Sparring for Beginners!

[WelshPsych]

Yuroic was training in his room, he was attempting some deep meditation to settle his emotions. As of recent, they had been on high alert and he was hoping to relax a little. However, his mind constantly drifted to Jairdain and where could she and what was she suffering. His worries were becoming increasingly overwhelming as he sat on the floor attempting to seek peace. It was pointless and he could tell deep within that it was, instead he decided he needed to do some sparring. Combat always cleared his head and he felt better with a weapon in his hand and clashing with a worthy opponent.

He paused as he thought who to contact, his mind then drifted to the apprentice that Jairdain had left behind, not her decision to but he was still an outsider. There was a likelihood that the man needed company and push thoughts away about his Master, as much as Yuroic did. His mind set on who to contact, Yuroic sent a message to Dagos challenging him to a sparring match. It would be nothing formal, and although Yuroic would be his senior in the fact he joined the Order before Dagos, they were equal in their level. So informal and fun was something that Yuroic hoped to bring. Even learn a few things from Dagos, because he knew one could learn a lot from anywhere and anyone.

Arriving in the sparring arena, Yuroic unclipped his lightsabers, holding them in the saberstaff mode that they always started in. Igniting the blades in a practise saber level, he swung the blades around, moving with high precision for one in his level. Since her capture, Yuroic had sworn to become the best bladesman he could to protect Jairdain in the future and focused his energies in combat training over Force usage.

[member="Dagos Terrek"]

 

[Dagos Terrek]

Dagos walked in to the training arena wearing a pair of grey sweatpants and a grey tank top. He had recieved an invitation to come here and develop his skills, so he had dressed for the occasion. He wanted to appear eager, to seem happy to be here but the truth was that he had considered not coming. He wanted to stay in his room and meditate, to try and clear his mind and focus his feelings. Dagos had for days now felt both lost and guilty. His master was gone and he had not been there to prevent it(not that he could have) and that feeling tore at him and focus would not come, so he went in search for it instead.

Already in the arena was another young man, taller than Dagos with lighter skin and scar on his face. Dagos hadn't met Yuroic Xeriac in person before but Dagos knew he was close with Jairdain and from here he could feel the man felt just as he did about her being missing.

"Yuroic?!" Dagos called out as he walked over to the other Jedi. "I'm Dagos." He said as way of introduction.

[member="Yuroic Xeraic"]

 

[WelshPsych]

Yuroic paused in his actions and looked over to where he heard his name called out. Dis-igniting his lightsabers and clipping them back onto his belt. His eyes refocused to the world, he had lost himself in the flow of combat so much that he hadn't even be taking in the world around him. Giving Dagos a smile, he walked over and offered his hand for the man to shake. He looked Dagos over and wondered if he was more Forced based like Jairdain or combat like himself. After the handshake, Yuroic would turn and gesture to the various weapons available in the arena.

If you want you can select your preferred weapon from the options here, or, He spoke with a slight smile to show friendliness to the somewhat stranger, if you have your own lightsaber we can set them to low energy and use those? Choice is yours.

It wasn't a test he had just not know whether or not the man had completed his Gathering. Yuroic hadn't done his till very late so his first sparring match was using wooden sticks. He still remembered that day fondly, it was a match he lost but the knowledge he had gained was so worth the pain he felt for days. Yuroic would stand to one side and wait for Dagos to make his decision before moving to the arena.

[member="Dagos Terrek"]

 

[Dagos Terrek]

With a smile on his face Dagos used the foce to call the lightsaber from his belt into his hand. He was very excited to start. It had been a long time since he had sparred with another of the Jedi here and the last time it had been with a Jedi Master. Dagos often wondered what happened to [member="Connor Harrison"], there was a time that Dagos hoped the man would take him for an apprentice but that day did not come and instead Dagos had found Jairdain and soon he would find her again.

"I'm ready when you are, man." Dagos said rather cheerfully.

[member="Yuroic Xeraic"]

 

[WelshPsych]

Yuroic liked Dagos's style, calling the Force to move the lightsaber into his hand. He ignited his two blades, in their saberstaff form. Twirling the blades in his hands quickly in his hands as he carefully assessed his opponent. Learning from his last duel, strategy was required as much as technique. To adapt on the spot, that was often key and what divided training with another being to fighting a training droid who never really thought outside the box.

