Training a Padawan

[Oriadin]

Some people may or may not have noticed that my Master, Verse Dawnstrider and I have recently had a bit of a conflict of interests when it comes down to what the master is supposed to teach his Padawan.

I have been here about a month now and so far all ive learnt in the ways of the force is to calm myself and to move a rock. Ive learnt a little bit about what the force is too. I recently made a post asking if someone else would like to go through some training with me as it seemed that Verse never added anything to my training but was on the board making other posts. I felt a little dishearted about him talking to other people but him ignoring me. As it turned out he said

"the reason I have not posted to your training thread is because I am one of those "learn from experience" people. Now that you can touch the Force, I just kinda act like a guide. I'm just waiting for you to go out into the world. Be the pimp you can be in the bar ect."

Someone else added that maybe Verse could go through some roleplays with me to which I replied to verse and this other person.

Yeah but werent we in the middle of a training excersise? So I now know I can touch the force but I have no idea of what Im supposed to do with it. So far ive learnt to calm myself and to move a rock, thats about it. From what ive seen the roleplays are about going on missions and stuff. even encountering the sith. Id get my back side kicked! I havent learnt anything of fighting, trying to keep the peace, or anything. I guess I just thought there would be more to it.

Whats everyone elses opion on what the masters level of responsability? What things should be taught and what things should be learnt from exprience?

[Anbira Hicchoru]

Its a master's prerogative on how to shape his or her padawan. Not all Jedi are alike, and there are many differing viewpoints. By training a padawan, a master perpetuates their own personal viewpoint, hoping to carry it on with their prodigy.

[Ryla Relvinian]

That is very much a frustrating but correct viewpoint. It is the master's place to train, but it is also the master's place to listen to his (or her) apprentices, and guide the training more towards their interests, strengths, and learning ability.

Oriadin, try checking the Warrior forum. (it has a new name, I think) Often there will be classes taught there about specific fighting styles or Force abilities. And also, be patient, IC, not all padawans have perfectly honed force abilities and/or a extensive fencing background. OOC, not all have the abundance of free time.

Good Luck in your training. :]

[Morgan Evanar]

I've sort of decided not to train "conventionally" and use more of an "adventure approach." Basically, you RP in threads. The biggest issue is creativity, of course, but I found that I didn't like using training threads, so I've instead opted to just make RPs on SWFans.

Jedi do not search for adventure; it is often thrust upon them. Force training does not prepare one for the diversity of the real world, and I'm of the opinion that Padawans are too sheltered with the current style.

Then again, I took the alignment test Kitty McQuade posted and got Chaotic Good, so I certainly don't expect anyone to agree with my IC observations/opinions.

Oriadin, what do you expect out of training? Clearly, you and Verse are an ill suited match, and I'm picky as hell about who I'll train. Read other training threads in the accademy: maybe someone has a style that will better match your expectations.

[Marcus QDunn]

My opinion is that Oriadin has a good point.

BUT, this is my take.

Training should be a mix of RP and formal training, especially for new players. A new player cant be thrown into the RP mix and swim unless they are really good and fast on their feet. I feel training is also training for RP as well, so keep that in mind.

After not training someone new for two years, I'm as rusty as hell anyway. What I am going to opt for is a Training / get to know approach, then RP. Like Morgan tho, I'm picky as I dont have much patience OOC.

What I feel is a fault of GJO a lot is that time isnt taken with newplayers. We expect them too much to swim with the sharks or not at all. That is something I have seen over a long time and I would say not everyone does it. I would say tho, watch out for it. Really make an effort to get to know people OOC as well. The most critical time for a newblood is the first month. You do it right, you will have a Knight who will be here for years.

Just my shave and a haircut....

:: Roger rabbit explodes thro the wall and screams..::

"TWO BITS!!!!"

[Jedi Knight Leia Solo]

Personally I think training should be: getting to know your padawan(history and such), ask them what the force is, what there knowledge of it is and questions they might have about it.Definetly have a discussion about the dark and lightside of the force. Ask them do they know the code. They will probably repeat it. You should ask them will they abide by it. (although that in itself can be contradictory look at Qui Gon). After you talk a bit. Go for the basic moves. Then try hand to hand. Then to sparring. Possibly building a saber if they don't have one. I do believe in several spars not only between the padawan and myself but with their fellow padawans. I observe and take note of their skills and behaviours. (I am sure I am leaving some things out! But..this is some of the things I cover)

When ready..I will adventure to the Tree and the Cave ala Yoda ;) See what and if they have any fears. Touch the subject and what the darkside is.

Ok...after all that...a good idea is to introduce them into an RP w/me..the master. If not..and they prefer and Rp challenge alone..I will make sure my prescence is masked and observed. Later on commenting on the encounter to my padawan.

