Its simplicity is strength

[Corvus Raaf]

A chance remark meant that Corvus was going to spend some time with a fellow Jedi she felt as though she'd known for as long as she'd been on Ossus - but that she had hardly spoken to. Well that was about to be resolved and the Jedi in question would be able to add another lightsaber Form to his bow - in this case the Way of the Sarlaac, or Form I.

She'd booked the room and had the training sabers ready. She'd confirmed with [member="Meeristali Peradun"] the time, so she knew he'd be there.

She had a basic plan mapped out in her mind. It was broadly the same for the Younglings and Padawans she'd trained to this point. But Meeristali didn't feel like a Padawan to her. And that was no disrespect to the title or the holders of the title. Rather that the dynamic was totally different. She wasn't teaching him to be a Jedi - rather she was showing him a technique. There was no need to discuss the Code - just stick to the saber work.

So she double-checked the training sabers and waited.

 

[Meeristali Peradun]

He was the odd one out, for most of the length of his time since leaving Felacat, and joining the Jedi, more time without an individual trainer than he ever had with one. It had been before the war, before the One Sith had rose and taken Coruscant and the Republic largely unawares. It'd been this that had truly put a fire under his tail to train no matter his circumstances. The discipline of prior military life went a long way to helping him accomplish much of what he set out to do...

...Including conscripting people he might consider friends to help him. It was why he walked into the same room that [member="Corvus Raaf"] occupied, this day. It was why this was arranged.

"Good afternoon," he rumbled upon entry, tipping his head to the knight. Sure, they'd been on a few missions together and most of their limited discourse had been quite informal, but he afforded her this mark of respect all the same.

 

[Corvus Raaf]

Corvus bowed as Meeristali entered. She'd know of him for about as long as she'd been at Ossus without really knowing him. But she trusted him with her life and had seen him perform well in various missions.

"Glad I can help out. I would describe myself as a competent saber trainer. I've known the first Form since I was a Youngling and Soresu since I've been here."

"But before I bore you with facts and figures, what do you know about the first Form?"

[member="Meeristali Peradun"]

 

[Meeristali Peradun]

What did he know? His mind went back to what he read while those of the 'guardian' path were to be found primarily on Tython. That had started to be his home for a while, but then the war happened, and Tython was no longer a good place to be a Jedi and back to Ossus he went.

"Basic form, the first usually taught to a youngling or Jedi padawan. Basic principles of sword-fighting and whatnot, and... better against multiple opponents rather than one, because of its broad strokes."

That was a fair summary, in his mind, though he doubted he could bore her with a fully detailed rundown, paraphrased, of what he had read and gathered so far.

"Commonly called Shii-Cho, the Way of the Sarlacc, or the Determination Form," he finished, "I could go on, but I get the impression you already know all of this, and more."

[member="Corvus Raaf"]

 

[Corvus Raaf]

Corvus nodded. "You know the basics good. Stopping me talking at you will cut the lesson time in half." She smiled in a self-deprecating way. "I can go on a bit you know."

"Now, let's focus on the practical. I’ll start by showing you the various opening stances and you can copy and practice them until they’re reasonably embedded.”

So Corvus ran through three basic stances.

“First is Jedi Ready.” Her dominant, right, foot was held back, with the blade in a vertical parry position on the dominant side.

“Next is Defensive Neutral.” When Corvus took up the stance it looked identical but when she switched between the two, Meeristali would have noticed her feet were evenly spaced rather than one held back. “The aim is to look imposing! The blade is highly visible.”

“And finally, Offensive Neutral.” Again, Corvus’ feet were evenly spaced, with the blade now pointing towards the enemy. “Now this provides the minimum visual blade area, so you are harder to target or track.”

“I think its best I show you some basics and a couple of practice drills – so you can work by yourself if you need to. Form I has two methods of combat which determined how moves are executed; Ideal Form and Live Combat Form. The Ideal Form is mainly used in sparring, and all the moves and manoeuvres are executed at perfect horizontal or vertical angles, with attacks and parries being perpendicular to one another.” Corvus demonstrated.

“The Live Combat Form is much more functional, the attacks being diagonal strikes at each respective body zones, the goal being to increase speed and reduce actual movement.” Again she demonstrated.

Aware she was already talking a lot and allowing Meeristali to do little, Corvus stepped back and said, “Now to some practical application.”

She demonstrated two moves. One was clearly a strike directed at an opponent's weapon in an attempt to rip it out of their grasp. The second was a wide sweeping attack as if facing multiple enemies.

“Disarming Slash and Sarlacc Sweep. Now over to you…practice the stances again and then the two moves. Allow the Force to flow through you. Describe to me what you’re feeling.”