However, Yuroic was seemingly lucky for adaption, his sabers were in an interlocking hilt design. This meant that he could switch fighting style fluidly in combat more so than others. He hadn't perfected a fighting style for this yet, his Niman technique was weak as he had started with Djem So, however, he was still learning so he was happy to see how it would work in a proper duel. He moved into Djem So's ready stance and looked over to Dagos.

Your move friend. Was all he said.

[member="Dagos Terrek"]

 

[Dagos Terrek]

"Your move friend." The other Jedi said as the saber staff in his hand was brought to life.

Dagos did not move in right away, opting instead to simply twirl the the handle of the saber in his hand before unleashing the normally brilliant green blade. Right now the color was a shade less bright due to the power being turned to a safe level.

Dagos circled slowly to his right (Yuroic's left), Dagos was surprised that he was left to make the first move, everything he had read about those who used two blades (either with saber staff or just a saber in two hands) had lead him to believe that they favored more agressive stles of combat. Dagos on the other hand was a firm believer in Soresu amd was thusly more in favor of counter fighting of holding his attacker off until he could turn a fight to his advantage. That didn't work unless the opponent attacked.

After circling a couple paces Dagos stuck. Lashing out with technique from form I, he sent a high thrust toward Yuroic's chest and followed that move with a horizontal slash at the other man's head.

[member="Yuroic Xeraic"]

 

[WelshPsych]

Interesting. Yuroic noted a few things.

Firstly, this Padawan had a decent amount of sparring training under his belt. He didn't wildly strike at Yuroic and took his time in thinking of his attack. However, his initial hesitation was noted, he expected Yuroic to jump in and use Djem So or Shien. Those were his strongest moves but he wanted to flow differently, try something new and use his Niman Form. When the first strike came, Yuroic dodged the attack via a sharp leap back, the unsteady leap made the second blow to the head more dangerous. Quickly spinning his blades he blocked the diagonal strike.

Thrusting his hilt forwards he aimed to strike at Dagos in the forehead, make him stunned as he spun around and jabbed the longer of his two sabers forward at Dagos's chest. It was an obvious strike but hoping that the stun would have distracted him enough, it should hit it's back. Though he hadn't finished yet, he was saving himself, keeping his movements low to save his energy for later when Dagos would hopefully be more tired. After fighting Sith Lords and other opponents, he knew how quickly one could tire from a fight.

[member="Dagos Terrek"]

 

[Dagos Terrek]

Whack! Fuck! Dagos moved in or mre aptly rushed in and paid for it with the hilt of Yuroic's saber staff bashing him square in the head. Son of sarlaac that hurt but before Dagos could respond in turn and almost before he had a chance to register the pain his opponent came at him with a sharp stab.

Stunned and hurt Dagos barely saw the strike. Forgetting all his training he sort of just turned to the side to try an avoid the blow. It worked...sort of...Dagos managed to avoid a move that in a real situation would of impaled him but the blade still skimmed across his torso leaving a horizontal burn mark over his work out shirt.

Dagos back peddled away as fast as he could putting some distance between him and the blade of his opponent.

"Nice one." he called out and he waitied for Yuroic to move foreword.

[member="Yuroic Xeraic"]

 

[WelshPsych]

Yuroic's attack worked. He had remembered seeing similar styled technique being used by saberstaff users of old, Sith mostly used them but they offered strong offensive moves. Aided with a bit more confidence and determination, Yuroic strengthen his stance and faced off at Dagos. The other Padawan seemed to be less experienced in saber combat than Yuroic but then having a green saber, one would expect so. Consulars rarely fought more than they used the Force, something that Yuroic was interested to see if Dagos would use in this duel.

This time it was Yuroic who had to go on the offensive. Through their first bout, Yuroic suspected that the Padawan was a practitioner of Soresu, the defensive style, it would have to be a bold bluff otherwise. Leaping into action, Yuroic twirled his blades above his head, then came down with a strong attack at the head, before shifting from Djem So to Makashi, intending the blow to be blocked. Yuroic was planning to duel with an aggressive form of Makashi and Djem So. Utilising Niman at its best, mixing Forms. He was not unlocking his secret weapon, waiting for them to lock blades before revealing his hilts could break apart.

