Well Riposte

[Lynette Lykova]

Silver Rest
Kashyyyk

It was a second floor dojo. Quiet and tucked away from the bustling lower halls. Beige mats lined on the floor and it's red wooden walls were decorated with diverse ornamental weapons. Most were just for practice. Though, one or two were just for show.

Lynette walked past the empty mats and the tall wall mirrors, keeping just to one side. She moved to the end of the room and quietly opened the tall sliding doors that led out to the patio. Smiling and letting the cool breeze and outside air come rushing in.

"Ah. Much better."

She pressed the keypad nearer the wall. Lamenting that somebody had forgotten to turn off the heat from the last class. Blast. Darn hot yoga. Now her practice room was just too darn hot for it's own good. Bleh.

Mm. Ah well. Perhaps when Yuroic arrived they'd have the lesson outside. The covered patio area lead out to a flat rooftop balcony with plenty of room. She doubted he'd mind the change of pace anyway. The temperature would be perfect for a spar. Mm.

Lynette opened her long white shearling coat at the waist and fanned herself with her phone. Taking two steps outside to admire the view. It was just past lunch and the skies over Silver Rest were still hustling with shuttle traffic. Good. Hopefully that meant Yuroic would be on time.

Ah. She looked down at her phone. Speak of the devil.

[member="Yuroic Xeraic"]​

 

[WelshPsych]

It had been arranged for Yuroic to teach another Jedi a lesson on Niman fighting. It was interesting Lightsaber Form, one that took years to master, close to a decade at times. However, he was always happy to teach it to another person, Niman was meant to be fluid able to switch from one style to another. A master in the form could always leave their opponent on the back foot, unable to predict where a next attack will come. Yuroic was wearing loose shirt and baggy bottoms, he was hands on in his teaching so he wanted to be comfortable and able to perform the necessary fighting skills.

Wandering to the meeting point, Yuroic looked around the outside of the house. It was much more impressive than Yuroic could have imagined, he was a simple man and he lived quite simply by contrast. Stretching his limbs, Yuroic looked at the door for a moment before he knocked. On his possession, Yuroic had two practice sticks with him, unsure how well equipped the student would be.

[member="Lynette Lykova"]

 

[Lynette Lykova]

Lynette wandered out to the balcony and called down shortly, "Come on in. The parties upstairs."

She smiled and returned to the rooftop patio. As [member="Yuroic Xeraic"] arrived outside, she gave a slight nod of her chin in greeting.

"Welcome Master Xeraic. I'm Lynette. And thank you for coming. I've no doubt your schedule is quite busy this time of year. It's a pleasure to have you."

The blue haired woman looked out across the Rest and gave a nod to the view,

"I do hope you don't mind the circumstances. The dojo inside was just, too hot to handle. I'm afraid. ...So I've gone ahead and taken the liberty of putting us outside for the day. The weather is much more pleasant and I don't mind the view at all. Hehe."

Hopefully this setup would work for him. Floor mats or not.

[member="Yuroic Xeraic"] |​

 

[WelshPsych]

Yuroic looked up and spotted Lynette calling from a balcony. He tilted his head as he recognised her but could not place where he recognised her from. It was odd since he was normally good with faces but he could not place the face, but Yuroic had to move on and just let the back of his mind to working on where he might have seen her before. Yuroic opens the door and made his way to the rooftop and looked around, it was a beautiful view of Kashyyyk from here. It was easy to see why Lynette wanted to host the training session up on here.

Nodding his head, Yuroic spotted the mats and smiled warmly. "Ah, yes this will do fine, being around nature while training can be refreshing so this will work hard." Holding a wooden sword at the blade to hand over to Lynette, when it hit him where he recognised her from. "Oh! I saw you at the ORC Mr. Heartbeat event. I think you got a bit excited at one of the contestants?" Yuroic questioned then shook his head, realising that she might find that memory embarrassing. "Oh, I had done a lot worse so don't worry about it at all. I just hope you had fun at the event." Yuroic shrugged, "anyway, where do you want to start?"

[member="Lynette Lykova"]

 

[Lynette Lykova]

Lynette took off her long coat and put it down over the back of a nearby patio chair. Then she turned and raised an eyebrow as Yuroic mentioned the contest,

"Oh. Yes. That's right. You were there. I remember now. Silly me."

She pretended to blush and gave a quick shrug. Honestly that night had been a bit much. Far, far too sensual of an experience to discuss again here anyways. And darn it all. She still hadn't gotten that pair of shoes back either. Mmm. Poo.

