Mastering the Forms: A lesson in Sabers

[Ka' el Darcverse]

Ka' el stood quietly in the middle of the training dojo. He had been meditating, working on his individual Battle Meditation an art used by Jedi of old to sychronize their thoughts, emotions and actions towards one goal, victory in battle.

In his right hand there was a short metallic cylinder, slightly smaller than the hilts of the two-handed and one-and-a-half-handed sabers seen so often in at the sides of most Jedi. The use of the "fencing" saber, as Ka' el so liked to call it had long been abandoned for the length and range of the longer weapons. It seemed speed and finese were often overlooked over brute strength.

In his left hand a small training orb, it was like most other training orbs, small light with multiple ports to fire their small stinging energy blasts, but this one was programmed differently, it was designed to simulate a quick opponent with a short range weapon, unlike the normal orbs which were to heighten the Jedi's reflexes to defend against blaster bolts, this was designed to heighten Ka' el's reflexes to defend against a melee attacker.

There is no death, there is the Force... as he finished chanting the Jedi code he opened his eyes. His left hand activated the orb and tossed it into the air, while his right thumb switched on the saber as he took on a fencing kata.

[Ka' el Darcverse]

zzzap

The first bolt fired at Ka' el and he quickly parried it to the side. He then shuffled his feet forwards and slashed at the orb, it ducked down and hovered to the left

zzzap

The second bolt fired and Ka' el angled his saber so that it pointed downwards and deflected the bolt back at the orb, it dodged to the right.

zzzap

Ka' el side stepped this blast and thrusted towards the orb it ducked to the right and down, Ka' el followed it with his saber slashing diagonally towards the device. It deftly avoided the attack and shot diagonally upwards and to the left; firing two shots.

zzzap-zap

Ka' el spun to his left and avoided the first shot and then parried the second with his saber. Immediately he slashed upwards at the orb, it moved to the right and backed away.

"Level two"

[Ka' el Darcverse]

zzzap-zap

Ka' el spun away from one of the blasts and deflected the second. As he planted at the end of his spin, he swung his saber upwards in a broad crescendo towards the orb. It darted out of the way and towards Ka' el's open left side.

zzzap-zap

Ka' el pivoted on his right foot swinging his left side out of the way and placing his saber between himself an the increasingly aggressive orb. One of the bolts had burned a small hole in his shirt when it passed by.

zzzap-zap

Another two bolts fired and Ka' el defected both, though he sent one to the left and one to the right of the orb, freezing it in place for a moment as he slashed downward at it.

zzzap-zap

The first bolt hit the saber directly knocking it to the right, the second bolt was fired towards Ka' el's chest forcing him to arch backwards as the bolt sizzled his clean shaven face. He was now in a precarious situation as he was caught in a one handed arch and the orb made a dive at him firing...

zzzap-zap

It should have hit at that close, the young Jedi should have been struck down and the med crews brought in to rush him to the bacta tanks. Put the Force rushed through him at that very moment when all seemed lost and the boy did a back handspring on his left arm flipping himself out of danger from the bolts.

zzzap-zap

Though the padawan was thoroughly impressed with his own abilities the simulator was not effected by emotion and continued it's assault. However a change had come over Ka' el; his confidence seemed boosted and his reaction time was seemingly multiplying as he drove the orb back with his saber blocking and deflecting blasts at the orb.

Two shots rang out and both were deflected almost exactly back to the point from whence they came only a diving swoop saved the orb from being defeated though it's victory was not long lived as Ka' el's saber blade stopped short of striking the orb as he had moved in for the finishing blow.

"Level three"

[Ka' el Darcverse]

zzzap-zap

The orb fired off two shots and then immediately relocated to Ka' el's left.

zzzap-zap

Another two shots fired. Ka' el spun his blade in front of him deflecting the first two blasts. He then rotated to the right allowing the next two blasts to pass by harmlessly.

zzzap-zap

Another two bolts fired. Ka' el dodged one and deflected the other and lunged at the orb but it moved out of the way under his saber.

zzzap-zap

Ka'el fell backwards the first shot soared over his body but the second shot hit him in the chest.

"Frell.." Ka' el said as he grabbed his chest the shot burned a spot on his body but didn't break the skin. Ka' el stood up and grunted. He would have to focus harder; a master saberists could defeat this orb at level 5 Ka' el at best had taken it to level four, but today he got to the third.

[Figrin D'an]

"Not bad."

Ka' el turned around, hearing the familiar voice, but was unable to find the source at first. He then looked upward, and spotted a figure leaning on the railing of the observation level.

