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]

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.]

[mindofathief]

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]

[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...

[mindofathief]

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.

[rialynn]

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?

[mindofathief]

[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.

[rialynn]

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.

[mindofathief]

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.

[rialynn]

[Rialynn jumps a little with a surprised 'Eep!', hands coming up reflexively to push his fist down. Not fast enough that she could have stopped him, though, and she laughs sheepishly at her knee-jerk reaction.]

So foot stomp, then punch. ...You want me to actually try, or should I just go through the motions?

[mindofathief]

Let's go through the motions first. You almost blocked me, but I'll go slower to show you how it's done.

[Duster pulls his fist back and waits. Throwing a punch slowly is easier than doing an impressive kick slowly, but every attack he does is instinct. To stop him impulse and think about his next move? It's difficult.]

[rialynn]

[Rialynn watches intently. It makes her wonder just how dissimilar punches are from fencing. Were she to have her blade, she would swivel the wrist to push his arm away from her and divert the blow. So if it were self-defense, would she do the same, except with her hand? She isn't sure she could just absorb the full power of someone's gut punch.]

Okay. I think I've got it. What about blocking?

[mindofathief]

You need just one arm for that. Here.

[He moves his fist towards her stomach and stops halfway there. Rialynn's going to need her dominant arm for his, so Duster holds out his free hand.]

I'll show you where to move it.

[rialynn]

[She's so ready to Wax-On-Wax-Off that punch--! Oh, wait, he has a different method? Rialynn untenses, then blinks.]

Oh, okay.

[Were it someone else she might blush or feel awkward, but Duster has that comfortable familiarity of an uncle. She offers her hand right back, her fingertips rough with callouses from her commoner upbringing and love for musical instruments.]

[mindofathief]

[Duster can't imagine being that kind of harsh teacher, especially when the pupil is so inexperienced in fighting. This will use a gentler approach. He takes hold of her wrist and twists her arm so that her hand faces his punching arm. His own palm is calloused and scarred from years of fighting, and his grip ensures no escape.

Not that this is a situation that calls for Rialynn remaining immobile. Friends need no reason to hurt one another.]

So. You move it towards my forearm, but bend your elbow a little like this. There. Now you can parry my punch--

[He demonstrates by having Rialynn's arm push his downward and away from her gut.]

And there you go!

[rialynn]

Well that doesn't seem too hard!

[She beams, then mimics the motion again, trying to commit it to memory. Bend the elbow, push downward... It's not much different than parrying someone else's sword, save that she's got less distance to work with.]

Should I punch you now?

[mindofathief]

Sure!

[Duster moves his arms higher and shuffles back to give himself some room.]

Ready.

[rialynn]

Okay, here goes.

[Despite her declaration, she's still psyching herself up. She blows out her breath, working her fingers in and out and rolling her shoulders. Her stance is still very much that of a fencer's, balanced with one foot pointed forward and the other to the side, keeping her body turned to make herself as small a target as possible. But when she steps forward to punch, she falls easily into the pose Duster taught her as she swings her fist in a driving scoop toward his middle.]

Rah!

[mindofathief]

[Wrong stance, wrong stance. Duster repeats those two words in his head as Rialynn prepares her attack, and his tight mouth is all that he lets through to express that. Fortunately for the both of them, she subconsciously rights herself. He takes a split second to react.

The arm moves down, perhaps too harshly, as he's surprised by the good form. If he didn't take the time to mull over her attack, he would have gone easy on her with that block. Instead, his reflexes cause Rialynn's punching arm to swing away wildly.]

[rialynn]

[It's a good solid smack to the wrist, causing Rialynn to yank back her arm and shake out her hand as she winces.]

Mmmf...

[Ow.]

So er...was that any better?

[mindofathief]

Uh. You almost caught me by surprise.

[He rubs the side of his arm that hit Rialynn. That definitely was more power than he needed.]

You won't find many people with a Monk Job like me, so I'm much tougher than what you'll be facing. [Still holding onto his arm, he eyes her hand.] Did that hurt?

[rialynn]

It's not bad, just stings a little.

[She stops shaking out her hand, since it's not helping and she doesn't want him to worry about it.]

It's been a while since I've actually been in a fight, if you couldn't tell.

[mindofathief]

Hey, I'm not saying that you should get into every fight you can. You'll get tired of it fast.

[Tazendra and Kumatora come to mind.]

Unless that's the kind of thing you like.

[rialynn]

Not really.

[She grins as she says it, her nose wrinkling.]

I think I just liked learning a new skill more than actually finding a use for it. But it's still good to know in case I get into trouble. So...thanks. I'm glad I've got a good teacher!

[mindofathief]

[A light punch to Rialynn's arm. He's picked up the gesture from Kumatora during their travels.]

Some of the credit has to go to you for being a quick learner. Who knows, people might be amazed to see a musician take down a guy twice her size!

[rialynn]

Ohhh, I hope it doesn't come down to that.

[She grins as she paces a small circle over the mat.]

I try to avoid taking down paying customers whenever possible.