Lessons in fighting

[mindofathief]

Who: Duster, Open
What: Duster is giving out hand-to-hand combat training
Where: Aqures Ixen, Hero Training Facility
When: June 16
Warnings: None for now

[Duster wakes up surprisingly early this morning. The recent battles he went on and the news yesterday about the murders must have messed up his sleep cycle, and now he's waking up in the morning like a normal person. Huh. He finds that his shoulders are too tense and his mind unfocused to go out and earn money through battles, so today has to be a resting day. For a moment, he thinks of practicing the double bass all day, but a letter he forgot to clean off of his desk grabs his attention.

Ah. That's right. He promised Chrom to teach some lessons at the training center. Now that's something he can focus on instead.

Anyone arriving at the training center will find a handwritten sign by the entrance, words written neatly and spaced out like a poem:]

Self Defense Classes
Learn martial arts from Duster
Taught here all day today.

[There's an extra syllable at the end, but no one on the Nowhere Islands can write a proper haiku.

Duster can be found in one corner of the grounds, kicking a leather dummy. Each of his strikes hits the target in a regular, focused fashion, as if Duster is making sure he keeps a steady beat.]

Comments

[rialynn]

[Rialynn walks past the training center, her arms stuffed with a heavy bag of oats for her NOT FAT AT ALL horse. She might not have stopped at all, eager to unload her burden, if not for the fact that Duster put his name on the sign. Well that's interesting. She hesitates for a moment, looking down the street, then at the sign. ...Well, why not? Ever since she took up the Bard job, she's had a hard time using weapons properly. Maybe she'll have better luck with some basic self defense techniques. Being taught by someone she trusts as a friend is a big selling point, too. She makes herself turn to face the door, and hefts her load further to rest partway on her hip for better leverage.]

[Once she's within, the cool air of the interior is an immediate relief. She's grateful to put the oats down for a little while, and rolls her shoulders before venturing further in.]

Hello? Are you here, Duster?

[mindofathief]

[Her words are punctuated by hard blows to the dummy. Duster's too engrossed in this mock battle to pause it for conversation, but after a few more hits, he stops and takes a break. 15 hits. Good, but not perfect.

He turns around to face Rialynn, breathing heavily as sweat forms on his forehead.]

Rialynn! I didn't notice you for a moment. [He wipes his hands, even though they aren't dirty.] Did you come here for a lesson?

[rialynn]

I was thinking about it.

[Mostly she just dropped by to see how he was doing, but she was definitely considering that it might be useful to know how to throw a few sucker punches. Her best friend is a dirty fighter and uses it to her full advantage. Maybe she can learn too.]

But if you're busy, I can come back. I'm only in town for a couple of days.

[mindofathief]

I'm not busy at all. I was almost done warming up anyway. [He gestures at a corner of the room.] Leave your things over there, and we can start with some mock fighting. I'll see where you can improve, and we'll move on from there.

[rialynn]

Really? Great!

[Her expression brightens, and she's almost prancing with excitement as she crosses the padded mat. Dumping the armful of feed in the corner, she shakes out her arms with a sigh of relief as she trots back, her steps dimpling the mat.]

All right, where do I start?

[mindofathief]

[That's...a lot of feed. Duster eyes the bag for a moment, then decides to mention it after the lesson. There are things that have to be done.]

R-Right. You can...start by punching this dummy, and I'll see where we'll start.

[He shuffles away from the dummy so that he's standing just outside Rialynn's potential attack range. His stance presses down on the mat unevenly, but he maintains his balance as before.]

[rialynn]

[Hey, they're going to be gone for nearly two weeks. She needs to be prepared in case they don't have feed suitable for a horse all the way over there. They don't have chocobos, after all.]

Okay. Let's see...

[Rialynn approaches somewhat tentatively. She flexes her fingers a few time before making a fist. Then she twists at the waist, the toe of her boot pivoting as she draws back, and swings her arm with the force of her entire body, driving her knuckles as hard as she can into the side of the dummy's face.]

[...Look, almost every punch she's ever seen has come from a man, she's just imitating what they do.]

[mindofathief]

[Duster's eyebrows go up. It's a very stylish punch. Good for being flashy and making a show of your strength. There's not much value to it in a life-or-death situation.]