"I particularly liked the the one-handed handspring. Nice move to dodge what you couldn't block."

Figrin walked over the stairs and descended to the main level, speaking to his padawan along the way.

"The hard part, of course, is squaring your shoulders back towards the opponent after that sort of maneuver."

The Jedi Master approached, looking at the burn mark on the padawan's chest.

"Looks like you might need a new tunic," he said jokingly, accompanied by a slightly sarcastic smile.

[Ka' el Darcverse]

Ka' el smiled at his master's joke about needing a new tunic; "Yeah guess its not that big of a loss I needed to wash it anyways."

He placed his saber on his belt and grinned. "As far as the hand spring, that's why I use a one handed style, I don't have to have my shoulders squared to defend. I lose a little bit in the power aspect, but my finesse will hopefully make up for it."

Ka' el then studied his master for a sort of non-verbal response.

"I do grow tired of facing the training drones, care to spar a bit Master D'an?"

[Figrin D'an]

"Oh, is that a challenge I hear?", the Jedi Master continued with his jovial mood. Ka' el's face seemed to turn red with a tinge of embarassment.

Figrin smiled. "I'd be more than happy to spar, Ka' el. I could use a good sabre workout."

While the padawan put the training drones away, Figrin removed his long brown cloak and set it off to the side before moving to the center of the room. He wore a basic grey tunic and pants... a very traditional Jedi look, and certainly an unassuming one. He uncliped the elegant sabre hilt from his belt and gave it a general inspection while he waited.

"So, shall this be a spar of basics? Or should we allow for a little more... creativity?" Figrin asked. He was sure the padawan knew exactly what he meant. Simple straight-forward spars were often focused on refining simple things, such as timing and simple strikes and defensive moves. Freeform spars were more interesting, though. They tended to be less restrictive and stodgy, and just more fun in general. Figrin had always felt they were a much better simulator of real combat with a sabre-armed opponent as well.

[Ka' el Darcverse]

"Master I've been doing basic spars since I was old enough to hold a saber and keep up with the older padawans," Ka' el said with a smile as he spoke like an old codger.

"Let's be as creative as you wish Master," He said the excitement evident in his voice. He quickly remedied the situation by taking a few sharp, yet deep breaths and focusing on his training.

There is no emotion...

"Shall we?" His short hilted saber snapped to life in his right hand as he assumed a fencing kata.

[Figrin D'an]

"Very well," the Jedi Master replied. "Just remember that your master might have a trick or two up his sleave that you haven't seen before."

Figrin smiled, then bowed to his opponent. Shimmering blue, darker than the blade of most blue sabres, sprung to life. It hissed and sizzled in the air as he twirled it a few times before bringing to a standard en guarde position in front of his body.

There was a brief silence, save for the low hum of the two sabres, as neither moved from his initial stance. Figrin normally played a defensive posture early in duels, to size up his opponent and analyze possible weaknesses. He knew, however, that Ka' el knew this simple fact, and would be sure not to overstrike early on. Feeling surprise might be in order, Figrin chose to be more aggressive than usual.

He opened with a quick succession of alternating high and low glancing strikes, stepping foward with each as Ka 'el deftly blocked each. The Jedi Master stayed on the offensive by drawing his sabre hilt back, then executing a broad 360-degree twist in which his sabre swepted horizontally towards the padawan's mid torso.

[Ka' el Darcverse]

Ka' el strategically fell back under the onslaught of offense that his master opened with; it was not what he had expected but then in a fight an opponent never scripts out his attacks before hand.

Trying to confuse me with an offensive attitude, when I've been taught that you are one of the best defensive saberists of our age... Ka' el thought as he blocked another high stroke.

Giving up too much ground, can't find with my back to the wall against a master have to look for an opening make him end his attacks and fall back into his routine of defense...

The one-handed fencing style of Form II was working for the young padawan, he was able to meet each of his master's attacks with perfectly timed precision. However, a each blow seemingly was more powerful and Ka' el began to wonder if he was going to have to grab his saber in two hands to deflect D' an's more muscular attacks.

Ka' el then noticed his master pull his saber in: My opening... he thought and attempted to change his momentum to attack. By the time he got going forward, he noticed that Master D'an was 3/4ers of the way through his spin and that his saber was bearing down towards his torso. The padawan who was in the process of a downward slash towards his master, quickly twisted his wrist and his body, blocking the horizontal strike of Figrin's as he spun off to his right.

Ka' el quickly spun the saber in a broad vertical arc and met his master's saber on exactly the opposite side of where he had just blocked moments ago.

