fandomhigh | Hitting Things With Big, Sharp Sticks; Friday, Third Period [07/12].

The training space that Gladio had set up in the danger shop for his class was large, and a little on the fancier side, bringing to mind some of the training spaces at the citadel, the wide open spaces under a very, very tall domed ceiling (needed lots of vertical space, really, for teleporting and lancers like Iggy), flanked by large marble columns running along the length of the room. There were a few practice dummies, of course, some mats, and a rack of weapons waiting, most of them massive in size, some taller even than Gladio himself, but several smaller (but no less ridiculous) ones as well.

And he stood at the center of all of it with a big grin on his face and his hands on his hips as he waited for everyone to file in.

"Hey, guys," he started, "and welcome to Hitting Things With Big, Sharp Sticks, which is just fancy way of saying this class is all about swords. Especially big swords, because I'm a big guy and I like a big sword to match," yes, that grin showed that he knew exactly how that sounded, "and I wanna teach you guys how to handle those big heavy swords yourself."

Yup, that, too.

"Now, today," he said, "we're going to keep things pretty simple. I'd like to start with some introductions: name, any weapon handling experience, any battle experience, maybe what you're hoping to get out of the class. And then you're going to go ahead and try and find a sword that you feel comfortable with; I'm not expecting anyone to be wielding a big greatsword like I'm using toting around, although if that's your style, even better. But nothing wrong with starting out where you feel the most comfortable, and then we'll work up to it. Once you've got a sword that feels pretty good, we're going to go over some basics on how to use them, we'll talk about whether or not what you've picked is the right fit and how you can tell, and then we'll go over some of the fundamental swings involved.

"I've also got some bamboo training swords that aren't danger shop generated," he gestured toward those, "so you can take one home to practice in your off time, if you want. It's not required, but I highly recommended it if you really want to take what you're learning during class and have it stick in any useful way.

"So, with that said," he clapped his hands together, "introductions! While others are going, take some time to stretch out and warm up if you haven't already, because this class is definitely going to be a work-out, especially for those arms! Who wants to get started?"

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With a big, sharp stick!

Start warming up, getting pumped, boggle at how anyone could possibly even lift some of those swords, much less fight with them, or just wonder what you've gotten yourself into! All reactions are totally valid.

Let's go around and let everyone know who you are, what your weapon experience might be, what your fighting experience might be, why you're in the class, or whatever else you'd like to share.

You don't have to stick with the same weapon all class; in fact, Gladio would encourage you to try plenty of different sizes and shapes, but, for today, it's all about finding one that just sort of feels good enough for you to be comfortable with using it for some basics. Sword types are completely moddable, but will generally run along the kinds that Gladio is used to.

Once everyone's got their swords picked out, Gladio will give a quick lecture on to hold it and use it, especially two-handed, but also some single-handed basics, before breaking down the following foundations:

Slash: Cutting in a sweeping motion
Stab: Thrusting with a pointed weapon
Chop: A downward cut
Deflect: Knock something off its intended trajectory
Block: Prevent an attack from finding its mark
Parry: Defend from an attack with a countermove
Riposte: A quick counterattack after a parry
Feint: A fake, deceptive, or distracting strike to bait your opponent

After he's demonstrated them a couple of times, he wants everyone to follow him a few more times, and then he's leaving you to try them on your own while he watches and finds suggestions to make to help you out.

Who was wishing he had this kind of patience for instruction back when he was training Noct, but, ah well.

Gray

"I'm Gray," Gray said, "and my weapons experience and battle experience are, uh...can we just go with extensive? But not with a greatsword. I leave those for Galen and Ray." Because he was just a little guy. "My main weapon is a shortsword similar to a, uh," he grinned at the teacher. "gladius, or maybe a xiphos...but I've also had a lot of practice with knives. That's not to say I'm opposed to handling a big ol' heavy sword, of course." His grin said he, too, knew exactly how that sounded.

"Oh, and I'm here because my brother--" Alastair, not Raiden, for the record "--thought I might not be getting enough practice in." He scrubbed one hand through his hair and admitted, "He's probably right."

Gray would just be over here vibrating with an unspoken joke about how he was a size queen and some of these were still unnecessarily large.

Gray picked up and put down several swords--some of them barely in his hands for a moment, some rating a practice swing or two, one getting a surprised appreciative look and a muttered, "How the heck do you keep the balance that decent on something that big?" before it, too, got rejected because 'that decent' wasn't good enough, before he finally settled on something that didn't feel as good as his actual sword, but would do for practice purposes.

