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Post by JezusBagels on Jun 8, 2009 16:39:20 GMT -5
Monkuta went wide-eyes ad the long side of the stick connected with his forehead. He stumbled back, falling to the ground as Marina's head connected with his stomach. He rolled out of the way and stood, barely dodging what he only assumed was how she dealt with these boys she hated so much.
He stroked his beard, signaling for her to stop.
"Well, that was certainly unexpected. Perfectly acceptable too... if you're beating up small children. Also, when working with real blades, throwing your only weapon is never a good idea."
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Post by ivory on Jun 8, 2009 19:48:57 GMT -5
She scowled as he signaled for her to stop. Then shrugged as she noticed the slight discoloring on his forehead from her through. She fought back a grin at finally catching him off guard though hardly suprised that she'd had the urge to do so. He was getting on her nerves. She'd never went up against someone who knew so bloody much. It was damn insulting figuring all her years she'd put into it.
"You said to think of it like a knife. What'd you expect me to do after having me throw some all day?" It was perfectedly good logic to her and she couldn't help but snap, "And knowing that you should've seen it coming." She paused as she bit her lower lip and said slowly, "And I don't usually fight with sticks, knives," she corrected. She explained only with a shrug. "So what should I do?" Deciding that the question had been a little dependent sounding she added with a smirk, "Besides standing there and getting hit that is?"
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Post by JezusBagels on Jun 8, 2009 19:59:17 GMT -5
Monkuta rolled his eyes, fighting back the urge to explain to her exactly how little she knew.
"Well, first you stop being a smart ass so I don't decide to send you home and take up one of those boys you hate so much as an apprentice," he said with intense vigor. He was bluffing, but with how little she knew about the situation, she had no reason not to believe him.
"There's a difference between throwing knives and combat knives. The shape, the balance, the use. It's all vital. You can't just do the first thing that comes to mind in each situation. You have to think, consider the consequences. You might get away with that kind of stuff when using sticks, but in a situation where your opponent isn't under strict orders not to kill you, tossing away your weapon and assuming your plan will work perfectly will get you killed. Everything we do here is to prepare you for the real deal, so you must treat it as such. Understood?"
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Post by ivory on Jun 8, 2009 20:41:44 GMT -5
"Well, first you stop being a smart ass so I don't decide to send you home and take up one of those boys you hate so much as an apprentice."
That shut her up...at least for now. She'd never been known as being able to keep her mouth shut for long unless she had to.
"...Understand?"
She nodded without even so much as glaring. The threat to drop her as his apprentice wasn't what made her do so (though the thought of having to go home and learn how to be a Lady again was bad enough; she wisely ignored the new false knowledge about her parents), it was the threat of choosing one of those boys. They were stupid beasts and didn't deserve anything he could offer. All they'd do was take what they could about fighting and forget the rest.
She looked at him as she bit her lip before deciding almost immediately that he probably had morals or codes that governed him. He just looked like the type, despite that he was a little lacking in some places, though if she'd said that aloud and he'd asked exactly what those places were, she'd have a hard time trying to list them.
"What's your name?" She figured she'd waited long enough before asking and as stated before, she wasn't known as the quiet type.
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Post by JezusBagels on Jun 8, 2009 20:53:49 GMT -5
Monkuta collected the sticks, both of which had fallen to the ground during the fight. When he had both in his hands, he stood up and said, "I am Monkuta Jakys. You can call me whatever you want."
He tossed one of the sticks to her and presented his own before her.
"Now, there are styles of fighting that involved two blades. With any luck, I'll be able to teach you those at some point, but for now we work with one. Let me tell you some things about dagger and knives."
He sat on the ground, patting the grass next to him to signal for her to sit as well.
"Most people assume that skill with a sword is skill with any sharp object. They're the people who we defeat without much trouble," he began, jokingly. "Daggers are small. As far as wounding people goes, their best used with jabbing and stabbing, not slicing. The drawback of course being that you need to get close to do any real damage. You can't just charge in head first because if your target is holding a sword out, you'll be impaled on it before your dagger touches them. This is why we find ways around it. As rangers, we don't rely so much on blocking attacks as we do on dodging them. If you're in a fight, especially an uneven one, that last thing you want to do is stop moving. Understand?"
As he spoke, he simulated his words with a small twig in each of his hands, acting out each explanation between the two arms.
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Post by ivory on Jun 9, 2009 7:04:26 GMT -5
Uh, duh. she wanted to say in answer to his last few words, but managed to keep her mouth shut. Her eyes were watching his hands as he went through the movements and she thought that if she'd said so, they'd start to argue and he might never get back to showing her. She had a little trouble following his hands in an actual fight, unable to imagine the foe he was supposed to be fighting. She hadn't seen that many real fights in her life, so her knowledge of it was too vague for her to do so.
