Faction Broken Bokkens

[Ko Vuto]

Location: NJO Temple
Tags: OPEN TO NJO MEMBERS

Ko had wanted to try out something. He’d learned about a lesser known style of swordsmanship. He had been doing some personal study and seeking prior wisdom from holocrons he had access to. One of them was from a late master from centuries ago. Someone who had become the reigning master of Form IV. But had a rather unique and distinctive application of the aggression form. One that wasn’t all that flashy or acrobatic. Yet distilled the principles and values of the fighting form to what seemed like its logical extreme.

Something about its straightforwardness spoke to Ko and his own sensibilities. Already having started taking a liking to The Way of the Hawkback lately. Currently Ko was in one of the training rooms within the NJO temple. Having come back temporarily to gain more knowledge to bring back to Dorin. But in this time he had taken a bit of a detour in researching this fighting style. Close by was the holocron, who’s holographic gatekeeper aided in teaching the information held within.

Ko had already worked up a sweat as he started to become numb to the noise of wood thwacking wood. Although the fighting style and training was extremely straightforward it didn’t take away from the grueling nature of the training. The main part of the training he kept overlooking was the particular Kiai he was supposed to perform while striking. Something that the holocron’s gatekeeper kept reminding Ko of. In his mind Ko wondered if he could be any more louder since he still felt like the echos of the thwacking lingered in the room and likely beyond. ​

 

[Aris Noble]

He'd only seen it in passing, but it certainly was enough for Aris to pause and immediately turn back to step into the room. A holocron, what looked like Lightsaber training. It was no longer a secret that Aris sought to master all the Forms and become a Battlemaster of the Order, and he knew there was only so much he could learn at the same time.

He also couldn't help but be so insanely curious as to what was going on in this room.

Aris found a spot in the room to sit quietly, pulling out his datapad to jot down notes. What seemed like Ataru turned out to be something more. Still the same form, but the way Ko was practicing wasn't anything he'd seen in his reading. The more straightforward way to utilize it honestly spoke to the young Padawan too. He wasn't capable of using the Force externally, so rather than jumping around this variation might actually suit him more. Either way, it was fascinating to watch.

Ko Vuto

 

[Braze]

TAGS: Ko Vuto Aris Noble

Braze harbored high hopes and grand aspirations, aiming to become a weapons master. However, mastering a weapon was significantly more challenging with the use of only one arm. When Ko extended an invitation for a training session, Braze jumped at the opportunity, immersing himself in relentless practice. He gripped a bokken in his right hand, repeating the same drill with an obsessive fervor.

With each strike against his target, Braze's shouts pierced the air, each yell and powerful swing saturated with an intensity that bordered on the extreme. To an onlooker unfamiliar with his motivations, Braze's fervor could easily appear unhinged. His dedication was obsessive, each forceful yell and powerful swing a display of his deep-seated determination to overcome his limitations.

The energy Braze expended was immense, each attack delivered with a ferocity that could unsettle bystanders. From an outside perspective, Braze's extreme output of aggressive energy with each attack, again and again, painted a picture of someone teetering on the edge of obsession.

 

[Ko Vuto]

Location: NJO Temple
Tags: Aris Noble | Braze | OPEN TO NJO MEMBERS

The actual set up for the training was about as simple as the training itself. Ko, along with Braze, had simple wooden swords and were striking mere wooden poles on stands in the room. They would strike the poles repeatedly in slightly horizontal slashes. Keeping their weapons held up in high guards. In a technical aspect it was similar to Djem So’s Falling Avalanche technique. But the principle behind it was nothing like the persevering counter play that the 5th Form was known for. It was an all out and overly committed assault.

If Ko was being honest he was a little surprised that Braze had wanted to join him. Since this kind of swordsmanship lacked much of the grace that his favored form valued. As they continued to thwack away at the wooden targets Ko remembered the Kiai he was supposed to perform. So on his next attack he would.

