First steps

[Jacen Voidstalker]

[member="Quinn Byrne"]

Jacen was daunted by the prospect of what he had ahead of him today. So far he'd busied himself with personal training whenever he'd had time away from the front lines. Time was spent in the gym, in the training halls deep in the bowels of the temple, or meditating in the gardens with [member="Adele Adonai"].

Being a Marshal was something of an excuse to focus on operational work. Even after all the time he'd spent coming to terms with his past failures, taking on padawans and training them himself terrified him. If he fethed up it was other lives he was putting at risk. Them again, that was always the way. If they failed to halt the Sith billions of lives were at risk. Perhaps it was the number of times that [member="Nubica Felidae"] had stubbornly followed him into the most dangerous of situations that made him realise he had to do the best he could by others and let them choose what risks to take.

Not that he wouldn't be disappointing people today. Apparently a new recruit needed to be shown how to use a blade from first principles. Often the younglings were desperate to get their hands on a saber and start swinging it around. As Jacen found a space in the gardens near the edge of the floating biome he put down his gear: two sparring sticks and a datapad with diagrams of the basic forms of Shii Cho.

Near the outer rim where the solarium glasteel met the base of the biome they would be afforded a fantastic view of the sun rising from behind the obsidian spires of the eastern mountain range.

 

[Catherine Romanov]

It had not been long since she had been inducted into the ranks of the Galactic Alliance. Getting herself recruited was the first step she could take towards changing her miserable life into something better, something more meaningful that collecting scraps of junk metal like she had done for the entirety of her life. Quinn wanted to be a Jedi, and being told that she was force sensitive was the first and most important step in the newest chapter of her life. She was a Padawan now, and she had plenty to learn about everything, from the intricacies of lightsaber techniques to the mental fortitude of light-sided force powers.

Her first lesson would begin today, as an training appointment had been arranged with the Jedi Master and Marshall, [member="Jacen Voidstalker"]. He would be imparting into her the basic techniques and skill with relation to the first form of lightsaber combat, It was the Shii-Cho form, also more commonly known as the Determination form. Yes, she had done her homework and read-up on the form, but reading about it and actually practising it with her own two hands was an entirely different ballgame.

Quinn made her way to the location in the gardens, where the training will be taking place today. The spot was near the edge of floating dome, and she approached the Jedi Marshall dressed casually in a white tank top and a pair of brown pants. These would allow her to be flexible in her movements and actions, hopefully providing as little a distraction or obstruction during the training to come. The New Jedi Order's temple was located within and what a wondrous place this was. She had never quite seen anything like it. The Padawan was simply at a loss for words as she wandered towards the meeting location.

She saw the tall and broad shouldered Marshall with his narrow face and hawkish features accompanied by a shortly cut dusky black hair with several greys in it that spoke of years of experience. She saw the two sparring sticks on the ground beside a datapad with a diagram of the basic forms of Shii-Cho displayed onto it. Greeting the Jedi Master, she said " Greetings Master Voidstalker, I am the newest recruit, who was supposed to meet you for training here today."

 

[Jacen Voidstalker]

[member="Quinn Byrne"]

This was going to be something of a new experience for Jacen. He imagined that both master and student would be finding their roles as the training went on. So far he'd only taught in the field. Helping [member="Lilin Imperieuse"] find her lightsaber crystal hardly counted as a lesson, even if he had imparted some advice to the young Padawan.

"Good morning," Jacen offered with a small nod as the auburn haired initiate approached. "Padawan Byrne I believe?" he asked. That was the first thing that became fixed in stone in that instant: he kept relatively formal during training. A background in both the formal Jedi Order that had existed on coruscant and a decade in the military settled that one.

"They said you were a complete novice, but it would be good to know what kind of background you have in martial arts, or even other technical disciplines like sport or shooting. Actually if you haven't warmed up yet you can tell me as we got for a run around the gardens and do some dynamic stretching," he said. Another few chips and another aspect of Jacen the mentor was revealed. He was the kind of person who joined in with the activities he set his students, not the kind who stood and barked commands from the sidelines.

