[Laroo River Park]Starting from Scratch[Training]

[Tarfuss]

17 Ponitus XV pf


Tarfuss woke before the suns had risen and did some stretching and light calisthenics before heading out in search of the park. He had purchased some bread and fruit and dried meats, enough for three, the previous evening. He dressed for the weather, bundled up the food, and left in search of Laroo River Park and a statue of a dog-like thing - a Shisha.

He asked along the way and received directions from citizens. It was not very difficult to find and once there he found the largest of the statues of the Shisha, made in pairs, and waited.

He was eager. He was looking forward to this new training with the calm young man who hadn't snubbed him for being foreign. He felt strange in this city. He clearly felt, and knew that he was made to feel, his strangeness. Still, he had wanted to learn this, and it was a small price to pay.

[Vanderlou]

"Serale," Vanderlou would meet Tarfuss with a bagel in one hand and a satchel of water in the other. "Sorry I'm late, lets hurry on to the place before someone get there before us." and with that said Vanderlou would start jogging away from the entrace, into the heart of the park at a reasonable pace. "Remember this, before you can even start practicing any Zinn'ka art the first thing you have to keep in mind that warm up exercises are a must, in our case jogging will be our warm-up exercise."

The half-elf would ultimately lead Tarfuss to a large plot of land, a crossing of sorts where three bridges would meet. Of course at this hour the place was empty and that made it all to perfect for their purposes.

"This place should be good," Vanderlou would put down his satchel on the ground and finish his bagel. Once he stood up he would assume a pose, "I'll be direct to the point, teaching has never been one of my strong suits you see. In any form of Zinn'ka assuming a stance is the first thing you need to do before delivering a blow. An attack delivered from a stance usually packs more power in it than your average brawler's punch, this one is the simplest of stances."

In the forward stance, Vanderlou would shift one foot slightly behind the other and he would hold both arms in front of him protectively, knuckles facing the forward. "The Forward stance is the most basic of stances, from here you can deliver many powerful attacks as well as defend with both arms."

"Try assuming this pose and then I'll show you what you can do while you're in it."

[Tarfuss]

Tarfuss returned Vanderlou's "Serale" with a smile and a wave and started off after him. He was in good shape and worked out regularly, including running. You couldn't fight for any period of time in armor if you weren't. He life depended on his conditioning and he took it seriously.

They came to a stop in a broad open area and Tarfuss' breath steamed as it left his body. He stretched as he listed to Vanderlou and then he observed the stance.

Placing his right foot slightly forward he moved the left a bit to the rear, trying to mimic the distance between his feet that Vanderlou had assumed. He then moved his arms to his front, the knuckles facing out. He tried to feel the balance of the stance and kept himself on the balls of his feet.

[Tarfuss]

Double post

[Vanderlou]

"That's a good pose, just like that. Now from this stance there are two basic punches you can deliver, the first and most powerful being the straight. The straight is an attack that you have to perform with your whole body so it takes awhile to grasp it, but I'll guide you step by step."

"Now, you have to bring the foot of your dominant hand behind the other like so," Vanderlou drew his right foot backwards and stopped it in a position reminiscent of the way sprinters prepare themselves for a run, the other foot remained in front of him, full grounded supporting much of his weight. "The reason for doing this is that when you throw the straight punch you push the foot behind forward as if you're going to charge into a sprint. That creates energy that will transfer to your hips and..." he twisted his hips, rotating it internally so that the right side of his body would be drawn to the center. "...and then you follow through with the torso, throwing your shoulders inwards and finally you sweep in your arms and fist into one seamless motion." all of this Vanderlou demonstrated individually and finally when he was certain that Tarfuss understood he performed a slow version of the punch so that the soldier could imitate it properly.

"It may feel awkward at first, perhaps seem weaker than a punch you throw when you have your dominant foot in front but trust me, this is an ancient technique. Even other zinn'ka styles, especially Rhingorda have this punch in their repertoire of attacks if only because its perfect simplicity and the sheer raw power."

"Try it."

[Tarfuss]

Tarfuss frowned in concentration as he watched and listened to Vanderlou's instruction. The concept behind the move was sound. He knew that using the whole body to make a sword thrust was a great source of power, and that theory should certainly hold true for a punch - what was a sword thrust but a punch with a big pointy bit of metal in your fist?

As he tried it, slowly at first, very slowly, he felt a bit off balance with his power foot behind and then moving forward. He tried it until Vanderlou would indicate that he had done it correctly. He thought about the move for a moment, analyzing it. A concern developed in his mind. It seemed to him that in that movement there was a weakness that could be exploited, a moment of imbalance and he said as much to Vanderlou.

