Learning to dance - SJO Lightsaber Combat Training

[WelshGuy]

Yuroic hadn't long been made a knight of the SJO order, however, he was keen to start teaching others in combat. With news of Sith movement in the Galactic Empire and in the Sith Empire itself, he felt that the Padawans of SJO needed have a hard sparring session. He was sure that there would be some Knights and Masters who weren't as Lightsaber focused as himself, they would benefit from this as well. It was going to be a lighthearted session, he remembered the rigorous training that he went through when he was learning the many Lightsaber Forms. Though he had made the training tough on himself, it was still something he didn't want to put on these Padawans until he knew them better.

He had left his Lightsaber in his quarters, holding a training saber. Even though he could use his own Lightsaber, he felt better holding a training saber when practising with Padawans who have not yet got their own Lightsabers. He wasn't sure what Form to train today, there were several that he was talented in, Djem So and Niman were his preferred Forms, taken after his Master, Arisa. It also meant that all the other Forms before Niman, he had some talents in, as one needed to learn the others to better themselves in Niman. Ataru and Vaapad were off the table, Ataru was too acrobatic for his taste and Vaapad was known only to a select few. He didn't even know if any Jedi alive knew Vaapad.

Djem So would be an obvious one to train in. Popular amongst many Jedi, but he figured with the rising number of Sith, Makashi and Shii-Cho were not Forms to ignore. Soresu was always good for defensive work as well, a favourite amongst Consular Jedi. Yuroic decided to wait until he saw the students he would have, then choose the Form they would learn. There had been an advert for his lesson sent out to Padawans and Knights, he was sure that word of his class would reach the ears of the Jedi Masters from there with ease. However, while he waited on people to arrive, Yuroic fell into meditative trance while performing several moves of Niman. It was a way to relax himself and not fret over whether or not people would arrive.

(OOC: Class is open to all SJO who wish to learn some Lightsaber combat, feel free to join in!)

 

[Dusaro Dresari]

Dusaro saw the training session a few days earlier before the session itself started. Even under normal circumstances he would have went ahead and joined in on this, but after the invasion of Charros IV, he would defintely show up. That had not exactly been a pretty battle and things on the horizon were not looking any better. Most of his lightsaber training had not been super focused on the forms. Sure he had been training Shii-Cho, but a greater part had been integrating the lightsaber and the way of fighting that came with bot it and the force into the twenty some odd years of trianing and experince he had been through since a kid. He was certainly no old dog who couldn't learn any tricks, but it was a rather drastic shift adding in the force and all. It took lots of time and practice. So when there was a potential to add more layers and depth to that training Dusaro jumped at the chance. He even made sure to arrive a few minutes early.

While he did carry his lightsaber he had just recently built, he basically 'left it at the door' of the sparring room, setting it down at the entrance in a place he wouldn't forget it as he saw [member="Yuroic Xeraic"] performing a set of lightsaber moves. Dusaro did a short little bow, keeping quiet so he didn't interupt the Knight, taking a seat for the moment. He had brought his training lightsaber with him which rested neatly at his side. While he did kind of want to use his own personal blade, there would be plenty of time for that later. No need to go swinging it around and showing it off. Since Dusaro had already gotten used to the feel of it compared to the training saber, there was no real need to use it in this paticular instance.

Curious as he was about what kind of training the day would have in store, he just kept silent for the moment and waited for more people to arrive, wondering who all would be showing up.

[member="Yuroic Xeraic"]

 

[Kaiza Pawaro]

Always quite fond of lightsaber combat, Kaiza Pawaro wasn’t one to miss a sparring class. An avid practitioner of Soresu, the young pacifist focused on strong defence over beating her opponents through sheer strength. A valid option, albeit somewhat limiting when it came to lightsaber combat – not all fights permitted waiting until the opponent exhausted himself. As Kaiza now understood after a regretfully failed mission on Taris, negotiation wasn’t always the option. Some beings could not be reasoned with; and as much as the Milialan hated it, some battles called for swift resolution. With both Sith and Imperials launching campaigns against the Silver Jedi Order, targeting civilians for the sake of drawing the Jedi out, it was most than imperative the yellow-skinned Padawan learned how to effectively protect both herself and others. Shielding innocents from harm was a Jedi’s most sacred duty – Arisa’s student intended to do just that.