"Anyway. This is fine. We can just practice right here."

She received the wooden sword and took a moment to fathom it's purpose. It had been years since Lynette had used anything but a light blade for practice sessions. This baby actually had real heft to it. Omph.

"Ah. Wooden swords. Classic. This should be interesting."

She smoothed her long bodysuit and tapped the blade against her boots. Perfect. She was ready to begin.

[member="Yuroic Xeraic"]​

 

[WelshPsych]

It was interesting to see that faux blush, Yuroic could tell it was fake more from her entire body language compared to slight blush, Yuroic didn't state either way and nodded his head when Lynette commented on the wooden sword approached was old school. It was weighty and felt different to an actual Lightsaber but Yuroic believed if you could get to grips with the wooden sword then it would be easy with a Lightsaber and allow you to perform techniques with more ease and grace. "Master the wooden sword then anything else would be easier to fight with, that's my motto." Yuroic shrugs, as he stood in front of Lynette.

"Here, I will perform the moves of Niman in a kata, once we go through the kata a few times together, I will then go through it with you to ensure that you have the basics and we can finish with a duel if you feel up to it." Yuroic then turned away from Lynette and started going through the Niman form, he slowly demonstrated the basics of Niman, demonstration how much of the Form used techniques from other styles, hence the reason that it took so long for one to be a master of Niman, you had to learn all the other forms. After he did several attempts, Yuroic moved to beside Lynette and nodded his head so that they could work together.

[member="Lynette Lykova"]

 

[Lynette Lykova]

Excellent. Lynette herself had learned Form V just this same way. Memorizing velocities was not only familiar ground, but a welcome one too.

She practiced and followed along accordingly. Her familiarity with the other Jedi forms was already well apparent. From the width of her stance to the muscle memory of her reactions, it was clear that Lynette would be an easy student to mentor. At least, in the practice phase anyway. She liked the wooden blade too. Practicing with a Lightsaber never held any real balance to it. You never had to worry about your shoulders or the weight of the blade. It's leverage in the air or the matter of gravity too. So she enjoyed the new'ness to it all. It was fun.

After a few turns of practicing the beginning kata, Lynette felt she was beginning to memorize it already,

"So. What makes Niman so special in your opinion Master Xeraic? Has it ever come in handy during a real duel?"

She was curious about why Yuroic fancied himself a Niman-man. He was human after all. Two arms, two legs. Nothing very alien about that. So why pick such an exotic taste in mastery? Surly he had a good reason.

[member="Yuroic Xeraic"] |​

 

[WelshPsych]

Watching Lynette going through form, it was good to see that she had a decent knowledge on the other Lightsaber forms and that she was getting the hang of the Niman form. For now this was a basic version but, it would set a good precedent for learning the more complex moves of Niman later on. He made some adjustments, helping her into a better stance here and there but there was nothing overly wrong with the way that she did the moves. Yuroic was just a perfectionist when it came to learning combat skills, his daughter, Asaraa would often give him a lot of hassle for being so picky when he corrected her when they trained together.

Hearing the question, Yuroic paused in thought for a moment then shrugged. "Niman is all about being versatile, ensuring that you can counter an opponent who uses Djem So, or Soresu, or Makashi. Or any of the other Forms bar Vaapad. However, it is such a good way to surprise your opponent keep them on edge since you can be skilled in more styles of combat than your opponent who focused on one single form. Unfortunately, this is why it takes so long to be a master of Niman. My style of combat is all about being unpredictable, I can go from a single blade Lightsaber, to a saberstaff, to two single Lightsabers in less than a minute thanks to my choice in Lightsaber. I use a bow which I can use for range or combat combat and that can be surprising to most opponents facing a Jedi. I never try to be predictable, so I enjoy the fluidity of moving from one stance to another to another all with ease. Helped that my Master was a Niman master as well, so there's some bias."

Yuroic chuckled as he stood in front of her and showed the next few moves, something a bit more complex but just as useful to know.

[member="Lynette Lykova"]

 

[Lynette Lykova]

Yuroic was a skilled and experienced teacher and it showed in his attitude towards training. He was a perfectionist and wanted his students to get it right the first time. A potent idea too since, if you learned it wrong then you practiced it wrong. And that was no foundation for swordsmanship at all. Best to get it right the first time and save yourself the hassle. Or worse. You lose the fight entirely.