But she didn't ask for him to slow down and explain the other person's moves too. He'd already threatened to have one of those things replace her, he'd probably end up actually doing it if he thought her stupid. She scowled as she knew that one of those boys would probably know what he was doing. They'd had the honor to meet knights at the battlefield while she was stuck on becoming a Lady.
[oh and though I didn't write it, she's sitting down, though more than an arm's reach away from him, she's still a little cautious]
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Post by JezusBagels on Jun 10, 2009 14:58:17 GMT -5
"Alright then," he said, standing up again.
He walked a few meters away from Marina, presenting himself in a simple stance for knife combat. Half-crouching, he stood legs spread, knees bent and arms kept up and close to the body. He'd learned this on his first day as an apprentice. He didn't imagine she would have too much trouble with it.
"Copy me."
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Post by ivory on Jun 10, 2009 17:21:27 GMT -5
She mimicked his actions, grinning when she tested the balance of her weight. She'd never tried making an actual stance before, preferring to just jump in unless she was greatly outnumbered. And then she just did whatever it took to keep from falling down.
She leaned one way and then the other, loving it when she found she could move quicker if need be. And when she leaned back, she didn't stumble. All she'd have to do is move one foot behind the other to 'switch' directions of her stance.
She cocked her head to the side to see how he held the knife before she was satisfied that she had it right. Rolling upon her toes, she waited for him to show her more.
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Post by JezusBagels on Jun 10, 2009 17:43:27 GMT -5
Monkuta smiled, noting her quick success in the back of his mind.
"Alright. Now, as I said. When fighting with daggers and knives, your most successful strikes are going to be in jabs and stabs. I recommend putting your entire body into each strike. Watch this."
He waited a moment, making sure that he had her attention, and then he crouched down, leaping forward but staying low and then, as his feet hit the ground again, lunging his body upward, knife-hand first as the stick plunged into the chest of an imaginary opponent.
He turned to face Marina. "Need to see it again?" he asked.
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Post by ivory on Jun 10, 2009 17:56:07 GMT -5
She shook her head as excitment drilled in her eyes. She'd 'seen' the opponent this time though only air had been there.
She tested her balance again before repeating the manuevur. She lunged foward and then up with her stick. But she didn't smile.
She frowned as she looked down at her feet. They weren't in the same position as before and as she shifted her weight she knew she was completely off balance. She turned her head toward the ranger, eyes narrowed as if blaming him for her current position. "If I'd missed and they counterattacked, I'd easily be knocked to the ground," she pointed out to him, unaware that his feet were in different positions than her own.
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Post by JezusBagels on Jun 10, 2009 18:00:50 GMT -5
Monkuta rolled his eyes, grinning.
"Yes, because it's not possible that the girl who's only attempted the attack once could have done it wrong."
He raised an amused brow at her, waiting for her to realize what had happened on her own and try it again. She would need to start trusting him if she was going to learn anything here. It would happen in time. Monkuta hadn't had to deal with that. As an apprentice, he was so excited about it all that he would have jumped off a mountain if his mentor had told him to.
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Post by ivory on Jun 10, 2009 18:22:19 GMT -5
Marina glared at him before turning her gaze to her feet and then back to her own. Grumbling, she went back into position and tried it again, this time taking care to land correctly. She tested her balance again at the end before giving a slight nod of her head and then turning back for the next instruction.
She wasn't anywhere close to trusting him, but she figured it couldn't hurt to learn something out of it. So she'd stay for a while and see what she could learn.
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Post by JezusBagels on Jun 10, 2009 18:28:32 GMT -5
"Good, good. In the future though, try not to think of it as two separate movements. One fluid maneuver from beginning to end. Your stalling slightly as your feet land. That stall is a vulnerability. Think about it. For now, though onto other things."
He took a few steps toward Marina and explained.
"Now... Imagine that the enemy has a shield, or a staff. They're defensive fighters. You want to disable them. So, with the same starting movement..."
His voice faded away as he demonstrated. The attack started with the same crouching lunge, but instead of leaping up, he turned his body, crashing into the legs of the imaginary foe. As he hit the ground, he rolled, coming up facing the opposite direction so as to remain facing towards the enemy.
"If successful, you might break bone or at least knock them off balance. Keep in mind, the roll could be just as important as the impact. You're trying to knock them to the ground. Not much help if you take as long to stand up as they do."
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Post by ivory on Jun 10, 2009 18:39:17 GMT -5
Marina tried it, lost her grip on her stick and tried again. She gritted her teeth as a rock dug sharply into her side. She made to try again, ignoring the slight warmth on her side. She lunged, twisted and came up correctly, albeit a little slow for her taste. Frowning, she made to try again.
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Post by JezusBagels on Jun 10, 2009 18:42:08 GMT -5
Monkuta watched, rubbing his chin. As she tried a third time, he suggested, "Don't wait until your on your feet to turn. One movement, Marina. The twist begins at the same time as the roll. In a way, you're actually rolling in a semi-circle."
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