 

[Catherine Romanov]

[member="Jacen Voidstalker"]

Quinn nodded as she acknowledged the Marshall's calling of her name. She took in his rigid and grounded stance as he addressed her, formality clearly present in his posture. He then went on to question her about her background in combat, about any form of techniques that she may know. Her knowledge of combat had been relatively limited to her salvaged quarterstaff, the same one she had been carrying for years, when she found it off a dead scavenger several years ago in the many sandy dunes and canyons of Tatooine.

She had learnt the skill of fighting with the weapon out of necessity, for the sake of self-defence, for Tatooine was an inhospitable world that was lawless and full of self-minded scavengers that would hesitate to take you out if you had better pieces of scrap metal/or parts that could have benefited them more. A vast majority of them only carried staves or vibro-knives as blasters were extremely expensive and not for the likes of them. These were scavengers fighting simply for existence.

Replying the master, she answered. "I've had no actual formal training, but over the years I've had plenty of training with my quarterstaff, as it was my only means of self-defence against unruly thugs and hostiles. In terms of athleticism, I would say that I am highly fit, as navigating between the shifting sands amidst large bodies of wreckages can require one to be rather agile and flexible."

 

[Jacen Voidstalker]

[member="Quinn Byrne"]
Jacen would finish going through a short warm up and series of dynamic stretches. The focus was on keeping the ankles, wrists and shoulders limber. Whilst she might have been young and flexible, both age and numerous injuries had taken their toll on his own joints. Still, she was likely to be putting her body through unfamiliar movements over and over; it rarely hurt to be cautious when there was plenty of time.

Jacen decided it was probably worth taking a moment to talk her through what they would be doing. With a light sheen of sweat across his forehead, he sat cross-legged on the grass and indicated for her to do the same. Despite a few attempts, he still couldn't sit in seiza for any length of time like the iridonian healer.

“So we're going to focus on basic forms. We'll get your posture right to start off with and take you through some basic guards and strikes. Before that we'll be covering some basic footwork as well. So I apologise in advance, but I'm afraid there's going to be an awful lot of repetition. A Jedi might dive into the Force and let it guide his actions, but the body has to know the building blocks. Muscle memory it's erroneously called sometimes. Shii-Cho is the perfect starter form as we can break down the strikes into zones and go through several basic guards. Later we might start on some Velocities. Basically that's going through the motions with a partner at increasing speed. By the end of the day we're looking to leave you able to move around whilst keeping your guard and balance and for you to go away with at least one basic routine you can practise on your own.

“First of all try and centre yourself. Take a deep breath, find your connection to the Force and then we'll begin,” Jacen said, before closing his own eyes and taking a long, slow diaphragmatic breath.

Afterwards they would start with basic middle guard stance. Stave held close to the body with the tip aimed for the throat, left foot forwards, right foot slightly out to one side and weight dropped a few inches.


OOC/ to keep it moving feel free to assume some actions on the part of Jacen helping your char find the right posture.

 

[Catherine Romanov]

[member="Jacen Voidstalker"]

The master started them with a series of warm ups and dynamic stretches. From what she learned, exercises like these were always great to loosen the muscles in the limbs and joints to prevent any further injury when going through more strenuous training or activities later on. Quinn focused on her wrist, ankles and her shoulders, making sure to keep the respective body parts loose and limber. A light sheen of perspiration was beginning to show on both their skin as they worked their way through the warm up exercises.

Once they were done with that, Master Voidstalker motioned for her follow as he took a seat onto the grass, his crossed between each other in a mediation like position. He then explained to her about the first real training she would be embarking on. The basic forms. A light hint of smile crept onto her face as the marshal apologised about the fact that an awful lot of repetition would inevitably be present. She was no stranger to such things, repetition being a ever-present thing in her childhood. Quinn was fine with that. She knew that getting the getting the basic posture, stance and footwork right was the incredibly important, as they played a major role in actual combat itself.

Muscle memory. That was the word. She lodged in her mind to take note of, absorbing every little detail the Jedi master was imparting to her this very moment. The pair got up as they started to begin the footwork training, but before that, she had to centre herself, take a deep breath and feel her connection with the force. She proceeded to shut her eyes, taking a deep breath with both her mouth and nose, before exhaling, feeling within her for the entity that was the force ebbing and flowing within her.

