It's The Eye Of The Sarlacc. Its A Lightsaber Fight!

[Kaili Brand]

Kaili avoided training with others whenever possible, and he was VERY good at doing so. In the few months he’d been living with (more around really) the Order he had successfully avoided every major training seminar, lecture, and demonstration that more than a few padawans weren’t sure he was real or a collective hallucination. He doubted more than two could even tell him his last name. And as far as he was concerned, that was just about as close to perfect that things could get. Kashyyyk was, as far as he was concerned, too weird. Wild life and flora hounded his expanding senses in a constant humming backbeat he’d yet to learn how to ignore, feats which would make most normal people find religion were so common place that shortages of snack cakes were a bigger disruption to the daily grind, and he was fairly certain he’d seen an otter like being attending classes that no one else seemed to find out of place.

He stilled trained however, if only not to be seen as lazy by the masters who pulled him off Axxila all those months ago. He just normally did so privately, safely locked in his bunk with the glow of a datapad illuminating him and what few pieces of equipment he could pilfer from inattentive fellow trainees (an act done more so to avoid any further charity on the Orders part than anything else, he swore).

However, there really was so much one can learn through osmosis and unfortunately for Kaili....lightsaber forms were one of them. Holovids were basically useless, either being too simplistic (he swore if he ever heard a description and detailed history of the determination form again he’d rip off his own ears) or the combination of low resolution and blurring from masters speeding through their sets being utterly incomprehensible. By the seventeenth time he stung himself with the training saber, awkwardly flailing in his room in an attempt to ape the movements he’d seen, he decided he should probably change tactics.

“Which is why you’re here...” He reminded himself, shifting awkwardly on the soft grass of the training grounds, hood pulled up as he grew increasingly warmer in the mid-morning sun. Dutifully ignoring the chittering of the much younger initiates as their supervising padawan attempted to settle them in for the class.

Shii-Cho was not his preferred choice of form, Ataru was quicker and he would be a liar if he said the flashiness of the form hadn’t immediately appealed to him. But practicality had won out over preference for two reasons. Firstly, Shii-cho was often taught early in the day, to let the younglings bleed off some energy for more studious classes, meaning he could keep his normal routine of being an almost non-entity in the Order mostly in tact. Secondly, he figured once he got a good enough grip on the stance he could probably start figuring out the others on his own.

He shifted in the grass again as the younglings finally began to quiet down and the older students began to slowly filter onto the field. He paid most of them little mind, figuring they were either to help teach or refresh themselves on the basics of the form with the typical jedi humbleness. Though he did take a moment to avoid the gaze of a Gungan padawan who might have had a question or two about the oddly familiar training saber in his totally innocent little hands.

[member='Drystan Marakos']

 

[Raya-Tat]

"Oh nuts to this I am going to be late." She said it while she was moving and her padawan robes shifted as the training robes were more like a gi. Protective and they had space for her tail to poke out before she was moving around. Her small figure weaving in and out of the others as she rushed through the halls of the temple and lept out one of the windows. Her arms coming out as the thin membranes caught the air with an updraft and her tail was being used to guide her down into the grass with a look when she brushed her tail back and forth wrapping it around her waist. "Ah I hope I am not late master." She said it looking at where the class was supposed to be and standing there had a smile on her face.

 

[Reggie Faayare]

Reggie was on the training field with a training saber in hand, waiting for the training to begin. Practicing Shii-Cho was part of his daily routine, but he decided it might be nice to train with others instead of by himself. If need be, Reggie could help others learn the form himself, but that wasn't what he was here for nor would it be appropriate considering he was a Padawan himself. Thinking about it though, teaching others is something Reggie looks forward to when he becomes a knight. In the mean time though, Reggie had a lot of learning and training to do, and therefore had a long way to go.

Taking a look at who was at the training ground, waiting for the training to begin. Two other Padawans that he didn't know caught his eye.


