Private The Saber Style Of Soresu

[Tann Po'rah]

The Saber Style Of Soresu​

The temple of Kashyyyk was a quiet place. It was the perfect place of peace and serenity for someone new in the Force to learn. The marble halls and wooden pathways made the temple a place unlike any other. It was a beautiful sight to behold. In one room, a green skinned Twi'lek was training. The dojo had several mats spread out along the granite floors. Large windows let in the light from outside while also giving the view of the beautiful green planet outside.

The sounds of a lightsaber were heard swishing back and forth. The Twi'lek was standing in the middle of the room. She held the green saber with both hands and was essentially dancing with it. There were no remotes or actual enemies she was fighting, so it looked like she was simply choreographing her own fight. She'd turn left, block up, then turn the other way and do a sweeping slash. It was a beautiful sight to behold. Most Twi'leks held a certain grace to them as they moved. It was partially why they got enslaved all the damn time.

The girl's name was Tann Po'rah. She was a new padawan of Master Samatharis. As such, she didn't really have any skill in saber combat. It was pretty obvious from the way she was playing with that instrument of death. At least she had the know how not to slice off one of her lekku. Tann was wearing one of her favorite outfits: a black crop top with slits around the neckline. It exposed her midriff giving her even more of that Twi'lek beauty. Her pants she kept tight and slimming until her bare feet which were normally in combat boots -those were off to the side of the dojo beside one of the large pillars.

The door to the dojo was open. So anyone could potentially walk in. She didn't want anyone to think she was taking the room for herself. Especially if there was a class starting soon. She had no problem sharing, but the more likely was that someone was going to come in and show the girl how to properly use that blade.....

 

[Kahlil Noble]

It'd been a long time since Kahlil was on Kashyyyk. Really, he had no intention of coming back. Not after everything that happened. But then the Bryn attacked. And this new Worm Emperor came into existence in the shadow of the Empire. Too many reasons for him to not stay away. So he came back. It's why he wandered through the Jedi Temple. Sure enough, even though he used to live there, he was lost as can be.

And a bit too prideful to ask directions. Or, really, he just didn't want to interact with anyone yet. If they remembered him or knew who he was, well. It wasn't the sort of interaction he was ready to deal with. Grant it, his own curiousness soon proved to be a counter to that thought process. The sound of a lightsaber being swung in a room caught his ear, so he decided to peek in.

The style was good, but repetitive. A drill? He didn't want to be presumptuous. But she wasn't someone familiar to him, so maybe it was good for him to step in? And it never hurt to practice. The tall Jedi stepped into the room. Unlike most Jedi he was wearing what he considered spacer clothing. He cleared his throat as he stepped in though, not wanting to take the Twi'lek by surprise incase she wanted to be alone.

"Care for a partner? I could use the practice myself."

 

[Tann Po'rah]

The Twi'lek would stop when she heard someone cough and enter. She looked behind her to the man in the long coat and fancy clothes. Cocking her head to the side she wondered who the person could be. He didn't exactly look like a Jedi. But then again, neither did she.

Tann extinguished the lightsaber so she wouldn't have to talk over the humm of the blade. "Uh, sure. I'm not very good though. I only just got this saber. I haven't had any real lessons with it. So I really have no idea what I'm doing."

From there she would move to the center most mat again to recenter herself as she ignited the green beam once again. She took a basic Soresu stance in a defensive position and readied herself for his move. "You have to go easy on me ok? I don't want to lose an arm." That being said, her saber was on full power. She had not built in a sensor to determine the output of the crystal. If he got hit by her blade, it would spell disastor.

Kahlil Noble

 

[Kahlil Noble]

Oh, she was new. Kahlil chuckled warmly as he looked about the room for a moment. Sure enough, the racks were still there. He raised a hand, calling over a pair of the training sabers left there before tossing one towards Tann Po'rah . "I've no intention of sparing with a real lightsaber. These will keep us from getting anything more than a bruise." He then shrugged off his jacket, laying it on a nearby bench along with his own lightsaber. The training blade certainly didn't feel the same in his grasp, but he truly didn't want to harm the Twi'lek.

And if she was as new as she said, perhaps he should help.