[member="Meeristali Peradun"]

 

[Meeristali Peradun]

He nodded, knowing that very well. [member="Corvus Raaf"] had quite the intellect between her ears and could sometimes assume a role somewhat akin to a Visitor Information Console, a fact that he didn't find all that tedious. There'd been guys like that in the home military and most others would snap at them to can it, but the things he learned from at first enduring the stream of consciousness, then accepting and embracing it were sometimes invaluable and he'd developed a crucial variety of patience partly in thanks to that which helped him on some missions.

When she moved on to focusing on the practical, he pulled the hilt off his belt and ignited the violet-blue blade, and watched as she demonstrated, at which point he would follow, assuming each stance himself with the voom and wizzt of the blade accompanying each movement as he followed her. He took note of the Ideal and Live Combat forms, which he would address later on his own time. For now, when it was time, he did each stance and move again on his own, as follows...

Opening himself to the Force, the stance for Jedi Ready was assumed, two-handed grip, elbows bent to bring the blade to bear in a vertical position on his right-hand side, with the right foot dropped back. He took note of how it felt, in a commentative fashion that would continue for each stance and move: "Not so aggressive, but clearly indicating an intent to engage in combat. A bit... rigid "

Defensive Neutral: nearly identical to Jedi Ready, save for the positioning of his feet. Thus, he stood facing forward, knees slightly bent out of habit and shoulder-width apart, with the blade in the same parry stance as before. Satisfied that he'd replicated it, he made his commentary, "Again, awkward, but yes, more imposing," and flowed directly to the next stance.

Offensive Neutral: His observations at this point were that from the first stance to the next, it was a mere difference of footing, and from the stance previous to this (as he dropped the blade forward to point out horizontal and perpendicular to himself) it was a matter of position of the blade, and he said: "I'm beginning to see how this feels... clunky. Very simple, rigid, but inherently strong with the two-handed grip."

Next were the moves.

For the Disarming Slash, he envisioned an armed opponent, and struck out in a lunge with his blade one-handed in a hard diagonal (low to high, high to low, as necessary) slash that was likely bound to rip the weapon out of the hands of most opponents, particularly with a full-brunt application of Felacatian speed and strength, to which he said: "I feel I could do more than just disarm someone with this," and that was the truth.

And lastly, the Sarlacc Sweep, which was, well, a sweep meant primarily to combat multiple opponents and to that end, he struck out with a wide-arcing, two-handed sweep of the blade, and did so again while he made commentary: "This feels only a... little more controlled than swinging wildly and frantically," he mused. Another sweep, and he stopped, disengaging his blade and turning to Corvus.

"I imagine this all becomes a bit more fluid with time and effort? Practice?"

It wouldn't be terribly useful if it didn't.

OOC: Sorry for the wait!

 

[Corvus Raaf]

Corvus nodded her approval. "You're a quick study. That's both a strength and a weakness. It's good that you picked it up quickly - but many Jedi think that means they need to practice less. Regardless of ability, nothing takes the place of regular practice."

“Now, despite most Jedi dismissing Shii-Cho as an obsolete Form, many Masters that you’ll have heard of in history infused some of the moves into their use of a saber. Master Kenobi, Master Fisto, Count Dooku, both Skywalkers – they all used it in part. With the basics down, your learning will develop exponentially. It's just about putting in the hours, eh." She smiled as she knew she was repeatedly emphasising the point - but for good reason.

"The difference between good lightsaber fighters and great ones is not ability. It's about the hours of practice they put in. Good ones know they're good and don't work at it. Those less gifted, like me, tend to graft and graft and graft. It pays off."

"Now I want to show you zones. Remember, every feint, every dodge, every block is a trap to the unwary. Not my words, it’s a standard lightsaber mantra. But as Shii-Cho was the first lightsaber form, it stands to reason that most of what we use came from it.”

“Attacks and parries in lightsaber combat are described by the body zones they target. Most attacks are executed with horizontal swipes, while parries are carried out with vertical blocks meant to push the point of the enemy's blade away, with the exception of the head attack and block, which are reversed.” All the while Corvus demonstrated.

“Zone one is the head. An attack consists of a vertical chop at the head, with the goal of vertically bisecting the opponent, and the corresponding parry is a horizontal block. There are subtleties with regards which guard position you attack from, but that’s for another day.”

“Zone two is the right arm and side. Attacks are horizontal sideswipes, with the corresponding counter being a vertical parry. In Shii-Cho sparring drills you hold the handle at waist height with the blade extended upwards.”

“Zone three is the left side. As before but reversed.”

“Zone four encompasses the entire midsection and torso, but refers specifically to the back. A successful zone four attack is almost always fatal. The classic parry is to drop and angle the blade behind your back. There is another but you'd have to be a contortionist to carry it off.”

“Zones five and six refer to the right and left leg, respectively. Attacks are low sideswipes or slashes, while the corresponding defensive position is to drop the saber with the hilt held at the waist.”

“OK, run through the numbers from one to six, first as if you were attacking and then as if you were defending. Cycle through a few times – and again, tell me how it feels. And remember to use the Force.”

[member="Meeristali Peradun"]