Is it sharp? [Basic Dagger]

Josephine Wis · June 15, 2007, 05:45 PM

1st cycle of Junctior, XIII PF

Continued from here

Josephine entered the center of the Temple of Aslan and was approached by a burly male human with thin black hair and a full beard. He eyed her with his head turned to one side as if thinking if she will be worth his time. Josephine looked him in the eyes and didn't move a muscle. She wasn't one to frightened easily...

Finally he spook "My name's Goran. Are you here for weapon training or just taking a walk to see half-naked men?..."

Josephine's dark eyes shone and was about to open her mouth on him and maybe to add a few slaps on his face too; but there was something about him... His eyes narrowed as if sensing her thoughts and he just smiled, placing his gloved fists on his hips.

Regaining control on herself, Josephine spook "I'm here to learn the basics of dagger-fighting."

He smiled "You have a temper, but you can hold it too. Good. Come, let's get you started. We have a lot to do." He said motioning with his gloved hand for her to follow.

They walked down the corridors and, eventually, entered an open room.

Josephine Wis · June 20, 2007, 07:49 AM

Josephine stood quietly in her place while her teacher went to a closet in the corner of the room. While he searched in it, he said "A dagger is often disregarded as a weapon. It’s not as impressive as a sword, and it demands that its wielder get into close range to use it effectively. Because of this, it is both dismissed easily and overlooked often in its usage. That doesn't mean it isn't important. It’s a very easy weapon to conceal. It’s also a very easy weapon for a woman or lighter fighter to wield without any trouble whatsoever."

Josephine smiled. It looked like she had picked the right weapon for her... Finally the man found what he was looking for and returned to her, holding two wooden daggers shaped in the typical traditional dagger shape. "These are made of wood and are safer for training. They are also a bit heavier and will increase your speed when you go to use a metal dagger for combat."

Josephine moved her hand to take one of the wooden daggers, but her teacher didn't gave it to her. Dark eyes shining in surprise, she frown.

Goran smiled mischiefly as Josephine's eyes displayed her surprise and frustration "We'll get to the fighting part in the end, don't worry, little girl."

Dark eyes flickered in a short display of anger as he called her 'little girl'. A long olive colored hand moved to the dagger that was on her hip, but he stopped her with a quick gesture "Control your emotions, little girl! When you let anger and revenge get hold of you, you're nothing more then an Orc or a small child! Always use your mind and don't let insults get to you!" he snapped.

"Now, put that so-called-dagger of yours in the cabinet until I'll judge you ready to use it." It was a commend and Josephine wasn't one to take an order from just anybody. Dark eyes challenged the man. He returned her gaze with a steady one of his own and she gave up.

Her dagger was put in the cabinet.

Josephine Wis · June 24, 2007, 05:37 PM

Josephine faced her teacher again, her anger under control "So what are your orders now, Mighty lord of the dagger?" she said sarcastically.

Goran laughed again "You have spirit, that is good." his eyes twinkled a little "What you will do now is worm ups. It is important for your body to be fit in general, but worming up before a practice is also important."

Josephine smiled. She had tried to keep herself in shape and it wasn't hard. When she was in the farm, as a child, there was always something to do. When she got married and moved to Paxia, there was less chance of staying fit; but, since the war, she had done some traveling which weren't a bad thing as walking kept her feet working.

The warming up began with simple jogging in the same spot. It took a couple of minutes. Then she continued with swinging arms in a circle and then did the same, but in the opposite direction. After that, Goran instructed her to stretch her neck tendon, legs and waist.

So far, so good thought Josephine

As if reading her mind, Goran smiled. "All you did so far is getting the blood to run faster in your body. It wouldn't make your body stronger, to do that, you'll need to work on your strength. 20 push ups!"

Josephine gave her teacher a nasty look and dropped to her knees. She, then, extended her legs until her body was held up by only her toes and the palms of her hands, with her arms fully extended.

Taking a deep breath, she lowered herself down until her elbows were fully flexed and her face came close floor. Holding the position for a second, she could feel the muscles of her arms and chest straining to hold the weight of her body above the ground. It was hard...

Josephine raised his body back up until her arms were fully extended once more. She counted the push ups in her head. Doing the push up was harder then she had imagined and yelling out the number would only waste what little energy she had left.