[member="Dagos Terrek"]

 

[Dagos Terrek]

Dagos watched the blades spin abover Yuroic's head before being brought crashing down toward his head in a cleaving motion. Dagos took a quick breath in and centered himself the best he could within the force, letting it fill the empty spaces between his cells. Allowing the force to guide his movement and actions, he became quicker, more decisive. While he was clearly not a blur or anything his natural athletisim was enhanced by way of no longer thinking of his next and just letting the force move him.

He stepped to the side avoiding the down strike of Yuroic's attack and with his right hand he used the force to pull down on his opponent's head hoping to throw the other Jedi off balance or at the least force his saber down for longer than he expected before taking a downward strike of his own at what he hoped was Yuroic's exposed head.


[member="Yuroic Xeraic"]

 

[WelshPsych]

Yuroic watched as Dagos used the Force to quicken his limbs and reaction. With a smirk appearing on his face, he sent his palm outstretched in the direction of the other Padawan just as he felt the tug on his head. Using Dagos with a decent Force Push, he switched his sabers off and fell into a roll with the pull. Taking his body further down. This left him open for an attack but he hoped that the Push would have distracted Dagos enough to allow him to pull it off.

Panting slightly after he recovered from his falling roll, he looked over to the other Padawan. So we are using the Force as well as our sabers. Good to know. He grinned as he raced forward and used an Ataru styled leaping attack, spinning in the air as he did. Although Ataru was his weaker of the Forms he was hoping the greatly differing attacks he was doing would confuse the other Padawan and give him a chance to exploit said confusion into an opening he could use.

[member="Dagos Terrek"]

 

[Dagos Terrek]

Dagos' tactic was mildly sucessful. He managed to throw Yuroic's balance off but the other Jedi was able to keep his head both literally and figuratively. Dagos follow up strike would have landed flush as Yuroic rolled if not for the fact that Dagos had to deflect the force push sent his way. He'd still not mastered the concentration required to both guard against the force attack and continue his own.

"So we are using the Force as well as our sabers? Good to know." The other called out to him.

Quickly Yuroic rushed toward him with a leaping attack. Dagos had never faced Ataru in real time before but he knew in the open air of the arena it had a chance to be highly effective. Dagos fell back on the one style he had an true skill in and that was Soresu. Blades clashed brilliantly as Dagos defended the attack from above. After defending himself from the attack long enough for Yuroic's momentum to carry him past Dagos, the young Padawaan once again used the force to pull down and hopefully slam his opponent hard to the ground.

[member="Yuroic Xeraic"]

 

[WelshPsych]

So Soresu was his chosen style. Seemed that Yuroic had guessed correctly, at least he had hoped the other Padawan wasn't keeping any secrets in store. He felt the Force Pull on his body again, however he anticipated this attack. Yuroic found it odd that Dagos decided to try using the same attack again, he flipped in the air backwards. Avoiding the Force Pull, he unfortunately positioned himself further away from Dagos, unable to combat with melee strikes.

Throwing his lightsabers forward at Dagos, steeling himself as he builds the Force in his hands before unleashing a hard Force Push. Jumping he retrieve his saber before slashing his saber from above in another Ataru styled attack. Grunting with the effort, beads of sweat formed on his forehead as his endurance of fighting was waning. He was on the offensive now attempting to find a weakness in Dagos's defense.

[member="Dagos Terrek"]

 

[Dagos Terrek]

Damnit. Another attack thrawted by his opponents experience. Dagos was quickly running out of not only tricks up his sleeve but stamina. The force blast that Yuroic sent his way was much stronger than the one before and Dagos was much more tired than he had been, thusly he was not able to completely block the blast. He was able to quell most of the strenght but not all and was driven back, stumbling and losing his balance slightly.

Another attack from above and Dagos was just able to get his saber up to block, however his fatigue and the fact that he was off balance caused him to slip and drop to a knee leaving him open for an attack.

[member="Yuroic Xeraic"]

 

[WelshPsych]

Dagos was looking much worse for wear than Yuroic right now. His strike had left Dagos open, twisting his hilt, there was a click and he slashed the shorter bottom blade at the side. Leaving his main blade in place, revealing the two different hilts. It was a hopefully quick end to their intense duel. He was feeling the wear of battle already, if it was to last any longer he be an easy target.

His robes were layered in a thick sweat that clung them tight to his body. Hair on his head was greasy mess due to sweat. There was burning feeling in his muscles as he was exerting them in the intense exercise they were doing.