Ok..well that is a SORTA brief style of my training.

Again..not all Masters styles are the same. This is pretty much mine.

My 50 cents worth

[verse dawnstrider]

My own Two cents...

A Master shapes the padawan. The Padawan is a person though. Jedi Boricua and me have things in common, but boy am I different from my old master. I have had four WAY different padawans. Fire Hazzard was a strange chick. She had anger issues. Xazor was a former Sith. I had to break those barriers. Thanatos is the son of a Sith lord. A Lupine that knows little of his culture. Oriadin has no memory of his past. So I must work with each on a different level.

Fire- Had to focus on 'inner peace'. So, I trained her slow. To teach her patiece.
Xazor- Break the Sith teachings
Thanatos- Work on Finding his own place in the world.
Oriadin- Have to find out his past.

Why is the training slow? I have a job with very strange and late hours, school projects, exams, and I am in the Air Force. Yes, I do post in here WAY more than anywhere else. Why? I have limited time, and must get the big stuff done first. Issues in here comes first. I have to look at the interest of GJO as a whole. Oriadin says he has learned nothing of defending the peace, and fighting.

Ok, good point. My view....he has to do the 'find the past' stuff first. If he doesn't RP that out some, it would be One step foward, and two steps back. IC, using the Force in combat comes LAST. Ask Xazor, I made a seperate thread for that after a while. Why? To do so earlier may lead to agression IC. As for RP's. I do that alot. Again, I will say 'Ask Xazor' me and her had a couple. I would rather do that.

In short, I will end saying that I have found a thing that all padawans share. Lack of Patience. RL comes before RP. I have ALOT to do right now. If Oriadin wants a speedy training, he should see someone else. Most stuff in RP is common sence. You can learn more by posting at the Bar, teh OOC areas, Living Area, ect. I am a easy going master most of the time. Take things nice and slow and let people think for themselves. If I say "Do this, not that" a padawan will do it just because. A padawan is a person. I feel most learning comes from oneself. The Master teachs some, and the padawan does the rest. One day the master will not be able to hold the learners hand.

Oriadin, training threads are kinda dull. If you wish to do an RP, send me a Line and I would rather do that. Hands on will teach more. Just some thoughts.

[Jedi Knight Leia Solo]

OOC: Yes RL comes first. That is sooo true Verse and I don't dispute that one bit. I use to have more time way back. No longer. These are the reasons I stepped down from being in charge of recruitement and taking on like 9 padawans at once. That has happened to me. For now 2 is it. We do get busy IRL and that is the truth. Hopefully people do understand that.

[Helenias QDunn]

I've never thought about this topic. I have never trained anyone. I'm reading to think of suggestions

[Xazor]

It's "Ask Xazor" time!! ;) Okay, here goes:

Verse, you're a great Master and I hope that Oriadin sees that. You have RL issues that have to come first! I do too, but I somehow work it to come on here more than I should. <img src=http://www.ezboard.com/image/emoticons_classic/laugh.gif ALT=":lol"> You must have patience ooc for training to work. I would not suggest seeing someone else for "quick training". There should be no such thing. Verse is right, these things have to take time. Sure a training thread is dull, but it is the basics and must be learned. Sparring and battle comes waaaay later. Like Verse said, there will be a whole seperate thread for that. If you do it to early, you will learn aggression because you haven't learned peace. Please don't give up on his teaching, you will learn so much from him. Think of an RP to do at SWfans and try that. Those can be pretty fun and you'll also learn a lot from those. There is always a lesson in everything you do. If nothing else, observe him IC and see what he does. Also observe his and other writing styles ooc to make yourself better. There is always room for improvement, no matter how "good" you are.

But as I said before, please have patience because quick training will get you no where. It is not about promotions that matter, it is about what you learn. If you "master the basics" in a week or so, you've gone way to fast and haven't learned anything at all. Trust me, I know how tedious it can seem, but if you wait and have patience, it will definatly pay off in the end. <img src=http://www.ezboard.com/image/emoticons_classic/smile.gif ALT=":)">

[Navaria Tarkin]

The hardest for me is that I am not training Sith anymore, I am training Jedi <img src=http://www.ezboard.com/image/emoticons_classic/laugh.gif ALT=":lol">

After that realization stuck, I was good to go ^_^

I still do the same things I did with the Sith. one, a character background is very important, even if a little one. You need to be grounded in who you are playing.

Know what the Force is and how to channel it - By a series of post, I teach a Padawan how to channel the Force otherwise, how can he have these wonderous abilities? For me, a Jedi is constantly channeling the Force to do the feats that he/she wants. When you need to do something big, then you really entrench yourself in the Force.

