No Pity (Liu Fong Training)

[Sage Hazzard]

Sage waited in the center of a large concrete circle. He was waiting for his newest Padawan, Liu Fong. A message had been left for him to meet his new Master here.

[Liu Fong]

Opening an envelope one handed is harder than it looks. Liu wound up biting the letter open, and tore the invite in half. But it seems a master has taken a shine to him. Sage Hazzard has arranged a training session in the Academy.

"Hello, sir."

He approaches Sage's circle and starts to extend his left hand to shake. Realizing he has no left hand, he trades for the right one.

"Good to meet you, Master Hazzard."

[Sage Hazzard]

"Likewise."

Sage shakes the extended hand.

"Now I've heard of your want to protect the locals of street level Coruscant, as well as others. Can you still fight with one arm?"

[Liu Fong]

"Yes, though it is an impediment...I've only been one-handed for a few weeks, and I have yet to totally adjust. But I can fight."

[Sage Hazzard]

"Can you?"

Sage turned his back to Liu and walked away from him. Then, stopping and turning, he dashed at the Padawan.

"Show me!"

He leapt into the air and attempted a weak kick, testing the Padawan. Weither it was blocked or not was up to Liu.

[Liu Fong]

Liu leans aside and throws his right arm up, deflecting the incoming kick. He doesn't return the attack. Rather, he questions his teacher.

"Should I be countering? Or simply defending?"

[Sage Hazzard]

Sage laughs and stops.

"Good job. I wanted to make sure you could handle yourself. Most people when they lose a limb do not compensate. They become helpless. You adjusted for your disabilities, very good."

He pats the Padawan on the back, congradulating him.

"What do you know of the Force?"

[Liu Fong]

"I was told that the Force is like duct tape. It has a lightside, a darkside, and it binds the universe together."

Liu gives a wry smile.

"But seriously, I know only what the world knows...all the old cliche advice and such...the 'fear, anger, aggression' advice, the 'Force is in everything' speech..."

[Sage Hazzard]

"Yes, they really need to put an end to all that nonsense. They make the Force sound like a silly religion with candles and throw rugs."

Sage smiles.

"Your duct tape thesis is not far off. The Force is a large energy field, it flows between and through all things, animate and otherwise. It has a yin and yang principal. A positive and negative side to a overall spectrum. Most people, 99.9% of people, go thier entire life without knowing what the Force is or how it affects their life. Also, they have no clue how to harness or utilize the Force. To do so, you must tap into one of the sides of the energy field. They seem sentient at times, and many Jedi rival over if it is a lifeforce itself. Regardless, one side is connected by purity of thought. No emotions. Hate, Aggresion, and Fear are emotions that actually repel the Light Side, the side the Jedi follow. It seems to tap into the Dark Side you must forcefully channel those negative emotions. The Dark Side is much like a drug. It makes you feel good for a while but later you'll be left drained, and under it's influence you'll be highly incapatitated. Prolong exposture to the Dark Side can shorten your life span, make you become delusional, and can often lead you to do terrible, evil acts. Which is why some Jedi believe the Dark Side is an entity, that uses it's deciples as puppets for evil deeds. Although this might be a bit extreme, you'll see why it's not so far fetched once you meet a Dark Sider."

Sage smiles again.

"The Light Side can be known to prolong your life span, but no other long term effects can be found. Though without emotion logic reigns. Your brain will slowly become more intune and logical. You won't become an emotionless zombie, but you'll be able to put aside your emotions to think things through. Emotions cloud judgement. Does this idea of giving up emotion scare you?"

[Liu Fong]

"Not at all. I've swallowed the feeling of dread that rises in my heart every time I have killed a man for the sake of protecting my village slum."

[Sage Hazzard]

"I see. However, dread is not the only emotion you'll need to abolish."

Sage stopped.

"Let's not continue on this topic. Instead of asking you if you're afraid to give up emotions, let me show you what that means and how it feels."

The Jedi Master grabbed a stick off the wall throught he Force. It was a sparring staff. Although Liu most probably saw it coming, Sage was too fast. He struck Liu on the leg, bringing him to his knees with this powerful blow.

"Do you feel pain? Of course you do. However, pain is not an emotion. In fact, through training, you'll slowly become more resistant to pain. The emotions I know you feel, the emotions all non-jedi have to feel after being struck are: Anger towards the attacker, Aggression building up for a counter-strike, and Fear from what will happen if you can't defend yourself from a further beating. If you feel ANY of these emotions, you are human. To not feel these would be... Jedi-like. Imagine taking this lesson to an extreme. Because honestly I'm sure the idea of feeling these emotions might seem inviting and impowering. However, one might feel themselves losing their humanity, the thing that makes them them. Do you?"