[member="Dagos Terrek"]

 

[Dagos Terrek]

one final slash from Yuroic and it was over. A "killing" blow was struck and Dagos was on the losing end. The pain was sharp and fierce even with the blades set at a safe level but not nearly as sharp as the pain he felt to his pride.

"Good match." He managed to say through ragged breaths. Despite hes wounded ego and disappointment, he was sinscere in his congradulations.

[member="Yuroic Xeraic"]

 

[WelshPsych]

Yuroic offered his hand to his fellow Padawan, he could sense that the man was sincere but still had a bruised ego. It was understandable, defeat never felt pleasant, his own lost when he first sparred another Padawan annoyed him but that annoyance fuelled his passion to learn more and become better. He hoped that Dagos would do the same in turn with this defeat, learn from his mistakes and strive to be better in his Form. In turn Yuroic would do the same so that when they duelled again it would be a duel for the scholars to note one day.

It is okay to feel disappointed, I know I did last time I sparred with another Padawan and he was much more skilled in combat than I was, possibly more skilled than I am now. However, for future note, never repeat a Force Power attack after using it straight before. I was too prepared for that attack because you used it before, gave me the chance I needed to defeat you. Also, work on sparring against those who use Ataru and Makashi, you have great skills in defending against Djem So and that is good in most cases as many Sith choose that Form over others. However, I was using Niman and able to catch you off guard with various styles of attack which tired not just you faster but myself as well.

The tone in which he spoke was not condescending or belittling the work that Dagos had put in, but to give a fair criticism and future advice. I also want to say that you fought well. Been a long time since I had a duel that intense. Perhaps next time I will use my dual wielding skills earlier on. He offered a smile before walking to one side and then returning with two chilled bottles of water, offering one to Dagos. I hope this was a welcomed distraction, with the events of late I thought we could both use some time to blow off some steam. Yuroic took several gulps of water before sitting down as his mind briefly wander to Jairdain and where she could be. However, he shook those thoughts away and looked over to Dagos.

[member="Dagos Terrek"]

 

[Dagos Terrek]

Dagos listened to the advice Yuroic offered and took the praise to heart and commited the critique to memory. Yes, Yuroic like himself was a padawaan but he was far mor experienced in combat, not only in sparring as they have done but in true battle. He after all was the GrandMaster's pupil and that Dagos assumed had to mean something.

"Thanks, brother." Daogs said after a big gulp of water and with his breathing finally under control.

He could feel the young man's thoughts turn to Jairdain. "We're gonna get her back." Dagos told Yuroic.


[member="Yuroic Xeraic"]

 

[WelshPsych]

Yuroic smiled as he saw Dagos take the advice to heart and enjoy the praise that he offered. It felt good to help another Padawan, he wondered if this was how one felt about teaching, perhaps once he was a Knight he would take on his own Padawan. When Dagos stated that they would get her back, Yuroic blinked briefly before looking up and offering a knowing smile. This one was fast to catch onto his thoughts, similar to Jairdain.

Though you haven't been her Padawan long, you remind a lot like her. She was always quick to catch onto my thoughts. I know we will bring her back, I just fear that she will not be the same as when she left. It has been too long and with too few leads it is difficult to find out possible locations. His Master had kept him well informed on the issues that were residing with getting Jairdain back, he appreciate that dearly. And, don't worry, I'm not special being Master Yune's Padawan. I might be one of her longest Padawans but she has plenty of others. She likes to be hands on with training, helping as many as she can. Just been a lot of Sith conflicts in Dominion territory lately, only reason I have real combat training over you. Colonel Valkren can teach you a few things, or I can show you what I have learnt.

[member="Dagos Terrek"]

 

[Dagos Terrek]

It would seem Dagos wasn't the only one quick to pick up the thoughts of others.

"She does seem to enjoy being around all of us youngsters." He said of Master Yune. Perhaps he would seek her out for training while Jairdain was gone. Who better to help prepare him for her rescue than the Grand Master.

"I understand your worry. I have had similar thoughts." Dagos admitted. "But It does not do us any good not to have faith. Jairdain will prove to be stronger than we hoped."

"A lesson or two would probably be a good idea, if I ever want to be of any real use around here." He told Yuroic.

[member="Yuroic Xeraic"]