One... Two... Three... Four... Five...

A grunt

Six... Seven... Eight... Nine... Ten...

How much more of this stupid exercises has he got for me in store?

Eleven... Twelve... Thirteen... Fourteen... Fiveteen...

I will not let him be a witness to my my failure!

Sixteen... Seventeen... Eighteen... Nineteen... Twenty...

Josephine stopped and got up.

"Not bad for a start, but if you really wish to stay long in combat, you need to practice more. Every brightening, from now on, you would need to do those worm up." Goran said when she had finished.

Josephine Wis · June 26, 2007, 12:02 PM

Goran showed Josephine one of the wooden daggers he held in his hand. "This is the blade. Different daggers have different blades. Notice how this one is sharp on both sides with a triangular point where the sides meet in the middle? Other daggers might have a saw-toothed edge on one side. Some points may curve at the end like a hook. Others may only be sharp on the one side. It depends entirely on the blade." he pointed at the blade.

"Now... This is the hilt." He ran his hand along the the area of the hilt "It consists of the grip, the cross guard and the pommel. The cross guard is used to prevent your hand from sliding from the grip and onto the blade as well as stopping other blades from sliding down your dagger and into your hand."

Goran gave Josephine the dagger "Now, watch my hand closely. A dagger should be held only by the first two fingers and thumb to allow flexibility of hand and wrist. The last two fingers should be loosely touching the hilt. This grip will let you hold the dagger so the blade will point into the air, with the dagger's blade just above the thumb and forefinger. With this grip, a simple bend of the wrist can point the blade to the opponent, up, or down as you deem fit to do." Goran moved his fingers confidently, letting the female watch him.

Slowly, the human moved the dagger, so it would point up and then changed the place of his thumb and pointed the Dagger down "There are two grips used. For slashing and thrusting, dagger should be held with the blade up. But for stabbing, hooking or holding enemy, you should hold the dagger with its blade down. Practice this."

Josephine looked carefully how her teacher held the dagger and memorized where exactly the fingers were held and how the blade could be pointed up and down with just using the wrist. She nodded her head and tried it out. At first, it felt a little strange, but, after a few trys, she soon felt it was getting better.

Josephine Wis · June 28, 2007, 11:21 AM

"OK, now lets move to the stance." said Goran, while Josephine raised her eyebrows in surprise "Why does it matter how I stand?" she asked curiously

Her teacher smiled "A right stance is absolutely necessary to succeed in a fight, little girl. Balance and precision are the key words here. The opponent who doesn't have a balanced stance is most likely to fall. One who falls can be slain easily, for it would take them longer to regain their solid ground."

Josephine nodded her head and listened carefully. She was getting used to his use of the words 'little girl'. She didn't like it, but it started to be of less importance to her. What he said was the important part, not how he called her.

"First we will start off with the basic stance. Stand with your feet shoulder length apart with one slightly ahead of the other, and lean forward slightly. Hold your dagger blade up in front of you with your other hand next to it, but a little less then shoulder length away from it. The hand not holding the dagger should be palm out, as if you were going to push someone." Placing his feet shoulder width apart, he put his left foot slightly in front of the other. Pulling his dagger with his right hand he raised it out in front of him, blade up. Raising his left hand he positioned it shoulder length away from his dagger hand and twisted it palm out.

Josephine copied his stance slowly and he nodded her head.

Then he started to move. With his right foot slightly in front of his right shoulder, his body was turned to be at forty-five degrees to the direction of his foot. His left foot faced out to the side in its place behind the body. He raised his right arm so that the elbow about two inches from his hips, the upper arm was parallel to the ground with the hand holding the knife diagonally up and across. "This one's called a Forward stance and is easily modified for usage with a dagger fighting as you'll discover shortly..."

Josephine copied his movements slowly but confidently.

After a few seconds of waiting, he stepped forward with his right leg, so that it was now bent at the knee and, if he looked straight down, all he'd be able to see were his toes. His left leg was left behind him and was kept perfectly straight at the kneecap. Both of his feet were pointing at the metaphorical 1 o'clock point as to keep both straight ahead ended up feeling uncomfortable. In between his leg was about a twenty-centimeter gap which was used to spread his balance about and make it so that his center of balance was now lower to the ground and the likelihood of falling was greatly lessened. "This stance is called a Back stance and is primarily used for defensive fighting rather than aggressive which you'll find the Forward stance is more than capable of."