[member="Raya-Tat"] [member="Kaili Brand"]

 

[Ostdern Mastogar]

[member="Reggie Faayare"] [member="Raya-Tat"] [member="Kaili Brand"]

Ostdern was a bit different than the most padawans. During his youngling days, he spent a lot of time by himself in order to overcome his past demons. His parents were massacred at his village on Tattooine. The people that found him noticed he was force sensitive, and handed him over to the Jedi Temple. Ostdern has spent years in a cave hiding out and getting food when he can. Now at the temple, he had a safe food supply and his own bed. While choosing his lightsaber, he invisioned a saber pike with Huttese and Aurabesh inscriptions on it. His teacher at the time was very shocked to see this as saber pikes were a rarity, even for a Padawan. He was running late and needed to get to class. Ostdern was a practitioner of the Shien reverse grip lightsaber technique, one that was a strange combination with his saber pike. The teenager located his three Padawan classmates and lept off a balcony down below to meet them. He looked to each of them and twirled his pike before he greeted them.

“Hi, I’m Ostdern. I’m honored to be in the same class of the three of you. I can’t wait to see what becomes of us.”

 

[Drystan Marakos]

Left to their own devices, as Padawans often were, they found their way well enough. The daily rigors of Jedi Training on Kashyyyk were still somewhat (dare she say it) alien to her - up until a few months before, she had been deep in the heart of the Outer Rim, plying a trade & wielding a weapon greater still than a Jedi's lightsaber... ​

​

The Weapon of Wit; of cunning, and of careful calculation. ​

​

She had returned, "coming in from the cold" it was sometimes called, to find a Galaxy almost entirely unknown to her. She was a former Alliance Jedi - from a time when that meant something; it had made her philosophical, capable, and disciplined. She carried herself in a state of ever-present awareness; deeply in-tune with what she called "The Living Force". Which had led her here... away from the Galactic Alliance, which had fallen into darkness, into a new life amongst the Silver Jedi. And it was here that she had begun to find herself. ​

​

​

In one heartbeat, her Padawans had been alone amongst themselves; in another heartbeat, she was simply there; coalescing from the very air they breathed.​

​

In truth, she had been there, silently watching, the entire time... but these skills would be unknown to them.​

​

Stepping forward, footfalls soft in the lush green grass of the open training area, she offered the gathering a smile and waited to be noticed. She was dressed in off-white colored trousers which perfectly accented a soft grey tunic - the mark of a Silver Jedi. Her hands & feet were equally clothed in black, and her blonde hair had been pulled back into a simple ponytail. At her side dangled a lightsaber, though not her own but a training saber.​

​

Once a few eyes had begun to turn her way, she spoke, ​

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"Good afternoon, everyone. You may call me Drystan, or Knight Marakos, or Sentinel... Which-ever you prefer. I'd like to thank everyone for coming to class this afternoon; I hope to make this as entertaining and educational as possible for everyone." ​

She smiled a genuine smile, eyes sparkling with mirth as she gazed across the lawn, making eye contact with each student in turn. "We're just going to give everyone a chance to file in, and then we'll get started."​

​

The appearance of a young girl, flying into the training area & alighting on the ground nearby, made the blonde Jedi Knight grin. [member="Raya-Tat"] arrived right on time, and approached the blonde woman excitedly. "You're fine, my dear.. we'll get started in a moment."​

​

Taking the time to memorize faces, she allowed her gaze to settle on each young student - from [member="Ostdern Mastogar"] and the unusual weapon he'd crafted, to [member="Reggie Faayare"], attentive and ready to begin. She could not yet see [member="Kaili Brand"]'s face, as the young man had his hood up, blocking out the rays of the sun & the conversations which filtered through the air around them. Each, with their own stories... Each, a product of the Galaxy; some, with their own pain... locked away, just as she had locked hers away - until she'd faced it, conquered it, mastered it.​

​

She hoped to give them the tools to do the same... One Day.​

 

[Cawn]

Walking into the training area while ripping cooked flesh off the leg that formally belonged to some sort of small avian creature with his sharp lightly yellowed teeth. Having nicked it from the kitchens he ignored some of the juice that fell from it onto his long yellow tunic. Aside from the gold brooch that kept it up a belt was loosely secured around his midriff, on it's left was a sheathed vibroblade with a training lightsaber secured next to it. A disruptor pistol helped balance this out by hanging from his right. To top off his appearance a giant feather stuck out from a black beret. Nodding at [member="Drystan Marakos"] he ran the back of a paw across his mouth. "Ya the teacher for the lesson?"