It was awkward for him, not just to do it, but the noise of it sounded a little odd coming from his mask. The built in microphone possibly blows out a little from the sudden jump in volume. After a moment the elder padawan recognized another presence in the room. One that felt a tad familiar despite the fact that he knew he’d never met this individual before. Was it one of the Noble children? Although they felt much more similar to Kahlil, almost identical…

“You must be Aris, it’s nice to finally make your acquaintance.” Ko addressed the other boy, not even turning his face yet. The Kel Dor’s body eased a bit and loosened before finally turning towards Aris. “As our training here caught your interest, you’re welcome to participate too if you’d like.” Both Ko and the holocron’s gatekeeper could help him catch up. They were all novices here after all.

Ko then realized that the fierce little pale child he was with was still training intensely. Smacking away at his target with determined frenzy. He figured the boy was possibly just using this moment to vent his frustrations. Looking over at the echani he stepped closer to Braze. “I could probably use more of the aggression you’re displaying. But be sure not to imbalance yourself in the process of Braze.” Ko commented as he looked down at the boy. ​

 

[Aris Noble]

Aris didn't hesitate. He jumped up at the offer from Ko and made his way over, collecting another of the wooden blades in the process. All out aggression. No, not all out. There was still control to this. If there wasn't, then it'd just be Juyo, and they certainly wouldn't allow any Padawan's to learn such a style. So certainly not aggression. Strength.

Strength he could do. He brought the sword up and swung once. With all his might, which was a mistake given both the sword and the dummy shattered in wooden splinters on impact. He blinked once before glancing to the remains of the sword in his hand.

".. Ah. Whoops."

Ko Vuto | Braze

 

[Braze]

LOCATION: TAGS: Ko Vuto Aris Noble

Braze was intensely focused, so much so that if Ko's words reached him, he gave no indication of it. His dedication to the drills was unyielding, a fervor that seemed to eclipse the usual bounds of determination in training. It appeared as though he was in his own world, oblivious to Ko's presence or guidance.

The only thing that managed to pierce his bubble of concentration was the sudden snap of Aris' bokken. Braze's attention abruptly shifted, his head turning sharply towards the sound. Panting lightly, he drew a slow, steadying breath through his teeth and exhaled through his nose, a slight frown forming as he noticed the splinters scattered about.

Aris, despite being younger, stood taller and seemed stronger and more composed. This realization stirred a sense of jealousy within Braze.

 

[Ko Vuto]

Location: NJO Temple
Tags: Aris Noble | Braze | OPEN TO NJO MEMBERS

Braze didn’t seem to acknowledge Ko’s presence. Which was a little irking. But was fine with letting the boy vent their frustrations harmlessly against the wooden pole. So long as they wouldn’t get carried away. Along with Braze, Ko’s attention was quickly brought back over Aris as the younger padawan made both their weapon and target seemingly explode from sheer kinetic force alone. It was quite shocking.

Ko let out a soft chuckle before summoning another wooden sword to his hand through the Force before handing it over to Aris. “From what I know so far, it’s not about hitting it as hard as possible. It’s more about the mindset behind the strike. To be committed entirely to the act, and the moment. It’s said that the following attack shouldn’t even be considered. Because if you’re worrying about future attacks, and doubting your current one. Then it’s not gonna work.”

Ko then thought about how Aris might be able to keep from blowing up their weapon. “Are you familiar with the ability known as Force Weapon? It’s commonly employed by many other Force Traditions that forgo the use of lightsabers. It increases the durability of your weapon but also its potency. Perhaps that can keep your weapon intact.” Ko recalled a previous conversation he had with Valery, where she mentioned one of her sons having some limitations on how they could use The Force. He figured she might’ve been referring to Aris; he was the only one old enough to really start training in The Force. Perhaps Force Weapon wasn’t an option even if he knew about it.