Soft footsteps announced her approach, and the young Mirialan removed her long cloak soon after she appeared in sight. Before doing that though, a bow was offered to those already present. The act of shedding the brown robe also firmly established a silver cylinder sleeping on her belt – a sign she had already constructed her very own lightsaber. Not a tool that saw plenty of use, yet the imminent threat of war promised to change that. Still, Kaiza maintained a positive attitude – hopeful the war would be over quickly. Wearing a warm, infectious smile, the teenage Padawan’s green gaze washed over the room, studying it in silence. Always mindful of the principles of Sokan, she realized the importance of using the surroundings to her advantage.

Stepping to the side, Kaiza patiently waited for more to arrive, hoping today’s lesson would give them what they needed to successfully tackle the trials ahead.


[member="Dusaro Dresari"] [member="Yuroic Xeraic"]

 

[WelshGuy]

Yuroic sensed the presence of two young Padawans enter. Stepping out of his kata, Yuroic opened his eyes and studied the two Padawans. He recognised Kaiza from their trip to Alderaan, however, the other he had not met before. Standing before them both, Yuroic stood strongly with his arms behind his back. Greetings Padawans, I am Jedi Knight, Yuroic. Today we shall be learning some strong Lightsaber combat, with the rising dangers of Sith and other Dark Side users, we need to be able to defend ourselves in combat. Today, we will learn Djem So, while a standard form and aggressive, used wisely. It can be quite the powerful form. It is also important to learn this Form as most of the Sith you will face in combat use it. Better to defend yourself from it, if you know it well.

He paused, allowing the Padawans to greet out loud as well and absorb the words he spoke. He could tell from the way Kaiza carried herself that she would be more defence over offence, while Dusaro would likely be a Padawan who enjoyed to use their strength in combat. It would be interesting to see how they sparred together today, but that was something he would have them do later. For now, he needed to ensure they knew the basics.

Rather than assume that you both know Djem So, we shall go through the Form together, slowly and keep an eye on not just where my blade is positioned but my legs as well. When practising this Form, it is important that you remember that your whole body must flow like a river. Similar to a dance, which you might think is an Echani point of view, but that doesn't make it less true. Yuroic had studied the Echani somewhat and found them deeply interesting. While combat based, they were not the aggressors that Mandalorians were. They delved deeper into the art, saw pass the anger and aggression that it could bring, seeing that practising combat can be a better way to understand one another.

[member="Kaiza Pawaro"] | [member="Dusaro Dresari"]

 

[Dusaro Dresari]

Dusaro was in a relaxed stance as Yuroic introduced himself and spoke about their upcoming training. So it would be mostly offense focused would it? Well, that worked for him. A good offense could also be a good defense as long as it was kept up and you didn't falter. Course that had downsides all it's own but everything did. As for it being used by Sith, well, he certainly would like to know even more then he already did of how his enemies liked to fight. That alone was plenty welcome by him. "I am Dusaro Dresari, Padawan. I know the basics of Shii-Cho, but i come from a rather varied background when it comes to fighting. Lots of Echani training and experince with weapons in general."

After that he stayed silent and looked over to the fellow Padawan, who he thought he had seen at some point during the invasion of Charros IV, but he couldn't be quite sure. He had sparred with a few other Jedi before, but not any time recently. Dusaro couldn't help but muse what kind of diffrence it would make.