Feet sinking slightly into the grass his footpads got decent grip in the damp soil as he eyed the group. Small but that made sense since Shii-Cho was supposed to be the first type of fighting jedi learned. Most probably would have learned it a long time ago, course he was more taking this lesson to learn how he was supposed to fight. Having cut his teeth in Nal Hutta fighting pits he was already very familiar with combat especially in a melee. Doing a basic lesson like this was more to get into the brain of how his fellows did their fighting and you could learn a lot about a group by observing how they conducted their combat. Taking another big bite from his late breakfast he made his way to towards the somewhat spread group.

 

[Raya-Tat]

[member="Reggie Faayare"] [member="Cawn"] [member="Drystan Marakos"] [member="Ostdern Mastogar"]

SHe was looking at the ones who had arrived and seeing the jedi who was going to be teaching them stood as tall as she could while her tail swished back and forth behind her. She listened to a few of them speak and she nodded her head as she blew a bang out from in front of her face. seeing the one saber as she held hers in her hand and the compacted hilt was designed with twin emitters but so she could switch between standard and reverse grips as she needed it or how she wanted to practice.

 

[Kaili Brand]

Kaili nearly scrambled to the nearest cover when something heavy dropped into the dirt near him as Ostdern made his entrance. It took him a moment of looking around to figure out where he even came from before finally spotting the low roof he had presumably jumped from. “...uh...what were...you even doing up there?” He asked, the obvious question falling from his mouth rather than the more polite response probably expected by the pike wielding padawan.

Before he was about to continue with the next question (namely, wasn’t it going to be overly difficult to use a pike style hilt in a form that traditionally is closest to sword fighting) the master of the day, Marakos, seemed to materialize out of the aether. ...And there was that Otter person again! He huffed quietly in frustration, trying to push the admittedly probably normal amount of jedi strangeness out of his mind for now and standing up from the grass. “Whatever lets just...uh...line up...or...whatever...” He grumbled at Ostdern, skulking slowly over to humanoid with a few squirrel like qualities.

Sans the tail, she was the closet to his build, so probably the easiest to watch and mimic once the class started properly. Ostdern was taller and broader, and Kaili was willing to bet he’d built the pike-saber to leverage that fact. Another Padawan with a scar over his eye was also in that same camp, though Kaili had yet to see his saber if he even had one beyond the stock training saber. For now then, Squirrel Girl was his best option for observation.

One thing that did strike him was she was holding a custom saber, likely built herself. Glancing around, she wasn’t the only one. Ostdern was the most obvious example, but more than a few padawans in their later teens had opted to use their own designs during today's training. He turned the training saber in his hands over a few times, suddenly feeling weirdly embarrassed for not having designed his own already. There was no real rational reason to have done so yet, he knew. He’d probably hurt himself with the thing if he built it, not to mention not having the required crystal to even start doing so.

He took a moment to shake the doubt from his head. There'd be time for the whole self loathing thing AFTER class. Focus now, embarrassment later.

[member=Reggie Faayare] [member=Cawn] [member=Drystan Marakos] [member=Ostdern Mastogar] [member=Raya-tata]

 

[Reggie Faayare]

[member="Ostdern Mastogar"] appearing on the field with his lightsaber pike surprised Reggie at first. a little surprise because of his entrance, which reminded him of another person he had met when he first started training. He was more suprised about he weapon he carried. Reggie decided to introduce himself after [member="Kaili Brand"] had finished speaking.

