Hand to hand, but not that kind of dancing (Natlya / Bella)

[Lou]

With her freshly washed hair, Dianlinn walked out into the bright summers day and shivered. She knew that many of the Towers residence were complaining about the heat or loving to be out in it. The recruits all flopped about like fish pulled from a stream after their training, claiming this was going to be the hottest summer yet. And yet to Dianlinn it still felt cold. Compared to the Three-fold Land, this was like that time just before the sun set. It had been one of her more favourite times, when she could sit with her sisters, after a hard day of training, or travelling from one hold to another. Or maybe simply protecting their holds from another clan, usually the dog-robbing Shaido. They would sit about, after having their evening dinner, and talk about the days experiences, or laugh about who had the better shoulders out of the Duadhe Mahdi'in. Running her hands though her damp blonde hair, which had grown past her jaw line now, and as such she tied it back, though she had cut her warriors tail off in a small show of dedication to the Grey Tower, she pulled it to the back of her head and used her leather thong to tie it back. She then slipped part of her veil around her hair so it would not annoy her if it escaped her leather tie.

With her usual quick stride, she made her way to the practise area, and to one of the ringed off circles. She began to clear the space, making sure the sand was evenly spread out. Whoever had used it last had been supposed to do this when they finished, but they obviously had not. She sighed as she worked with the rake, it was hardly a hard job, but not one she should be doing as she waited for the Gaidin to arrive. She knew little of Natlya Cade Gaidin except that she was one of the best Hand to Hand fighters in the Tower. She was to have a lesson and an evaluation of her abilities. Dianlinn did not plan to disappoint, she would do herself and Far Daris Mai proud. Though she knew she did not stand a chance of defeating the Gaidin, but she hoped to put up a hell of a good try.

[Bella]

Natlya Cade Gaidin arrived at the training circle precisely at the agreed-upon time, and she was glad to see that the young woman she was here to meet was, in fact, already here. Nat had been a Gaidin and a trainer long enough to know that typically, the students that were late were the ones that did not put in all the effort needed.

She would know, given that it used to be her...once upon a time. Oh-so-long ago.

The redhead, upon first sight, wasn't imposing. She was of average height for one born in the inward nations, even though she had no idea what her nation of origin truly was, and her figure was slender. You'd have to see her move, or see beneath the clothes she wore, to realize that the shape she had was all due to lean, corded muscle built over the years.

In her mid-30s with bright hazel eyes, she looked more like an actress or a baker than a Gaidin...but appearances were deceiving, and she had lived her whole life under that concept. First as thief, then as trainee, and now as one of the battle-sisters of the Grey Tower.

"Dianlinn?" she asked politely from the outside of the ring, even though she knew who the girl was. She knew who most all of the trainees were, even if she hadn't dealt with them directly herself yet.

[Lou]

Dianlinn as watching the woman who was making their way towards her, and she blinked at the almost small woman. Well, most woman on this side of the Dragon Wall were small compared to her, but still, this woman did look smaller than Dianlinn had expected. Nit she could see the easy grace that the woman did move with that spoke of being a fighter, waiting for the dance to begin, ready to embrace Death, to finish this dream and awaken. She stayed silent as the woman seemed to take in her own measure, and she waited for her to speak. After all, Dianlinn was the student here.

The question made Dianlinn node her head. "I am Ji'val Dianlinn, formerly of the Jagged Spire Sept of the Taardad Aiel, and now of the Grey Tower." She told the woman, letting her see that her resolve was for the Tower and none other. Not even to her people. She watched the woman outside of the ring, and clasped her hands behind her back, as they seemed to like you to do. She did not understand why, but even in her years this side of the Dragon Wall so much still did not make sense.

[Bella]

Nat inclined her head in greeting, although her hazel eyes never moved. One learned through the course of a hard life and then harder training and even harder battles that you did not lower your eyes if you could help it. It was always about staying aware of all things at all times, which she considered herself pretty good at by now.

"Well met," she said. "I am Natlya Gaidin and I will be working with you in unarmed fighting today. I presume you have experience and training in this already?"

[Lou]

Dianlinn watched the woman before her, she seemed so small and not at all like the large Giadin she was more used to, but there was something in the woman's eyes and that was what told her that she was not to be underestimated. She had seen the same kind of look i the eyes of the older Maidens, the way they never looked away from the person in front of them, and looked completely at ease in their surroundings, as if they had counted the rocks, the shrubs, the grass and even the grands of same. Anything and everything that could affect them in battle. It was where she was aspiring to be, and she knew she had a long way to go before she got there.