Jonathan Sims

Jon was very much wondering what he'd let himself be talked into, yes.

"Jonathan Sims. Jon," he introduced himself. "I've used knives to cut vegetables and open packages. My only battle experience is killing people by pulling them apart mentally."

Was that about as dry and flat as he could possibly get? Definitely. Look, he was here, and he would try, but he was decidedly not a sword fighter. Yet!

Jon was just going to start with the smallest, simplest sword there was. Which would absolutely be the shortsword.

Were shortswords designed to be used two-handed? Probably not. Did Jon care? No. He'd do his best to follow along, though; he was actually a fairly decent study. He could see what to do and follow along, and there wasn't fighting needed, so he could do it. His arms would probably get tired pretty fast, though.

Nell Ingram

Nell might just blush herself to death over here.

Nell was sure her face must be bright red. And she certainly wasn't about to talk about any of her 'big weapons handling' experience. (Though perhaps later in private she could be convinced to demonstrate - and now she was blushing even more!)

"Nell Ingram. I've got a decent amount of fight training - more hand to hand or knife fighting - and I've done some sword training, but not in a real fight or anything," Nell said. "The Mandalorians tell me it's quite different, but having the moves ingrained gives you more room to think even while you're reacting. So, I'd like to learn even more."

Besides, her Tall Man was teaching the course.

Nell had practiced with some of these before, so she chose one that felt comfortable - not too big and not too small.

Fairly basic stuff, but need was still learning and she sometimes found it just as instructional to watch what others did and see what are could learn from their practice.

Nell was tired and sweaty, but still exhilarated. "That was fun," she said cheerfully. "This would be a great time to have that hot tub on the roof."

Now that Gray had a sword approximately three times larger than anything he'd ever used before, he dutifully copied Gladius's moves and went through a few more reps of them. He was pretty rusty at wielding double-handed, so he was going kind of slow, but his form was still damn near impeccable, and if he did make an error, he'd quickly correct himself.

Illyana Rasputin

"Illyana Rasputin," Yana said simply. "I've got about a decade of combat training under my belt, but swords are not my preferred weapon."

She held out a hand, and her Soul Staff materialized, glinting wickedly sharp. "This is part of me, and it tends to be my first impulse if weapons are required. But my old combat teacher would be...disappointed," Cat would legit murder her if she wasn't already dead "--on how I've neglected my sword and knives training for the past few years. So here I am."

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Hitting Things With Big, Sharp Sticks; Friday, Third Period [07/12].

Sign In - Big Sharp Sticks, 07/12.

Listen to the Lecture - Big Sharp Sticks, 07/12.

Introductions - Big Sharp Sticks, 07/12.

Class Activity: Choose your Weapon! - Big Sharp Sticks, 07/12.

Class Activity: Basic Sword Moves - Big Sharp Sticks, 07/12.

Talk to the Teacher - Big Sharp Sticks, 07/12.

OOC - Big Sharp Sticks, 07/12.

Re: Sign In - Big Sharp Sticks, 07/12.

Re: Introductions - Big Sharp Sticks, 07/12.

Re: Listen to the Lecture - Big Sharp Sticks, 07/12.

Re: Class Activity: Choose your Weapon! - Big Sharp Sticks, 07/12.

Re: Sign In - Big Sharp Sticks, 07/12.

Re: Listen to the Lecture - Big Sharp Sticks, 07/12.

Re: Introductions - Big Sharp Sticks, 07/12.

Re: Class Activity: Choose your Weapon! - Big Sharp Sticks, 07/12.

Re: Class Activity: Basic Sword Moves - Big Sharp Sticks, 07/12.

Re: Sign In - Big Sharp Sticks, 07/12.

Re: Listen to the Lecture - Big Sharp Sticks, 07/12.

Re: Introductions - Big Sharp Sticks, 07/12.

Re: Class Activity: Choose your Weapon! - Big Sharp Sticks, 07/12.

Re: Class Activity: Basic Sword Moves - Big Sharp Sticks, 07/12.

Re: Talk to the Teacher - Big Sharp Sticks, 07/12.

Re: Class Activity: Basic Sword Moves - Big Sharp Sticks, 07/12.

Re: Sign In - Big Sharp Sticks, 07/12.

Re: Introductions - Big Sharp Sticks, 07/12.