"Nice to meet you Ostdern! I'm honored to be in the same class with you, and the others, as well. My name is Reggie by the way. If you don't mind me saying, that's a interesting lightsaber you have there."

When [member="Drystan Marakos"] appeared, seemingly out of nowhere, Reggie decided that he could ask more about the pike after the training session. After taking a look around, Reggie noticed that most of the other Padawans were using there own sabers. He was under the impression that they were supposed to use the training sabers, but it seems like he was wrong.

Reggie reached to his own lightsaber but stopped for a few seconds. He noticed that a few of them were using the training sabers themselves, so he decided that it would be more appropriate to just use the training saber. If sparring was apart of this training session and he was up against someone who was using there own saber, that is when he would take out his own. Reggie's own saber wasn't anything special, but if others were using training sabers, he would do the same.

"Hello Knight Marakos! It's nice to see you again."

Reggie bowed while saying this. As always, he made sure to show respect to those above him.

[member="Raya-Tat"] [member="Cawn"]

 

[Ostdern Mastogar]

[member="Reggie Faayare"] was quite the nice guy Ostdern thought. He seemed very intrigued by his lightsaber pike.

“Nice to meet you Reggie. And as for the pike, it’s both made and inscribed by myself.”

The Padawan noticed the other sparring and saw Reggie alone with no partner. He decided to see if the young man would fight. It had been some time since his saber saw action. With it modified to be a training saber for a time, now was his chance to develop his skills further. Ostdern tapper Reggie’s shoulder.

“Hey, you were nice to me before and I appreciate that. Let’s spar and refine our techniques!”

He produced his pike and gripped it in a Shien Reverse Grip. Waving it around, he did a bit of a dance to throw Reggie off guard.

“Watch our now, I’m the best in all of Tatooine! Give it everything you’ve got!”

[member="Kaili Brand"] [member="Raya-Tat"] [member="Cawn"] [member="Drystan Marakos"]

 

[Jasper Candos]

[member="Kaili Brand"] [member="Drystan Marakos"] [member="Cawn"] @Raya-Tat @Reggie Faayare

Jasper scolded himself for not being at the location of the Shii-Cho training grounds on time as he move on a balance of power walking and running as he didn't want people to know that he was in a hurry since it didn't suit well with him. He didn't want to give out an information on him and felt that he . He attempted to head over there but had gotten lost along the way. He took himself in high regard, making sure he was punctual, that he meant business, and that he wants others to know that he didn't want to be taken lightly. He knew by now that other people were already there and that made him wonder who was also there. He thought about it, using logic and information about the class in order to think of a few ideas. Considering this class was to focus on the most basic of lightsaber combat, he came to the conclusion that there would be people who were in the same position he was he on the subject of lightsaber combat. That he had little to no training of Shii-Cho and needed to develop skills in the form along with the others in order to better protect himself. He also came to another conclusion : that there were other students that had experience in the form and are refining their skills in it through this class.

He thought about how the class would be and what he would be doing. He knew that he would be collaborating with students ; No doubt there. He made sure he do a analysis on the how each of them use Shii-Cho and to take any notes on the forms itself. While he was more interested in the force and being able to use it, he couldn't afford to overlook the different forms of lightsaber combat and what they could do for him if he mastered them. He had to do some information digging on them once the class end and had to ask himself which ones he should take. From he gather however Shii-Cho were focused mainly on the different hits points in each body. He liked that, he felt that he could do a lot with that form with some training and understanding of the form.

A few seconds later, Jasper finally arrives at the training grounds to where he notice a few people already there. Students were there along with the one teaching the class as he expected. He walks up to the master, “Forgive me of lack of being punctual.” He apologized. “I got a little lost on the way here.”

