Fandom High School

"This probably isn't going to surprise any of you by now," said Gladio, starting the class as usual with the sort of grin that suggested he was really looking forward to making your arms really hate you after this class again this week, "but I wanted to use this week to focus a little bit more on working with both shield and sword together. We're going to review some more basic styles and pitfalls with this combination, but I'd also like to explore with you guys a few ways to use the shields a bit more offensively, as well as defensively. You've got this big piece of sturdy metal in her hands, might as well make the most out of it, right?"

He didn't wait for an answer before clapping his hands to rally them.

"Right! So, let's start warming up, and we'll get right into it!"

"Alright, everyone," said Gladio, with the expected nod and a moment to sort of crack his knuckles before really getting into today's lesson, "we've been learning a lot of stuff so far, and it's great, and I've been seeing a lot of you taking some of this training outside the classroom with supplemental workouts, and I can't even tell you how good it is to see that! After all, there's only so much that can be done once a week in a classroom; I try to give you the tools to really excel in swordwork like this, and some of you are taking those tools and using it to build something great, and I love to see it.

"And the thing with building on something is that you add a little bit each time while making sure the foundation's still strong. So, today, we're going to do a small bit of recap to really keep driving in those basics before we move onto something a little more focused. Specifically...well, we called it something else where I'm from, but here, it's been known as a Meyers Square, which you can see I've got a few mock-ups behind me. The goal of this exercise is to teach you to swiftly cut through and along the line of your previous attack, a little one-two move meant to work against your opponent's defense. It might seem a little technical and complex at first, but once you start to recognize the trick of the pattern, it should start to flow much more easily.

"But we'll get to that in due time. For now, we've got warm-ups and review, then we'll learn more about the Square, and then hopefully still have time for some sparring in again this week, too. Anything in particular you want to go over before we get into it?"

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?"