"Aye sir." He nodded at Yuorics explination of how things would be proceeding. He had done his fair share of training before so this was more like home to him then anything else, following his mentor's form and actions. Being trained in the Echani arts helped but it was something anyone would pick up after a certain amount of training, he was just a bit more specialized in it. As for what they would actaully be doing, that kind of unison of movement was always something tricky to pick up on. Moving in unison with a blade that held weight was one thing, it was easier to perceive. But a near weightless one required a diffrent kind of bodily and mental focus. But that kind of focus would certainly make for a exceptionally strong offense, capable of stringing strong blows together without leaving an opening. Or that was atleast what Dusaro thought the Knight was getting at, if he was right was to be seen though.

[member="Yuroic Xeraic"] [member="Kaiza Pawaro"]

 

[Kaiza Pawaro]

Djem So – very much the opposite of Kaiza’s preferred form. Too aggressive for her taste, even if its advantages were meant to bypass Soresu’s passivity. While that very passivity was what Kaiza desired to overcome, she suddenly found herself hesitant, knowing the fifth form to be about domination and strength. Somewhat Sith-like, and if the teacher’s words were true, many Sith would, indeed, be practitioners of this form. Perhaps, if nothing else, it offered valuable insight. A bit heavy-hearted, the Mirialan cast her worries aside, mentally prepared to embrace this new knowledge despite her initial reservations. Slowly, she was starting to accept these necessities, hopes for serving in peaceful times shattered after the Galactic Empire’s attack.

“Kaiza Pawaro, Soresu practitioner.” She introduced herself and her knowledge concerning lightsaber combat.

Gloved hand slowly slithered towards the lightsaber hilt resting upon her waist, fingers curling around the cylinder shape, not quite unclipping it yet. The instructor was quite right about similarities between lightsaber combat and dance. Kaiza had to suppress a grin that wished to adorn her expression – all forms were essentially just specific sets of motions, just like dancing. Although abandoning the core Soresu tenet of being within the eye of the storm promised to be a challenge, the young pacifist was willing to try. If for no other reason than to learn how to effectively battle Djem So practitioners and their aggressive, relentless strikes.



[member="Dusaro Dresari"] [member="Yuroic Xeraic"]

 

[Darren Torran]

Ah... Back on Voss once again. Darren had been away for a week or so on a Vacation in the Outer Rim. He didn't say exactly where he had went - though he was in a much better mood upon his return. Darren didn't keep up his Jedi training regime - as he had many other things that he had to deal with - his ranger training and the running of Torr Industries. He did, however, attend a few classes randomly - when he had the time. You could definitely say Darren was different from the other Padawans. He was much older than the majority and - quite frankly - did not want to dedicate his life to the 'Way of the Jedi'. The Zabrak had many other dedications that came long before his Jedi training.

Darren was a soldier among pacifists.

He had never quite understood why the Jedi thought they could win battles without death and conflict. As far as he was concerned you couldn't reach peace without blood. For this reason he was far out of place. The man simply couldn't relate with the people around him. The Jedi - they were far from what the rangers were. But he had to keep reminding himself that they were all united to work towards the same goal - Peace.

To be quite honest - Darren was always excited at the chance to learn lightsaber combat - he had always found it more fascinating than the force itself and he had wanted to learn it a long time prior to the discovery of his force sensitivity. His dream was to eventually become a Jedi Battlemaster - having mastered each form of combat and perhaps even created his own - though he knew the chances of that were very slim due to his late discovery of the force. Alas, it was always a possibility.

Wow - these robes are uncomfortable. That was the only thought going through Darren's head as he entered the training session. Upon realising he was late - he was obligated to apologise. "I apologise for my lateness everyone. I've just had ranger training - and it takes a while to get out of armour and into these robes. Anyone else's robes really uncomfortable?" The room fell silent. Once again Darren was the giant Elephant in the room. He cleared his throat - realising that the Jedi didn't quite get his sense of humour. "Sorry for interrupting. I'm here for the class. The name's Darren Torran - Djem So practitioner, using Jar'kai and elements of Trakata. What can I say? I'm complicated." He smiled.

Darren had brought two training sabers with him - opting to leave his recently constructed blades on the Providence while he attended the class.