 

[Drystan Marakos]

Watching, Drystan noticed [member="Cawn"] arrive, munching the remains of his most recent meal - she nodded, assessing the Armino's equipment; her practiced eye, born from over a decade of experience in Covert Operations, missing nothing - and wondering why the Padawan felt the need to come so-armed into a training atmosphere. Perhaps, in the future, she'd request he leave the blaster & vibroblade in his quarters. "I am. I'm happy to see you've joined us." She smiled, responding to his question. He carried himself with a certain self-confident nonchalance that told her immediately he was no stranger to conflict - to what level, however, remained to be seen. ​

​

[member="Raya-Tat"] was in possession of a peculiar style of lightsaber; a system based on others the Jedi Knight had seen in the past, allowing for a deceptive alteration in direction; though Drystan wondered if the young lady possessed the skills necessary to take full advantage of such a design. Though she would not teach the skills today, Drystan marked the Re-Al for future tutelage in a specialized form known as "Trakata"... a deceptive combat system which Drystan, herself, had mastered. ​

​

[member="Kaili Brand"], it seemed, suffered from a bit of social awkwardness which Drystan felt was a lack of self-confidence... likely, the young man would blossom, once he'd learned a bit about his own inherent gifts. Whatever they might be. She could sense a streak of embarassment which his fellow Padawans would likely overlook, but to her, was as plain as sunlight. The way he handled his training saber spoke volumes. ​

​

[member="Reggie Faayare"], ever a friendly face since she'd met him recently at Silver Rest, seemed naturally sociable. He communicated well, unintimidated by others and was respectful - she winked at him and returned his bow. "Good to see you too, Reggie. Glad you could make it." ​

​

[member="Ostdern Mastogar"] seemed a bit brash, and Drystan grinned, directing her voice toward the pair; "We'll be starting shortly, gentlemen.. I'm afraid you'll have to spar on your own time. Excuse me, but.. do you have a training lightsaber? I'm afraid the techniques you'll be learning today are better executed with a traditional blade; it's better that you practice with both, besides, in-case you ever lose your weapon and must use another's." She had brought spare training sabers, and would insist he use one - while she utilized a Saber Staff more as an art of self-expression than a weapon (and could thus understand why he'd chosen a pike), the design of his personal lightsaber would provide an unfair advantage in reach & leverage against his fellow students - she was curious as-to his abilities, but would save such questions for another time. ​

[member="Jasper Candos"] arrived in the knick of time - precisely the reason she'd chosen to wait a few more moments. He arrived & approached her, and the blonde Jedi Knight smiled at him; she could tell, at a glance, that he was a watcher - like her. He did not say much, and she nodded a dismissal at his tardiness. "You're just in time, actually.. I had a feeling you were coming." With a clever grin, she directed him to the small gathering of students. ​

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Once everyone had become settled, she stepped forward, drawing everyone's attention.​

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"Good Afternoon, everyone, and thank you for coming. For those of you who've just joined us, my name is Drystan Marakos... Knight Sentinel of the Order, and I'll be teaching your Form 1, Shii-Cho Introduction for today. For everyone who brought their training sabers, congratulations - for anyone who has brought their own personal blade to class today, unless you have the option of reducing the blade's intensity, making it safe for training, I will insist you arm yourselves with one of the training sabers I've brought for your use. As this is a beginner's class, everyone will be on a level playing field." ​

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She paused, allowing her students to prepare themselves, and would hand out training lightsabers to those who required them before she'd continue on with the lesson.

~​

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((OOC: How would everyone like to conduct this? Would some of you like a bit of lecture and more practical technique & sparring? A healthy mix of both? Please let me know in brackets as you respond, and I'll tailor my responses to fit! Thank you all! ))​

 

[Cawn]

Nodding at the instructor the Armino kept eating. Relaxing slightly he unclipped the training shoto from his belt and held it loosely in his left paw. Cawn still wasn't quite used to their round grip but with no sharp edge there wasn't much point in keeping it an oval. Still it wouldn't matter much in actual combat whether he was used to it or not. A sword was a sword no matter what anyone said. If you know the basics of what to do then there wasn't any reason you'd be absolutely terrible with another. The one thing he needed to adjust to was the length of the handle to allow a better grip.

