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"No force..." She had been listening and there was a lot of information from the instructor... there was also a good amount from the others as she looked at Nida and bowed her head. "Thank you." She looked at the others though as they were meant to pair up and no force would put her at a serious... disadvantage which would mean whoever she was with would be doing the nexu's share of the master and padawan dynamic. She looked at Nida though and spoke. "Ah if we can't use the force could you put my saber on my horn... it has a mounting ring in the center to allow me to use it and the knobs can adjust iot to training levels."
With their 'team' decided upon, Zoar turned back to Caltin Vanagor
as he finally spoke up. And speak he did, rushing through ancient Jedi philosophy so quickly that the Miln could barely keep it all straight. Zoar thought that, as a Jedi, philosophy and combat went hand-in-hand. How one fights is just as important as who one fights.
He did disagree on one point the ancient Jedi made, but he wouldn't be caught dead sharing exactly what.
Corin's answer to Master Vanagor's question revealed his tactical knowledge, something Zoar wouldn't have picked up on in a million years. The intended answer was a philosophical one. Have mercy. He would have to remember that for the lesson.
From there, the teams of four were instructed to divide into teams of two. Zoar looked between his group, before shrugging at them.//Well... Corin said before that he didn't want to fight Gabe, so maybe he should fight alongside Gabe.// The mech turned it's torso to Silas. //Leaving me with... I'm sorry, I don't know your name. I'm Zoar.//
Zoar reached to his side, and grabbed a gargantuan greatsaber from his belt loop, adjusting a nozzle on the side to make the weapon non-lethal.
//Ummmm... Should we get started?//With a thunderous crack-hiss, the magenta lightclub blazed to life.
At least she hadn't been picked last. All the groups seemed to have come together well. It was then that she realized she'd forgotten to introduce herself to Jasper and Iris. "Oh! And I'm Hollis," she said, tapping her chest a few times and punctuated her point with a wide smile.
Then, she listened as Master Vanagor began the lesson.
He was quite intimidating, but he spoke in a way that made it seem less so. And he took the time to answer questions posed by their classmates. Hollis had started learning about the Jedi code, and it was interesting to hear it interpreted by a master like Caltin.
Watching as Master Vanagor pressed a couple of buttons, the droids moved forward. The Jedi Master was able to avoid the attacks. The instructions had been provided, they were to take turns being attackers and defenders... first without the force, and then with it. Hollis felt her shoulders tense up.
She cast a sideways glance at Daisy, then a look to Iris and Jasper. It seemed their duos had formed, unless anyone else had an issue. Hollis would pair with anyone that wanted to. "Ah, okay..." she said, trying to mentally prepare herself. "I suppose I can defend first?" Hollis stood as ready as she could be and only hoped that she didn't end up embarrassing herself too badly.
"I'd like to start with defending as well," Jasper added. He wanted to start with something he was less comfortable with, seeing as he was far more proficient at striking than blocking. "I-if that's cool with you all."
As per usual, a confident answer followed up by a less confident remark. Interaction was hard, especially with the looming threat of training robots lying in wait. Jasper wasn't sure if anyone else had picked up on it, but he was almost a hundred percent sure that Caltin had implied that after a while the droids would attack them. He had definitely said something along the lines off...
Two spoke for defense. Iris just nodded in agreement. If they wanted to defend, that was fine with her. Though now it was just.. Well. No Force. A lot of what made Iris actually competent as a fighter was the Force. Sure, she got stronger on Denon and all, but.. Yeah. The Force, focused through her body, channeled into her muscles. That's what made her actually dangerous.
Or at least, y'know, something that could fight.
She let out a sigh as she pulled her saber, igniting the Entropite blade in a flash of silent blue. She glanced to Daisy, offering only the briefest of smiles. That was the other thing. She couldn't do any of her normal tricks to keep them in sync. No, no. This should be fine. She did get stronger on Denon. She learned how to fight without the Force.
Gabe gave Corin a long side-eyed look before sighing and unclipping his lightsaber.
"I guess," he muttered. Truth was, he didn't have much training. He'd had to pass a basic Forms test when they gave him his practice saber and he had the distinct feeling that he'd much rather be fighting those droids than the ten-foot monstrosity that was Zoar.
"Sure," Corin answered with a sideways nod while an idle hand reached for the hilt of his saber. He rolled it around effortlessly with an almost interested set of eyes settled over the armoured Jedi, fast flickers had seen them dart to different sections of the armour as if in search of a weakness in there somewhere. Hardly the best decision for a spar, Corin mused once the Padawan caught himself in the act, but the impulsive actions of his brain were far from his control.
His blue toned saber hummed to life with muted output as Corin moved forwards, closer to Zoar. "I think this is where we have to ask one another to stand down." Corin remarked with a smirk, only for a brief look to find Gabe. "You can take Silas," an often unseen encouragement spilled forth, like words that didn't fit his mouth.
