driftfleet | May Mingle (Caprine)

Your form looks good. You've been well taught by someone, clearly.

[Then, almost as if she can read his mind:] Keep your focus on your strikes for now. We can cover blocks next.

[She happily passes the rotation settling into a rhythm of blocking Finn's strikes methodically, watching critically to notice any deviations in his form. Happily, there are few. She brings him up once or twice on minor things, but that's really all.]

I've done a lot of combat training. Principles are the same.

[Staff, mace, lightsaber - a longer swing puts more force behind the blow but is more obviously telegraphed, while a shorter thrust has speed but lacks power. Once he gets the hang of the longer swings, they can be done at speed and make up for their disadvantage.]

Okay. [He relaxes back into the flow of it, letting his instincts take over. Time always passes quickly for him like this, and it's much more satisfying than a round in the gym with weights.]

[Satisfied that Finn has that down, when they finish the round she moves on to basic blocks-- again, high, medium, low, both sides. It's dull but again, there's that rhythm to it. Once she's satisfied he has those down pat, she makes him do the round against her again, but with them in reverse positions-- Ahsoka taking the standard Form One striking position, and Finn blocking.

Ahsoka keeps her pace suited to Finn's, letting him set the speed, and though her blows aren't super strong, they have just enough weight behind them to make him take them seriously. It's no good practising blocking against a feather-light strike, after all.]

Your arms getting tired yet? [They have been at this for a while now, after all. Somehow, almost forty five minutes have passed since the beginning of the lesson.]

Edited 2016-05-16 18:51 (UTC)

I could use a short break.

[It's not his arms, actually, but his back--he deactivates the blade so he can do a couple of odd-looking stretches to try and get the kinks out.]

You want a drink?

[He has a couple bottles of blue-flavored drink from the kitchen that he's brought out here, and if she wants he'll toss one over to her.]

[Ahsoka nods.] Take a breather. You've earned it.

We'll do one last exercise to finish up after this, and then we can warm-down.

And I wouldn't mind a drink, if you're offering. [It's important to stay hydrated!]

Thanks.

[He does in fact toss her a bottle. The blue-flavored drink has electrolytes, at least, so it's good for a workout.

After he's chugged some of his, he stretches his shoulders one more time.]

All right. Do we go back to the blocks?

[He doesn't seem to find it at all boring, so there's that.]

[After taking a good long drink herself--]

Nope. Now we're going to combine what you've learned into a series of movements you might actually use. We call these "katas." They start off pretty simple. You can do them with another person, or on your own.

[She comes back to stand in front of Finn again.] We're going to go upper strike, cross body block, lower strike. [She demonstrates as she says it.] I'll do the opposing movements so you have someone to practice on.

Katas. Okay.

[Oh, interesting. He can immediately see how having a sequence to draw on would help in battle, especially if there are a lot of different ones to learn.] Do they all have a reverse? So you can practice them together, and how to defend against them?

[He stands ready to start on her mark.]

[Ahsoka smiles.] That's right!

We'll do this one a few times, and then we can switch.

All right. Let me know if I need to change anything.

[Yet as before, he picks up the kata with ease. It comes naturally to him, almost as if he's already been trained. He hasn't, but there's clearly more than aptitude at work here.]

Will do.

[They settle into the routine again-- five minutes for the first kata, switch sides, another five minutes for the second kata. Finally, Ahsoka calls them to a halt.]

Good work. Let's leave it there for today. [She bows to him, traditional Jedi style-- one hand curled into a fist, pressed into the other hand held palm flat, in front of her chest.]

You've done pretty well for your first lesson. I can give you homework though, if you want.

[He imitates her bow, although it's immediately obvious he's not nearly as good at that as he is at the fighting styles.] Thanks. This was real helpful.

[Homework? Finn grins at the idea.] Let me guess, run the whole routine once a day for the next week. Well, except the parts that need another person.

Oh. No, that's not homework. That's class.

Your homework is to meditate. You can join me in my guided meditation sessions in the morning on the Iskaulit if you want, or you can do it on your own if you feel self conscious. But if you ever want to master lightsaber combat-- it won't matter how much you practice, if you aren't connecting to the Force.

So-- just take fifteen minutes out of your day, morning and evening, to sit down somewhere quiet, and try to feel the energy of the universe around you. Don't worry if you can't feel anything right away, or if it's hard, or boring, or your mind keeps wandering off. That's all normal. The important part is to try.

[No matter what Master Yoda says.]

Meditate.

[Well, chalk that up to something Finn's never done before.]

I can try--I'll have to go to your classes, I don't know how to do that.

Is that what the Force feels like?

Hmmm. Personally? I think the Force feels different to everyone. The masters back at the temple used to always give us a bunch of academic definitions, but if you ask a hundred different Jedi what it feels like to them, you'll get a hundred different answers.

The way it feels to me, is... well.

Have you ever felt connected with another person? Really connected. Like you were in tune with their feelings, or you just somehow knew what they were going to do next. That's what the Force feels like to me. That sense of connection. But not with just one person-- with everyone.

[Finn nods along, concentrating on her words. He still doesn't really think the Force is something he can just learn, but if she wants him to meditate, he'll meditate.]

But--then, if everyone feels it different, how am I supposed to know?

Just-- trust me. You'll know.

It's like the difference between night and day.

[He nods, still looking unsure but willing to try.]

I'll see you on the Iskaulit tomorrow morning, then.

[She nods.]

See you then.

May Mingle (Caprine)

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