What kind of hell is teaching?

[Nicair Claden]

Teaching, instructing. He'd often been told by those that he had learned from that true understanding lay in being able to teach someone what you know. Put simply Nicair didn't really agree, there were too many factors that were involved in teaching someone something. If they were stupid, for instance. Nicair had met many unintelligent individuals that were useless in strategy but fairly proficient in the use of their bodies. He had met many that were useless in both. Did it truly show his own understanding by his lack of ability to instruct someone else? If it did, why take the chance? So. Why was he?

The Mandalorian didn't really know. Maybe he saw a little of himself in the girl, some kind of fire. Maybe it was because she seemed just so.. lost. What did he know about finding oneself? Why was he getting so philosophical about it? He was going to do what he could to teach her how to defend herself, if she understood then fantastic. If not she would probably end up getting herself killed. Didn't really matter to him. That's what he liked to tell himself. Introspection told him that it mattered at least a little bit. Otherwise why do it? He had someone to guide him into becoming a man, both physically and figuratively. Nicair didn't enjoy thinking about what he would have become if his life had taken a different path. He thought of his brother and what he had become on their home planet. What Nicair could have become. But it doesn't suit him to dwell in the past, the present has tried to kill him enough.

There were a number of weapons lining the wall, his own personal collection. When a restless nomad decides to settle down somewhere they need a hobby, Nicair's was the art of martial combat. Blades, daggers, staves and gauntlets he learned everything he could. The man had forged himself into a weapon, the problem was that it was all he had become. All he knew how to do. A weapon doesn't need to know right or wrong, it just needs to be pointed. He had decided that it was his turn to decide his fate and in doing so, aid in guiding someone else to point their own.

He had prepared this room, this crucible early. Nicair had spent some time with the Matukai and knew the basics of meditation, knew how to control his breathing to calm himself and steady his mind. He did so now in a seated position and waited.

[member="Talaya Rade"]

 

[Talaya Rade]

"Main mission. .don't die," she'd speak to herself as she dried her body and slipped comfortable clothing on. Tight enough to keep her privacy private, loose enough to move freely. "Maan. ." Her head slung low. "How do I get myself in these situations?" Huffing abit, she'd cast aside the bit of nervousness dwelling within and tied her shoes. With a band, she tied her curled hairs into a loose knot and left [member="Nicair Claden"]'s chambers. Admittedly, she'd of arrived both bathed and prepared, but she hadn't a ship to prepare in nor a home to come from. All she had was herself, and the bit of clothing on her back. So without much delay she walked through the area supplied with more weaponry she'd ever seen before. Talaya's only source of fighting experience came with close quaters, fist to fist combat. If she would become a capable explorer, she'd need a weaponry and the skill to use it. Standing before the mandalorian, she'd sprout a subtle smirk and nod in respects.

"Never expected myself to be somewhere like this. But I suppose I can't defend myself with flashy gymnastic tricks all day. Let's uh. .get to business."

 

[Nicair Claden]

His student stood before him, he knew that much. He didn't open his eyes right away, kept them closed, a self test as much as anything. A test to see how soft he had gotten. His muscles were pulled tight, ready for movement on an instant command. He was glad his feet were already under him as he used his momentum to roll himself forward toward his student. In his roll he torqued his body into a turn and thrust out his leg in a sweeping manner. She would learn quickly to keep on her toes, something he had done. Something he had been required on threat of death to learn quickly.

(I'll keep the responses fairly short and, let's say turse. Since this is more of a development thread we won't need to be as precise as a PVP match. I leave the responses to Nicair's instruction up to you and where you think your character would be. More efficient I think.)

[member="Talaya Rade"]

 

[Talaya Rade]

One second she was looking at a rather combat-hardened looking male, and the next she found her pillars of stability swept from beneath her. With a rather feminine, "Oof!" Her eyes scrolled as if in a temporary daze. Catching her breath, she kicked onto her feet and stumbled backwards a bit with a slight rub of the back. With a brief bow, she'd assume a make-shift stance and chuckle a bit. "Straight to the point, Master Claden. Fierce as ever." [member="Nicair Claden"] would know Talaya to be 18 years of age, a run-away from home, and a novice to combat. She knew only the basics of fist to fist combat, and how to swiftly move her body from gymnastics. With a exhaling breath, she'd swiftly approach the male and stiffen a fist to arc into a right hook, left leg later spread outward for stability as she feinted the hook and lowered her center mass in a leftward swaying motion downward. With the entirety of her weight on the left leg, she'd attempt to drive a left hook into the male's side.