((Thinking we could do a mix of both though I am a bit more for dueling at the moment. Could duel and you'd give us criticisms as we progress.))

 

[Reggie Faayare]

"Alright, sur-"

Reggie was about to accept Ostdern's offer, but was stopped by their mentor's words. He would be open to a sparring match after the lessons were over, but now it was time to listen and learn from Knight Marakos.

As he expected, they would be using the training saber's for this session. Reggie could adjust his own lightsaber so it was usable for this session, but he might as well use the training saber he had brought with him.


(I think a mix of both would be good as well.)

@Cawn @Drystan Marakos [member="Jasper Candos"] [member="Ostdern Mastogar"] [member="Kaili Brand"] [member="Raya-Tat"]

 

[Raya-Tat]

She was looking at the others who were here and once the teach spoke about adjusting the strength of the saber and nodded and touched it adjusting the blade as it went down with a small stud to lock it in place. She was looking at the others who were around them before smiling when she listened and grabbed a small handful of nuts from her pouch. "Done master, I am ready to begin." There was a look on her face of excitement at the thought to be training and getting to really learn and work on her skills.

 

[Kaili Brand]

Kaili took a moment to quickly mentally note the training saber collection. He’d have to bear that in mind for later in case he needed parts. Figuring out where the masters stored the things and stea...borrowing a few for the sake of breaking them down and figuring out how they worked was safer than sourcing them from other padawans.

Speaking of lightsabers, he turned the training saber over in his hand once more before carefully angling the blade away from himself, clicking the activation switch. A dull yellow blade burst forth from the emitter, humming deeply. It really was a bizarre weapon when he thought about it. Not in the sense of a thin magnetic field being the only thing standing between you and white (er...yellow in this case) plasma waiting to burn your limbs off. No, what struck him more was how weird the weight was.

Hilts were heavier than they looked and often weighted slightly towards the top. If he had to guess, it was for two reasons. Firstly, to offset the heavier power cells normally situated in the base. Secondly, the actual blade itself was effectively weightless, so the weight near the front probably provided its wielder a little more sense of the weapons momentum when it was moving. Though that was more speculation on his part, not having actually handled any saber besides ones used for training. Someone more familiar with the forms may have omitted that feature entirely, if they were aware of it at all.

He gave the saber a few experimental swings, letting his hands refamiliarize themselves with the shifting weight that sat in his grip and trying to gauge the effective arc of the swing. The swipes were clumsy and slower than they probably needed to be, but after the fifth one he felt atleast semi-confident he wasn’t going to hit anyone unintentionally...probably.

[member=Drystan Marakos], [member=Reggie Faayare] , [member=Cawn], [member=Jasper Candos], [member=Raya-tat], [member=Ostdern Mastogar]
(I’d enjoy a little sparring then lecture correction. Might be good for a little bit of comedy on my end )

 

[Jasper Candos]

[member="Kaili Brand"] [member="Raya-Tat"] [member="Reggie Faayare"] [member="Ostdern Mastogar"][member="Drystan Marakos"] @Cawn

Upon hearing master Marakos response to his apology, Jasper nodded and couldn't help but make a short smile in relief. Jasper felt he didn't miss anything after taking a few glances towards the other students and the area around him but still felt he could had make some useful information if he was here earlier or better yet the first one to arrive in the class so he could better examine the people that would come for the class. He realize he could made notes on the others while the class was happening but he would find it difficult to do that while also learning everything he can on form one. He figured that he would be given brakes from time to time and could look at the students that were still training, but he knew that most of the students learning and training would be during his time training.

Standing adjacent to some of the others students after walking toward them, Jasper listening to the Master Marakos's initial introduction and hearing her talked about the training light-sabers, he looked at them. They weren't that far so he could get a good view on them and wondered how they were built. His jedi cube that he was given in the past before he came to the temple talked about light-sabers and that they were the tools for both Jedis and Siths. What interested him more on the light-sabers however were the unique designs that each lightsaber had. Some of the Jedi's and Sith had carried different types of sabers for various reasons but the main one that had interest him was a simple reason when you think about it. To make better use of the lightsaber form they were using as well as making them more suitable for combat in the point of having an advantage against any opponent they come across. Jasper didn't even had to looked at the training sabers to know that it was the most common and it going to be used by him in this class until it was over.