[member="Yuroic Xeraic"] | [member="Kaiza Pawaro"] | [member="Dusaro Dresari"]

 

[Asani Windsong]

Arriving a little late, Asani joined the training session right at the moment that Yuroic was introducing himself to the other Padawans and explaining what they would be learning today. The young Kushiban was certainly the least experienced of the group, though she had at least managed to acquire a training saber, holding it tightly in her right fore paw as she approached the others. Her fur has taken a sandy yellow color as she was feeling a mixture of joy and excitement at meeting some fellow students of the Force, and learning along with them.

She greeted the two other Padawan’s with a nod before speaking. “I am Asani.” She began before pausing as she turned toward Yuroic. “I am also pretty new at this. I have studied a bit at the temple library, but I have not had formal training or done any sparring yet.” Her ears twitched as she heard footsteps. This drew her attention to the Zabrak, and she couldn’t help but laugh lightly at his complaining about the robes, since she wasn’t even wearing any. “Guess I lucked out, didn’t have any that would fit me.” With that said, she turned her attention back to Yuroic, her tail slowly swaying back and forth as she is both anxious and excited to begin training.

[member="Yuroic Xeraic"] / [member="Kaiza Pawaro"] / [member="Dusaro Dresari"] / [member="Darren Torran"]

 

[WelshGuy]

Yuroic nodded to the new Padawans, chuckling at Darren's comment on the robes. His were comfortable but then again, he had lived in uncomfortable clothing for most of his youth, so the robes were always going to feel better. However, he knew that Darren was a soldier first so armour would be his preferred armour. The Kushiban was an interesting mix, he was sure that the Padawan would likely in the end adopt the Ataru Form, which worked better with smaller, acrobatic animals. For now, Yuroic allowed them to join the class without a comment.

We shall begin with all of you following me, as I stated to the others, watch my movements carefully. My stance is just as important as what my weapon is doing. For Darren, think of this similar to unarmed combat, often you learn katas or series of moves. If you don't keep your body in the correct position you put yourself at risk of counters or falling. Yuroic hoped that the reference would allow Darren to feel more comfortable. He could sense the uneasiness from the Padawan, while the man was older than most Padawans, he was also a soldier. It made sense to Yuroic that he would find plenty of aspects of the Jedi way unfamiliar or different from military life.

Yuroic stood in front of the mixed group of Padawans and slowly began the Form, demonstrating the combat moves. While he performed them, he also described the Form to help them better understand it. Djem So is meant to be an aggressive Form, pounding the enemy until their defence breaks. The opposite of the defensive Soresu, I am sure you know Kaiza. It is useful against smaller, weaker opponents and it is highly common Form used by both Jedi and Sith alike. Shien is part of this Form as well, aimed to be against blasters however. So it is good to keep that in mind when practising this Form. Yuroic finished the Form's moves, watching the Padawans afterwards.

[member="Asani Windsong"] | Kaiza Pawaro | [member="Dusaro Dresari"] | [member="Darren Torran"]

 

[Dusaro Dresari]

Dusaro was strikingly not in robes, unlike even Darren who walked in with his robes on in spite of mainly being a Ranger. Dus was wearing a pair of spacer boots which were fairly normal but past that there was a striking difference. Cargo pants with plenty of pockets was fitted securely with a thick belt. He had on a simple sleeveless vest, under which was a flak vest that he never went anywhere without wearing it. There was also the perpetual bandanna around his neck along with the arm-glove that covered his mostly prosthetic right arm.

The reason for his clothes was simple, he and his Master were not really at the Temples much and he had never really been told 'you need to wear the robes', so he didn't. "I never started wearing them in the first place, though i have been lead to understand that my master is a bit of a odd ball in general, so maybe that isn't much of a surprise." Dusaro said with a light shrug and a wry look to Darren Torran who had just joined them. Having the background he did, Dusaro did not share much of the same mindset with most of his fellow Jedi. He could still relate on plenty of things, but there was a fundamental difference in perspective. That was fine by him though, he didn't need to agree with everyone and they didn't need to agree with him. Life had spice because of disagreements after all.

