I See Your Schwartz is as Big As Mine.

[Dune Rhur]

[member="Joza Perl"]

Late Afternoon, Training Yard, Voss:

Dune Rhur stood in low guard, his posture upright with a slight bend to his knees. His robe was set on a bench to the side, folded neatly. The blue lightsaber hummed softly before him. Across from him, the young Zeltron, Joza Perl.

To an uneducated observer, low guard seemed foolish. It invited attack but that was his purpose. Dune was patient as the sun behind him had gradually begun to set. A breeze broke the quiescence of the yard.

The Jedi waited for his apprentice in her traditional Makashi opening stance. It was a good style for the graceful young woman, he thought. Efficient, light on the feet and deadly accurate. Though she wasn't a true master as yet, she'd learn.

 

[Joza Perl]

Green eyes sharpened as the Padawan took in her opponent’s stance, trying to discern what the placement of his body meant. She’d had enough practice and been in enough scraps to no longer be considered an absolute beginner to lightsaber combat, but found that she needed to focus less on herself and more on her target. Reading and predicting moves was just as important as dishing them out.

Of course, it helped that she knew her sparring partner well enough. The Bith was not prone to aggressive style as she was, but skilled nonetheless. His guard was low, but the Zeltron was aware enough to know that it was likely on purpose. What he was going to do, she didn’t know.

With a flourish of the saber in her right hand, the young woman swung her weapon in an X pattern, keeping the tip close. And then she advanced, a sudden movement from the heel of her foot, lifting enough so that she’d still be able to maintain balance. A quick jab was sent toward his chest, followed by a short slice to his midsection.

With proper training, Soresu had proven itself useful to her on the battlefield seeing as how she was not currently full of blaster holes. Yet she found Makashi to be a nice fit for her as it drew on her natural fluidity of movement.

[member="Dune Rhur"]

 

[Dune Rhur]

[member="Joza Perl"]

The attacks were quick jabs in textbook Form II fashion. She saw an opening in his defence and went for it. What she didn't see was his delibrate invitation to do so. He kept his hilt close to his centre as he deflected the jabs and thrusts.

This was the game they played, controlling the middle. The analogy of dejarik really was apt as who controlled the centre most often won. Joza attempted to get inside of Dune's guard, Dune swatted the saber's tip away. Blue lightsabers moved and met with a simple, understated elegance.

The Bith saw that his Padawan moved well. She was no rank amateur though he saw small openings. She overextended here and was just a little slow there. Every time she left and opening, she'd find a blade next to her throat or a tip at her heart.

Rather than stop, he silently pulled away and they continued each time. There was no boasting from him nor misplaced pride. This was as much about his Padawan as it was for him. More, in fact, he thought.

 

[Joza Perl]

“Hn…” Joza’s eyes would narrow, not out of frustration but in concentration. She’d expected him to do something with his strange hold on defense, but was too inexperienced to read into it that well. Her initial reaction was irritation, but she’d worked to smooth that over. Becoming undone in combat too easily hadn’t worked out for her in her last few spats. It was better, she’d learned, to focus her energy on the battle instead of her emotions.

Each time she picked up a blade, the easier it felt. She didn’t know if she was doing well enough now because she was out of the heat of battle, but tried not to let it bother her for the time being. Still, she felt her heart beat a little quicker each time the tip of Dune’s saber found her neck or heart. Though she knew he wouldn’t intentionally harm her as this was just a spar, it still triggered a bit of natural fear and some metal chiding for her to keep her openings to a minimum.

Cracking her neck as they parted, she drove forward once more with a pair of tight diagonal slashes only to have them deflected to the side. Following the momentum of her saber, she gave a quick twirl with minimum footwork, arcing her saber towards Dune’s torso.

“Your defenses are solid.” She grunted between swings.

[member="Dune Rhur"]

 

[Dune Rhur]

[member="Joza Perl"]

She was resisting her baser emotions, staying calm. Dune silently approved of Joza's deliberate control. She was still moving too much, her movements too exaggerated. His own movement was limited to wrists and minimal sidesteps.

"I see your attacks before you do. Be deliberate, don't move just because you can."

His advice was simple because complex instructions rarely worked well in combat.

