Danos watched as Elaile advanced towards the wooden dummy and began her series of punches. Her form was good for a beginner, and he wondered if he shouldn’t inquire about a Gaidin or Gaidar with more of a dancer’s build to aide her in further studies. She moved with much better control than he had, and as he watched her second jab he noted that she was taking the instruction to heart.
The young woman showed little hesitation with the punches, building her confidence with each strike as she moved through the blows he had demonstrated for her. Her uppercut was weaker, and Danos could see that much of that was wasted time and energy as she overcorrected her arm in its travel. He seldom used the uppercut, given that he was often at a height advantage with any opponent, but he remembered the day he had practiced till the dummy split his hand open.
The last blow knocked the wooden form back and Elaile spun gracefully with a laugh, she was a delight to watch when she moved freely, her grace and poise translating well even to something she had just begun to learn. "Well!" she said, catching her breath and looking to Danos "That was a lot more fun than I thought. I just imagined that the dummy was that guard and it got a lot easier to hit it,” she said, pride and spirit shining in her eyes.
“Well next time a guard is foolish enough make sure to give him one, it will be something he will remember for a long time. Anytime you can strike for the nose, eyes or even groin of your opponent do so. It will not win you any points in a spar, but in a real fight the nose and eyes can be blinded very easily. I myself can attest to the pain and distraction a broken nose can cause,” said Danos as he gestured to his own nose that had been broken and then rehealed shortly after his spar with Terric. “For a woman, or even a smaller man that is sometimes the better attack. A punch to my ribs would do little harm, but if you can get the attacker’s nose or eyes it doesn’t matter that your punches are not as hard,” Danos said as he paused for a moment to consider his Novice student.
She seemed in good spirits, and in good shape as her breathing was still even and not yet the ragged edge of exhaustion a person would often see on the Warder Yards towards the end of the day. “For you I would also tell you to remember that knees and kicks are much stronger than punches in many cases. With your hips and the thicker muscles of the legs, a person can deliver a much stronger punch. Practice a few kicks, trying to imagine on the dummy that you are striking for his knees or the middle of his body. A sweep to the feet will not often knock down an opponent as it is too easy to deflect or move out of the way,” Danos said as he pointed to the dummy and awaited her practice.
“The first is to catch the punch. Take the oncoming attack and simply catch the force of the blow like so with your palm. This takes a lot of force, but provides you with some control. The next move is to parry or deflect the blow away. Using your arm or hand, sweep the blow to the side, or above in a direction that makes the attack harmless. The best is if you can maintain your mobility, and both parry and move,” Danos said as he swept out with his hand, sending a portion of the wooden tree spinning, while lowering his body and tilting to the right to allow a secondary branch to swing harmlessly overhead.
“The fourth is to cover from a strong hook punch, which can be devastating if it connects with your head. Pull your arm next to your head so your elbow faces forward and your hand faces back. Keep your arm against your cheek when you do this or you will strike your head with your own hand from the blow,” Danos told the Novice as he showed her the form and how to place her arm.
“Practice these moves now, and then we can do a simple spar to see what you have learned. It is always best to use a partner to help the movements become memory. Similar to dance that way I suppose, you can only learn so much without a partner,” Danos said as he demonstrated the practice tool to the Novice before stepping back.
The young woman showed little hesitation with the punches, building her confidence with each strike as she moved through the blows he had demonstrated for her. Her uppercut was weaker, and Danos could see that much of that was wasted time and energy as she overcorrected her arm in its travel. He seldom used the uppercut, given that he was often at a height advantage with any opponent, but he remembered the day he had practiced till the dummy split his hand open.
The last blow knocked the wooden form back and Elaile spun gracefully with a laugh, she was a delight to watch when she moved freely, her grace and poise translating well even to something she had just begun to learn. "Well!" she said, catching her breath and looking to Danos "That was a lot more fun than I thought. I just imagined that the dummy was that guard and it got a lot easier to hit it,” she said, pride and spirit shining in her eyes.
“Well next time a guard is foolish enough make sure to give him one, it will be something he will remember for a long time. Anytime you can strike for the nose, eyes or even groin of your opponent do so. It will not win you any points in a spar, but in a real fight the nose and eyes can be blinded very easily. I myself can attest to the pain and distraction a broken nose can cause,” said Danos as he gestured to his own nose that had been broken and then rehealed shortly after his spar with Terric. “For a woman, or even a smaller man that is sometimes the better attack. A punch to my ribs would do little harm, but if you can get the attacker’s nose or eyes it doesn’t matter that your punches are not as hard,” Danos said as he paused for a moment to consider his Novice student.
She seemed in good spirits, and in good shape as her breathing was still even and not yet the ragged edge of exhaustion a person would often see on the Warder Yards towards the end of the day. “For you I would also tell you to remember that knees and kicks are much stronger than punches in many cases. With your hips and the thicker muscles of the legs, a person can deliver a much stronger punch. Practice a few kicks, trying to imagine on the dummy that you are striking for his knees or the middle of his body. A sweep to the feet will not often knock down an opponent as it is too easy to deflect or move out of the way,” Danos said as he pointed to the dummy and awaited her practice.
- Spoiler: show
“The first is to catch the punch. Take the oncoming attack and simply catch the force of the blow like so with your palm. This takes a lot of force, but provides you with some control. The next move is to parry or deflect the blow away. Using your arm or hand, sweep the blow to the side, or above in a direction that makes the attack harmless. The best is if you can maintain your mobility, and both parry and move,” Danos said as he swept out with his hand, sending a portion of the wooden tree spinning, while lowering his body and tilting to the right to allow a secondary branch to swing harmlessly overhead.
“The fourth is to cover from a strong hook punch, which can be devastating if it connects with your head. Pull your arm next to your head so your elbow faces forward and your hand faces back. Keep your arm against your cheek when you do this or you will strike your head with your own hand from the blow,” Danos told the Novice as he showed her the form and how to place her arm.
“Practice these moves now, and then we can do a simple spar to see what you have learned. It is always best to use a partner to help the movements become memory. Similar to dance that way I suppose, you can only learn so much without a partner,” Danos said as he demonstrated the practice tool to the Novice before stepping back.
