19th of Ashan, Arc 722
"Not bad, " Prae called, leaning on his staff. "You alright?"
His student for the day, a Wyvarnth with brown scales who'd introduced herself only as Mel, nodded from where she was sprawled out on the ground, grimacing as she rubbed her tail where Prae had hit her. "I always forget to protect myself there," she grumbled.
"You were trained by humans, I'm guessing?" Prae asked, taking up a sparring position again.
"Aye. Not too many ithecal in the knights. One big one, but..."
Prae grinned. "Varlum. I'm familiar. I take it you haven't had much of a chance to train with him."
"What, a war hero like him, training a new recruit like me? Fat chance." She stood, stretched, then picked up her spear. Prae smiled as she took up a stance without complaint—he liked this one. He tried to like all his students, but he did really like this one. "Again," she said firmly.
"Alright then," Prae said. "Let's begin."
Mel started quickly, as she had the last three times they'd done this, darting in with her spear to jab at Prae's side. She had good reflexes, Prae noted as he deflected her attacks with his staff, a strong, steady arm, and solid footwork. He circled around her, swiping lightly at her legs, and watched her dance out of the way. She had a good, solid foundation, and the technique of someone who drilled with her weapon constantly.
That last part, in Prae's opinion, was sort of the problem. She had all the textbook spear forms down to an exact science. Too exact.
Mel lunged, and Prae batted the head of the spear away. Next, she would sweep upwards, try and slash him with the blade—and there it was—then jab with the butt of the spear. Before she even began that last move, Prae was evading, stepping to the side and sweeping his own staff towards her side, forcing her to interrupt her own move to block the blow.
"You're—"
"Too predictable, I know." She grimaced as the impact of their weapons pushed her back, and stepped back to try and take a breather. Prae let her, letting his staff drop a little as he watched her shake out her arm in frustration. "I just—It's like trying not to catch something when its thrown at you, you know? It's just instinct."
"I understand," Prae said. "You've fallen into certain habits, practicing the same moves in the same order over and over again. We're here to break those habits. And teach you to be more adaptable when you fight."
Mel sighed, but nodded, and Prae raised his staff once more. "This time, we're going to go slow—about two thirds normal speed, alright? It'll give you time to think instead of reacting on instinct, let you get used to planning your next move based on what you think your opponent will do, not what your body thinks you should do." Really, Prae could achieve the same results using a rune of focus on her, but he wanted her to do this in a way she could practice later on on her own. She was only paying for a tentrial of lessons, and unlearning her bad habits was going to take much longer than that.
Her first attack was still too fast, and Prae made her slow down twice before he was satisfied. "You're not with me to practice combat, understand?" Prae told her. "You're here to break your old habits."
That seemed to settle her down somewhat, and her next attack was slow enough for Prae. He matched her speed as he responded, blocking her blow, before sweeping up towards her head. She blocked perfectly, and Prae saw her start transitioning into the second phase of the form, before catching herself and stumbling for a moment, before narrowly ducking under Prae's next blow.
"Again," Prae said, and repeated his attack. This time, after Mel blocked his blow, she switched to a series of jabs, which Prae sidestepped. "Good, good. Mix it up, keep your opponent guessing what you're going to do next."
The wyvarnth nodded, before performing a slash and a sweep. "Break it down further," Prae instructed, parrying the blow. "Break down your drills into the smallest useful movements, and you'll be much more flexible in battle. You want each move to be instinct, but the transitions between them to be thought out."
It was clear that even at this slow pace, Mel was struggling with her instinctive reactions. More than a few time, she would abort a movement halfway through, or frown after a move, recognizing that she shouldn't have made it. And as time passed, she seemed to grow more and more frustrated, until Prae called for a halt.
"Good work recognizing where you need work," Prae told her, clapping her on the back. He found that a bit of praise always helped, especially with those students that looked up to him. "Take a break, and then we'll try again."
"Not bad, " Prae called, leaning on his staff. "You alright?"
His student for the day, a Wyvarnth with brown scales who'd introduced herself only as Mel, nodded from where she was sprawled out on the ground, grimacing as she rubbed her tail where Prae had hit her. "I always forget to protect myself there," she grumbled.
"You were trained by humans, I'm guessing?" Prae asked, taking up a sparring position again.
"Aye. Not too many ithecal in the knights. One big one, but..."
Prae grinned. "Varlum. I'm familiar. I take it you haven't had much of a chance to train with him."
"What, a war hero like him, training a new recruit like me? Fat chance." She stood, stretched, then picked up her spear. Prae smiled as she took up a stance without complaint—he liked this one. He tried to like all his students, but he did really like this one. "Again," she said firmly.
"Alright then," Prae said. "Let's begin."
Mel started quickly, as she had the last three times they'd done this, darting in with her spear to jab at Prae's side. She had good reflexes, Prae noted as he deflected her attacks with his staff, a strong, steady arm, and solid footwork. He circled around her, swiping lightly at her legs, and watched her dance out of the way. She had a good, solid foundation, and the technique of someone who drilled with her weapon constantly.
That last part, in Prae's opinion, was sort of the problem. She had all the textbook spear forms down to an exact science. Too exact.
Mel lunged, and Prae batted the head of the spear away. Next, she would sweep upwards, try and slash him with the blade—and there it was—then jab with the butt of the spear. Before she even began that last move, Prae was evading, stepping to the side and sweeping his own staff towards her side, forcing her to interrupt her own move to block the blow.
"You're—"
"Too predictable, I know." She grimaced as the impact of their weapons pushed her back, and stepped back to try and take a breather. Prae let her, letting his staff drop a little as he watched her shake out her arm in frustration. "I just—It's like trying not to catch something when its thrown at you, you know? It's just instinct."
"I understand," Prae said. "You've fallen into certain habits, practicing the same moves in the same order over and over again. We're here to break those habits. And teach you to be more adaptable when you fight."
Mel sighed, but nodded, and Prae raised his staff once more. "This time, we're going to go slow—about two thirds normal speed, alright? It'll give you time to think instead of reacting on instinct, let you get used to planning your next move based on what you think your opponent will do, not what your body thinks you should do." Really, Prae could achieve the same results using a rune of focus on her, but he wanted her to do this in a way she could practice later on on her own. She was only paying for a tentrial of lessons, and unlearning her bad habits was going to take much longer than that.
Her first attack was still too fast, and Prae made her slow down twice before he was satisfied. "You're not with me to practice combat, understand?" Prae told her. "You're here to break your old habits."
That seemed to settle her down somewhat, and her next attack was slow enough for Prae. He matched her speed as he responded, blocking her blow, before sweeping up towards her head. She blocked perfectly, and Prae saw her start transitioning into the second phase of the form, before catching herself and stumbling for a moment, before narrowly ducking under Prae's next blow.
"Again," Prae said, and repeated his attack. This time, after Mel blocked his blow, she switched to a series of jabs, which Prae sidestepped. "Good, good. Mix it up, keep your opponent guessing what you're going to do next."
The wyvarnth nodded, before performing a slash and a sweep. "Break it down further," Prae instructed, parrying the blow. "Break down your drills into the smallest useful movements, and you'll be much more flexible in battle. You want each move to be instinct, but the transitions between them to be thought out."
It was clear that even at this slow pace, Mel was struggling with her instinctive reactions. More than a few time, she would abort a movement halfway through, or frown after a move, recognizing that she shouldn't have made it. And as time passed, she seemed to grow more and more frustrated, until Prae called for a halt.
"Good work recognizing where you need work," Prae told her, clapping her on the back. He found that a bit of praise always helped, especially with those students that looked up to him. "Take a break, and then we'll try again."