She felt it. She felt something, which she was pretty sure was the force. She said. "I am ready, master." And then they began. First up, would be the basic middle stance, and she held the her staff close to her body, her left foot forward, and her right foot out to one side and she lowered her weight a little. Her posture was incorrect in a few places, and Jacen quickly corrected her mistakes, setting them back on course with her assuming the correct and proper positions.

Getting the fundamental steps correct was a critically important process not to be underestimated.

 

[Jacen Voidstalker]

[member="Quinn Byrne"]

Jacen stood to one to one side and then walked around Quinn. “Alright, just stand up naturally and then go back into position,” he instructed. Then he hummed to himself and tapped his index finger on the side of his chin thoughtfully as she tried. Showing her how to find the posture wasn't the same as explaining how to find it herself. Not doing a great job so far Voidstalker, he chastised himself. His mind returned to his childhood, trying to think how the mentors at the old academy taught the children the basics.

“Okay so…think about keeping your spine nice and straight. Imagine a rod through the top of your head and through your back. To start off with try and create a bit of tension in the core, from the navel down,” he said placing a hand over his own belly. “Not too much though. You want to strength between your lower body and upper body to effect a solid block, but you need keep mobile as well. Then just drop your weight a touch, keep it on the balls of your feet and the centre nice and between them…”

Alright, stop there. Give her too much and she'll just end up confused. Less is more. The Jedi Master circled the student again and then stood directly before her.

“Good, good. This is a good start. The blade is now occupying the centre ground, I can't strike directly at you with ease because…” he stepped forwards and swung an imaginary sword and the tip of her stave gently brushed his neck. “It's a good place to easily move into the basic strikes at each zone, with perhaps the exception of the head. But then the form emphasises taking an arm over a life,” he explained slowly. There was a pause, before he decided to take them off on a philosophical tangent.

“Question: I'm stood here, this close, and I've got a blaster trained at you. Where do you strike me?”

 

[Catherine Romanov]

[member="Jacen Voidstalker"]

She was instructed to get back up into position. The following instruction then came with a quick and simple guide on how to easily find the correct posture. The spine needed to be kept nice and straight, and the example given was to imagine a metal rod fastened from her head to her back. With that image in her mind, Quinn kept her back ramrod straight, correcting her posture immediately. The next instruction came, telling her to create a tension in her core from the navel down, right around the stomach area.

The aim was to generate strength between the regions of her upper and lower body, effectively grounding her position into somewhat like a stalwart block on the ground. However, the important thing here was that she didn't want to end up as a statue, that would benefit no one. She needed to remain mobile so that she could remain poised to make any counter-attack should the opportunity arise. The next step involved dropping her weight slightly, positioning her well with the force of gravity in effect.

When she got the whole stance and position up in the correct order, her brows furrowed in concentration as Master Voidstalker uttered an acknowledgement of her progress. She was doing alright. That was good. All the more, she had ensure that she continued equally well for the rest of the training. The lessons from the Jedi Marshal continued as he demonstrated a strike against him, taking the tip of her weapon gently brushing against his neck. He then let on that the from emphasises taking an arm over a life. The master then posed her a question.

A hostile was attacking her with a blaster, where should she strike? Quinn pondered the question for several moments before she finally answered. "I would strike at his arm, disarming him of his weapon before working on the rest of his person."

 

[Jacen Voidstalker]

[member="Quinn Byrne"]
There was a mischievous glint in Jacen's brown eyes as he replied. Perhaps it revealed that he'd been hoping to catch her out with the question.

“Very good. A lot of padawans like to imagine they have the control to cut a man's blaster in half. Just go for the arm. And that leads me on the the really important lesson. Don't switch on your saber unless you're prepared to kill someone. They say it's an elegant weapon, but it's also a brutal one. It might cauterise the wound, but if you take someone's arm off at the shoulder there's still a good chance they'll bleed out of die from shock. I'd advise you to get a good sidearm with a stun setting. I can show you how to use one if you need. Right then! Footwork.”