Dusaro nodded politely to their new small addition of the Kushiban Padawan Asani. He was not sure how such a being would fight with a lightsaber, but he was most certainly interested to see it. He did not think Asani incapable, far from it. Dusaro was just not sure what sort her 'form' would take. As the demonstration started, Dusaro snapped his attention back to their teacher, paying attention to his body as it moved and went from movement to movement. He imagined the movements and locked them in his mind, imaging how it would feel and flow. From the shift of feet to the movement of his hips and position of his shoulders.

Dusaro's copy was of the form was not perfect but it was close. A bit of a shift of the shoulders here, different weight distribution there, a bit of foot repositioning for the back leg. Overall more or less what you would expect from someone who had practiced martial arts and combat in general.

[member="Yuroic Xeraic"] [member="Asani Windsong"] [member="Darren Torran"] [member="Kaiza Pawaro"]

 

[Kaiza Pawaro]

As Darren’s troubles garnered her attention, the Mirialan’s eyes suddenly found her own apparel the most interesting thing in the galaxy. Clothes usually found on farmers, showing both wear and tear that come with hardships. Were those comfortable? Impossible for her to tell – having lived in similar clothes for the majority if not her entire life, the Padawan was more than used to the rough fabric and how it clung to her skin. Simply shrugging at the matter, she was about to raise her head when she noticed what appeared to be a stray animal, yet introduced itself as Asani. Quite funny – she had spent years with the Jedi, yet this marked the first time she ever met such a strange creature. Its sentience came as a surprise, more so that it wielded a lightsaber. It actually put a smile on Kaiza’s face – after spending fifteen years on Mirial, isolated from the galaxy, every meeting like this proved to be most enlightening.

Her focus snapped back to Yuroic, attentively observing his presentation. She already had a good idea about positioning and footwork; breaking from the form she was used to presented a far greater challenge than mirroring the instructor’s example. Soresu had a way of teaching its practitioners how to move – tight bladework and subtle dodges, keeping up constant blade-movement to build up momentum and minimize energy-expenditure. Djem So, on the other hand, a direct opposite. Aggressive, relentless beating of the enemy. Still, as master Yoda once said; do or do not, there is no try. And thus, clearing her mind of distracting thoughts, Kaiza slowly, carefully repeated the moves to the best of her abilities. She was no expert by any means. Her performance displayed flaws, sub-conscious unwillingness to completely give up on Soresu's tight defence.


[member="Dusaro Dresari"] [member="Yuroic Xeraic"] [member="Asani Windsong"] [member="Darren Torran"]

 

[Asani Windsong]

Asani noticed that the other Padawans seemed to regard her with some degree of curiosity, or even surprise, and supposed they likely haven’t seen one of her kind before. When she stopped to think further on the concept of clothes she did wonder how they would feel against her fur as she has never worn any before. She wondered if they were required, as they also looked a bit restrictive to her. She decided to keep these questions for a later time though and focus on the training being offered.

Asani may have never practiced with a lightsaber before today, but that also meant that she hasn’t had the chance to settle on any of the forms and pick up habits from them. She studied Yuroic’s movements, remembering how he had likened it to a sort of dance, which she not only understood, but had some experience and quickly saw how well the analogy fit. Asani focused on Yuroic, not allowing herself to be distracted by the movements of the other Padawans as she did her best to follow the movements of the Jedi Knight. Although she struggled a bit with matching his stance exactly, as it was awkward to even try to move her legs exactly the way a human would, she didn’t let it discourage her as she continued to repeat the motions while trying to maintain an even flow of movement through it all.

[member="Yuroic Xeraic"] / [member="Kaiza Pawaro"] / [member="Dusaro Dresari"] / [member="Darren Torran"]

 

[Darren Torran]

Darren looked around the room to see all but Yuroic in anything but robes - how embarrassing. He could've worn his armour for all they cared. Alas - he was still in the most uncomfortable attire in the galaxy. He might as well own it - seen as how it was too late to change anyway. And so he took off his cloak and threw it to the side.