He noticed that some of the students had brought along their own lightsabers which gave him a sense of worry inside him. How long have they practice the different lightsaber forms? Have they even practice the different forms of lightsaber combat? Which ones had little to no training in saber comabt have him and which ones were the best of the group? These were the questions that were going through his mind after thinking about the different light sabers designs he saw in his Jedi cube and wonder how it was going to go for him in this class. He hoped he could spar with someone with the same skill as him since he didn't wanted to be outmatch and overwhelm. Even through Master Marakos said everyone would be playing in a level playing field Jasper thought was impossible since most of the students here had some form of experience in sparing with a lightsaber. He even thought that those that had to reduce the blade intensity in their own lightsaber would still have their own lightsabers. But in the end Jasper through he would be best not to make an issue out of it since he felt Master Markos would make sure everything going fine.

He went over to the set of training lightsabers and looked at each one in order to fine the one that wasn't used much. To the SJO credit, they all looked to be in good condition and were ready for use in Jasper's opinion. He grabbed one and inspected It from top to bottom to better understand from he was getting out of this one. He finds the switch on the saber and soon turns it's on. The sounds of the saber humming along with the color greens were heard and seen respectively to the teen. Moving away form anything that could get hurt from the saber. Jasper took a few swings of the saber and found it to be easy to use for the time being. A feeling emerge from the teen body. A feeling that he haven't felt In a while.

The feeling of excitement. A feeling that made him smile more than he wanted to.

Turning the lightsaber off. He went back to the rest of the group and said. “ I'm Ready to begin.”

(I rather have lectures first than the dueling to better understand the form but whatever you guys want really.)

 

[Ostdern Mastogar]

[member="Kaili Brand"] [member="Raya-Tat"] [member="Reggie Faayare"] [member="Cawn"] [member="Drystan Marakos"]

Ostdern looked at Drystan and answered quickly.

“No, I only have this. It can switch between training and lethal types so it’s useful in that way.”

He didn’t really want to use another saber, as it wasn’t what he was used to. However, if he needed to learn in order to become a knight then so be it.

“Would it be fine it I use my own pike though? It has a lot of meaning to me. I’ll use that too but I want to learn all methods in both.”

The young Jedi sat down and meditated as he waited for the lessons to begin. A wave of excitement surrounding him as his classmates also looked a bit hyper.

(OOC: I’d prefer both, it would make the classroom idea work more as we will learn the methods and reasons behind them too.)

 

[Cyrus Nova]

As Cyrus approached the group in the grass he noticed everyone was already there and listening to the instructor. He started fast-walking but right before he got there he tripped and tumbled in front of everyone present. He quickly jumped to his feet and apologized.

"Sorry I was late. I just got transferred to Kashyyk still don't know where anything is. I'm Cyrus Nova."

He glanced at the other padawans, but didn't get a chance to get a good look as he focused his attention on the instructor. His slightly tattered looking outfit look raggedly in comparison to the other padawans mostly nice robes. A training saber hung on a belt next to his real saber.

[member="Ostdern Mastogar"] [member="Jasper Candos"] [member="Kaili Brand"] [member="Raya-Tat"] [member="Reggie Faayare"] [member="Cawn"] [member="Drystan Marakos"]

 

[Drystan Marakos]

Drystan smiled, looking to each student in turn as they signified they were ready to begin. [member="Cyrus Nova"]'s late arrival, and subsequent tumble, elicited a good-natured grin from the blonde instructor, but she didn't tease him for it... She only nodded, welcoming him to the class, and indicating he join the rest of the group.​

