Ways of the Spear [attn; Locke]

[Avyra]

“You see, learning basic stances is like having tent pegs. You can build the biggest tent in the camp, but if you did not peg it to the ground, the wind will blow it away.” He began to demonstrate, showing off a few of his fighting moves, all seeming to be built off the first stance. “I could teach you all manner of fancy kicks and flashy techniques, but without solid fundamentals that’s all as meaningless as your tent being blown into the desert.” He began to move into showing off those "flashy techniques," making her step back a bit. Yeah, she'd hate to face this man in an actual fight; she'd have to be quick to avoid getting caught and crushed by his hands. He returned to his first stance, as though to prove this point. "Show off," she murmured, affection shining in her voice. She did, however, understand his words, in what he might call a "twisted wetlander way." "Its like my flute playing." Avyra paused. "We learn, in our first lessons, how to play simple notes and scales. We don't even touch music until we can play them forwards and backwards, as fast as we can go. Then the music we learn is all based on our original scales." She paused. "Without fundamentals, you can still learn music, but you can learn it faster if you know scales." She tilted her head to the side, walking over to him again, seeing as the danger of her getting kicked in the face had passed. "You mentioned falling. How will we learn that?" She paused. "Please don't toss me."

[Locke]

Terric

Upon finishing his kata, Terric realized that Avyra had dropped her stance and back peddled to avoid being hit. They would have to work on her confidence. She hadn’t been in danger to begin with.

He was pleased to see that she had still been paying attention. More than that, she had been taking what he said and making it her own. She compared learning to fight to learning scales for an instrument. The battle pipers he knew back in the Three-Fold Land probably would have told him something similar.

She walked back to him,"You mentioned falling. How will we learn that?" She flinched slightly. "Please don't toss me."

Had somebody tossed her around before? Well he wouldn’t until she knew how to fall. And he wasn’t going to start that until he was satisfied that she understood the stances. “I’ll teach you how to fall, but first, you need to show me you can hold that stance. Without running away this time,” he added, wagging an admonishing finger. He returned to his squatting place, something she’d said piqued his investigator’s curiosity. She seemed specifically afraid of being tossed. This wasn’t just nerves from potentially sparing with a larger opponent. Something had happened. It might be important to find out what.

[Avyra]

“I’ll teach you how to fall, but first, you need to show me you can hold that stance. Without running away this time." He wagged a finger at her, and she gave him a sniff. She hadn't run away! But he returned to his evaluating place, calm gray eyes regarding her, and she decided to fall back into her stance. She would hold this pose, if it was the only thing she could do here at the Tower! Avyra was determined to have this set of lessons go right. Preferably not with her ribs broken. Her legs ached from the strange pose, and she was having trouble keeping her knees from shaking. She would have thought fighting stances would allow for more motion, but in this pose Avyra really just felt immobile and cramped. It was awkward, too, but she held it, and didn't complain or ask questions about it. She figured Terric would explain his reasoning for having her hold poses soon enough, as she knew that in a real fight she wouldn't be standing still for long periods at a time.

[Locke]

Terric

Terric continued to watch her carefully. He didn’t see any more of the timidity. It had only been a moment. Now all he could see was determination. It looked good on her.

As Avyra’s legs began to tremble, he called a halt. “You’re doing a well,” he reassured her. Many of Terric’s teachers had believed that reassurance was just as important as criticism. A student had to actually understand that they were working towards something and that they were actually improving. Sometimes Terric had seen instructors heap praise on struggling students while nitpicking the best. He knew this too wasn’t without potential complications. He figured that as with many things, a proper balance was required.

“If you have any questions, ask them now, because next you’ll be learning how to fall correctly.” He waited for her to ask one of the millions of questions she had to be dying to ask.

[Avyra]

"You're doing well." He seemed to enjoy praising her, and she didn't mind in the least. She didn't feel like she was doing well, so it was a good thing to hear from her teacher. She was, however, thankful for the break, and took the chance to stretch out her aching muscles. If they could even be called that; she looked like skin and bones for the most part with barely any muscle that could be seen. “If you have any questions, ask them now, because next you’ll be learning how to fall correctly.” Avyra shrugged, then decided to ask her question. It wouldn't hurt, that was for sure, and she hadn't asked any yet for most of the lesson. "Why do we hold the position? In a real fight, I won't be in one place but I'll be moving around."

[Locke]

Terric

"Why do we hold the position? In a real fight, I won't be in one place but I'll be moving around."