"Soresu, right? The true Jedi's style. Protection, not aggression. How much have you learned of it?" A green blade erupted from the training hilt. His stance was far more neutral, held by both hands in front of him. Signaling no specific stance. He made no move to attack, more than alright with simply waiting for her answer before striking out.

 

[Tann Po'rah]

Tann watched as the man pulled two saber hilts from the side wall for them. He tossed one to her which she barely caught. Turning her blade off once more she would go to the pillar where her shoes were and stuff her saber down one of the soles. She then ignited this new saber, a blue one, and pouted.

"Can we trade? I hate blue. Reminds me of my mother. I'd much rather have that green one. It's my favorite you know?" If he did, she'd thank him and say something about how kind he was. If not, well she didn't make a big deal out of it.

He then mentioned Soresu to which she merely shrugged her shoulders. "About this much," she admitted, gesturing to her stance. "Like I said, I've never done this before."

Since he wasn't going to attack first, Tann decided it was her responsibility to do so. She moved forward and made a long swing of her blade from over her head downwards.



Kahlil Noble

 

[Kahlil Noble]

Well that had to have a story behind it, but Kahlil wasn't about to ask Tann Po'rah what it was about. So he gladly swapped before returning to his stance. "Soresu's the form I prefer. Maybe I can give you a couple tricks?" He gave his best, friendly smile. If he was going to make it back into the Silvers, he'd need to make some friends somewhere.

As her strike came he took a small step to the side, bringing up his blade at the same time. Angled away from his body to make the strike glance off. Kahlil didn't move much, only taking another step to create some room as he watched her. "Do you know the philosophy behind Soresu? Or at least some of it in writing?"

 

[Alexis Solis]

...

 

[Tann Po'rah]

Her attack brushed off of his blade and it fell to her side. She then looked up at him with a smirk. "Can't say that I do."

From the blade at her left hip, she then swung it long and hard in an upwards angle towards her right shoulder -hoping to cut him across the middle. He might notice all of her swings were like she were struggling to hold the blade. As if it were too heavy for her. That's the way it looked at least. Lightsabers were quite literally as the name implied, light. Though that was just another meaning of the word and not where they got their namesake.

Her strike would doubtfully hit, so she'd swing again and again as quickly as she could. Each swing was slow and arced in a long circle. Her movements were especially easy to read even for someone without practice. Did she really think this was the best way to fight or did she really not have any idea how to? It would take almost no pressure to break skin, so why wasn't she using her wrist more? There were so many flaws to her system. Someone would have to teach her the basics, from scratch it seemed.

Kahlil Noble

 

[Kahlil Noble]

"Right.." Well, at least how Tann Po'rah fought really showcased just how little she actually knew of saber combat. There was minimal effort on his part as he weaved through her strikes. Wherever she struck, his saber would angle it away, using the power of her own blow to defend himself. That was the core of Soresu. Complete defense with minimal effort. Wear your opponent down with their own strikes.

His wrist flicked around at one of her strikes, suddenly putting a lot more power behind it as he tried to smack her saber clear out of her grasp. He stepped back again, nodding once.

"You weren't raised with the Jedi, were you? Saber combat is as new as it possibly could be. Take a stance, a neutral one like this." To show his point he took the same stance as before. Not lending to any particular form, but having a firm center of gravity, and grip on his blade. "Have you ever fought with a solid blade?"

 

[Tann Po'rah]

Tann continued to attack left and right until her partner took his blade and pushed hers out of her hand. The hilt went flying; the blade extinguished the moment her thumb left the trigger. Tann stood there weaponless and in shock. She pursed her lips then and gave him a look of annoyance.

"Well that was rude."

She went to collect the blade, picking it back up and giving it a flick before lighting it once more. He would ask her if she'd ever fought with a regular blade and she kind of snapped back at him. "I have. Yes. Thank you very much." She then corrected her tone and added in much more softly. "I told you I was new at this. You don't need to tease me."

He instructed her to take a stance to which she would mimic what he was doing. At least she was good at following directions. Tann really was a visual learner. She raised her weapon again and took a steadying breath to ready herself for another round. "How's this?"