 

[Joza Perl]

As diligently as she’d been practicing, Joza was still a work in progress. But it was a sparring session like this—against someone more experienced—that would help guide her. So far she’d been leaning toward barraging her opponent with attacks, and it left her with more openings than she would have liked.

Exhaling slowly, the Zeltron readjusted her grip on the hilt of her saber. She had to consciously remind herself that mistakes were okay, that this was not a life or death situation.

After a few deep breaths, the Padawan had re-centered herself and took the Bith’s words to heart. Moving around too much was an artifact of her fear of death in combat in an attempt to avoid getting hit. Remember the footwork… Makashi was an economic saber form, all about efficiency of motion. Rocking forward on one foot, she delivered a series of jabs toward his shoulders, lowering her saber and bending her knees slightly to swipe at his chest. Carefully, she watched for any openings her mentor had and moved in an attempt to exploit them.

[member="Dune Rhur"]

 

[Dune Rhur]

[member="Joza Perl"]

Good, she was becoming more deliberate in her attacks, he noted. But now it was time to test her defence. The Bith transitioned from Form III to Form I and took to the offence after he parried her cuts. His attacks were wide and sweeping, attacking the target zones seemingly at random.

She seemed surprised as though his passivity had lulled her to sleep. He deliberately began to herd her back as the young woman barely managed to keep up. It might not have seemed like it, but Dune was holding back. He wanted to push her but not break her.

 

[Joza Perl]

Tch… The Padawan was taken aback by his smooth transition into Shii-Cho, her tight footwork faltering for a moment but recovering her stance quickly. Makashi wouldn’t quite cut it, prompting the pink toned girl to go on the defensive.

She’d used Form III in training and combat as well—against other Padawans in sparring, but mainly against blasters in live combat. Seeing as how she was up against someone more advanced and who wasn’t a blaster shot, she was only barely able to deflect his swings. With each step her forced her to take back, her frustration grew.

[member="Dune Rhur"]

 

[Dune Rhur]

[member="Joza Perl"]

"Calm yourself," Dune instructed as he kept up his offense. Soresu worked best when one relaxed and centred themselves. He made a mental note to have Joza spend more time on meditation. Preferably in awkward positions like a handstand. It would teach to her be calm.

The Bith slackened his efforts just a bit. Enough for his student to regain the needed clarity. Some may have asked why he did this. He'd tell them Coruscant wasn't built in a single session.

 

[Joza Perl]

“I am calm.” Joza insisted though her gritted teeth as she narrowly side stepped a swipe for her neck, quacking bringing up her blade to clash with another arching slash from her mentor. Okay, yeah, she was lying to him and herself. She thought that maybe if she verbalized it, it would help her actually become calm. It didn’t.

The Padawan was keen enough to notice that at this point, the Bith had pulled back a little. Inwardly this irritated her as she didn’t want him to take it any easier on her. I want to be able to do this! Pushing herself was not a bad thing to do, but she frustrated easily when she didn’t see results fast enough.

[member="Dune Rhur"]

 

[Dune Rhur]

[member="Joza Perl"]

Dune decided to end the match as there wasn't a point in beating Joza down. He had a better plan in mind. Feinting a slash he dropped low and executed a footsweep. The Zeltron landed safely, if unceremoniously, on her back.

Her eyes found her teacher's weapon centimeters away. Thumbing off the blade, Dune hooked it on his belt and offered a hand up. She took the proffered help and was back up to her feet. "Your defence could use some work," Dune opined "Of course, I have an idea for that."

He reached into his pocket and retreived a strip of cloth. Handing it to her, he smiled wryly. "Yes, before you ask, there is going to be a training remote. Two, actually."

 

[Joza Perl]

Damnit… Joza grunted as she felt Dune knock her off kilter, her back hitting the ground shortly thereafter. She couldn’t help but glare up at him for a moment through the blue glow of his blade, deflating when his disengaged his saber.

Still, she grasped his hand and climbed to her feet, taking a moment to stretch her arms as he spoke. Her brows raised at hearing that he had an idea. The Bith was very diligent in training her, but often times it was not fun for the young Zeltron.

She took the blindfold with a bewildered look, but her expression changed to a mix of realization and dismay when she realized where he was going with this. Unable to stifle a groan, the Padawan protested. “But those things hurt.”