Gripping his loose trousers just have the knee, he hitched them up as he sank into a stance that mirrored her own. One eyebrow was raised as he realised he was missing something. His left arm shot out and the wooden stave leapt up to meet his hand. He had in fact spent the previous evening writing out a lesson plan to follow. Of course he'd left it in his room, not wishing to appear as much a novice to teaching as she was to a blade. So far he'd been all over the place and only vaguely followed his outline.

“We'll start with simple forwards and backwards. Never, ever, ever cross your legs when you're near striking range. Always have a solid footing and shift weight after you've planted your next foot,” Jacen explained slowly as he shifted forwards and backwards in a straight line. After she was copying that he'd work on turning, and sideways and diagonal movements.

 

[Catherine Romanov]

[member="Jacen Voidstalker"]

Quinn was glad to know that her answer was the right one. A brief smile appeared onto her visage before again promptly disappearing, returning her to her focused and concentrated state of mind. The next lesson was one of great importance and it was about restrain, or restraining oneself to only use a lightsaber when prepared to for a brutal fight. Although appearing elegant, the lightsaber is a highly dangerous and volatile weapon perfectly capable of doing a vast majority of things, being one of the strongest personal weapons there is.

Restrain was an important value of the Jedi, and she would do well to remember that. Master Voistalker then advised her to get a good sidearm, one with a stun setting, so that she could use it to subdue those that didn't warrant any killing or maiming. Then, it was back to footwork once more. In a brief move, the master mirrored her stance before raising his arm and hand, calling the weapon to his hand. "That was so cool." She couldn't help but utter that. It indeed was.

They started with a simple forward and backwards, practising it as they went along. She was instructed never to cross her legs within striking range. Her guess to this was that crossing ones legs when in such close proximity would probably cause one to lose balance from the uneven sense of weight distribution. A solid footing would therefore ensure proper weight distribution and balance as one plants their feet on the ground. Quinn continued practising the forward and backward movements, perfecting the moves as she repeated them over and over. The next set of moves would probably be involving turning and diagonal movements now that the simple straight ones were over and done with.

 

[Jacen Voidstalker]

[member="Quinn Byrne"]

As Quinn took a step a little too hastily Jacen decided to be a little bit mean. A gentle telekinetic pull at shoulder height would likely send her stumbling forwards. He sidestepped smoothly out of the way, mindful of getting caught by her stave.

The corner of his mouth would twist upwards. "At any time someone can subvert your balance if you lack a stable footing. Whilst an experienced Jedi will linger on the edge of balance a lot of the time for now we keep things calm and stable. Don't pay attention to those kids that think they're going to be masters of Ataru on day one. They tend to come off badly when we had Padawan tournaments," he explained. There was no hint of admonishment in his tone, but it did occur to him that it might seem like he was trying to tell her off.

“Very good so far,” he said with a nod. Then he lowered his own stave and swept his free hand downwards, indicated his own relative position. “So, sidesteps next, then diagonal, then turns. And yes you are quite literally learning to walk again, so I apologise for the pace.”

He would then proceed to take her through all the basic footwork of Shii-Cho. She was being exceptionally patient with him so far, and for that he was grateful.

 

[Catherine Romanov]

[member="Jacen Voidstalker"]

As she took a step forward, she felt an unseen force pulling her forwards. Unprepared for any of it, Quinn stumbled and was about to lose her footing when her natural survival instincts took over. Planting the butt end of the staff on the ground, she used it as a crutch, stabilising herself further before she could fall. She couldn't help but yell a "Hey!". A scowl appeared on her visage for several brief moments before they disappeared as quickly as they came, returning them to their focused state. The Jedi Marshall had done that on purpose, with the sole intention of testing her balance and footing. Quinn took his advice and critique to heart.

She may have been caught unaware this time around, but there won't be a next. She'll keep an eye out for any future ones. She repeated the words over to herself, again and again, drilling it into her mind. Maintaining a proper stable balance is crucial. He then went on talking about the Ataru show-offs, and while she did read up some about the form, she wasn't quite a fan of it. From what she had read, and the information she had, her favourites were Soresu and Djem So, Form III and Form V respectively. The thought of padawan tournaments did spark an interest in her eyes, perking them up as they were mentioned. That sounded interesting.