[Liu Fong]

"I...am unsure," he says, drawing a hissing breath against the pain. "I have felt both the empowerment and horror brought on by the flood of emotion in battle. I would prefer not to feel that berserk quality ever again...it is not me. It is animalistic."

[Sage Hazzard]

"Indeed it is. Humans are essentially animals, I must remind you."

Sage takes a deep breath.

"I have come to a decision. I will teach you the Force. Before I was sceptical, as I am of all new Padawans, that you'd be able to commit yourself and give yourself to the Jedi. I see potential, so I'll aid you in discovering it."

Sage overlooked the area they were in.

"What do you feel? Your senses will tell you the area is very much alive. Smell, Sight, Touch, Sound, Taste, they tell you what is around you in the physcical form. To feel the Force you must dwelve deeper. Searching out the Force will only end in heart ache. It must come to you. In time, the length I am unsure, you will be able use your 6th sense, the feel of the Force. One day you'll be able to wield it. However these things take time."

Sage closed his eyes for several seconds, thinking. He then opened them slowly and spoke as if the idea had come to him through slow contemplation.

"I want you to try and sense the Force. First you must close down all your other five senses. In time you will be able to use them in combination with the 6th. For now, they hinder you. Close your eyes, to stop Sight. You must go withen your thoughts to block out sound, touch, taste, and smell. Focus on a fictional shape in your head. When you have it, tell me what color it is, the relative size, and the shape. Do all this without coming out of your thoughts."

[Liu Fong]

Liu takes a seat. He shuts his eyes and takes a deep breath. He tries to quiet hiimself, to go within and resist all his other senses...smell is no problem. The room holds no particular smell, so it's not like that one's hard to ignore. Taste is another simple one. But hearing...touch...those are harder. How can he not feel the cold floor, or hear the spars going on down the hall? A small thud comes from the next room, followed by a little girl's crying, and the reassuring voice of her own mentor. He furrows his brow and tries to focus on something else.

[Sage Hazzard]

"When you went to sleep, in the slums of Coruscant where I believe you once lived, the sound and clatter from the surroundings must have been deafening. Sirens and screams, gunshots and vandalism. All these things yet you somehow got to sleep... eventually. You must focus on the shape in your mind. When you are talking to me, or in battler with me, you do not hear the surrounds do you? You are so focused on what you're doing, you're ignoring everything else. You must apply that to this fictional object. I'm not saying you can do it today, or tommorow, or weeks to come. One second of complete blockage from the physical world, and you will open yourself to the Force enough to know how to get back there. In time you'll be able to connect whenever you want. Now, you must settle for this controlled enviorment and a brief millisecond of clearity."

Sage, without looking behind him or moving at all, closes the door to the hall with the Force, blocking out some of the noise.

[Liu Fong]

Liu sighs. An object...for some reason, he thinks of a cube. He turns his focus to it. It's a dull grey, like a holograph projector. Is this cube his perception of the Force? He furrows his brow once more, focusing as best he can. With the closing of the door the sounds of training are reduced to only half their volume, but trying not to hear them makes them seem somehow louder...at least the floor doesn't feel cold anymore.

[Sage Hazzard]

"I'll help you."

Sage grabs two earplugs. He uses them while training Padawans sometimes, as well as a blindfold. He puts them in Liu's ears, so as not to break his concentration by handing them to him.

"The object will be the centraling factor. Once you have that, you can look withen yourself and communicate with your Midi-Clorians, the things that are what connects you to the Force."

[Liu Fong]

The world turns silent, and Liu sees nothing in his mind's eye, save for a metallic cube. Slowly it glows bright white before flaring in front of his vision, shaking Liu awake.

"It...it is incredible..."

He's breathing heavily and beads of sweat stand out on his forehead. The Force...it's overwhelming for him to feel conciously, for the first time.

[Sage Hazzard]

"Indeed."

Sage smiled.

"I'm sure you are beat from this exercise, but that is all the better for me to push you further. Stand and defend yourself. A spar is in order."

Sage believed in pushing yourself. Even though he'd just gone through one of the biggest moments of his life, one that would take it's physical toll on him, Sage would push him further. See how much will the man had.

[Liu Fong]

Liu stands, taking controlled breaths, steadying himself.

"You have initiated the challenge; therefore I leave you to make the first move, Master Hazzard."

[Sage Hazzard]

Sage smiled. He didn't liek opening things, but he'd go ahead and start it off.

"Very well."

The Jedi Master outstretched his hand. Suddenly, the Force pushed Liu back and on his backside. Sage chuckled.

"First move made."

[Liu Fong]

Liu stands again. It seems he will be the first to throw a punch...or rather, a kick. He shuffles forward and spins on the ball of his left foot, arcing a spinning hook kick at Sage's head.