"As the strong foot moves forward, does that not create some imbalance? An opportunity for the enemy to attack while only one foot is connected with the earth? I don't question the method, but am simply trying to understand better how it works and why."

[Vanderlou]

"Yes, there will be an opening when you deliver the punch but doesn't the same thing apply to practically almost any attack?" he reasoned. "The one fatal mistake you could make in Zinn'ka and more specifically, Shaasskah is to hesitate from attacking just because there's an opening in your defense. Fact is because our style is oriented towards offense you're eventually going to take blows from your opponent no matter how careful you are. However, also remember that your opponent will too as well, your only goal is to hit harder and faster than the other guy and you'll never know, maybe by doing so the opponent won't even have the chance to strike back."

"Still, since the opening worries you I'll show you why you shouldn't be so concerned about it so much, observe." Vanderlou assumed the same stance he had showed Tarfuss earlier and suddenly, without so much as a warning he lunged forward, left foot digging into the ground like a jack as his fist came crashing into thin air - all this in a split-second. "Now, the key here is to use this attack sparingly. Use it in unexpected moments or when your opponent is completely open to attack. Surprise and speed is key, step-in with the left foot and just charge in and throw the punch. They won't see it coming and in the event they do - you'll know that your facing an enemy that outclasses you by a large margin."

"Anyway, I'll get right to the next stance, the reverse-stance or side-stance as some might call it." Vanderlou shifted his feet in a way that he was now facing Tarfuss with only one side of his body. He had his right fist pointed at the soldier and his right leg was bent, ready to propel him forward or backwards at a moment's notice. "It's even more important to keep your joints flexed in this stance, as you may already know you can either charge forward or retreat quickly in this form, however side-stepping may become a bit of a problem until you've got a fair bit of experience under your belt."

"Assume the position."

[Tarfuss]

Tarfuss nodded as Vanderlou spoke. What he said was true. He wasn't simply concerned with weaknesses in his own defenses, however, but weaknesses in his opponents that he might exploit. The more he knew, the more options he'd have at his disposal.

Tarfuss watcher Vanderlou as he demonstrated the next stance with a grace that Tarfuss hoped he might emulate - Side-Stance or Reverse Stance. He narrowed his eyes and took in the details, noting the flex in the joints and the position of the hands and feet.

He placed himself in the stance - his right fist forward and his right bent. He remained on the balls of his feet and made sure to flex his joints, ready to move forward or backward.

He looked to Vanderlou for input on his success or failure at assuming the Reverse Stance.

[Vanderlou]

Vanderlou nodded in approval of Tarfuss' stance. The man had a natural talent for fighting, that much was obvious in both his choice of profession and how quickly he took to the half-elf's instructions.

"From that stance, you can either choose to bring both arms up to guard your face," and Vanderlou demonstrated just that, bringing his arms close together to cover the spot between his face and neck. "Or if you're feeling confident you can just have the your dominant arm hanging in front of you, not fully extended but still in a position where they can pounce at a moment's notice."

"Now, you've probably seen this punch a number of times already. This is the jab," the half-elf snapped his dominant hand forward and quickly recoiled it back to its resting - guarding position. "by far the fastest and easiest punch to execute in my opinion. There's very little openings in this particular punch due tot the speed of its execution and if you're still somehow threatened by the opponent you can simply jump backwards to leave his striking range. On the other hand you can launch forward to the offensive if you see an opportunity to land a fight-ending blow."

"Try it on me, I'll guard and I'll be swaying back and forth so you can get a feel for it."

[Tarfuss]

Tarfuss listened carefully and nodded that he understood. Vanderlou was explaining things clearly and concisely. Tarfuss was relieved to have this sort of civillian and civilized training versus the type of training he'd experienced with the likes of Shield Deakin Bevir. Of course that was during boot camp and other types of things were going on there, not simply training at arms, there was the building of a Legionairre at work as well.

He tried to will his body to understand the feelings of the stance and the balance that went with it. Maintaining a flex in his joints he had his left arm guard and he allowed his right hand to be a bit forward. With a sudden explosion of power his right arm snapped forward, drawing energy from a twist of the hips and torso in addition to the simple arm movement. He attempted to strike Vanderlou, but intentionally did not aim as far in as he usually would, going for a full speed glancing blow instead.

[Vanderlou]

"Good, try it again. Only this time I'd like you to try and do the same thing while mixing the two punches as you see fit, of course you'll also have to try and shift between the stances as you attack." and when Tarfuss was ready he would allow the soldier to charge forward warning him every now and then if his attack expended too much energy or if he swung and arm too wide, which was often the mistake of over-eager newcomers to the zinn'ka arts, one that left them vunerable thanks to unecessarily dramatic swings.

