Self Defense, Thursday, Period One

[suitably_heroic]

Class was meeting at the gym this week, and as the students would be able to tell as they entered the room, that wasn't the only change. Atton was there, looking exasperated, and he wasn't alone; next to him stood a tall woman with white hair wearing white robes and a white hood and... okay, she was just very white, okay? Let's go with that.

"Hey, class," Atton said. "So apparently somebody back home--" Mical, "let Brianna here know that I was teaching self defense, and she graciously offered her help in teaching you the basics of hand-to-hand combat."

"You were planning to teach Echani techniques," Brianna said. "I'm Echani. These are mine to share, not yours."

Atton rolled his eyes. "You might want to take that up with, oh, all of the Republic's special forces," he said. "Anyway, as some of you already know, there's this martial arts called Echani which was invented by - you guessed it - the Echani. The Echani..."

"...believe that to master one's self, to learn another, one must master hand-to-hand combat," she said. "Body language can betray many things. Emotions. Thoughts. This is why you must perfect these skills."

"Also, because it's nice to be able to kick someone in the head when they come at you with a knife," Atton offered.

She rolled her eyes. "Be serious," she said. "If someone comes at you with a knife, you take their arm, wrench it out of the socket, and then you deliver a quick nerve strike to the back of the neck. Not only will your attacker be unable to act, they'll also be in a lot of pain."

Atton thought about that one for a second. "...Okay, fair," he said.

"Today, I will teach you three defensive moves," Brianna said. "You'll practice them." There wasn't much room for argument, there. "But first, you will see what a real fight looks like. Some people watch too many holovids." She tugged off her robes and her tunic and dropped them to the floor, leaving her standing there in her underwear. "You," she said to Atton, "You claim to know more than the first tier. Show me."

Wait, what?

"Um," Atton said, looking maybe a little longer than he'd be willing to admit to before turning to the class. "...So, have I mentioned that the Echani believe that the most honest way to spar is in your underwear?"

Brianna shot him an irritated look. "What are you waiting for?" she said.

"I'm teaching a class, not prepping for an Echani org--"

"No one actually believes you have any modesty, Atton," she said flatly.

Atton facepalmed. So this was Mical's payback. "Fine, fine," he said, trying to salvage some of his pride as he tugged off his tunic to reveal a mess of muscle and blaster, lightsaber and shrapnel scars. "You should always respect other people's cultural traditions, yada yada yada. Schutta."

She scowled at him. "Pants," she said flatly.

He didn't fling them in her face. But not by much.

Comments

Sign In!

[suitably_heroic]

Like a stranger just took over your class.

Re: Sign In!

[theheadkid.livejournal.com]

Travis Coates

Re: Sign In!

[myownface]

Sparkle

Re: Sign In!

[gavegoodface]

Garik Loran

Re: Sign In!

[not_a_moonie]

Alana

Re: Sign In!

[dauntless-four.livejournal.com]

Four

Listen to the Lecture

[suitably_heroic]

Well, 'lecture'.

Re: Listen to the Lecture

[myownface]

Sparkle did not let out a little, gleeful 'whoop!' when Atton kicked his pants off.

Really, he didn't!

... It was a near thing, though. Oh god, was it a near thing.

Re: Listen to the Lecture

[gavegoodface]

Face was paying very close attention, yes, and not just because the parts about body language were both relevant and useful to him.

Re: Listen to the Lecture

[beautifulsenshi.livejournal.com]

Minako squeaked and covered her eyes once she realized clothes were coming off. Yes, she'd shared a room with a boy, she'd seen Alex in his pjs, but still! These were teachers!

She was going to watch the rest of the class peeking between her fingers and blushing horribly.

Hand-to-Hand

[suitably_heroic]

!

Hand-to-Hand - Atton vs. Brianna

[suitably_heroic]

Brianna dragged three mats onto the floor and shoved them together. "The rules are simple," she said. "Whoever cries for surrender, or steps off the mat, loses."

Atton rolled his eyes. "I remember my Echani etiquette lessons just fine, thank you," he said, moving to the center of the mat.

"No Force powers," she added.

"Agreed," he said.

Then she stepped onto the mat in front of him. They were quiet, for just a moment-- then Brianna delivered a punch to Atton's side that he blocked with his arm and the fight began.

