Basic Understanding (Enig's Basic Training)

[Nameless]

Enig stood quickly and followed his master to the clear spot on the floor. It was handy that they wouldn’t be getting into saber training today. Had the Umbaran been forced into lightsaber combat his sensitive eyes would have surely been damaged by his attempts to follow the weapon. He made a note to wear his mask at all times following today’s session.

He studied his master’s posture for a moment before attempting to emulate it. Enig felt uncomfortable copying the boxer’s stance in his heavy robes and white gloves. It was like seeing a fully outfitted judge draw a knife in the courtroom. However, his master was similarly robed so he disregarded his discomfort. He would be doing battle in these cloths in the years to come, and he needed to get used to it as soon as possible.

His fists hovered at eye level as he prepared for his master’s next move. His body was tensed, and he expected a blow to come at any second. He had seen the movies after all.

 

[Mars]

Aiden was not planning on hitting the student just yet. He had to teach the kid first. His stance was off, so he'd fix that now. It was less like a boxer. Enig probably didn't have the reaction time yet to be able to avoid blows with his hands that low. He'd have to keep them higher so he could block. Aiden relaxed from his stance. "Hold you hands higher, keep your knuckles up near your eyebrows. Relax. I'll not hit you just yet." He said in an even tone. He resumed his own stance. "Now, come at me. Try to land something, anything. Keep your hands up as I will be countering if you make bad choices. Hands up, chin down Enig." Aiden said.

 

[Nameless]

Enig nodded quickly and prepared himself. He slid his legs a bit further apart, giving himself a sturdier base. His chin dropped until it was nearly flush with his chest and he raised his hands up a bit higher. The young acolyte could feel his own weakness as he tensed his muscles, but this was no time for worries such as those. This was the time to act.

He had been standing with his right foot forward up to this point, but he quickly slid his left into the lead position as he launched a straight jab with his left hand directed toward Aiden’s sternum. In an attempt to put his whole body into the punch Enig put all his weight on his left leg and dropped his right hand to his chest. Too late did he remember his master’s warning about keeping his hands up.

 

[Mars]

Aiden watched with slight sense of pride before his Acolyte moved to strike. He listened well at first. The strike came in very slowly, slowed by the stance switch and the awkwardness of one who is unaccustomed to fighting. Aiden merely stepped back and kept his right foot up. To lead Aiden's counter offense was a sweeping right hook the would go over the top of his acolyte's outsteched am, landing on his chin. Immediately after the hook was thrown he whipped his left hand down and pivoted hard on his right leg, and brought his left leg up to kick. If it landed, which it most likely would considering his student's awkward positioning, his shin would slam his acolyte across his chest.

 

[Nameless]

Enig saw the hook coming, but his devotion to his current assault left him little room to avoid the blow. He reflexively clenched his jaw, a rookie mistake that did nothing but add to the stars that began to cloud his vision. His master’s fist sent Enig reeling and forced the acolyte to shift his weight from his left foot to his right. This balance shift was unstable at best, but the young Umbaran probably could have recovered had it not been for the shin that was introduced to his chest. His breath was forced out all at once and he went from standing to lying on his back before he knew what had really happened.

“So tightening my mouth was definitely a bad idea,” he gasped, shaking his head and making his way to his feet.

 

[Mars]

Aiden watched as the hook landed as planned followed by the kick. The kid had made a pair of rookie mistakes that were easily correctable. Aiden smiled and walked over him, a rare display of actually caring on Aiden's end. Enig had so much in common with a younger Aiden he couldn't not want to help.

"Okay. You made a few, very fixable, mistakes. For one, when you throw a jab towards the body, bend your legs like so." Aiden said showing how to change levels. "Also, keep that right hand up in case you need to block. Breathe as you strike." Aiden said, exhaling as he threw a punch towards the air to show him. "And finally, don't switch stances when getting hit. You moved into the strike and made it worse as well as taking your own legs out from under you." He finished with.

 

[Nameless]

Enig listened carefully to his master’s explanation and applied it to his own actions. He had cast his eyes downward instead of lowering his stance and allowing him to keep his eyes forward. He had let his right hand fall away completely and left himself open to attack. He held his breath when he should have released it, and allowed that breath to be taken out of him by Aiden’s second blow. His last mistake had been drastically altering his weight distribution at the last second and leaving himself off balance. All in all it wasn’t terrible for his first attempt. At least in his opinion.

“I think I’ve got it now,” he said, reacquiring his stance and making a few practice jabs, “Shall I try again?”

 

[Mars]

Aiden nodded as his acolyte fixed his stance and seeming corrected his mistakes mentally. He stepped across from him and assumed his stance.

