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Post by Mez-Jid Fie'r on Sept 12, 2013 19:56:15 GMT -5
"Froody, nobody's in yet. Okay, Jace. I want to see you do the first kata you ever learnt - and by that, I mean the one for use without a lightsaber - and the one you learnt most recently, probably for use with a lightsaber."
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Jace
Junior Member
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Post by Jace on Sept 12, 2013 20:16:28 GMT -5
He nodded and looked around the room before finding a wooden practice sword. It was in the same of a vibrosword but would do. He went through the motions he’d learned and knew they were sloppy. The weight was throwing him off but he couldn’t blame it all on that, a lot of it was simply his technique. He wasn’t very good with a lightsaber and the bruises Tin Can continued to give him were testament to that. When he’d gone through the moves he stopped and looked at her expectantly.
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Post by Mez-Jid Fie'r on Sept 12, 2013 20:22:28 GMT -5
"You know where you went wrong already in the physical sense. We'll start with the mental. What does a Jedi have, which would be the single difference between you learning this kata, and somebody who isn't a Jedi but is a master of a martial art of any description involving swords or vibroblades?"
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Jace
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Post by Jace on Sept 12, 2013 20:33:18 GMT -5
“The Force.” He looked around to make sure they were still alone before turning back to her and speaking. “That’s like cheating though. If I can’t do this without the Force what good is it? What if we’re fighting someone and they have ysalamir? Or what if a Sith strips you of the Force like Nomi Sunrider did to Ulic Qel-Droma?"
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Post by Mez-Jid Fie'r on Sept 12, 2013 20:42:17 GMT -5
"Interesting question." She picked up one of the other wooden swords, and swung it to get the weight, then looked right at him.
"All kata are actually designed with the concept of fighting one or more enemies with them. It's a set technique form, yes, but also more. With that in mind, I want you to go through that second one again, this time paying more attention to the Force than you have been."
She stepped up, and tapped her stick against his. "I will not be paying any attention to the Force."
She didn't mention that it was because she couldn't more than a bare trickle, he'd figure that out on his own, eventually.
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Jace
Junior Member
Posts: 93
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Post by Jace on Sept 12, 2013 20:51:09 GMT -5
Jace nodded and took two steps back from her, he opened himself up to the Force and did his best to focus on just himself, his sword, and her. He raised the blade high above his head then then took a step forward, as he did so he brought the blade down towards the top of her head. He used all the strength he could muster in that blow as well as using the Force to speed his movements up ever so slightly.
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Post by Mez-Jid Fie'r on Sept 12, 2013 21:04:29 GMT -5
Mez nodded, and took a step back, dodging in the way that the Kata allowed, but deliberately no more than that, and rolling to his other side, bringing up her 'sword' in her own attack, which if he were doing this right, he ought to be able to defend against.
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Jace
Junior Member
Posts: 93
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Post by Jace on Sept 12, 2013 21:12:18 GMT -5
He brought the wooden sword up over his head and caught her attack with relative ease. With a quick step back and two his right he disjoined the two weapons and held his sword back out in front of him. He moved in again, once again using the Force to speed his movements up. As he moved forward he brought his sword in from the left in a horizontal swing aimed at her ribs. The movements were smoother than before and more fluid but he still felt like it was cheating, although he had to admit it was far easier.
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Post by Mez-Jid Fie'r on Sept 12, 2013 21:21:55 GMT -5
Mez blocked only at the point where his swing would have to stop to do the kata correctly, and ducked low to kick out at his back knee, putting no effort beyond a mere feint into the movement because this was where he'd slipped up most in the previous runthrough and she had no desire to break his kneecap.