Lynette smiled when he mentioned being unpredictable. Transitioning between weapons was a new idea for her too. She'd been taught to be traditional back on Denon. Single hilt saber, Form I into Form III, and finish with Form V and Form II for spice. Not a hint of exotic weapons training or even twin grip style. So all this "versatility" was a welcome change for the better. Though, it would be years yet before she could probably put it to good use on the battlefield.

Together they went through a few more moves of the form until Lynette showed signs of memorization. Both in practice, attitude, and in muscle memory. Already they had spent nearly an hour training. Which, was just about right if you wanted a solid introduction. Learn the mentality, the basic moves and stances, until eventually you come grasp the first kata or velocity of Niman. It was Padawan stuff, yes. But deeply professional and definitely life-saving if you incorporated it wisely. Lynette had plenty to chew on already.

"Well. I think I've grasped the basics." She wiped her brow and spun her sword in a circle, "And I must say. It's refreshing to revisit the basics of swordcraft such as this again. It's been years since I learned Form V and had time to practice was just kata again. Good for the soul, ya know."

She admired the wooden blade and nodded her head again.

"In fact. Being a Form V practitioner myself, I've been wondering?"

She turned to look him in the eye and swung her sword over her shoulder,

"Any good tips for incorporating some Niman techniques into Shien? I mostly fight Hutt bandits these days but still. Never know when the next Sith Lord will show up? Heh."

She smiled and shrugged. It had been a long time since an opponent had truly tested her limit, in any fashion. The perks of being a Space Wizard I suppose.

[member="Yuroic Xeraic"] |​

 

[WelshPsych]

It was good to see Lynette comfortable with his attitude to training. Learning a Lightsaber Form could mean life or death for the user, so Yuroic was mindful of that when teaching. That was one of the reasons that Yuroic was so careful when training his Padawans and pushed them so hard. Looking over Lynette, she was doing well to be taking on his training as quickly as she was. Though it helped she had experience in other Forms. Nodding his head, he was approving her progression with the Form. While it would take much longer to fully master the Form, a basic understanding, or semi-advanced knowledge would put her at more advantage than most from Yuroic's experience. He stood in front of her and nodded his head as he crossed his arms.

"The basics are always the most interesting part training, something new and exciting. See how it is in 5 years when you have to keep training in the same moves and still not be a Master in the Form. I find it tough at times but it is worth it in the end." Yuroic shrugged with a smile. "It is nice to practice with a wooden weapon, to work a sweat up." Yuroic nodded his head in agreement with Lynette. Hearing her question, Yuroic took a few minutes to think of a good answer, it was hard to say what would be best as it could vary from Master to Master and opponent to opponent. However, Yuroic had a few suggestions, "Shien is mostly focused on blaster protection and aggressive strikes, so introducing defensive movements into it could be advantageous as well as using closer combat techniques to add variety. Though a bit of flair and acrobatics to Shien would put an opponent on the back foot as they wouldn't expect you to be jumping around when you enter a Shien stance."

"However, I recommend you practise this more and find what is comfortable to introduce as what I find comfortable and useful will vary to you." Yuroic suggested as he gripped his wooden sword firmly. "Ready to begin our duel?"

[member="Lynette Lykova"]

 

[Lynette Lykova]

Lynette nodded to his advice. The idea was to be adaptable. She could do that. It was the reason she was seeking out swordsmen from all over the galaxy. Add a little more gravity to her own skills as a Jedi. It was fine.

She smiled when he mentioned a duel. That wasn't basic training. That was the application stage. Much, more fun.

"I would love a duel. Alas..."

She spun the wooden sword in hand and frowned.

"A lady never duels with wood."

Lynette tossed the wooden blade into the air and it levitated down lightly nearer her patio chair. Then she reached to her own belt and withdrew her Lightsaber.

"Ah. Much better. Hehe."

She smiled and ignited the tall blue blade. Taking a moment to let the blade's blue hue slowly fade away down to a soft white. Stun mode.

"Now..."

The cat-like woman took a Djem So opening stance. Blade held high in both hands. Her aura growing much more powerful in this form. She was gathering the Force to her. Becoming something more than human. Becoming Jedi.

"Ready when you are dear."

[member="Yuroic Xeraic"] |​

 

[WelshPsych]

Yuroic raised an eyebrow as she set the wooden sword aside, he had been expecting to duel with the swords and get bruised and hurt but each one would be a lesson to learn from. However, Lynette was the student and she didn't feel comfortable duelling with the wooden swords, so Yuroic had to compensate. Adjust his style, placing the sword to one side, Yuroic pulled out one of his Lightsabers in his left hand and ignited the yellow blade as he observed Lynette. Adjusting his saber to a stun position as she did, he watched as she stepped into Djem So stance. Clearly he had been expecting that, so Yuroic was interested to see how well she would do against him.