Josephine copied her teacher's movement again.

Without a word, the teacher shifted his body back to the basic stance, then to the Back stance, basic stance, Forward stance and then back to the basic stance again. He did it slowly first, but, after a few shifts, the speed increased. After a few moments, he stopped and looked as Josephine copied his moves. Josephine's concentration with each movement he did, was paying off. Her teacher walked around her and nodded his head slowly, satisfied from what he sow. "Not bad for a first time. After more practice it will became second nature to you." he said, his eyes sparkling.

Hmm, he forgot to call me little girl... thought Josephine, but her teacher didn't. With a grim he added "Now of you do, little girl. We'll meet tomorrow at the same time."

Josephine's eye sparkled a little "What about my dagger?" she demanded, remembering he still kept it in the closet. Goran laughed "It will still be here next brightening, waiting for you..." and shoved Josephine out of the room.

Josephine Wis · July 2, 2007, 03:11 PM

* * * Next Brightening * * *

Josephine entered the room at exactly the same time as the brightening before. Goran was waiting, a wooden blade already poised in his hand. Josephine raised her eyebrows and asked sweetly "Are you ready to spare already, Oh Mighty lord of the dagger?"

Goran laughed "We might be sparing this brightening, little girl, if you'll show me that you listen and learn." His eyes shining, he added "This brightening we're going to learn the best places to attack someone with a dagger and, if you get those down, we'll move on to actually using the dagger."

Josephine smiled "Your wish is my command..."

Goran smiled "The chest and stomach are very big targets and will be very good, if the opponent isn't wearing heavy armor. If someone is wearing armor, you could try and stick the dagger where the armor meets at the joints, such as under the armpit or just behind the knee.

The gut can make be critical wound, if struck right.

Other good places to strike are the thigh and the throat or even the shoulder. The throat, below the chin, is a good place to pick, even if the enemy has armor. There's a major source of blood there and can kill quickly if you hit it just right, but it's not always deadly if you miss the vein. The shoulder could be a good place to attack as it could make your opponent use his weapons less officiously. The thigh has a major blood vein there."

The man's eyes hardened as he said "When fighting with a dagger, you would be well advised to take whatever target is presented to you. You won't have time to choose. If an elbow comes your way, slash at it. If your opponents guard exposes a leg, get your blade into it. There is no time for finesse in a knife fight! Understood?"

Lynda Ironstaff · July 22, 2007, 06:42 PM

"Understood?" The word lingered in the air "Remember, trained fighters will have stances too. An arm or a leg are often the first to move forward and within striking distance, but also the first to move away. Let's try things out slowly first, before we move on to sparring." He stepped forward and, with soft but stiff movements of his hand, put Josephine in a forward stance. "Repeat to me, and yourself, the position that you've just taken and the important aspects of the stance. Once you have done that, we may proceed." It was unimportant if Josephine did it correctly. All Goran wanted was that she tried. He would correct her later, if necessary.

"Now we're going to simulate an attack, slowly. As we move along, we will pick up the pace and you're going to have to show me that you can keep up. At the point where you can no longer keep up, we will take a pause. Let us start off with me in a defensive stance." Goran quickly assumed a defensive stance, being used to such things, and held the wooden dagger in his hand with his thumb and two fingers, forefinger and middle finger, with the smaller fingers behind merely resting on the hilt. "And you should attempt to strike me from above. From then on, we'll move slowly, I'll lead the pace and you follow. Keep up!" He was ready for her to begin.

"Remember, I will guide you along the way." Goran noted.

All she had to do was bring down the wooden knife.

Josephine Wis · July 30, 2007, 07:04 AM

Josephine signed. She wanted to battle already! "My feet stand apart with one slightly ahead of the other and they lean forward slightly. This is to keep the balance, if I will be pushed back or to the side, the position of my feet will help me stay standing and not fall. About my hands, I think that the hand that isn't holding the dagger, that has the palm out, could be used for protection. One hand for attack and the other to protect."