I'm inside his defenses! his mind screamed as his blade batted Figrin's back a bit, creating the opening Ka' el had hoped for, quickly he slashed diagonally at Figrin's left hip.

[Figrin D'an]

The strategy worked early on, although it seemed to backfire as the spinning slash left his flank more open to counter-attack. He was having to rely more upon wide foot spacing for balance, which wasn't his style.

Ka 'el took advantage of this, forcing Figrin into wide blocking, before moving in to slash at the master's hip. It was quick manuever, leaving little time to react. Twisting his sabre hilt in his hand, Figrin inverted his grip with his left hand, causing the blade to twirl clockwise toward the incoming strike. He stabilized the hold on his sabre with his right hand just as the blades contacted and locked together.

Still in a less than ideal defensive position, Figrin did not wait for Ka 'el to launch another attack. He reset his feet, and pushed his own blade upward and away from his body, throwing off the balance advantage the padawan held. The sabres seperated, and Figrin back away a few steps to reestablish his guard.

He's good, the master thought, but he's not getting an opening that easy again. Defense was the name of the game now.

[Ka' el Darcverse]

Figrin's saber pushed Ka' el's backwards and distance was once again placed between the two combatants.

Defense... Ka' el approached slowly his saber tipped towards Figrin almost prodding his defenses.

Find an opening...

The young padawan slapped at his master's saber with his own scanning him for where he would be weakest. The probbing attack was deftly swatted away without any opening becoming apparent. Ka' el then thrusted; a simple twist of Figrin's wrist parried the attack and still kept the saber between himself and Ka' el.

When in doubt, improvise...

Ka' el then attempted a backhand slash at Figrin's right shoulder as his saber seared in, Ka' el pivoted on his right foot and attempted to take out the footing of his master with his left foot.

[Figrin D'an]

A quick shift of his sabre into a high guard was able to block the incoming strike offered by Ka' el. That was the lesser of the dangers, though, as Figrin found his legs about to be swept out from under him.

Thinking on his feet (quite literally), the Jedi Master did his best to push away his padawan's sabre, then executed a quick Force Jump, sommersaulting once over the younger Jedi and landing behind him, facing away. Figrin spun about, and in an attempt to grab the advantage, slashed from right to left towards Ka' el's torso.

[Ka' el Darcverse]

Ka' el watched in amazement as his master flipped over him. Almost lowering his guard as he stared in awe of his talent.

Whoa!

Suddenly Ka' el snapped-to realizing that he was in a spar and he was about to lose. He leapt forward and planted his left hand on the ground, doing a handspring and twisting he landed on his feet 2 meters away from his master. He smiled and nodded before lunging foward with a straight thrust hoping that maybe he could catch his own master gap jawed at his athletic display.

[Figrin D'an]

Ka' el had moved quickly to avoid Figrin's strike. The Jedi Master's sabre hummed through the air, missing the younger Jedi as he twisted away from the blade. A shift of his footing, and Figrin reset his stance just as an incoming counterattack came from the padawan. A simple straight-line thrust, but it was executed with blinding speed, and Figrin found himself fortunate to avoid it.

Reacting immediately, he brought his sabre downward in a powerful strike, locking it against Ka' el's, forcing both blades low towards the floor. With the padawan's midsection unguarded, the Jedi Master made a swift kick, connecting a flat-footing blow to the abdomen. Ka' el was knocked backward, while Figrin backed off and set a low en guarde.

He's faster than I thought... he's been practicing.

[Ka' el Darcverse]

Ka' el flew backwards as the kick connected. He had over-extended his body as he attacked and left himself wide open for a counter that the Jedi Master took full advantage of sending the young man bouncing and rolling across the padded mats of the training room floor.

Ouch... he thought to himself as he grunted and slowly pushed himself back on his feet. The wind was knocked out of him and his confidence shaken a bit.

"Touche master," He grunted and then raised his saber, preparing to attack again. This time he came after Figrin with a series of quick diagonal slashes designed to drive the master backwards and perhaps create some imbalance.

[Figrin D'an]

Figrin shuffled his feet, twisting his sabre to block each incoming strike, although not without challenge. Each slash from Ka' el seemed to be quicker than the last, and the padawan was rapidly gained ground, forcing Figrin into a complete defensive posture. Brief openings for possible counter-attacks seemed to disappear before the Jedi Master could take advantage of them.

Okay... he's a LOT faster than I thought.

He became keenly aware that he was being backed towards a corner of the room, where his options to launch an offensive of his own would be limited.