It was more a conversation than a fight, really: each move matched by another, one blow traded for a high kick, shifting around in an endless pattern until suddenly Atton's heel hit the floor outside the mat.

He pulled a face. "Best of three?"

"Ugh."

Hand-to-Hand - Students - Punch

[suitably_heroic]

"The first lesson is how to throw a simple punch," Brianna said. "It is surprising how many people do not understand how to do such a small thing."

She held up a hand. "First you close your fingers, like this," she said, "Then you fold your thumb along the side. Other forms will lead to you breaking your thumb, which would be stupid."

Yes. "When you strike, use the second and third knuckle. And then you push outward using every part of your arm up to your shoulder."

To demonstrate, she struck out at Atton - slowly. Atton caught it across the elbow.

"Okay, pick a partner you're going to do all of these exercises with," he added, "Try this a few times. Don't start out throwing punches, be gentle. Y'know, push."

Re: Hand-to-Hand - Students - Punch

[myownface]

Alright, punching lessons.

Sparkle was... still managing, somehow, to not laugh at Atton while he waited for a partner.

He was fully intending to keep his pants on, though.

Re: Hand-to-Hand - Students - Punch

[gavegoodface]

"Think we're supposed to strip down as well?" Face asked, still watching Atton and Brianna.

Re: Hand-to-Hand - Students - Punch

[myownface]

... Well, apparently all it took for Sparkle's 'pants stay on' resolve to crack was a hot guy asking if they should come off. Good to know.

"I'm game if you are," he laughed. "Maybe we can start something here. A whole self-defense class punching each other in their underwear."

It would be pretty!

Re: Hand-to-Hand - Students - Punch

[theheadkid.livejournal.com]

This class was probably pretty good timing considering what happened yesterday. Travis got his hands in the right position to throw a punch and then threw a few practice punches while he waited.

Re: Hand-to-Hand - Students - Punch

[dauntless-four.livejournal.com]

"Want to try to hit me?" Four offered.

Re: Hand-to-Hand - Students - Punch

[theheadkid.livejournal.com]

"...sure," Travis said, shaking out his hand. "I've never really hit anyone before so I'm sorry if I accidentally hurt you."

Hand-to-Hand - Students - Redirecting a Punch

[suitably_heroic]

"Atton blocked this punch," Brianna said. "But this is not always the best course of action, especially when you are not yet skilled at hand-to-hand combat. The blocked punch could still easily glance off and harm you. Instead, you should learn to redirect the force of a punch, so that your opponent never truly strikes you."

She motioned towards Atton, who'd gone inching towards his clothes. Sigh. "Hit me."

Atton shrugged. "I can do that," he said, making sure to aim for her shoulder.

She smashed down on his arm as he moved, redirecting the force of the blow to the ground. "There," she said. "Do that."

That was apparently all the instruction you were going to get there.

Re: Hand-to-Hand - Students - Redirecting a Punch

[dauntless-four.livejournal.com]

Four watched carefully, checking to see if her technique was different from what he had learned.

He needed to know this one or else he was going to get punched a lot during training.

Hand-to-Hand - Students - Palm Strike

[suitably_heroic]

"An alternate way of punching is the palm strike," Brianna said. "It is useful when you are trying to break an assailant's nose, which is painful and thus a recommended course of action."

"I'm told it's also very useful on the groin," Atton said helpfully. "...Not that I would ever advocate doing that kind of thing to another guy, obviously."

She held up her hand. "Never strike with your fingers," she said, "You strike with the palm. You may practice this by shoving your partner. If you can feel the touch on your fingers, you're doing it wrong."

And you would get the judgey face.

"Put your shoulder into it, and it becomes a painful strike that functions well as a distraction," she said. "I'm certain your teacher will explain to you how to use it to break parts of the face during the next few weeks."

Atton nodded. A lot.

Re: Hand-to-Hand - Students - Palm Strike

[dauntless-four.livejournal.com]

If Four was imagining breaking Eric's stupid nose while he practiced this move, well, no one needed to know.

Hell, Eric had probably pierced his nose by now. Idiot.

Talk to the Teacher

[suitably_heroic]

Atton's scrambling to tug on his Jedi tunic - and pretty glad that's pretty easy.

Brianna, on the other hand? She's taking her time putting everything back on.

OOC

[suitably_heroic]

KotOR 2 characters spend a surprising amount of time in their underwear, considering.