“But if that doesn’t work perhaps we can get some different tools for you.” Ko thought out loud. Unsure if this was because the boy just had too much untapped strength. ​

 

[Aris Noble]

One strike, and only one strike?

It was an interesting mindset, and not one Aris was actually against. The swiftest way to save others when violence was the only option was to end the fight swiftly. He glanced down to the wooden remnants in his hands, nodding a little. "I'm not too worried. I won't be able to learn Force Weapon like you suggest, but I'm sure my normal blades won't fall." Neither his lightsaber or Seszil.

He took up the new wooden blade, smiling just a little. Control was important. "I'll work on control for now."

Braze | Ko Vuto

 

[Braze]

TAGS: Ko Vuto Aris Noble

Braze's jade-green eyes locked onto his target, a determined focus taking hold as Ko began to coach Aris. Drawing a deep, steadying breath, he exhaled slowly, closing his eyes to better concentrate. He attuned himself to the rhythm of his body—the expansion of his lungs, the steady beat of his heart, the pulse of his blood. Centered and focused, Braze controlled his breathing, inhaling deeply to saturate his bloodstream with oxygen, readying himself for the task at hand.

As he opened his eyes, a renewed sense of purpose shone through. Strengthening his core, he gripped his wooden blade with both determination and precision. With each strike, he unleashed a powerful kiai, channeling his energy into the attack. He envisioned his blade slicing through the target in a single, decisive motion.

There was an intensity that was unnerving as each strike came harder and faster than the last, with an edge of aggression melding into his form. Yet, he was wound tight. He paused briefly, taking some time to breathe and center his breathing again, slowing it down after a brief pickup to fuel his muscles once more. He idly twirled the wooden blade in his hand to loosen up the tense muscles. He flipped it a few times, essentially massaging his palm by catching the hilt with each flip, treating the bokken more like a kali stick as he caught his breath and re-centered with a flourish to continue.

He told himself he didn't care that Ko was interested in assisting Aris. He repeated this lie to himself silently and shifted his focus more towards himself. He shouldn't be worried about what the others were doing or what they thought. He had to catch up, and the only way to do that was to work on himself.

 

[Ko Vuto]

Location: NJO Temple
Tags: Aris Noble | Braze | OPEN TO NJO MEMBERS

Unable to even perform Force Weapon? It sounded like Aris truly was limited in what he was able to do. He nodded to the younger padawan as he spoke about working more on control. Although with a fighting style like this, obliterating a target is far from the worst consequence that could occur. “I’ve started to see this style as something of a combination of both Form One and Four. It’s simple and direct like the First, but with the uncompromising aggression of the Fourth. If that helps with understanding what we’re striving for here. I still don’t fully understand everything within the holocron that I’m learning from.”

Ko then turned away from Aris and telekinetically grabbed another wooden pole as a target for the Noble child before placing it in front of him. “An overhead strike, imagine if you're going for the neck of an opponent and sinking your weapon into their torso.” It was a rather grisly mental image. But this was a martial art meant to kill. Still though…
​

"Many of you are still young. And I think it's time you're allowed to be young again."

Ko would shake the memory from his psyche. They were The Shield’s child after all. If Master Noble wasn’t comfortable with Aris learning this kind of stuff then they wouldn’t be a padawan here in the first place. Right? Plus this martial art sought to remove doubt and apprehension within oneself.

Also Ko shouldn’t feel too concerned about the newer padawan when there was a fierce little gremlin next to them who was similarly younger like Aris. Thinking of which Ko would turn his attention once more to Braze. Observing their little flourish through The Force. The Kel Dor stepped closer to the wooden target he’d been striking. Gently placing a hand where Braze’s bokken had been making contact. It was warm to the touch from the sheer repeated kinetic force.

“Nice, at this pace you’ll catch your weapon on fire. Then we’ll have two broken practice swords.” Ko commented with a soft laugh. Ko then reached down towards his belt and grabbed a metal can with an ornate pattern across it. “You wanna take a break? Here I'll trade with ya.” Ko said offering the echani boy his can of ice tea in exchange for their bokken to rest up a bit.​

 

[Aris Noble]

Falling Avalanche.