[Sage Hazzard]

The Jedi Master sees it a mile away. The tensing of the muscles as the foot digs into the ground for the spin, the lifting of the other foot, and the time the legs takes to get to Sage are all the Jedi Master needs to prepare.

He raises his right hand and hooks it over Liu's foot. Twisting his wrist he holds the ankle of the foot and pulls it towards him more. At the same time, Sage raises his left leg and places it on Liu's chin with little force. He lowers Liu to the ground, slowly, holding the foot and pushing down with the foot. It was unpainful for the Padawan, because of Sage's gentleness. Sparring takedowns, where the point is for teaching, are rarely meant to bring pain.

Keeping the foot on Liu's chin, and the arm under his armpit, he looks down on Liu.

"You're not thinking to win. You must learn the techniuqes and methods used to take down the toughes of foes, so you can handle them as well as the weak. What you just did would not fool a Master of the Sith, however it might work against an apprentice. But if you learn what to do against a Master, you can take down his apprentice as well."

Sage backed off, releasing his grips.

"Misdirection is the largest key. You must also learn what to do to disable your opponent's body, so he will be succepatble to a quick and lethal attack. Now, come at me again and attempt to mislead me to your true intentions."

[Liu Fong]

"Very well..."

Liu stands, he seems to be doing that alot in this exercise. He feints forward, but steps back again. He's not sure what he should do at all. He goes for a simple fake out: a feinted punch followed with a kick.

[Sage Hazzard]

Sage smiles as he blocks the kick.

"Good. Your skill and ability will increase in time. Right now you've learned an essensial building block for your future exercises. Observe."

He needed to give Liu an example of a well executed attack. Since Liu was a Padawan, a new padawan, he could easily hurt him with a simple move. Instead he'd go the extra mile to prove his point, that the approach and actions are just as important as strength and speed.

Sage steps towards Liu and throws a right uppercut, it doesn't connect. In fact, it's several inches away from him. However, it's enough to get the Padawan's eyes to focus on that hand for that brief second. As his hand still moves up in an uppercut motion, Sage turns his torso and lower body enough to hook his left ankle behind Liu's left ankle. He places his left hand on Liu's back as he brings his right hand, uppercut fake completed, down and on Liu's chest. He pushes the hand and Liu, his ankle hindered, trips. He's caught by Sage's left hand, which he had previously placed behind Liu's back. Sage spins and drops so he comes to a crouch, he places his right hand on Liu's back, more towards the Padawan's shoulderblades. The knee of the Jedi Master rests on Liu's back, in between where Sage's hands are. Liu would hit the ground if it weren't for Sage's hands keeping him up.

"Right there I could have cracked your back with my knee, if I weren't so gentle and didn't cushion your fall."

Sage pushes Liu back to his feet and he himself stands as well.

"Now, attack again."

[Liu Fong]

Liu lashes out with the loose sleeve on his left and spins inside to throw an elbow strike.

[Sage Hazzard]

Sage takes the blow, holding the elbow as it hits him to soften the impact.

"Good, very good. You're getting the hang of it already."

Sage backs up.

"Now, what do you want to attack to weaken an enemy? Try and name close to 10 spots you should hit to soften an enemy up."

[Liu Fong]

"Ten?"

Liu can barely come up with one. But he tries.

"Um...I suppose..."

He draws a blank. He's never given fighting this much thought. He always...just fought. He places a hand to his forehead and sighs.

"I guess...somewhere on the abdomen?"

[Sage Hazzard]

Sage chuckles.

"I suppose. Though the abs are some of the strongest muscles on a human body and the stomach will at all times be heavily guarded by the arms and legs, which crisscross over the abs."

The Jedi Master walks close to Liu. He puts a foot on Liu's knee.

"The knee. Push it in, the wrong way, and you can break someone's leg. Or just help it's natural bend and bring an opponent to his knees."

He takes the foot off and points at Liu's nose.

"The nose. Though heavily gaurded it is weak. When punched hard enough it can cause tears to well up in the eyes. The pain is unpleasent as well. Or try sticking two fingers, one in each nostril, and pulling. Either the opponent will give or the skin will tear straight through."

Sage points at the elbow.

"The elbow, same as the leg."

He touches Liu's throat.

"Hit the throat and it closes up. The swelling will make it hard for air to get to the lungs, the voice will be silenced, and the pain is unbearable."

Sage puts his hands next to each of Liu's ears.

"The ears. Slam them at the same time and the ringing that will incur is enough to drive a man mad. Pull and twist the lobe to gain the advantage in a fight as well."

Sage points as his eyes, then Liu's.

"Gouge the eyes to impair vison, or even fake an attack there for an opponent to become hasteful to defend."

The Jedi Master grabs one of his own fingers.