Kahlil Noble

 

[Kahlil Noble]

"Ah, sorry." A nervous smile formed as Kahlil nodded. It wasn't his intention to tease her, but it seemed he had been anyway. Still, she at least seemed receptive to the idea of being taught, so he'd continue forward with that at least. "Good. And if you've used a solid blade, it'll be a bit easier to figure out how to use a saber." He lifted his blade, holding it horizontally.

"A real blade has a weighted edge. A lightsaber has no such thing. All of it comes from the wrist. You need a firm grip and a loose wrist to use it properly. Do you know the strike zones?"

Tann Po'rah

 

[Tann Po'rah]

Tann listened to the next lesson he had to give. She sure did remember using a different blade; Tann had used a vibro stun rod. Or whatever it was called. Basically a training saber. But that one was a completely different feel when it came to weight. She knew what he meant now. Perhaps she should stop trying to fight the same as then.

"The strike zones? You mean like where to aim? Sure. Like the head, chest, and back. Easiest way to kill someone."

Tann felt rather proud of herself for knowing that answer. Least she thought she did. Soresu was not about killing, nor was it about being an aggressive fighter. She persisted with her blade, swinging at him and trying to use her wrist more. It was......rather clumsy and sloppy.

 

[Kahlil Noble]

Kahlil nodded once. She did know some of the basics at least. That'd make it much easier to teach her what came next. Once again he weaved through her strikes, trying to show just what it meant to use Soresu through actions alone. at least until he broke away with a faint grin. "Alright. We'll switch it around. Do you know what the eye of the storm is? It's the basis of Soresu. Despite the chaos of battle around you, you find the calm. Let the Force guide you. Close your eyes, mediate. Try and feel the world around us."

Tann Po'rah

 

[Tann Po'rah]

Tann continued to relentlessly attack her partner as best as she could. Her style was getting worse, more desperate. She had plenty of openings and times where she let her guard down. The girl would need some serious help with learning how to fight with this sword. Kahlil would ask her if she knew what the eye of the storm was. She had a look of confusion on her face as she took a step back from attacking.

"Eye of the storm? Not so much. And close my eyes? Are you kidding? How am I suppose to fight then?"

Tann watched him carefully, unsure of what to do. Would she close her eyes? It was dangerous. But somehow she trusted him. "Alright......I'll trust you. Just....be gentle."

She fully expected him to strike her when she wasn't look. Sweep her leg or something. She closed her eyes and gripped her saber tightly in her hands. She steadied herself by taking a deep breath. Listen to the Force she told herself. Let it fill you. Find the calm in the storm. SHe wasn't sure what that meant, but she understood how to be calm. It was exactly the sort of thing she couldn't do. But she would try.

Kahlil Noble

 

[Kahlil Noble]

He brought his blade around slowly. Very slowly. Just swinging it for Tann Po'rah 's side. A test, to see if she could actually feel the Force well enough to know. Probably would be better to use one of those training droids, but this wasn't a formal lesson. "Trust in the Force. It will never lead you astray."

 

[Tann Po'rah]

Tann felt something. She wasn't sure what it was. But she felt it. She took a step back so his blade would move past her leg. She then brought her blade down to block the blade. It clashed with his causing her to open her eyes in surprise. Had she done it? Had she actually felt what he was doing or did she simply predict his movements? Either way, she closed her eyes againa dn reset herself, ready to block a higher strike. Again she wasn't sure if she was seeing the future or simply using her brain to distinguish what he would do next.

Kahlil Noble

 

[Kahlil Noble]

"Good." He was pleasantly surprised by Tann Po'rah . Perhaps she had an aptitude for Soresu after all, despite her earlier worry. He brought his blade up and around, this time trying to be tricky in his strike just to truly test her out. Feinting one side only to bring the blade around on the other. Still slow, and with no intent on actually harming her.

 

[Tann Po'rah]

Tann's instinct was not good enough. She thought about where his sword would go and she raised her blade to block it. Only he feinted the strike and came around to the other side. The blow would strike her shoulder causing her to jump in surprise from the admittedly small shock it gave her.

"Ah!" she cried out. Tann opened her eyes and looked at the blade. She quickly turned her upper torso and pushed his blade away from her. Tann took a couple steps back and closed her eyes again as she took her defensive stance. She took another deep breath and reached out with her feelings. This time, she'd be ready for him.