The redhead nodded in response to his compliment about the progress they had made so far. She was equally glad that everything had gone so smoothly so far. The next moves and steps were those pertaining to sidesteps, then diagonals, which would then be followed by turns. Master Voidstalker apologised for the pace, and a brief smile appeared on her lips. It was a kind gesture, not one required but was appreciated. The master and student pair then went on through all the basic footwork of Shii-Cho, nailing them down as they went. She was being exceptionally patient, wanting to soak up everything she could from the master in front of her, and this was the only way she knew how. The inquisitive side of her yearned for knowledge, while the diligent part of her ensured she remained conscientious in the tasks she did.

 

[Jacen Voidstalker]

[member="Quinn Byrne"]

Jacen proceeded to take her through a few basic blocks once they'd covered all the fundamental aspects of footwork. After that was done he took a few steps back, bringing his hand up to rub against two days of stubble as he thought on what to do next.

“Right, so I had planned to take you through some basic routines at the end, but I think if I try and show you anything more it'll be less effective than firming up what we've already done. So we'll finish on a game. I'll move around, throw some feints. You have to match my footwork and just put out some basic blocks. No need to get over exuberant!” he added. He took up position directly in front of her again, but didn't raise his wooden sword.

“I'm assuming by now this is starting to ache in places you didn't think could ache?” he asked with a wry smile.

 

[Catherine Romanov]

[member="Jacen Voidstalker"]

The most interesting part of the lesson today would start soon. With the basic footwork followed through and established, it was time to put the moves to the test. Quinn relished the fact of getting the opportunity to put these moves she had learnt into practice and this was as good as any. A game, the master had said. A game it would be then.

Master Voidstalker would begin to throw up a series of attacks and feints, and her job was to intercept them or block them as best as she could, all the while matching his footwork while they were at it. It was simple and basic enough, nothing too complicated or over-the-top. They placed down their staves, and grabbed the wooden training blades that had been lying on the ground to this moment. Their time has come as both of them were relived from their position on the ground as each of them were placed in each other's hands. The game would start in a matter of minutes.

Her master then cracked a joke, which was accompanied by a wry smile appearing on his lips. He assumed that she was beginning to ache in places she didn't knew existed. The redhead let out a chuckle, before replying. "Not quite. I've had worst." She finished , with a delightfully beaming smile of her own. Living alone in the inhospitable lawless world of Tatooine had placed her in many a precarious situations before. She'd been in worse. Plenty, she'd say.

 

[Jacen Voidstalker]

[member="Quinn Byrne"]

Jacen grinned as he brought up his 'saber'. "I only ask because the muscles and tensions for sword fighting tend to be a little unfamiliar. Don't worry, there's still time..."

He started off simply moving backwards and forwards, letting her get used to following. Then he slowly circled her, watching her footwork diligently for any errors. He paused, there was a curt nod of appreciation for her careful placement.

Jacen slid backwards slowly, but then changes his momentum. He shifted his weight to his right, planted that foot and then brought his stave around at her left shoulder at a deliberately slow pace. The footwork was quick, the sword work slow to give her time to settle into the routine.

 

[Catherine Romanov]

[member="Jacen Voidstalker"]

Oh?.. A snarky comeback. Quinn found herself smirking at the remark her master had just made. There's still time indeed. His words and tone indicated that her muscles should feel quite sore from all the tension she experienced, her body not being used to sword fighting. She very well might just feel sore all over later, but that's no reason for concern or worry. She was no pansy or damsel in distress.

She had proven time and time again that she was more than capable of taking care of herself. The game then started, as he started moving backwards and forwards, warming up for the both of them. As he began to circle her, she kept her gaze onto him, not wanting to let him move out of her sight. The red headed padawan returned his nod with a nod of her own in appreciation for his recognition.

She caught him sliding back slowly, but then quickly shifting his momentum and the weight that followed to his right, anchoring his foot on the ground, as he brought his weapon up to her left shoulder at what must have been a deliberately slow pace, for training's sake.