The woman said nothing about how she introduced herself, though some did smirk at all she said. They did not understand how important ones clan and sept was to an Aiel, and even if she could not go back there now, she was still proud of coming from there. She nodded her head as the woman introduced herself, confirming that the woman was who she thought she was, and like Natlya she did not move her eyes from the other woman. So she would be ready for if and when she struck.

"I have some experience, from my time with my Far Daris Mai Sisters." She told her, knowing better than to claim to be proficient, as the last time she had done that with a Gaidin, she had put Dinalinn on her backside. "But I know I have much to learn." It was showing humility, not false modesty, to one with superior fighting skill than herself.

[Bella]

Natlya nodded as she looked over the young women before her, taking in her size and stance. "Something very important that we all learn here is that we all have much to learn," the Gaidin said with a wry smile, "and that will be the case until we die." She nodded toward the sandy arena behind her. "Let's begin. I'd like to assess you current knowledge, so please show me the stances and strikes that you already know."

[Lou]

Dianlinn noticed the wry smile that she was given, and she looked at the Gaidin with a frank ad honest expression. She did not say it to be clever, she was being purely honest. She always knew she had much to learn. It was one of the principles of life after all, no one knew everything, not until they woke from the dream anyway. But that was neither here nor there. When the woman asked to access her knowledge, Dianlinn nodded her head, and snapped into a starting position.

She moved, her left foot slid forward, toe pointing forward, her right foot turned to the side. Her torso sat at an angle between her toes, with her chin tucked close to her chest. Her right fist rose to cheek-level with her elbow tucked close to her side, while her left fist remained at chest level with her shoulder pushed up to cover her ear. "I would aim for the eyes, an easy target and if a an opponent can not see you they can not hit you. Ears are also a good target to either grab or to hot to stun an enemy. Noses are a good target, especially with an open palm upward, and can make the eyes water so they can not see." She paused as she moved from foot to foot, fist to fist, as she demonstrated. "Knees, elbows, any joint is a good target, if pushed the wring way they could be incapacitated."

She looked to the other woman, waiting to see if she wanted her to go on.

[Bella]

"An open palm to the nose could also kill an opponent," Nat pointed out. "So be careful using that one in a sparring situation with someone you would be upset to see dead." It was plainspoken but honest. "If you have more to demonstrate, please do so. Otherwise, we can move on to training."

[Lou]

Dianlinn simply nodded her head as the woman before her spoke of a strike to the nose being a killing blow. She had seen it in action, after all you used everything you had when fighting the shadowtainted. "I shall be careful, Gaidin." She said, and then looked around the area as she thought if she had anything else to show. She maybe did, but there was little use in doing so. She would rather learn, after all, no one truly knew it all.

"I would like to move on with the training, Gaidin Natlya." She said in an even tone, as she waited for the lesson to continue. She was ready to spar and no doubt be left hurting by the end of the day.

[Bella]

Natlya nodded once in acknowledgement. It was time to move forward, and for Bella to stop procrastinating.

"There are, when you really break it down, two main concepts to fighting unarmed. There's the hit, and there's the hold. You either try to hurt your opponent or hurt them back, or you try to stop your opponents. Holds. Grapples. Locks. That sort of thing. First, we're going to go over escaping basic holds." She gestured for them to standing 'facing off' from each other.

The Gaidin held out her hand. "Grab my wrist," she directed, waiting for Dianlinn to oblige. "Two ways to get out of this. If you're the same size or bigger than the person grabbing you, you can twist until your hand is palm up then yank it up to your shoulder." She did so, and her hand came free. Of course, she knew the trainee hadn't yet been trying that hard to hold her, but still. "If they don't let go, and you do it right, their wrist breaks.

"The other way is for when you're the smaller one, and it relies on more of your body." She held her hand out again with a nod. Once done, she stepped slowly toward Dianlinn. As she did, she bent her arm to shift her elbow lower. This pressed the trainee's hand against Nat's upper arm, and the Gaidin yanked up sharply--again getting her wrist free. "Use leverage against an attacker."

She nodded again and they moved back. "Alright, we're going to practice these a few times before we move on... You break free of my hold."