Adopting a defensive stance, Yuroic looked over the woman, he could sense the Force pouring from her. Something to consider, holding firm he watched as he smirked to Lynette, "I shall be the gentleman and let you make the first move. Though Djem So is all about making the first move, aggression and putting your opponent on the back foot is all that it is about, from what I remember." Yuroic commented as he held his defensive position strong and studied the woman, interested in seeing how she would attack.

[member="Lynette Lykova"]

 

[Lynette Lykova]

Lynette smiled. Such a gentleman.

"As you say."

She used a thrust of Force Speed to leap the distance between them. Slashing high with a speedy volley of cuts against his high guard. She maintained good sword distance between them, mobile footwork with good motion, and threatened him with diabolical cuts using only with the first few centimeters of her blade. She used both hands in a solid grip, good leverage of the shoulders, and her eyes danced back and forth. Observing his footwork, balance, and power aura for weaknesses or expectations of Force Powers.

Offensively, she needed to get his sword moving. Watch how he guarded himself, leveraged his legs, and see if she could provoke him into opening up. Whether that meant finding a hole in his form or making him attack a perceived weaknesses in her own guard. Right now all she really had to do was keep him moving and watch to see just how good he was. Find his rhythm.

Ah. And she was also smirking this whole time too. Poor gal. She must have been having fun!

[member="Yuroic Xeraic"] |​

 

[WelshPsych]

Yuroic could sense the Force Speed, it seemed she wanted to try and overwhelm him with attacks, coming from all angles. Yuroic just breathed and moved his blade around, there was a grace to his movements, it was deflections, blocks and sometimes parries. He never sought to attack, his strategy was different, he wanted to see what Lynette was about. Echani spoke through their fighting he had heard, he tried to learn Echani years ago, got the basics but never went further with it, Yuroic was a Jedi and it seemed too alien at the time. However, he did understand that listening to your opponent through their attacks showed you who they were. And Yuroic was listening well.

He was smiling back at her smirks, fighting a skilled opponent was always fun. He didn't mind the challenge, or being the challenge for others to overcome. Yuroic was interested to see everything that Lynette had to offer. His blocks were strong and fast, showing how nimble he was, which was surprising to many for his muscular frame people often thought he would be slower than he was. However, Yuroic waited and switched his style midway, moving from sole defensive to a strong offence. His strikes were fast and aimed at Lynette's limbs, he had seen her attacking style, he was curious how well she would defend. His blade twirled in his left hand as he struck at the opponent, moving swiftly through the air.

[member="Lynette Lykova"]

 

[Lynette Lykova]

Lynette enjoyed Form V's constant attack style. So when Xeraic switched from defense to offense, she saw at as the perfect opportunity to keep pushing.

She moved to his right side, circling Yuroic like a top. Constantly moving to abate his swift attacks and to keep them at clean distance. She pushed upward in her striking blocks so as to make him feel strong artificial resistance with each strike. Then, feinting a sudden weakness, she let her sword edge go just a bit too far away from her middle guard. Opening herself up to a solid stab in the center. The perfect opportunity for Yuroic to jab inwards for a quick point.

Yet, already she was beginning to spin and twist around at her waist. Ready to use her saber to clip downwards at any stab attempt to her center, all the while wheeling around bringing herself low and close with a brushing sweep of his legs.

Lynette was counting on Xeraic's offense to be aggressive enough to fall for the feint. However, should he be too passive in his assaults? He might actually grant himself grand initiative.

[member="Yuroic Xeraic"] |​

 

[WelshPsych]

Yuroic followed Lynette in the dance that was their duel. It was casual and there was no risk of life so, in many ways it was similar to a dance. Yuroic twisted his blade and attempted to strike at Lynette several times before the opening appeared. It was instantly obvious to be a feint, Lynette moved with too much grace to reveal such an opening so early on. However, Yuroic knew what to do. Gripping the hilt of his blade, Yuroic twisted it and produced two Lightsabers, using one to block the strike and his second blade went for the jab that was revealed to him. Hoping that using two blades would put her on the back foot and give him the edge to do such a strike well.

His legs remained grounded firmly so when her sweep came, his legs were not able to be swept. His stance strong and almost perfect, he then moved on and twirled his two blades as he leapt forward. Spinning the blades around, he performed more acrobatic flips with his attacks, jumping from space to space, the mats allowing him to perform risky manoeuvres. His legs kicked at the back of Lynette's to force her to kneel and weaken her position as his strikes aimed at her sides and arms.