The Zabrak looked to Asani. What a curious little being. He thought to himself. Though he mustn't judge before getting acquainted with anyone - he knew that much. He chuckled slightly at her comment - the man simply couldn't help it. A fluffy bunny - of course she wouldn't be able to find anything to fit. It would have to be tailor made - and it would restrict movement too. This means that lightsaber combat would be far from easy for someone of her... Build.

Darren then turned his attention to Dusaro - then Kaiza. Exchanging similar smiles - then trying to mirror Yuroic's movements.

[member="Yuroic Xeraic"] | [member="Dusaro Dresari"] | [member="Kaiza Pawaro"] | [member="Asani Windsong"]

 

[WelshGuy]

None of them were perfect. It would take years of hard training to become even decent in the Form. Yuroic knew this, he was half way decent in his mind, Niman was even less skilled, took a Jedi 10 years to perfect Niman. A decade for one of the best fighting styles, it was worth the hard work. Yuroic eyed them each carefully as they copied his work. He noted that Dusaro moved with confidence, however there was still plenty for the Padawan to learn. Kaiza was struggling but he could see why, the Padawan was not a fighter, he knew she preferred learning the Force over learning combat. This was fair, and if there wasn't a Sith threat he would want to nurture that. Sadly, that wasn't the case.

Asani, it was hard to teach her the Form. He had never taught or been taught by a species of her height, so limitations were obvious but he was interested in how she would progress with new challenges. Finally, he studied Darren. A former soldier now Jedi Padawan, in time, this Form would likely become his bread and butter. Yuroic could easily see it as the soldier would hold a lot of angry and aggression that feed easily into the Form. Something that Yuroic would be mindful of. It was easy to lose oneself to their emotions when in combat, this Form was proof, too many felt the taint of the Dark Side early on.

Now comes the time for you to spar one another. Asani and Kaiza will pair as will Darren and Dusaro. One will block the attacks, while the other uses Djem So to break their defence. Let us begin. Yuroic gave the command.

[member="Asani Windsong"] | [member="Kaiza Pawaro"] | [member="Darren Torran"] | [member="Dusaro Dresari"]

 

[Dusaro Dresari]

Dusaro knew how long it took to master a form. The only 'form' he would consider that he was even above average at would be the Echani arts. But he had also been training and using those since he was a four year old kid. He wasn't here to try and begin mastering Djem-So though. Sure he might eventually train in the fighting manners of Djem-So specifically, but he did not plan on focusing on any one thing. He had never been trained from the start to think of any form as something to be veiwed on its own. There was no 'offensive stance' or 'defensive stance', no special form of movement. Instead, forms and ideas were simply taken in. For example, after today's Djem-So training he would continue to train in what they had learned today. Not expand on his knowledge, only what they had learned. After he grasped it, he would find a sparring partner and would fight with them. In that fight, he would integrate the idea of the movements of what he had learned into his instincts. Such a method meant he never really adopted any paticular 'stance' in combat. If the situation called for it he would take a strong offense, or if it was needed a defensive one. Such a manner of learning did not just involve sparring and fighting enemies but also studying, to understand not just with one's body but with ones mind the forms they would apply. Anyone can train to act instenctivly, but the mind also needs to be able to direct things with a thoughful understanding at times. This form of training was not paticularly longer nor shorter then any other, it would still take him a very long time just like anyone else to perfect and refine his form. It also meant that learning and applying the force was a bit of a nightmare and something that, even nearly three years into his training he was still terrible at.

"Sounds good to me." Dusaro said with a bit of a nod, looking over the room and walking to a marked off sparring area. Streching a bit he took out the training lightsaber, activating the blue blade and holding it in one hand, turning around to face his sparring opponent, Darren. "I will let you start with the Djem-So attacks, i will start off defending if you don't mind." If Darren was agreeable to the idea, Dusaro would plant his left foot back with the 'inside' facing his sparring partner, while his right foot pointed forward directly at him, knee's just slightly bent. It was a fairly clear stance that meant Dusaro did not plan on backing off from the barrage of attacks that would be directed at him. He was not however trying to 'challenge' his fellow Padawan. His stance wasn't saying 'you can't break my defense'. Rather it was saying 'i will not let my defense break'. Dusaro figured if he was going to be playing purely defensive, he would be as bold and confidant as he could be in that defense. Even if that meant he got smacked in the face and knocked over which was entirely possible.