"The fingers of a hand are bent to bend one way. Twist them the opposite and you'll bring your enemy enormous pain. Twist it enough, sharply, and it'll break."

Sage looks at Liu's hair.

"That long fashion you wear can become your own worst enemy. The hair is easier to hold onto than the skull. Use it to make the head go where you want. Into an uprising knee or into the pavement."

Sage touches Liu's ribs.

"When a rib is broken it can not only slow you down, but stop you completely."

Finally, Sage's steps back.

"For the tenth, you guessed it, the family jewels. I shouldn't have to say anymore."

The Jedi Master chuckled.

[Liu Fong]

Liu notes all of these things, taking them in, when suddenly a thought occurs to him.

"This is like when I was a child. These are all methods used in schoolyard brawls...well, except the throat strike. Pulling hair, bending fingers...but the ballshot was considered dishonorable. We tried to avoid that one."

[Sage Hazzard]

"In a social settings, where your enemy could one day be your friend, the low blow is rightfully taboo. However, when you're facing a Sith who wants nothing more than to hang your gutted, mutilated body, on a crane and let the blood poor from your body onto the pedestrians below, you must deploy any method nessecary."

[Liu Fong]

Liu nods his understanding.

"Very well."

He moves to scratch his head with his left hand, but quickly trades for his right. He hasn't got his left arm, he reminds himself. It's tough to remember if he isn't thinking about it.

[Sage Hazzard]

"Now try and defend an attack."

Sage rushed towards the Padawan. He swung hard at Liu's nose...

[Liu Fong]

Liu moves swiftly, deflecting Sage's fist and kicking toward his open side.

[Sage Hazzard]

Sage let the kick hit him. Now only to give the Padawan something to be proud of but also so Liu would relise that planning for an attack was indeed benificiary. He used his brain and attacked the open side instead of something else. It hit Sage's ribs as well, which was part of the earlier teaching. Sage kept running a bit after, than turned.

"Good, good."

Sage charged again and did the same punch, but faked it and brought his right leg to attempt to kick Liu's ankle...

[Liu Fong]

Liu moves to again deflect the fist, remembering too late the advice of feinting attacks. Sage's kick takes his legs out from under him, but the Padawan doesn't give up. He stands up for the umpteenth time since the lesson started. His options are limited without his left arm, he can only think of a small number of moves to make. He tries the opposite of Sage's last move; a false kick and a follow up punch.

[Sage Hazzard]

Sage, goes to block the kick with his leg, trying to intercept it, but the kick is a fake. Quickly adjusting, he leans in, putting his blocking leg forward. He twists and grabs the fist, and with his good position and Liu's momentum, Judo throws Liu over his shoulder and airborn. Finally, he hits the ground.

"Good! I'm a Master, so I am naturally quicker than you and any punch or kick you throw, fake or not. However, as you gain in speed and skill, that move will be likely to land! Very good."

Sage folds his arms.

"How about we end this training session. So that you may tend to your bruises, look about the temple, and make new friends. We can train again in a few days. I'll make sure you get a message."

Sage starts to leave but pauses. It's akin to being in grade school when the teacher would start to let you out, but then tell you to do homework.

"Actually, let's end with another attempt to reach the Force. Remember, blocking out the senses is just step one. You must look withen yourself and call for the Force. Do not seek it, call it. The Force sometimes does not want to be found," Sage chuckled at that. "Here."

Sage took out and pitched earplugs and a blindfold to Liu.

"Keep them and use them now. They'll aid you in this training and future sessions."

[Liu Fong]

Liu catches the plugs and blindfold and asks a question.

"Do I have to try to contact the Force again now? Or is this homework?"

[Sage Hazzard]

Sage laughs.

"Let's say both. Do it now, as it will not only build on that aspect, but it will also build your physical and mental endurance. There's no doubt you're beat. If you push yourself that extra mile, you'll push the mile. Try it now, then practice it in your room before going to sleep."

[Liu Fong]

Liu can't tie the blindfold one handed, but he can put in the ear plugs. It feels something like cheating, but he'll learn eventually to do without them. He loses his senses of sight, touch, and taste almost immediately, despite the slight rocking of his body as it seeks it's center of gravity. Smell is a bit of a trick though; both men smell of sweat from their exercise. He pushes it aside and picture the cube again. It glows softly, and he focuses harder, only to have the cube fade out.

"Hm...I guess I tried too hard."

[Sage Hazzard]

"Yes. The Force does not like being pressured. You must let it come to you. Be patient."

[Liu Fong]

"Then I'll let it sit awhile and try again later. I appreciate the lesson, and look forward to the next one."

Liu bows.

[Sage Hazzard]

"Likewise. May the Force be with you, my Padawan."

Sage bowed as well and walked out.