[member="Dune Rhur"]

 

[Dune Rhur]

[member="Joza Perl"]

Dune nodded in agreement. "It does, doesn't it. It provides incentive to not get hit."

Walking over to the equipment rack, he got to work setting up two remotes. In a jiffy, the spheres were floating overhead. Dune gestured to the centre of the yard. "Parry or evade, it's your choice. Now, if you'd put on your blindfold and activate your lightsaber, we can begin."

 

[Joza Perl]

[member="Dune Rhur"]

Holding back an aggravated sigh, Joza decided to bite the bullet and just get over it. After all, she wouldn’t improve if she didn’t get pushed, right? The Padawan would watch as her mentor activated the pair of remotes, eyeing them critically before positioning herself evenly between them.

Tying the strip of cloth around her eyes, Joza tugged at it until it was snug enough so that she didn’t have to worry about it falling off. Quickly reactivating her saber, the blue blade sprung to life as she brought it over her head in a traditional Soresu stance, her free hand held out in front of her.

 

[Dune Rhur]

[member="Joza Perl"]

And so it began, Joza's blade humming through the air, intercepting bolts. As she moved so too did the remotes adjust their trajectory.

Dune stood to the side, arms crossed. His apprentice moved well and that indicated it was psychological. Having an aggressor in front of her was a mental hurdle. It wasn't a technical flaw per se. The movements could be tightened here and there, but otherwise it was well.

 

[Joza Perl]

As the bolts began firing, so did the Padawan begin to move. Her saber moved easily through the air, twirling and twisting to block the volley of shots. She found a rhythm rather easily, ducking and dodging out of the way when she saw fit. This is almost like dancing. She mused at the back of her mind.

She hissed as she miscalculated, a bolt grazing the edge of her arm. Okay, not that much like dancing. Quickly she dropped and rolled to the side to avoid another hail of shots while she readjusted her lightsaber. Springing upwards, she fell back into step, bolts sizzling against her blue blade as she blocked them. The Zeltron wouldn’t let a minor slip-up get in the way of her concentration, as much as she could help it. Instead she did her best to remain focused on the task at hand.

[member="Dune Rhur"]

 

[Dune Rhur]

Dune calmly sidestepped an errant bolt, arms still folded. He smiled a little, this teaching job was not sedate and boring after all. Joza was hit after she became overconfident. Still, the young Zeltron didn't crumble. His smile may have been internal, but it was there.

[member="Joza Perl"]

 

[Joza Perl]

Joza continued to dodge and block, weaving between the bolts with a more careful eye and more deliberate movements this time. As easy as she may have felt that it was, she discovered that it wasn’t a good thing to let her guard ease up. Had this been enemy fire, she could have been severely injured.

The Padawan could feel her body beginning to tire, limbs becoming more sluggish. As if she were in live combat, her focus began to hone in on the remote in front of her. Time to finish this. Lashing out, she struck at the remote with an underhand swing before falling back, ducking and turning to avoid a few bolts from the second remote. Eyes fixed on her second target, she spun around and delivered a wide arcing slash from the left side. It flung the remote further than she had expected, then again she probably put too much force behind her swings due to her willingness to just get it over with.

Disengaging her saber, the Zeltron braced her hands on her knees for a few moments while trying to catch her breath.

[member="Dune Rhur"]

 

[Dune Rhur]

[member="Joza Perl"]

He cringed; this was becoming a reoccurring theme with the destroyed remotes. Yes, he was going to hear about this...again. With a sigh, he walked over to his learner and helped support her. "Very good, Joza. You overcame your fear and succeeded. I knew you could and now you do as well."

 

[Joza Perl]

Tilting her head upward, Joza flashed Dune a toothy smile. “Really? It’s not bad that I destroy—oh.” She chuckled, clearly tickled to have her Master’s approval. It wasn’t as if he hadn’t praised her before, but he only gave it when earned. He was stern but fair, and thankfully patient with the young Zeltron—though he didn’t put up with the outlandish behavior she displayed on occasion. She found it difficult to figure out how to conduct herself sometimes, but thankfully Dune was able to provide a guiding hand.


Rising to her full height, Joza clipped her saber to her belt and shrugged some of the tension from her aching shoulders. “I guess the next step is the real thing, right?” An eager smile accompanied her words, though she’d likely feel different once on the battlefield.

[member="Dune Rhur"]