Only for the Padawan to close the distance with a flurry of swift albeit probing strikes. Given Zoar had not taken the chance to surrender, that is.
"Two things define you: your patience when you have nothing and your attitude when you have everything." — George Bernard Shaw
As the class went on for the next twenty to thirty minutes, Caltin said nothing. He merely walked around and observed, knowing full well that there was a high level of confusion as well as a rather annoying look that was a combination of intimidation and humoring a slow individual. He could very well go on about the types of looks he was getting, but that was the Caltin Vanagor of 860 years ago who thought he had some destiny because of some silly vision he had. Now? Well, he’s lived long past it, what’s the point of concerning himself with the mundane?
There was none.
Anyway, back to the class. It was about time to get to the good part. SOOOoo the big man hit a couple of buttons on his vambraces and brought out the rest of the droids. Soon there were now enough for two droids for every one attendee, Caltin included. When the trainees were finished, and all eyes were on him, the massive Jedi Master made things short and sweet.
Alright. Now you are going to work together. No more “2 on 2.” It is now the four of your team versus eight of mine.
Another press and each group was now surrounded by eight of the training droids(Caltin had his original four), all carrying different types of weapons. None of them made any moves of course because they were not commanded to. There was something else in mind.
Alright. Some of this you will recognize, some you will not. There are times when your awareness is the only viable weapon in your arsenal. That is the purpose of this whole class. If you are not aware of your surroundings, you are worthless in a fight. Sure, you can mock me and what I have to offer all you like…
If anyone cared to ask themselves if he was talking about them, then they already knew the answer.
… that is your choice, but you’re wasting your own time in doing so… not mine. Enough of the “Master’s advice” crap… I want you to be constantly aware of everything around and I want you doing so without using the Force.These droids hit hard but you will get little more than bruises. Now… let’s get started with some hand to hand.
He went on to teach them some of the techniques to “Broken Gate”, a strong stance, open hands and moves delving from the “simple” such as kicks and punches to sidesteps (using a droid/attackers momentum against them).
Those moves advanced into “moderate” such as the “rooted stance”, some might think you look like a tree rooted in the ground (when you look at Caltin like that, he looks more absurd) and elbows as well as something interesting.
As one attempted a kick, the attacker's leg was grabbed by the big man, and he slowly made a move that immobilized the droid at the knee(“Joint Break”) before bending it back to the ground. Another droid attempted a punch and he ate it, but took the arm and immobilized it (Joint Break) with another elbow and threw the droid to the side.Then a quick jump into the air and a sort of “stomp kick” stopped that droid for a moment or two.
The next set of droids were less lucky, another sidestep and a rising knee into one droid's mid-section allowed the big man to catapult and strike (“The Catapult strike”) another with one hand as he kicked another (“flying kick”) in the head.
Two more approached and Caltin closed the distance on them, even ducking into a roll right by and kicking one hard in the chest, almost like a planetary quake (“Earthquake kick”). The lone remaining droid got a shot in, but his stance was again “rooted” allowing the big man to take a strong hit like he had a body of durasteel (“Iron Mountain” defensive stance). A kick to the droid’s right leg and a drop to his knees pulled the machine to the floor into a compromising position (“leg takedown”).
Another round, this time with his own electrostaff. There were recognizable elements of the seven most widely used forms of lightsaber techniques (even Ataru, he hates Ataru) combined with these moves, none of them were uniform; they should be clearly his way of adapting to the situation. When it was down to one on one, Caltin against a mobile droid, the attacker was going for an overhead slash…
When you see them do this…
With a fast but solid open hand Teras Kasi punch (“Shenbit Bonecrusher”) the droid was reduced to shrapnel and wiring. With a satisfied smirk, he turned back to everyone. The entire exercise took approximately ten minutes because of how slowly he went, but still the big man wanted to offer one last explanation.
… you can wreck’em.
Okay, I showed you most of the skills of “Broken Gate” and some of “Teras Kasi” as well as lightsaber maneuvers like the “Hawk-Bat Slash” of Ataru. I used “Jung Ma” from Form 0, a Makashi Riposte as well. You saw the “Three Strike Combo” of Soresu, the "Dance Between Blasts" Aggressive Flurry of Djem So also. There was a “Defended Strike” out of Niman, and finally my personal favorites, the “False Hope” defensive side-step and "Tornado" spinning attack, and Devastate from Vaapad.
You have been given a lot of information here, I know this, but the purpose is to let you pick up on what you want or feel the most comfortable with and go from there. If you need me to go back over anything just ask me, these droids are programmed to show you these as well.
If there are no questions, feel free and start any time you like.
Groups of four are now teams of four
Teams are now surrounded by eight droids
Attendees will not have to face more than two droids at a time by themselves.
Droids will attack with various skills
Attendees can use whatever they picked up on (in Bold), whatever feels comfortable.
Nida Perl
Domina Prime