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Jace
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Posts: 93
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Post by Jace on Sept 12, 2013 21:39:13 GMT -5
He felt a tingling at the back of his mind and knew something was about to happen that shouldn’t. He wasn’t yet proficient enough in Force Sense to know exactly where the attack would come from but he knew it was coming. He let go of the focus he held on his sword and her and simply focused it on himself. Time seemed to slow down just as his Master began to dunk and send the kick towards him. He quickly shuffled to the right barely just avoiding the kick, he turned to face her focused on her and his blade once again with the Force. He moved forward slower this time due to being slightly dizzy and tired from shifting his focus around so much. When he was within striking distance he brought his sword in for a stab at her midsection.
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Post by Mez-Jid Fie'r on Sept 12, 2013 21:51:53 GMT -5
Mez barely managed to get back up in time and take her step backwards against the stab, but she tossed the wooden blade to her left hand and sliced out at his neck, the part that should have been played by a second fighter against the one using the kata, but here she had to make do with just herself.
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Jace
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Posts: 93
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Post by Jace on Sept 12, 2013 22:05:02 GMT -5
Again the tingling, he quickly shifted his focus to just himself and tried to pinpoint the attack. He felt a faint sense of pain at his neck and quickly dropped to the ground. He opened his hand that was holding the practice sword and let it lay on the ground as he pushed himself back into a roll. With the aid of the Force he completed the roll and sprung to his feet, he outstretched his left hand and the wooden sword flew towards his hand hilt first. He got himself into the correct stance and shifted his focus.
The sweat was now dripping from his body and his clothes clung to him. His cloak felt like it weighed a hundred pounds and he cursed himself for not removing it before they began. While he was use to practicing with Tin Can he could program the droid to use standard attacks which his Master wasn’t. It also didn’t help any that he was having to use the Force to focus on more than just giving himself a boost in energy.
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Post by Mez-Jid Fie'r on Sept 12, 2013 22:18:56 GMT -5
"I could, at this point, continue, and this would become a freeform battle. The point of this was to exercise a kata, however, and you've performed admirably well with it now that you're using the Force, though you clearly need to expand your focus. To answer your earlier question, however?"
Mez dropped her own sword, catching it with the toe of her boot to lower it to the ground silently.
"The first step for a Jedi is learning to perform the stances and kata and every other aspect of lightsaber fighting confidently, and with calm. A Sith will fight with emotion, with rage and anger, as will often a member of the DJO. Perfect practice is what makes perfect. Once your muscles have learnt the stances correctly, have learnt the blocks and attacks, and you have learnt those steps with calm, and with the Force flowing through you - as it was just now - then it's easier to fight without access to the Force, as you seem to be slightly worried about that. But you'll not be able to perform that last movement you just did without the Force unless you tie a string to your saber, so don't let me catch you dropping your saber mid-fight again without a very good reason behind it."
She glanced at the door, hearing the footsteps. "There's a water fountain behind you, go get a drink, then I want to see you in the front row for this class."
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Jace
Junior Member
Posts: 93
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Post by Jace on Sept 12, 2013 22:25:41 GMT -5
He nodded at her words and put his sword back where it belonged before grabbing a drink of water. After he’d had his feel he shrugged off his cloak and folded it up, he put it in a corner then glanced towards the door as people started to come in. He made his towards where they were gathering and found a spot in the front row.
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Post by Mez-Jid Fie'r on Sept 12, 2013 22:40:01 GMT -5
She waited a few moments for the inevitable hubbub to die down, because there was a new person, wearing Jedi robes, and then finally she clapped her hands.
"I'm sure Naru has started the inevitable rumour mill, people. His name's Jace, he's decided to be foolhardy enough to be my Padawan, which I'm sure you're all going to rib him for, but right now I'd like to get on with this class because some of you have patrol duty soon."
The chatter ceased.
"Right. Same thing as last week. Start with basic meditation and breathing exercises, and I will know if you're thinking dirty thoughts instead of clearing your mind so don't try it this week because I don't want Jace corrupted any further than he has to be. Find your centres, find your calm, and try not to think about what's for dinner. Jace, when you've found your place in the Force as a whole, I want you to focus on your memories of today as a whole and your kata in particular, because there may be a quiz later."
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