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Considering [member="Ostdern Mastogar"]'s answer for a moment, she shook her head. Perhaps the Battlemaster might teach it differently, but she felt it was necessary for Ostdern to be exposed to both traditional forms as well as his own personal one. "I highly recommend you train with a traditional lightsaber as well as your personal one. Failing to do so would be... unwise. You may return to your pike once class is over. I'm afraid I must insist." And then, she retrieved a beautiful ebony-handled training saber from the selection she'd brought, and tossed it to him. He'd find it held a gorgeous orange blade - not unlike his own weapon.​

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With that, she gave the small group one last look before she clapped her hands together.​

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"Now then, let's get started!" ​

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"The Form we'll be learning today is the oldest known form in history... a system of combat, long before the lightsaber had been invented; when edged weapons were the tools of Warriors, rather than the graceful & powerful symbols each of you hold in your hands." ​

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Drystan linked her hands in the small of her back, often bringing one forward to punctuate her words with a gesture.​

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"Shii-Cho, or as my Master taught it to me, the Way of the Sarlaac, distills the ancient sword-fighting arts of the past into a powerful system from-which all other forms of saber combat are based. It is at its' strongest against multiple opponents, providing a host of tactical options as well as a fallback when no other form will suffice... In fact, there have been a number of Shii-Cho specialists in history; so there is little reason to consider the first form as lesser or weaker than the others. It's main deficiency is that it came first." ​

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"Shii-Cho excels in close-quarters; that is, covering a wide area as quickly as possible. It is... bold. Direct. Like a shotgun. A user of Shii-Cho might be considered a bulldozer - traveling from point A to point B, moving through obstacles rather than around them. One's bladework is broad, echewing precision for power & fluidity. Footwork is simple - driving ever-forward." She illustrated this by dropping into an easy fighting stance, which some of the students might recognize as the naturally balanced stance of a fencer; she shifted forward, driving herself forward with her feet leading her body.​

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"Fighting as a Shii-Cho user, your most ideal tactical scenario is a long hallway, with one's opponents at the end & plenty of space to build momentum... advancing forward, and limiting your opponent(s) further with every step. Fighting against a Shii-Cho user, your best option is to interrupt that starting momentum. Such as with a thrust, for example." She sprang forward decisively, her hand stretching out, empty; but each could easily recognize the precision & power of the lunge, and could imagine how it might arrest an attacker.​

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"Are there any questions so far?" She smiled, taking a few moments to look upon each of her students: [member="Cyrus Nova"], [member="Ostdern Mastogar"], [member="Jasper Candos"], [member="Kaili Brand"], [member="Raya-Tat"], [member="Reggie Faayare"], and the Armino, @Cawn. She felt a rumble of pride within toward each of them, that they'd made the choice to be present today.​

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For the next stage of the class, Drystan would instruct each student to pair up; as there was an uneven number, she, too, would take part, and allow any of the students to partner with her. ​

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First, she explained each of the three basic guards: High, Middle, & Low, as well as Shii-Cho's reliance on the two-handed hold, which provided its' power. Each guard was useful - with the high guard intimidating & aggressive (ready for a downward chop), the middle guard conservative and formless, and the low guard deceptive & inviting to an attacker for the opening it created toward the user's midsection (but was easily covered by a rising strike or parry). ​

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Next, she explained the basic strikes, as well as Shii-Cho's strengths in two particular areas: The art of Shiim, or grazing the skin, and Sun Djem, disarming without harm. "I'll cover these more in depth as we go, but I ask that you note Sun Djem's meaning... Disarming without harm."​

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Sai strikes were wide & powerful - large arcs which covered distance quite effectively with great power but little precision, while Cho strikes were shorter & faster. The basic blocks were easy, and intuitive, and each student would find it relatively easy to mirror one-another. Shiim strikes, of course, were designed to graze the flesh of an attacker, wearing down one's defenses and inducing pain... Death by a thousand stings, as she called it. ​

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Drystan would allow each of them to experiment using their training sabers, which would not permanently harm, but provided enough of a shock to make failure or laziness painful. Each of them was free to practice, so long as they did not stray too far from the material. ​