That's a lot better than I expected. Your starting stance is good, but--[He turns to face the dummy imitating Rialynn's prior stance, though leaning more on his right leg.] You shouldn't twist your waist so much. If you throw your entire body into the attack, you can't get another hit in quickly.

See how much you moved when you attacked? [He copies her movements, slowing down to exaggerate how much she twisted her body.] And because you moved your feet, you're facing another direction. That can be useful if your next attack depends on where you're facing, but you can sprain a muscle like this.

[rialynn]

It's the one-hit wonder! At least, that's what I've heard it called. ...Hurts, though.

[It's just a dummy, but she's still wincing and shaking out her hand. She's more accustomed to using her fingers to write, not to slug people in the face. Besides, if what he's saying is true, it's unlikely she'd be able to drop someone with just one blow. And she suspects he definitely knows more about this than she does.]

[Rialynn watches him, listening with rapt attention, because this sort of thing can come in handy if she's ever caught without any of her weapons.]

So what should I focus on?

[He said her starting stance is good, so she adopts that again, and looks to him for her next move.]

[shepherd_prince]

[Chrom hasn't had any takers on his offers of tutelage in the training center...not from fellow Heroes of Light, anyway. He has to assume that they all know how to conduct themselves in battle. But he's had a number of citizens approach, especially after news of the murders begin to spread. He's arranged scheduled lessons accordingly, and once he's had a chance to take a break, he decides to see how his fellow trainer is doing. Chrom would find it difficult to take up any Job that didn't require a sword, or at least some variation of blade, and the thought of fighting with one's bare hands is a warrior's worst nightmare, especially when going up against soldiers in heavy plate mail and spears.]

[But surely there must be some merit in the skill, and he has to admit, it might be nice to know how to throw a punch so he doesn't have to flounder when entering any sort of battle where he's not required to dispatch an enemy.]

[He enters the room but steps to the side, keeping the wall at his back so he doesn't interfere with Duster's training.]

Greetings. Do you mind if I observe?

[mindofathief]

[There have been a few people coming in and out in the morning, but it hasn't been the crowd Duster was expecting. It's all for the better; he can manage one-on-one tutelage. While his most recent student practices their punches he takes a break.]

Hey. It's no problem. [He turns to the student.] Keep your body straight. Don't let your arms spread too far.

[shepherd_prince]

[Chrom nods his thanks, then moves toward the wall in a place where he can watch without being intrusive. He would agree that teaching someone individually proves far more beneficial to the student than group instruction, if only because it's easier for the teacher to spot areas that require improvement.]

[So far, it's just punching. Nothing too out of the ordinary there. He keeps his arms loose at his sides, head slightly bowed.]

[mindofathief]

[As the student throws continuous punches, Duster steps in and points at parts of their arm with a few words of guidance. The student nods and keep punches. Eventually, Duster stops, and they take a break.

It's a short break, and the student returns to punching the bag. This time, Duster joins in by clapping his hands at a steady beat. With the student attempting to his the dummy along the beat, it almost looks like a music teacher monitoring their student instead of a martial arts teacher and their pupil.]

[shepherd_prince]

[chrom watches intently Chrom proves to be quiet and patient. He seems interested in the lesson, though he isn't entirely sure how the rhythm relates to the punching. Wouldn't that make your moves predictable? There must be a reason for it, and he'd love to ask, but he's not about to question a teacher in front of the student for fear that it may come across as questioning his competency. He'll bank the question for later, once the lesson is finished.]

[mindofathief]

[BAM. BAM. BAM.

The student misses the next hit, and Duster holds up a hand to stop the lesson. The two converse for a few minutes, and after a few more goes at the rhythmic punching, the student leaves. Duster remains standing on the mat as he saves to the leaving student with a bag draped over their shoulder.]

[shepherd_prince]

Thank you. It was an interesting observation.

[Chrom pushes away from the wall, figuring now is a good time to ask his questions.]

May I inquire as to the importance of the rhythm you advised? I found it curious.

[mindofathief]

[Duster spins around to lean on the dummy, resting mostly on his right leg and lifting his left leg up. Teaching can be exhausting, and he has to give his bad leg time to rest once in a while.]