 

[Nicair Claden]

The feint had merit, he'd give her that. She was off balance, however. Threw everything into the follow-up hook. Nicair was graceful, lithe and strong, speed and agility were the merits any fighter should have. He moved in a fluid movement, springing off his back foot. His left hand came out as his body took an arc around hers. It wasn't a punch, it was a single handed push, by the time it connected he was at a backward angle. Her momentum was already going forward, he simply gave her a little more.

"I am no one's master. Masters are for Jedi and Sith. Such philosophies as good an evil have no use here."

[member="Talaya Rade"]

 

[Talaya Rade]

Talaya's bit of confidence in her offensive capabilities were felt stumbling forward like she was after the push. A single on the ground, she'd regain composure and return to face [member="Nicair Claden"]. "Right. Just uh. .just Claden then." Talaya wouldn't resume her make-shift stance, deciding instead to cautiously and slowly approach the male. If she was going to learn from him, she had to observe him. This would especially hold true if he offered no words of correction for her. So time after time she'd pursue the male, be it from kicks to punches, feints and the occasional flip, she'd smack against the ground time and time again. "Remind me again. .what was it that I said that convinced you to train me? No offense, bub, but I don't take you for the teaching type." Kicking onto her feet, she'd ready herself to continue training by approaching the male and initiating another basic, physical assault.

 

[Nicair Claden]

"You didn't say anything, it was the way you held yourself. Your posture, your movement." He would rather have not wasted energy speaking while in combat, but this was simply a test, a trial. He wanted to see how many times she would fall and get back up. How many times she would force herself to rise, how much self correction she could do. She learned quickly, began to mimic his own movements. Such was a risky thing, he had confidence in his agility and reflexes that his stance could be more relaxed. In a self defensive standpoint one had to be the wall in which foes crashed against, never faltering. He was growing bored with this little game.

"Enough. Take your stance, let me see it without interruption." The stance someone chose to fight in should be held for hours, if someone couldn't do so then they were ill prepared for true combat. If one got tired on the battlefield they would die swiftly. If one got tired in a self defensive situation in the streets of Coruscant, they might even die quicker.

Not the teaching type? He'll show her teaching. The Mandalorian way, the way of the Pits, Nicair's way.

[member="Talaya Rade"]

 

[Talaya Rade]

<"Allright. .back hurts n' my knuckles feel weird, but on the up side. .I ain't quite dead yet. Alright Talaya, bring your A-Game."> Briefly wiggling her limbs one by one, she'd nod and settle into a somewhat defensive stance. She was open enough to move quickly, but had arms held above the waist for sake of reacting to Nicair's potential attacks. With odds of her never being the strongest, or quickest in the galaxy, she'd soon opt to develop a reactionary fighting style. Using someone's attacks against them, and capitalizing on weaknesses. Until then, she just stood there ready for [member="Nicair Claden"]'s approach. "Allright. .I'm here n' ready. So what next? Stay like this 'till I pass out?" The female would dare to chuckle, but she wouldn't put it passed this seasoned fighter.

 

[Nicair Claden]

"Hands higher, you're small and quick, but not fast enough. Self defense is a game of efficiency, moving efficiently, striking efficiently. Standing.." While he was lecturing he was pacing around her, seeking out weaknesses in the stance. He knew she had a past as a gymnast, if she didn't already know how to keep herself stable she would learn quickly. Once he had paced around the outside of her body and stood at a slight angle in front of her he pushed a palm out to strike into her chest. Another testing maneuver.

".. efficiently."

[member="Talaya Rade"]

 

[Talaya Rade]

Admittedly felt a bit of nervousness as the male trailed around her, regulating her breaths the best she could and adjusting her stance as instructed. As the training continued, [member="Nicair Claden"]'s words rang repeatedly in her ear in efforts of truly trying to understand his instructions. She knew, however, this was not a scholar's test. Over thinking a fight would do her no good, nor would acting without any thought. "Move efficiently. ." The woman simply waited until he struck, remaining true to her stance as she rooted herself and reactively twisted her body in an evasive manner whilst stiffening an arm to intercept the palm's arm and push it sideways enough to go past her.

Their gap in strength would mean she'd have to put honest effort into this maneuver, which made it a more brutish action instead of graceful and swift. However, if she was successful, she'd step forward with a foot placed between his legs and towards the back of his foot. The action was followed by an abrupt and hefty palm-push into his chest in attempts of forcing the male to trip over her foot. "Strike efficiently," She'd later resume her defensive stance and huff with anticipation as to what came next. "Stand efficiently."