[member="Yuroic Xeraic"] [member="Darren Torran"] [member="Asani Windsong"] [member="Kaiza Pawaro"]

 

[Kaiza Pawaro]

Paired with the fluffy and admittedly adorable creature, Kaiza nodded and gave a tender smile. The yellow-skinned Mirialan turned towards her sparring partner, trying hard to avoid staring – and upon becoming aware of doing just that, the Padawan could not hold back any longer and laughed. Quickly, still wearing an amused grin, she checked if her lightsaber’s been switched to training mode; even though a deadly weapon, the azure blade presented little danger in low-power output, perfect for training. Humming softly as it whizzed through the air, raised to mirror Djem So’s opening stance, the blade bathed Kaiza in blue light, a calming sight. After assuming proper footing, the teenage Padawan nodded.

“Alright, Asani. How about you try attacking me first? Strike when you’re ready!”

This practice would prove an interesting experience for sure given the obvious height difference. Although Djem So clearly wasn’t the optimal form of lightsaber combat for Asani given its focus on raw power and sheer dominance, learning under Yuroic’s guidance still counted for invaluable experience.

Kaiza steeled herself, muscles flexed. Although she did not anticipate much power behind the smaller, lighter partner’s attacks, it never hurt to be prepared, especially when defending herself from a form she had encountered a few times – sparring with Charity Luckless came to mind. This past experience prompted the Mirialan into expecting particularly powerful, wide slashes not to be underestimated.

Naturally, given her grip on Soresu, slipping back to her original form proved to be a tempting whisper. Using Djem So meant going against her nature – and while the defensive motions shared enough similarities to offer Kaiza a bit of comfort, she had to constantly keep herself in check, never letting the body revert to Soresu’s core principles.


[member="Dusaro Dresari"] [member="Yuroic Xeraic"] [member="Darren Torran"] [member="Asani Windsong"]

 

[Asani Windsong]

Asani nodded to Yuroic as he gave the pairings for the spar, turning her attention to Kaiza. She was nervous about sparring for her first time, causing her fur to take a brighter, orange cast. Doubts as to how well she could put this form into practice certainly didn't help matters, as she figured the odds of her ever meeting an opponent which she could overpower and dominate through raw strength were quite low. She was glad at least that Kaiza offered to let her attack first, which gave her the valuable opportunity to study how she defended and hopefully apply what she learns toward improving her own defenses when the roles are reversed.

Asani takes a few deep breaths to try and calm herself as she re-activates her training saber and takes a moment to go over the motions of Djem So in her head. She nearly went ahead and announced that she was going to attack, but Kaiza had already told her to strike when ready, so she just went ahead and began her attack. Despite not being quite as swift on two legs rather than four, she still leapt toward the Mirialan woman with impressive speed, attacking with a swing of her lightsaber as soon as Kaiza was within range of her training saber, which was honestly likely a bit too long for her but helped slightly with the height disadvantage. She attempted to use various strikes of the form as they practiced earlier, letting each one flow into the next, however at the end of her charge, she threw in a bit of improvisation in an attempt to mix things up, hoping to throw her opponent off, not to mention overcome her height disadvantage. Taking the training saber with both paws, she used her powerful legs to leap upward, ultimately harnessing the momentum of her leap and all the strength she could muster into a final swing. If blocked, she would attempt to spring off and land behind Kaiza, while if the strike landed, she would instead land in front of her. Afterward she would look to both Kaiza and Yuroic as she asked for feedback. "How was that?"