Then comes basic stuff, hand to hand, lightsabre stuff. Depending on the level of the player, that can go faster or not ...

While this is going on, I like to wet their feet on swfans if possible but I always direct them to post around this board and get to know people. It is the only way to learn about the Jedi here is if you do ;)

It is my personal belief, much like the Jedi of old, that it is the Master's responsiblity to train the Padawan to Knighthood. They are a reflection of yourself in a way and you need to be there for them when it is needed, and know when to let them handle themselves.

[Jedi Knight Leia Solo]

I definetly agree and do the same Nav.

Padawans are OUR responsiblities as Masters soooo very true! They are a reflection of ourselves, in a way.

Also..some padawans are more advance than others. That is a given. Like Anakin..I notice something about him. <img src=http://www.ezboard.com/image/emoticons_classic/laugh.gif ALT=":lol"> Umm..boy that sounds funny!! Actually, kinda scary he reminds me of an Anakin. He rps him well. Hope he isn't leaving:(

[JediMasterAnakin]

No im not leaving..Dont worry.

I like it to much here..and you think im like Anakin because I can roleplay him best..A little more advanced when starting..I dont post to much anywhere else maybe later..but that was how Anakin was when trained by Obi-Wan. He never hung out with the rest of the padawans he just tinkered around on droid parts and aircraft parts...

But I wont take the dark path at the end..

[Jedi Knight Leia Solo]

Good <img src=http://www.ezboard.com/image/emoticons_classic/smile.gif ALT=":)"> Better not or I will have to go after you ! ;)

Hmmm..maybe Obi should train ya!! J/K

But seriously you roleplay him as a Jedi very well!

[Oriadin]

I think it is very dangerous to allow someone to tap into the force and then just say, well done, go off and see what you can do. No guidence, no teaching of what you must not do. things such as using the force for wealth, to kill unnesesarily etc etc. A jedi has to be taught what can be done and what must be avoided otherwise how will they know? They would end up on the path to the dark side in no time.

Its the responsibility of the trainer to teach the trainee to be able to use the force and to be able to use the force for good.You have to be taught about the morals and the difference between the good side and the bad side and not to be left to find out for yourself. You have to be guided.

As for taking part in rp's. You have to have a certain degree of skill before you can do that. Picture this. Im a padawan thats learnt how to move rocks with my mind and ive learned to keep myself calm. I go out on a mission and come across a sith Lord. Killed hundreds of men. Think id stand a chance? Id be dead. Could you send me in to a peace keeping mission between to rival worlds that all they want to do is tear each other apart. Bearing in mind ive had no training on negotiations or peace keeping.

[Xazor]

All I can say to that is you must have patience then. All of these things will come in time. When Verse trained me, he wasn't on all the time, but I kept myself busy with other things. I participated in hand to hand spars and watched others train. It is very difficult to be a Knight because of the level of responsibility. He has RL things to tend to, and other RPs as well. If you notice, he'll reply to your training things one day, and then the next, go spend time at the other RPs he is in. That is the only way everything would get done. You must understand these things for training to work! In time he will teach you about keeping peace and what not. You are technically brand new. Training isn't supposed to whiz by....it is a process.

[Oriadin]

I didnt expect to wizz through my training but what I did expect was to work gradually. Build my way up. I have been keeping myself busy in other posts but its a bit disheartning when your in the middle of a training post and youve been waiting for two weeks for a post when the person your waiting on has posted elsewhere.

[Marcus QDunn]

but its a bit disheartning when your in the middle of a training post and youve been waiting for two weeks for a post when the person your waiting on has posted elsewhere.


If Verse wants a hand, I'm willing to help out.

[Oriadin]

Id love to do some work with you Marcus. Im sure Verse wouldnt mind, triaining and interaction with as many people as possible can only be a good thing, right?

[verse dawnstrider]

I was think about you(Marcus) or Helenias. I heard she wanted a padawan. It may be best if you take over fully because of RL issues that have just came up. With m eleaving in under two months for bootcamp, it would be worse on Oriadin. I would almost completed his training, then leave right before he is finished. This way he would have someone full time.

[JediBeldarine]

Alright.. Here's my input..

First, and above all, you must be patient. Things will come in time. That was my biggest problem that I needed to overcome... Everyone who will be my padawan in the future will have to understand that I might need to disappear for two to three days at a time.

Above all, my teachings go decently slow. I teach about the Force first.. Pushing them little by little to discover which powers the padawan seems to have the most control over.

I like the idea of adventure RPing.. though I'd only do that after I had spent at least two months with a particular padawan.. that way they aren't helpless.

Well I gotta go now.. My lunch break is over. I'll input more when I finish dinner later tonight <img src=http://www.ezboard.com/image/emoticons_classic/smile.gif ALT=":)">