melodiesoflife | Lessons in fighting

Entry tags:

Lessons in fighting

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.]

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[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?

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.

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.

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?

[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.]

[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.]

[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.

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.]

[He would mention that Rialynn could get lucky with a critical hit, but you couldn't depend on those to carry you through fights. Besides, that was the opposite of the lesson Duster wants to teach her.]

Heh. That's why Kumatora wears gloves and I wear shoes. Fighting hurts.

[He stands up, weight put mostly onto his right leg as usual, and stuffs his hands into his pockets while he looks at the dummy. The punch is the weak spot, but the follow-through can hurt her.]

Let's start from the beginning. Face me, and I'll show you how a basic punch works. [Duster turns and goes back to the first pose.] Don't put all your weight onto your front foot, though. It's not like kicking.

Okay.

[Rialynn turns obediently, relaxing from her stance only to resume it once more in Duster's direction. Then she shifts her weight as he indicated, resettling herself before lifting her fists once more and flashing a sheepish grin.]

How's this? Am I terrifying yet?

[Duster smirks. If it were anyone else, he would look cocky, but his tired eyes betray the playfulness.]

Pretty scary.

Now, hold your arms up, like this. [He demonstrates by bending his elbows and holding his fists nearby shoulder height.] Relax a little, it helps with reflexes.

[Rialynn mirrors his pose, then pauses, and readjusts to change her left and right side. If she mirrors him and he's not left-handed, then she's doing it wrong. Her right side is definitely the one she favors. She forces her shoulders to drop a little, and raises her fists.]

Like this?

Yup. Now, I'll throw a slow punch, like this.

[He moves his right fist towards Rialynn's face, thumb outside his fingers. His arm straightens out, and he presses the flat end of his fist against her cheek.]

Did you see how I kept it in a straight line? So when I pull it back, [The arm and fist retreat in the same manner.] I'm ready for the next attack. Or if you want to hit me, I can block it.

Ah, you're right. There's less time to get ready to punch again.

[She moves her head back into place with a smile. Then she frowns, concerned.]

You're sure? I don't want to accidentally hurt you...

[Rialynn isn't the strongest hero by a long shot, but if she gets in a lucky strike, well... It's not like she's skilled enough to hold back.]

You won't hurt me!

[ Concern shows up on his face as well. He doesn't want Rialynn, or any of his friends, to ever worry about him. It just feels wrong. ]

Trust me, I know that I don't look like a guy that trained for most of his life in the Thief Arts, but one punch won't do me in.

No no, it's not that. It's just... I mean, you can't throw a punch and not expect it to hurt. But, if you're sure, then I'll do it. Thanks!

[And her small fist rockets straight, just like he showed her, aimed directly at his throat. He can block that, right? He has good reflexes.]

[Throat attack! That's a bit tricky to dodge, but with a bit of ducking and knocking her arm out of the way, Duster manages to stay safe.]

That's a good one! But try an easier target next. Your opponent can move their head easy.

So...the stomach, then?

[Because if an opponent can move their head, that rules out the face. There are only a few areas on the human body that can be truly crippling to hit, and she figures if she's going to get into a fist fight, she should aim for those in order to end the confrontation fast.]

Well, yes, but you'd have to move your fist a long way to hit there, and if they block it, you'll leave your stomach exposed.

[He crosses his arms and looks at the ceiling, thinking back to his father's training. Duster eventually focused on kicks, but there has to be some good advice for a beginner in his memories.]

Normally you aim for the chest, get the enemy weaker and break down their defenses. Only if you're certain that they won't dodge is when you hit their weak points. There's different types of combos you can do with punches, but in this case, you're trying to stop an attacker and get away, so getting to their stomach as soon as possible is the point.

[Got it. In that case, Rialynn needs to be taught more advanced maneuvers.]

We can do a bit of basic practice, and then I'll show you how to get them in the stomach.

[Rialynn's gaze drops toward Duster's chest, her expression skeptical. She...really doubts she'd be able to do much damage in the long run. She might get in a lucky hit, sure, but if she has to keep punching at the chest, she's going to be easy to take down. She's a lightweight, and will drop like a stone the moment someone decks or tackles her.]

I don't know if I can do that.

[She tugs lightly at the tails of her bandanna, looking vaguely uncertain. But she'll follow him to go through basic practice just the same.]

Okay...

No, no, if you can hit that dummy as hard as you did, you can knock them down! If you're just trying to keep yourself safe, you don't have to worry about beating someone up enough that they collapse.

[That's what the Monk Job is for. This is different.]

In this case, you'll have to fight a bit dirty. Step on their toes, use your knee to distract them until you get clear hit on their stomach.

Oh, sure, sure. But...

[She looks at the dummy for a moment, furrowing her brow.]

...my knee?

[Her gaze goes a little bit...lower...than the stomach on the dummy.]

Just how dirty are we talking about?

[He can see where she's looking. He understands how much getting hit there hurts.]

...What you're thinking. [Please don't practice on him.] But not everyone has a weak point there, so...

[A shrug and a quieting, whining sound.]

Aim for the stomach first. Better to use your first than to lose your balance by doing a knee attack.

Yeah. I mean...I know it's an option, but it seems like they'd have to really deserve it. And I mean really deserve it.

[Taking away a man's ability to have children is a big deal. She'd have to be sure he's awful enough where he could never be trusted to spread his seed before fighting that dirty.]

[Sabien, on the other hand, wouldn't waste a second thought before delivering a swift junk kick of justice.]

I guess I can practice on the stomach, then.

Mmmm.

[Duster nods. It's a harsh punishment reserved for the worst of the worst, but even then, the most horrible people don't care about having children. And he doubts Porky would have cared about any damage to his immortal body so long as he controlled the world like a toy.]

Stomach's good. Let's work on the undercut. The simplest way to create an opening is to stomp on their foot. Like this.

[He beckons Riallyn to come closer and faces her.] I'll skip the stomping part. Here's the punch.

[Whiff. His fist zooms from underneath, stopping just as it touches her stomach.]

Only I wouldn't stop.

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