It was by far the biggest move he knew from Djem So, but he didn't know that form. Was there something similar with it? He'd have to look into it later, but right now, focus. He looked back to the target provided, steadied his grip on the blade in his hands. Focus. He took a breath, let everything else fade around him. A single strike, right where the opponent would be weakest.

Not with all this might this time, but that was only because he didn't want to shatter another bokken. He exhaled once as he struck down, his eyes full of focus. The sound of wood hitting wood echoed, but without a breaking sound to accompany it. Good.

Braze | Ko Vuto

 

[Braze]

TAGS: Ko Vuto Aris Noble

Braze panted lightly, letting out a soft, slow breath, blinking as Ko approached him and spoke softly, offering a drink. Braze's gaze shifted down, and it was as if a wave washed over the young white-haired boy. His shoulders relaxed, and a faint smile graced his features. "Alright..." Braze said in a breathless tone, letting out a drawn-in slow breath speaking into his sigh. He accepted the can of tea in exchange for the bokken. His whole demeanor shifted, and any semblance or hint of what looked like aggression had completely melted away in moments as he moved to settle down on a bench to see what Ko would do next. He popped the top and took a sip, green eyes flicking to Aris. And yet, Braze still felt rather green himself, green with envy over such power. He could only imagine what it would be like to have that much raw physical strength and durability to go with it.

"That's much better, Aris... control is a good skill to have," Braze praised nonetheless.

The snowy-haired padawan set the can aside and slipped a hand through his bangs, brushing back his hair. "Thank you, Ko, that really hit the spot." he chirped lightly.

 

[Ko Vuto]

Location: NJO Temple
Tags: Aris Noble | Braze | OPEN TO NJO MEMBERS

Ko was glad to see Braze take a moment to ease up. Thinking that it was good for Braze to just vent some through the training here and get their energy out. Knowing that the boy had been pretty upset with the loss of his arms functionality.

The elder padawan’s attention was then drawn back to Aris as he heard the echo of a strike on his target. Flinching a tiny bit, but glad that he didn’t annihilate the target and weapon this time. Braze even chimed in some as well. “Correct, just focus right now on how you’ve moving your body and honing the angle of your strikes.”

Ko then looked back to Braze as he expressed his appreciation for the tea. “I knew it would and you’re welcome. Even the cheap canned stuff can be a good treat from time to time.” The tea savvy Kel Dor replied before stepping over to the small holocron cube that he’d be using to learn from. “I’m gonna be heading back to Dorin tomorrow, I wanna make sure I can learn as much from this as I can until then. You two can keep training with these afterwards as much as you want.” Ko said to the two pale haired boys. Letting them know that they wouldn’t need to rely on him if they wanted to keep exploring this fighting style on their own.

With the holocron in his hand he activated it to learn more from it. Wanting to better understand how the footwork was utilized in this fighting style. After Which he set the holocron back down and turned to the wooden target that Braze was previously using. Assuming the fighting stance he approached it carefully. Now focusing more on his foot work than the upcoming attack. It created less bounce and bop in his body as he approached. Trying to keep things level and smooth. Almost like he was sliding or rolling across the ground.

Apparently it was a way to make it harder for an opponent to read. Making one seem off rhythm by removing the more subtle movements of their body as they approached. Ko then brought his wooden blade down. Striking the target in conjunction with a loud Kiai.

“Eiiii!”

The Kel Dor then eased his body up some and backed away to try it again and exercise the approach and walk towards a target.​

 

[Aris Noble]

Focus.

Aris had stopped paying attention to his surroundings, to the others. Right now he was going through the same motions, striking the target directly on where the head would be. A single strong strike, but not enough to shatter or break either the blade in his hand or the wooden dummy itself. It was a fine balance now. He wanted to find the point just where they would possibly break. Just that point of restraint.