Quinn quickly brought up her own training blade, countering his stroke with one of her own, sending a clash of wood as the two blades struck each other. His footwork was quick, but she was more than able to follow, courtesy of the training she had been doing since they started. It was now time to work on her blade work.

 

[Jacen Voidstalker]

[member="Quinn Byrne"]

The set of her jaw and something in her posture suggested she took his words almost as a challenge. Jacen relished seeing that attitude in a student. Back when he'd spent some time working at his mercenary company's training facility he could never abide by the lazy students. If there was one defining feature that correlated with success in learning a new skill it was determination. Whilst connection to the Force clearly had genetic connections he had never believed in 'natural talent' when it came to picking up a martial skill.

Jacen backed away slowly. His stave was brought up into a high guard, closer to a Djem-So stance. He closed on his left, bringing it down towards her head. It was a feint. The blade stopped short as he used his off hand to twist the blade to the side. His right foot came up, closing the distance further and the stave swung in parallel to the ground for her waist on the left.

 

[Catherine Romanov]

[member="Jacen Voidstalker"]

After their blades clashed, the click-clack of wooden training blades striking each other, Quinn saw the Jedi Marshall back away slowly but steadily, before raising his arms and weapon into a high guard position. Based on her reading, much earlier this morning, she managed to recognise the stance as that of Form V, Djem So.

While she may not know much about the form yet, based on what she had read up so far, she like that it was a more aggressive form, with the practitioner taking the fight to the enemy. It was one of favourites alongside the defensive Form III of Soresu. Who said that reading doesn't pay off? It sure most definitely did.

Master Voidstalker then started to close on his left, bringing it down towards her head. She had almost brought up her blade halfway before she realised that it was a feint, and one that she had detected too late. His real target lay somewhere on her side, she assumed and was proven right a second later as he twisted the blade to the side.

His right foot then swiftly came forwards, closing the distance between them in a blink of an eye. With the distance reduced even further, he swung his blade down parallel to the ground, striking her in the left of her waist. Quinn gave out a cry of alarm and surprise at being caught off-guard.

 

[Jacen Voidstalker]

[member="Quinn Byrne"]

The wooden stave barely slapped her side before Jacen pulled the stave back close to his body. Moving further to her left, he forced her to turn and face him once more. Pivoting on his leading leg, he realigned himself and backed away.

"You'll slowly start to pick up on what alerts you to danger. Eventually your body will be reacting without even bothering your conscious mind for input. However, as a hint, watch body posture and especially footwork more than the blade."

He closed and went through a simple offensive routine. One the Padawan would recognise when Jacen started to teach her the choreographed practise routines. Strike for the right shoulder, right hip, return to guard, then a thrust for the chest.

 

[Catherine Romanov]

[member="Jacen Voidstalker"]

She had cried out not because it hurt, for it had been barely a slap but because it had taken by surprise, off-guard. Quinn wasn't happy with herself for missing out on that one. She needed to do better, to avoid making another foolish mistake like that. Focus, Quinn, focus. Jacen pulled back his wooden stave close to his body before he began to move further to her, thereby forcing her to turn as well if she was to keep her position facing him. She saw the master pivoted quickly on his leading leg before backing away, creating a modicum of distance between the master and student pair once more. He then began to remark about her learning to eventually pick up signs of danger, her body growing so instinctive that it would react without her telling it too.

As a tip, she was told to watch our for her opponent's body posture and footwork rather than the blade. As she had learnt so far, the blade can be used to carry out feints, causing her to carry out a wrong move that could land her in dire circumstances.

The master closed once more and went through an offensive routine. Quinn made doubly sure to keep her eye on his posture and his footwork, before taking in his arm and blade movements. Strike for the right shoulder, followed by the right hip before returning to guard position, then launching a forward thrust to the chest. Memorising the steps in the simple routine, she carried out the moves against Jacen. Quinn lifted her blade, heading for his right shoulder before following up with a strike to his right hip, before returning to guard. It was only then that she launched the last step of the routine, a thrust to his chest with her weapon.