Next, she would back up some and prepare to defend from Kaiza's attack, doing her best to try and mirror the stance Kaiza had taken before her attack, a careful gaze given to the Mirialan as she awaited the inevitable attack. "I am as ready as I will ever be, so go ahead."

[member="Yuroic Xeraic"] / [member="Kaiza Pawaro"] / [member="Dusaro Dresari"] / [member="Darren Torran"]

 

[Kaiza Pawaro]

Kaiza’s hands reacted almost immediately; fluently positioning her own blade to intercept Asani’s strike, she rushed the azure blade into a sparkling white kiss. Never to push the offensive, the Mirialan focused solely on defending herself, although it would be a mistake to call her passive – indeed, her footwork reacted accordingly to Asani’s attacks, subtle dodges to give her a slight advantage when parrying, negating some of the awkwardness she would have faced otherwise when blocking the smaller Jedi’s slashes. Even though Asani lacked in strength, which projected into her strikes, Kaiza treated each move as if coming from a physically superior opponent; directly blocking had no chance to succeed, thus she parried and dodged instead, redirecting slashes aimed her way while moving her entire body to get into safety.

And then the white-furred sentient shot up, soaring through the air and erasing any and all distance between the two. It happened so fast and unexpectedly Kaiza barely had enough time to effectively block. Putting a crack into the Mirialan’s defence, the powerful swing forced her to take a few steps back, followed by Kaiza instantly spinning around as Asani leapt over. Instead of facing more strikes, the first part of the spar had ended, much to the yellow-hued Padawan’s satisfaction.

“You know, I think Ataru would suit you very well,” advised Kaiza with a smile, “The leap in particular was quite impressive.”

Holding her blade up in a vertical fashion, the Mirialan slowly circled her smaller colleague. Her muscles flexed as she readied herself – dominating and overpowering others wasn’t her cup of tea, but she set her discomfort aside for the sake of this training session. Then, one decisive step forth and Kaiza executed her powerful lunge, bringing the blue blade crashing down on Asani. Without waiting, she followed by another strike filled with raw strength and power, true to Djem So’s way. More and more attacks followed, coming from angles to make defence awkward and uncomfortable, force the defender into unnatural positions that threatened to leave Asani open. At the same time, Kaiza remained mindful of her colleague, prepared to stop should her onslaught prove too much to handle.


[member="Asani Windsong"] [member="Dusaro Dresari"] [member="Yuroic Xeraic"] [member="Darren Torran"]

 

[Darren Torran]

Darren made his way over to the sparring area alongside Dusaro - drawing one of the blades from his belt. He wanted to get the spar started as soon as possible.

"Of course." he replied - he was used to giving out a beating rather than taking one.

He ignited his saber - putting his left foot forward and right foot behind - placing his saber horizontally across his chest. The Zabrak took a deep breath - swiftly swinging his right foot around and using it to propel himself forward to add momentum to his attack. He swung the blade over his head - using both hands to arc his blade and bring it in a strong downward motion.

[member="Dusaro Dresari"] | [member="Yuroic Xeraic"] | [member="Kaiza Pawaro"] | [member="Asani Windsong"]

 

[Dusaro Dresari]

Dusaro kept his stance as Darren got into the footing of the form, watching him carefully as he prepared to attack. The blade positioning as well as stane was basically 'textbook' for the form. Simple and basic, but that did not make it have any less amount of force behind the blow. Dusaro held his lightsaber in his right hand, with his left hand resting on the back of his right.

When Darren's right foot went forward, Dusaro naturally brought up his hands and blade, the lightsabers meeting with a sparking hiss as Dusaro held his blade horizontally against the verticle blow. There was a great deal of strength and momentum behind the blow, but Dusaro pushed forward against the pressure with his back foot and body not letting the power overwhelm him. In the end Dusaro withstood the first blow, his arms a bit shaken but his legs still stable from the blow. There were still plenty more blows to come how ever, Dusaro knew that and he prepared himself for the next one.

[member="Darren Torran"] [member="Kaiza Pawaro"] [member="Asani Windsong"] [member="Yuroic Xeraic"]