the only thing that stood between them and a Fate Worse Than Death(tm).

"Okay," she said, finishing up that line. "Anything else?"

"At some point we should sit down and figure out what your abilities bring to the table. I imagine there are some things you should be working on that most of the rest of the students can't do."

Karla nodded once. "I'd like that," she said quietly. "I'd like to become as effective with a blade as I can."

"You're never going to be a powerhouse," Max grinned as he looked her up and down. "But that's not necessary to be deadly."

"I'll train you," he promised.

"I don't need to be a powerhouse," Karla replied. "I just need to be to be able to keep myself alive." She slanted him a grin. "Though I wouldn't say no to deadly, if it's being offered."

She held out a hand. "I'll be a good student," she promised in return.

"Well, then, let's see what we can make of you," he chuckled as he stuck out his own hand and the disparity between their sizes was emphasized.

A smile flitted across her face as her hand was engulfed in Max's, suggesting she was noticing the same thing. She was tall, but skinny.

Who knows what she'd intended to say when she'd originally opened her mouth. What came out however was: "Risin' up, back on the street
Did my time, took my chances
Went the distance, now I'm back on my feet
Just a girl and her will to survive

So many times, it happens too fast
You change your passion for glory
Don't lose your grip on the dreams of the past
You must fight just to keep them alive"

The song came with the oddest desire to start running up and down tall staircases.

"..." Max managed eloquently.

"I think maybe we should continue this another day," he suggested.

The magic of the island let her go after the chorus.

"It's the eye of the tiger, it's the cream of the fight
Risin' up to the challenge of our rival
And the last known survivor stalks his prey in the night
And he's watchin' us all in the eye of the tiger."

As soon as she could stop singing, Karla sagged against a wall, looking pained. "Maybe you could loan me a sword instead?" she asked. "Falling onto one sounds like a remarkably good idea right now."

"It's not," he shook his head. "Getting stabbed hurts. A lot." He'd know.

"Yeah, but with a belly full of agony, the only thing I'd be singing is a Healing web, which would be a bloody lot of comfort right now."

Oh well. At least she couldn't get any more humilated, forgetting that ~~her terrible mun~~ Fandom didn't work that way.

"Thank you for today's lesson, sir," she said with a bob of her head. "I think I'm going to tell valor to bugger off and enjoy a nice long bout of discretion in my cabin."

"I think that you've got the right idea there," he nodded.

And hoped he didn't end up doing something similarly embarrassing himself.

If you've got other concerns or questions

New plan: do not break computer for a week. At least it got fixed on class-posting day?

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Basic Sword Skills [Thursday, Period Three]

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During the lecture

Practice time

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Talk to Max

OOC