When he was satisfied with Tarfuss' performance he would call for a short break wherein they would eat and when enough time passed and their respective meals would be fully digested they would go at it again.

"Alright, just one last stance to go." Vanderlou postioned his legs together awkwardly, both of them bended in parallel bringing his entire body down with it. "This is the squat stance. Here, you bring your body closer to the ground increasing stability and from this stance you can block normally over-powering attacks."

"Of course its rarely that I even employ this stance but its necesarry regardless. Try it yourself."

OOCHey, sorry if the thread progress is slow. I could cover more ground if I tackled more in a single post but I'm trying to make the thread as bulky as possible. The higher posts required for level-up threads these days demand it. Sorry! :(

[Tarfuss]

Tarfuss assailed Vanderlou with combination punches and took the constructive criticism as it was offered. He altered to conform with the points made in the criticism and was doing his best to follow the instructions.

When Vanderlou called for a pause to explain the next stance Tarfuss was happy for a brief respite from the attacking. The suns were warming up the air and he had begun to sweat a bit, even in the winter chill. He took a deep breath and listened to an explanation of the next stance. It seemed to him to be a handy thing to know.

He listened and watched and then attempted to take the stance himself. He placed his feet together along with his legs and flexed them until they were parallel with the ground. HE gave a little bounce, trying to get the feel for the position himself. He shrugged mentally and looked up at Vanderlou to see what the instructor had to say.

[Vanderlou]

The half-elf nodded upon seeing that the stance was satisfactory. Seeing no further need to improve upon it and so decided that it was time to actually put the lessons to a timely halt here.

"I guess that's enough for today, the next phase of the training will be more on practice than theory and so we're going to spend the rest of the afternoon fine tuning your punching techniques until you can apply the techniques in the heat of a real fight."

And with that, Vanderlou would spar with Tarfuss correcting him where and when he felt like the soldier needed improvement. By the time the both of them would find themselves worn out Vanderlou would call it a day and resume the rest of the lessons tomorrow.

[Tarfuss]

Tarfuss nodded to Vanderlou and got prepared for sparring. He did his best to concentrate on form - speed and power would come at a later time - when he had perfected the form. He admired the grace and power that Vanderlou fought with. He hoped he'd be able to approach it at some point in his training, he knew it wouldn't happen soon, but he intended on pursuing this further than the basic forms.


After finishing sparring Tarfuss bid Vanderlou Serale for the evening and wandered back to the Inn, stopping on the way to pick up food for the next day's training. He availed himself of the hot baths, which were a welcome relief after the days exertions. He found that he was using some muscles he was unaccustomed to using and knew he'd be a little sore in the early brightening. Sinking into the hot water he sighed and relaxed. By the time he was done he had enough time to get a bit of a meal and then took himself off to bed.

The morning came sooner than his body might have wanted, but Tarfuss was enthusiastic about continuing his training and was ready to go quickly. He took up the package of food and left.

In the park in the predawn darkness he stretched and warmed up while waiting for Vanderlou to arrive.

[Vanderlou]

"Yesterday we tackled punches and stances, now we're moving on to kicks, which are by far the most powerful attacks in the repertoire of attacks a Shaasskah practitioner can deliver... or at least they are at your level."

"The forward kick, otherwise known as the snap kick. Just from its namesake you can see that it has to be executed from the forward stance."

"Assuming you are right-handed and you wish to throw the kick from your strongest leg, in this case your right leg you will need to be in a left forward stance meaning," Vanderlou brought his left foot sliding forward a fair bit. "You're going to have to put a majority of your weight on the left foot. You have to keep your knees bent and set directly over the heel of the foot in such a way that when viewed from the front or behind, it seems as if there is a line going through your knee, the middle of the leg then through your heel."

"Remember, the knees as well as the leg should be perpendicular to the floor, do not allow it to slant."

"Now as for the right leg, it should be left straight at a forty-five degree angle from the left. To execute the snapping kick, make the right knee come up as high as you can raise it and when you make contact with the target simply extend the leg with a quick snap and exhale as you hit." and Vanderlou demonstrated just that with his leg snapping forward creating a whip-like sound. "Make sure you hit the opponent with the bony ridge of the topside of your foot, you can find that just below the toes and after you make contact," the half-elf drew his foot back to the same opening stance for the snap-kick. "You can shift back into the same stance to deliver the kick once more."

"Remember, its important that your toes are pointed lower at all times to minimize the risk of breaking them by accident."

Hopefully the soldier would understand his explanation, he wasn't really born to be a teacher but he did have a little confidence in his knowledge of Shaasskah. "Try it."