Playing off of a blocked diagonal slash, Figrin saw an oppportunity to counter with a slash of his own. The two combatants traded strikes and blocks, neither willing to give ground to the other.

[Ka' el Darcverse]

Ka' el continued his assualt, searching for an opening, looking for anything that might give him an advantage, but nothing showed itself.

He's wearing me down, I had heard he was a true Form III master and what they could do but I never imagined the extent... His defenses are impregnable...

Until this moment Ka' el had kept from using the Force in any other form but boosting his own abilities, but if he was going to make an opening he would have to take a chance. It would mean certain defeat if he failed, but if successful he could possibly catch Fig off guard for the coup d'grace.

On his next slash Ka' el pressed his saber to that of his master's as Fig blocked. Fig easily held the young man back, but breaking Fig's defenses with physical force wasn't what he wanted, he wanted to break Figrin's concentration. As he focused on the Force, he tuned it towards psycho-kinetics and the training orb that had been put aside. Slowly the device levitated and then as if it knew exactly what Ka' el wanted, it activated, firing two bolts, one at both Figrin and Ka' el.

The Padawan dove out of the way as his bolt screamed at him.

[Figrin D'an]

As Ka' el dove, his sabre released from the Jedi Master's, and Figrin found himself rebalancing to compenstate. His danger sense flashed, but almost to late. The blaster bolt was on top of him before he could bring his sabre to block. He fell back, his upper body arcing backwards to avoid the bolt. Despite his quickness, the beam skimmed Figrin's chest, scorching the surface of his tunic. He stumbled, but managed to turn it into an odd spin that ended with him planting his free hand on the ground to stop his motion.

Damn, he cringed inwardly, I should have anticipated something like that. He wasn't pleased at all with his performance. His foresight was slow that time. But, he should give credit where credit was due. The padawan took advantage of what was available to him, and made it pay off.

"Looks like we'll both be needed new clothing after this," Figrin quiped, although not as jovial as his original comment about the burn on Ka' el's tunic had been. He was all business now.

Figrin refocused. He wasn't about to let that happen again... even in a friendly spar.

[Ka' el Darcverse]

As his master refocused himself Ka' el lunged at his master slashing at him in a diagonal strike. The padawan had thrown his body at his master's left right leg. The Force flowed through him increasing his speed and accuracy.

Have to pour it on now that I've shaken him, this is all I've got...

[Figrin D'an]

His stance reestablished, Figrin was ready for the strike. His sabre was in postion, parallel to his leg, before the blow connected and he blocked it with a renewed strength. It was a good attempt, and a powerful move by Ka' el. But, the Jedi Master was intent on making sure nothing else got through his defenses.

He wants to push me, to see if he can break through again, Figrin thought. Time to push right back.

Playing off the block, he spun into a horizontal slash. He kept the move tight, though, making it a precise motion from which he could easily recover. Ka' el blocked, but suddenly found himself on the defensive. Figrin entered into a series of sweeping strikes that pushed the padawan back, using his Form V expertise now instead of Form III. The speed of the attacks was blinding, though, and despite the broadness of the strikes, there was no opportunity to counter attack.

Figrin gained ground, pushing Ka' el further first back to the middle of the room, then on backward towards the far wall. It was hard work... Ka' el was defended well, and deflecting much of the sheer power of the sabre strikes. It was now a matter of who could endure the flurry longer.

[Ka' el Darcverse]

He was being driven back and put on the defensive. Totally out of his own comfort zone. Ka' el liked to stay on the offensive when he fought, making his opponent perform flawlessly to defend against him.

He blocked and parried and dodged but it was too much. In one last desperation attack he parried a blow and lashed forward.

Nothing...

That is what he hit, nothing but air. But he felt something, the burn of the tip of Figrin's saber on the back of his neck.

"Checkmate?"

[Figrin D'an]

"Afraid so," Figrin said, holding position for a moment before pulling his sabre back and deactivating it. He stepped back, found the wall and flopped his back against it. The victory was well-earned... Ka' el didn't make it easy, by any measure.

"You've gotten better," Figrin said in between heavy breaths. "If you continue to hone your skills, you could become one of the most skilled swordsman in the Order."

"You might even be able to beat me," he said, cracking a smile.

[Ka' el Darcverse]

"Might..?" Ka' el said with a smile.

"You don't give me enough credit. There's a fairly large burn mark across your chest."

Ka' el deactivated his saber and nodded.

"I will strive to meet your expectations of me, Master."

And he bowed.