 

[Nicair Claden]

Was her block forceful, yes. As she grew stronger and practiced more it would become more fluid, she would learn to move with the whole body during strikes and blocks. Eventually they would become almost effortless, well, not quite, but to a certain degree. She was prepared for his palm and moved well, placing her foot between his legs was where the mistake happened. Unless she had control of a certain part of his body, stepping between the legs, even slightly favoring one leg, was dangerous. He could switch it up to become a trip of his own, he could twist his body around and use his weight to drop on her knee. He chose to do something that in some circles was rude, he took advantage of the strength difference and lowered his body somewhat, enough that he had more stability. But ultimately this wasn't a strength move, it was a rebalancing of momentum. All he had to do was thrust his body into the palm strike and ground himself more on the foot that he was to be tripped over.

If he pushed too hard she'd topple over. She didn't, she took the shift well. He was planning on needing to catch her but it wasn't necessary. Her foot had shot back and she caught herself.

"If your opponent has both feet planted don't stick your leg between them. Get them moving, make them step, make them lift their foot. Then go for the trip. Your block did the task, stand ready, you're going to do it until it's fluid as water."

[member="Talaya Rade"]

 

[Talaya Rade]

As the training progressed, she'd almost lose track of the time as she performed defensive maneuvers and acts of improving her stability time and time again until it was jammed into muscle memory. She'd become more comfortable with her strength and recognizing how much strength was needing to thwart the male's attacks, and how much of a firm footing was needed to stop herself from being launched by his palm-strikes. "Yeeah. I got'cha. I won't make the mistake twice, hopefully." She wiped the bit of sweat from her brow, falling back into stance and continuing her training until it was as stated: "Fluid as water."

[member="Nicair Claden"]​

 

[Nicair Claden]

"Stop. You learn well, quickly. Come with me." He led her to the front of the room, his crucible, where he took a seat cross legged. Holding out his hand he instructed her to do the same.

"Your muscles know what to do. It will take days to work the movements into true muscle memory. Until then you're going to run through them in your head. What I show you will work in any situation. The movements, hips, core, shoulders, and only then to your arms move. Your arms will tire long before your core, they must be used as little as possible. Envision what you're doing, see it in your mind's eye. Control your breathing and slow your heart rate. A warrior's mind should be as sharp as their blade."

The mind is a funny thing. It will actually improve a task by thinking about it without actually doing it. A drilling, an almost brainwashing of the mind that something can be done, that something has been done will eventually trick it and increase the likelihood that it will be done. He would train her body and mind to fight, she should be fast enough and technical enough to run through combat in her head. Eventually they would play strategic board games without using anything but mental reference. It was a trick the Matukai had taught him.

[member="Talaya Rade"]

 

[Talaya Rade]

The young woman followed [member="Nicair Claden"], actions corresponding to his instructions and ears perked to listen and heed. With legs crossed, she'd slowly close her eyes and begin to envision her movements. Words of efficiency rang in mind, her thoughts clouded by mistakes she saw herself making or in retrospect. Hips, core, shoulders, and then arms. Moving the arms as little as possible. Talaya briefly huffed in frustration, not understanding how this would help her. However, she'd begin to regulate her breathing as Nicair instructed and crossed he legs once more. Shortly after, she'd adopt a look of concentration and begin envision herself. Moving. Defending. Striking. Adjusting the mistakes to correspond with her lessons from Nicair.

As time passed, it became easier, and she felt a newfound comfort with the idea of seeing from her mind's eye. Scenes would switch to sight of the two playing strategic board games, Talaya easily frustrated at her numbered losses. Time would teach the young woman strategy, maintaining a level-head and handling the game from a methodical, tactical stand-point rather than just moving pieces. She was improving, but certainly had a long way to go. Placing a piece on the board game, she'd have a look of awe. Shortly after, she looked up with a smile of sorts.

". .I win."

 

[Nicair Claden]

She didn't seem to fully believe the words she spoke. They were two little words, but they rang true. She had won. It was a strange sensation he felt. He wasn't quite sure what to call it. Some might call it pride, some would call it feeling his ego inflate. The feeling of an "apprentice" quickly meeting his level and showing no signs of stopping was exhilarating. He could tell why the Jedi and the Sith still had the master-apprentice relationship. It was the purest form of ego one had. It was the assumption that teaching could be done and that the instructor had something worth teaching. Apparently he hadn't done so bad, she survived. Maybe he was soft, the learning curve had been.. dulled a bit. It was still a lethal edge, just not aimed at the throat. At least not right away.

"You wanted to learn to defend yourself. You've done that. I don't care why you wanted to learn, for what purpose you would do this to yourself doesn't matter to me. Stay and I will teach you to be a true weapon, lethal to any that make the mistake of standing against you. Do it or don't, not my decision. I can't promise I'll always be here but should you need a place to rest and prepare for whatever lies ahead, my Crucible is open to you. Just no strange men, or women, or whatever else there is anymore. And so help me if you allow a Hutt to set a little gripping "foot" in this place I'll kill both of you."

[member="Talaya Rade"]