That? I was teaching her combos. If you hit the enemy at their heartbeat, you add more damage to your attack.

[21stcenturyguy]

[Santa's not really into the whole 'training' in public thing. It gets him sweaty and gross, and he doesn't really care to have other people know what he can and can't do. But as he walks past, Duster's sign is too good an opportunity to miss. Opportunity for what, he's not sure, but it's something.]

[But first, he's gonna take this opportunity to watch Duster kick his target. Because some butts feats of physical agility just need to be admired.]

[Once he's observed for a little while, or once he's been noticed, he'll get around to telling Duster what he needs to learn.]

Sensei, show me how to block a gut punch.

[mindofathief]

[Duster barely has a butt, sorry to disappoint you, Santa. However, he is showing off some of his athletic prowess in a situation that does not involve being potentially mauled by a Hamster.

He has enough time to warm up, and he's ready to teach--ah. There's someone.]

I'm good to see you, too. [He grabs a rag hanging on the weapon rack and wipes his hands on it.] ...Blocking's an advanced technique, but I guess you can show me what you can do first, and we'll move on from there.

[Physical combat is a complex skill. If anything, they have to start with the basics.]

[21stcenturyguy]

You want me to show you what I can do, huh? [He smirks as he repeats Duster's request...but blinks when he thinks about it a little closer.]

What, like, try to beat you up? [Santa's starting to see some flaws in this plan. Mainly, he threatens violence way more than he actually follows through. He's not in bad shape, but none of that is from combat training. He's gonna get his ass kicked. Shit.]

Uh, you, uh, you sure you don't got some trick or something?

[mindofathief]

No, no! You don't have to beat me up [He's prefer not to.] but it's more of...blocking practice, throwing punches at the dummy.

[He tilts his head at at the slightly beaten up sack on the other side of the room. It was already used when he found it, but he added a few more dents to it before Santa showed up.]

There's a trick, but you to have the right stance for it. [He steps back and looks at Santa's feet.] Show me how you get ready for a fight.

[21stcenturyguy]

Oh. Ok.

[He's not really sure what Duster means by 'get ready for a fight'. Santa was born ready. It's not really a process he goes through. He stands in front of the dummy. The sack one, not the one training him.]

You ready for this, punk?! [Trash talk counts as battle prep, right? Santa isn't gonna admit it, but he usually loses the fights he gets into.]

[In terms of stance, he's not doing anything special. His feet are planted shoulder-width apart (and his shoes are really stylish), and his chest is puffed out a little at his 'opponent'. He has his hands drawn into fists.]

[mindofathief]

[This won't help when you get murdered tonight.]

...Um. [Trash talk takes up a whole turn, which gives the opponent an opportunity to strike first. It's completely wrong, the worst way to start a battle--

Duster shakes the voice of his father out of his head.]

That's completely unbalanced. One hit'll knock you to the ground. Your feet are a good distance away from each other, but everything else needs work.

[Just like with teaching Aoi proper stretch techniques, Duster stands in front of him and pushes down on his shoulder.]

Don't be so tense. If you let yourself bend, it's easier to roll away from the blows. And move one of your feet closer to the dummy than the other. Are you right handed?

[21stcenturyguy]

[Yep, one swift suckerpunch will do it. The thought kind of takes the fun out of this exercise.]

Truth, I'm right-handed.

[He lets Duster maneuver him into position and places his left foot closer to the dummy without even making an obnoxious comment about ways he could bend and work off some of his tension.]

You know, 'm not ever gonna have a job where I gotta fight close up. 'S not really my style. [So there's probably no point in wasting Duster's time, really.]

[mindofathief]

Like that.

[Aoi's a quick learner. Duster steps back, checking up on any other obvious mistakes that need correction.]

Just because it's not your job doesn't mean this'll come in handy. What if you run into someone on the street and don't have time to work on a spell? [Satisfied with what he sees, he pushed the dummy closer to Aoi.] I have a friend on the Nowhere Islands who has some of the most powerful PSI attacks I've ever seen. She can take out armies with lighting or meteors or fire, anything. But she still worked on her hand-to-hand skills and carries a knife around just in case she runs out of the mental energy to use those attacks. Even though I'm the one who focuses on physical attacks, she doesn't let that stop her.