He wanted to push it as far as he could.

One strike echoed with another heavy crack, which brought a frown to his face. Neither had shattered, but the wooden blade now had a crack along it's edge.

Braze | Ko Vuto

 

[Braze]

TAGS: Ko Vuto Aris Noble

Braze stifled a chuckle upon hearing Ko's kiai, unable to resist finding the high-pitched, monkey-like screech amusing. He leaned back, relaxed, taking leisurely sips from his can while his eyes moved between Ko and Aris. With keen interest, he observed their movements, attentively studying the subtle nuances of their techniques.

Watching Aris and Ko, Braze thought about his own fighting style. Aris's strength and Ko's fluidity made him see the value in adapting and growing, no matter the challenges. This inspired Braze in a way as his mind began to wander he tilted his head back and closed his eyes.

 

[Ko Vuto]

Location: NJO Temple
Tags: Aris Noble | Braze | OPEN TO NJO MEMBERS

Like how Braze was before, Aris seemingly began to enter a deep focus. That was good, instead of merely smacking the wood together with immense force. However, Ko’s focus was quickly taken by Braze who appeared to be rather amused by the Kiai. Was the boy trying not to laugh? Admittedly it was a rather foolish sounding scream compared to other martial arts.

While Aris continued to strike their target Ko glanced back to Braze. “It’s said that on a typical day of training. Practitioners of this martial art would practice their strikes with about eleven thousand reps a day. How many do you think I could try and squeeze into a minute?” Ko asked, wondering if the echni boy would humor him. Curious to see how many downward slashes he could perform in a mere 60 seconds.

Ko brought one of his hands to the bottom of his mask and chin and thought. “I’m thinking I could squeeze in about one hundred and fifty, maybe two hundred if I really tried.” Perhaps his estimation was too generous. It wasn’t a standard form of practice but Ko was interested in seeing how he might do with such an explosive test. “Wanna time me?”​

 

[Aris Noble]

Aris let out a sigh as he moved to swap over to another blade and be ready to strike again. Though he paused to glance over to Ko as he spoke about his challenge. That many strikes in a minute? It was certainly a lot. So rather than continue to strike his own dummy again he stepped closer to watch. It'd be interesting to see for certain, especially if Ko could keep from shattering any wood.

Braze | Ko Vuto

 

[Braze]

TAGS: Ko Vuto Aris Noble

"By the light, that's a lot... must be exhausting. I can only imagine the kind of lactic acid build-up that would leave," Braze offered, concern flickering in his eyes. "Per minute? Maybe if you apply force speed to it." He reached for his com device. "Okay, I can time you, sure..." he pulled up the stopwatch functionality. "Ready... and... Go!"

 

[Ko Vuto]

Location: NJO Temple
Tags: Aris Noble | Braze | OPEN TO NJO MEMBERS

Ko had noticed that even Aris had turned his attention back to him, seemingly wishing to observe the little challenge he came up with. “Yep, although simple and direct that didn’t make the training any less grueling…” Ko then remembered a martial arts quote he heard once that he quite liked. “‘I fear not the man who has practiced 10,000 kicks once, but I fear the man who has practiced one kick 10,000 times.’ I think that quote fits very well with the ethos of this martial art.”

“Also you’re probably right, I might need to utilize Force Speed. I don’t think I’ve ever used it offensively for a minute straight though.” For defense and avoidance however, he could do that. But he didn’t need to put as much power behind his movements. He listened to Braze say that he would begin to time him and get himself into position. Holding his weapon at the ready.

Once the echani boy said ‘go’ Ko began to strike the wooden target again, and again, again. Each collision of wood on wood was impactful and loud. The math of his little challenge had to see him doing about three to four strikes per second. Very quickly as he started the explosive exercise Ko had already lost count and wasn’t sure if Braze or Aris would fair much better than him in keeping track of his strikes per-minute.​