[member="Lynette Lykova"]

 

[Lynette Lykova]

[member="Yuroic Xeraic"] had taken the initiative and lead with a grand acrobatic display. His sudden inclusion of an additional blade had changed the dance too.

She received the kick to the back of the legs and allowed it to sweep her up into a somersault. Her single blade catching the edge of his with grand momentum as she spun around like slicing blue helicopter in mid-air. Deflecting his wide strokes and landing swiftly a few meters away.

Smiling, she summoned a metal patio chair to even the odds. Hefting it like a hammer, she pointed it's four legs outwards and up. Using it like a shield, and then suddenly, like a saber catch. Befuddling his strikes to her left side with the chair, she switched legs, and began used her saber like a rapier in the right hand. Almost jousting like a musketeer really. Poke, poke, poke. Then, suddenly, she spun away, instantly turned the power setting up on her saber to maximum, threw the patio chair off her shoulder into the air, cleaved it in half with a crisp slice, and..

...Kapow! The air exploded with power! She Force-Pushed both halves of a sharp metal chair right towards Yuroic's impressive chest.

Ha! Missiles away!

She stood up straight and tall and smiled at him. If he was fond of mixing things up? Well. Let's just say. She had a lot of furniture in the house for "mixing".

"Ya know." She touched a lay finger to her happy nose, "You're quite unpredictable Master Xeraic. Am I beginning to sense a pattern here? Hehe."

 

[WelshPsych]

Yuroic watched as Lynette grabbed a metal patio chair and used that as a shield. He smirked as he curious to see how else she would improvise. It was interesting to watch, her pokes and jabs were not too difficult to block, as he parried with his Lightsaber in his right hand, showing that his right hand was the more skilled hand with his combat. He stood still as she jumped back, slicing the chair in half and blasted them towards them. Seeing this, Yuroic dropped the Lightsabers he held and opened his connection to the Force, he had been holding back with the Force but this would make things more interesting. He gripped the chairs with the Force and started to crush them with his anger and frustrations. The chairs crumpled into balls before he blasted them back at Lynette.

He chuckled deeply as he heard Lynette's comment. His demeanour changing back to the usual cheery self, Yuroic winked to Lynette, "well you have no idea how unpredictable I can get." Reaching with the Force, he pulled his Lightsabers back into his hands. Twirling them in his hands, Yuroic grinned widely. Moving closer, Yuroic went for closer more intimate attacks, they were coming in hard, fast and seemed relentless. He was going for full on aggression. Breathing, Yuroic was calm in his attacks and prepared for any counter measures from Lynette.

[member="Lynette Lykova"]

 

[Lynette Lykova]

Lynette raised an eyebrow as two crushed balls zoomed right towards her,

"Oh my?"

She made a gesture with her hand and the projectiles both passed right over her shoulders. And, smashed right threw one of her windows. Crash!

"HEY!"

Lynette spun around to inspect the damage to her abode just as one of [member="Yuroic Xeraic"] 's attacks clipped her legs and then quickly disarmed her. Zip!

"Omph!"

She took a knee and scowled up at Yuroic playfully. Her lightsaber and wooden sword skidding across the rooftop. Skip, skip skip. She frowned.

"Well. Now that I've seen unpredictable?" She pointed to the broken window, "How about we start over with, Oops. Sorry Knight. Guess I got a little carried away. Hmm?"

She folded her arms and stood back up. Patting herself off.

"Oh. And good training, by the way. Been forever since I've had a good reason to destroy the furniture and blow out a few windows. Feels good. Hehe."

She smiled. She was already planning the redecoration anyway.

[member="Yuroic Xeraic"] |​

 

[WelshPsych]

Yuroic watched as the broken furniture smashed through the window, he didn't realise that Lynette wouldn't stop them. He had planned them to be a distraction to get his attacks to land. Lynette had lowered her guard and he was able to disarm her, ending the duel. He looked at the window and sighed heavily. "I am so sorry about the damage to the window, I wasn't expecting that to happen. I will pay for the window to be fixed. The chair was all on you, think you got a bit carried away as well."

He chuckled deeply, crossing his arms, Yuroic nodded his head politely. "Yes, it was a good duel, look forward to when you have a few more years training in this and have another duel." Offering a warm smile to Lynette.

[member="Lynette Lykova"]