A smile appeared on the woman's lips as her teacher explained what they are going to do next "You want me to stab you? No problem..."

Holding the wooden dagger tight in her hand, the way she wan told to, Josephine's eyes sparkled. She didn't move at all and, for a moment, she looked like a stone figure.

Attack!

Josephine moved her hand in one quick movement. The hand holding the dagger was moved backward a little to give energy to the future strike. Then she lashed out, the wooden dagger aiming directly toward her teacher's chest.

OOC: She is impatiant...

Josephine Wis · September 1, 2007, 11:30 AM

The teacher's hand moved fast as he moved his dagger to block hers. The two weapons clashed with a soft sound and Josephine was pushed back. She didn't fall, thanks to her stance standing.

"What you just did is called thrusting or stabbing. There are many different ways to do this technique, but we wont worry about that at this level. Now, usually it is done by first thrust you dagger into the opponent, then you have to twist to open up the wound and recover your dagger," he smiled "You didn't have the time to do it as I blocked you, of course... Blocking can be done either from outside to inside or from inside to outside, casting aside the opposing weapon or the obstacle. This can be used against thrusts, jabs and slashes."

He took a step back and continued to talk "Thrust is one of the techniques that are used for attack. Another is the slash..." He stood in the stance and moved his dagger forward. With a fast movement, he moved it down "This is the first cat..." he remarked and then turned the dagger toward Josephine, cutting up as he brought it back and returned to his Basic Stance "second cut..."

Josephine's eyes looked at his movements without a word, her face concentrating. After a push, she copied his movements slowly and he nodded his head. "All right..."

Keldon Elsdragon · October 4, 2007, 12:33 AM

The following brightening

A shadowed figure followed Josephine through Nexus Prime until she was in a rather empty area of the city in the late darkening. Moving slowing upto her they hoped that she had her dagger on her. For now she was going to be tested. The figure decided it was the perfect time to see if the women had learned anything or if it went through her little head of hers.

Standing in the shadows the figure made a small deep growling sound, the only thing visible was two green eyes in the darkness. Would Josephine defend herself? Run? scream like a school girl walking home from the university, faint... maybe she would soil herself in either of the processes, as after all the eyes hovered perhaps two feet above her height in the darkness.

Josephine Wis · October 7, 2007, 07:53 AM

Josephine was walking in Nexus Prime, deep in thoughts. She assumed that her dagger training in the Temple of Aslan was over, so she concentrated on what to do next. I might just wander Nexus Prime for a while, drink and have some fun. she thought Maybe I'll join the military... Not the Imperian, of course, but maybe the local one. It would give me some experience, crowns and a chance to advance. Will I join the local gaurds?... Hmm, no, it will be boring. The West Wardens will be better.

Josephine was so deep in thoughts that she didn't really looked where she was going and didn't notice her followers Yes, I might take my chances with the West Wardens... she thought as a sound was herd not far from her.

The woman stopped, her eyes moving around her, noticing for the first time where she was. It was a rather empty part of the city and she couldn't see any citizens around her. Just two green eyes shone in the darkness not far from her, around two feet taller then her. Josephine herself was about 5'5 and if the owner of the eyes was higher then her...

Could it be a giant? An Orc? Whoever it was, it was following her, maybe for quit some time now. Josephine cursed without a sound Why wasn't I paying attention to where was I going? she was upset and angry at herself. Not that she was scared, no. Josephine was upset because she didn't like to be at a disadvantage. Her follower had choose his place and time of an attack and not she, it wasn't good.

But there was still a bit of light in the situation. Maybe it didn't notices that she heard it... No, stupid girl. She just stopped at the sound of the growling sound, did she not? Well, it will certainly know that she had noticed it.

Unless...

Yes!

Josephine had an idea. She struggled her shoulders and said in a normal voice "I'm starting to hear voices now... Bah, its probably the wind..." With those words out, she struggled her shoulders again and continue to walk in a normal speed. Her idea was to turn a corner and, while the follower did what it supposed to do (follow...), she would hide and attack from behind.

Labyrinth · October 18, 2007, 05:19 PM

OOC: Here we go.

Quote:

Basic Dagger +2xp awarded