He was glad she had asked. “That is a good question. The answer might not be as mystical as you’d hope. It’s quite simple actually. We’re teaching your body different stances and positions. We want them to become natural without you even thinking about them. That’s why, every night before bed, I want you to hold each of these three stances for a minute before bed. Switch sides with them too, put your dominant side forward sometimes, or back. I want these to become a reflexive as leaning on a wall. This practice also helps strengthen your muscles, teach balance, and teach mental toughness.” He had had similar questions for his first teacher Boden. Those questions just earned him laps in the sun. Months later, under Vishik’s tutelage, he worked up the courage to ask the question again. The grizzled old Aielman gave him the same answer he gave now.

“Yes in a real fight you are moving around, but you’re generally moving from one stance to another in the process. That’s for a later lesson. If you have more questions, ask them. If not, lay on your side. It’s time to learn how to fall like a warrior.”

[Avyra]

Hm. That did make sense, now that he explained it. Falling into the positions naturally would be better, and she wouldn't need to think about them in a fight. She could focus on moves that would help defend herself rather than struggle with the basics. “Yes in a real fight you are moving around, but you’re generally moving from one stance to another in the process. That’s for a later lesson. If you have more questions, ask them. If not, lay on your side. It’s time to learn how to fall like a warrior.” Lay on her side? Well, he seemed to have a plan so she did what he asked, laying down in the dirt. She didn't like this position one bit; she felt extremely vulnerable there. Especially coupled with the fact that he towered even more over her.

[Locke]

Terric

Avyra had the makings of a warrior, she was ready to obey even the strangest commands, but she didn’t follow blindly. Terric knelt next to her and began to explain how she should be positioned.

“When you hit the ground after being thrown, tripping, knocked over, whatever, you are training to land like this. With your chin tucked so you don’t hit your head. You want to that arm,” he pointed at her arm that was on the ground, “and extend it, palm against the ground, when you hit, let that slap against the ground. Don’t stick your hand out to stop yourself, you’ll probably break it. Instead, you are trying to distribute the impact. Your other arm should be tucked across your chest. Your bottom leg should be straight and the top bent at the knee, make sure that foot is behind the other. Don’t, I repeat, don’t let your ankles hit. It’s not fun, and the pain can distract you from important things such as not being stabbed.” Now, I’m sit back up so I can demonstrate the next step.”

Terric walked several paces away from her so he wouldn’t manage to kick her on accident. He lied down in a position similar to hers. “When I count you’ll switch sides. Like this,” he demonstrated throwing his legs into the air and rolling on his back to come down on his other side, mirroring his last position. “You see, as you come down on your side, you want to slap the ground with that arm. Make sure you hit evenly.” With, a quick athletic motion, he leapt to his feet. “Now lay back down, and I’ll start counting.”

[Avyra]

Terric knelt at her side, watching and correcting her stance on the ground. If it could even be called a stance. It was really just her on the ground. The position wasn't uncomfortable; she could have probably fallen asleep in it if she wanted to. He corrected her initial position calmly, explaining that she needed to fall with one arm out, the other against her chest, her head protected, on her side. She couldn't try to break her fall because the force might break bone. He stood, then, walking a few paces away and laid down on the ground beside her. She sat up to watch. "When I count you'll switch sides, like this." He began to fling himself around, back and forth. She just raised an eyebrow, leaning back to avoid being possibly hit by his long legs. “You see, as you come down on your side, you want to slap the ground with that arm. Make sure you hit evenly," he said when he stopped, watching her with those lively gray eyes of his. He then sprang back to his feet. "Now lay back down, and I’ll start counting.” She adopted the position again, and he started counting for her. So she tried the move he had shown her. She wasn't fast by any means at changing, but she did change sides well. It hurt, a lot, especially her arm that was hitting the ground. But she knew breaking it would be way less fun, and this lesson was to teach her to avoid that from happening. So she took it very seriously.

[Locke]

Terric

As he counted, Terric had to suppress a proud smile. She hadn’t issued a single complaint as she worked her way through the exercise. He knew from personal experience how silly the drills looked and how odd they could feel if you weren’t used to them. With the nostalgia of an old soldier, he reflected on hours spent in the hot sun doing this very same training. She only managed to smack her ankles together once. When he had first been taught these drills, he had been sixteen and on the tail end of a large growth spurt. Ungainly in his new height, he had turned his ankles into a mass of bruises.

After he finished running her through her exercises, he reached a hand down to help her to her feet. “Thoughts?” Feedback was infinitely important. Both on his methods as a teacher and on her experience as a student. Once they moved further into her lessons, he would have her critique her own performance. A great warrior had to be able to identify their successes and their flaws and not get wrapped up in either.