"Begin." Aiden said as he leaned his weight on his back leg, getting fully set in his stance.

 

[Nameless]

The acolyte took a deep breath and released it, lowering his stance a bit in the process. He rolled his shoulders a popped his neck to prepare himself for the action to come. His left foot slid across the floor as his right foot took a step towards Aiden. Enig figured that staying level would be his best choice so he launched his right hand in a straight jab aimed toward the outside of his master’s guard in hopes of landing a blow on Aiden’s left shoulder. He twisted his left hand in front of his face, so that his palm was facing his master. It was a technique he had seen in many hand-to-hand exhibitions and he did it now with the hope that he could swat away his master’s fist if it was necessary.

 

[Mars]

Aiden saw the motions as they unfolded before him. His acolytes jab and cross block prevented him from going to the head with his shots. He bent at the knees and dipped his body down, Enig's punch shooting over his head. He pivoted hard on his right(lead) leg and dropped a hook into his ribcage that would be followed by another hard hook from his left hand. If they landed, his acolyte would feel a serious pain in his ribs as Aiden's large and heavily calloused knuckles slammed into him.

 

[Nameless]

Aiden’s first blow collided with Enig’s ribs, and the second slammed into the acolyte’s right side just under his arm. His breath was forced from his body once more, but Enig knew he had to respond. The young Umbaran quickly pulled his right arm back to protect his face while balling his left hand into a fist and directing a makeshift haymaker towards his master’s skull. Taking the two rapid blows to his midsection had been painful, but Enig had to fight through the pain. He needed to get harder anyway. A couple of knocks was a small price to pay for the strength they would give him.

 

[Mars]

Aiden leaned back and out of the way shortly after landing his second body shot. The caveman haymaker shot past his face and nearly connected as he weaved around the punch. Having brought his right hand back after throwing it, he was prepared to counter and launched a right hook over his acolytes now extended arm aiming to hit his jawline. This punch would be followed by a left cross to the body as Aiden bent his knees, changed levels and lauched the strike.

(IM me on MSN, [email protected])

 

[Nameless]

Enig was off balance from his own wild strike. He had put far too much momentum into the blow, and if Aiden’s next blow caught his face then it would mean a hard landing for the acolyte. He couldn’t let that happen. Since his right arm was guarding his face he simply caught the incoming fist with his forearm and arched his shoulder back in order to redirect it. He then used his awkward balance to force himself toward his master the collision of bodies would hopefully stun Aiden long enough for Enig to land a blow with his right, which was now fully extended and ready to swing.

(I tried right after you posted this, but it said you weren't on.)

 

[Mars]

His acolyte was able to block the punch, showing he had done a good job of keeping his hands up. Time to introduce him to the ground. Aiden didn't throw the left cross as his acolyte stumbled forward into him but still changed levels. He shot forward as a wrestler does and scooped Enig's legs out from under him, slamming him on his back on the floor. Merely running into an opponent doesn't work. After slamming him, Aiden stood back up.


"Your defense standing is pasable to the point where you should be able to defend yourself adequetly when aided by the Force. Do you have any questions before we continue?" Aiden asked.

 

[Nameless]

Enig stood slowly, shaking his head to get rid of the dazed feeling received from his meeting with the hard floor. He briefly pondered his master’s question before deciding on his answer.

“Nothing comes to mind,” the acolyte said quickly.

He wasn’t sure about what sort of training would be next, but his master would explain that soon enough. The pale youth steadied himself and prepared for the next step, whatever it might be.

 

[Mars]

Aiden nodded his head in response to his acolyte's statement. He had a decent grasp of hand-to-hand and should be moderately able to defend himself. Now was one of the most important and, in Aiden's mind, boring parts of training.

"Do you know the code by heart acolyte? If so, recite it and explain each line, what it means to you. If not, go to the library and study the holocrons there untill it is a part of your being." Aiden said..

 

[Nameless]

“Ah, yes, this is the one thing I have actually been able to look into since my arrival on this planet,” Enig said with a sly smile.

In his effort to learn about what he had gotten himself into the young Umbaran had poured over everything he could access in the libraries of the Dark Jedi. First and foremost among these things was the code, and it hadn’t taken him long to have it committed to memory.

“No peace, only suffering,” he began, “The first line of the code tells us that all beings live in a constant state of suffering, and any peace we perceive is merely an illusion built up in order to add to our eventual torment.”

“No knowledge, only instinct,” he continued, “Knowledge is a crutch used by those who deny the power of their own natural instincts. This second line emphasizes the pure strength of instinct and warns against the hesitation caused by choosing perceived knowledge over intuition.”

“No serenity, only passion,” he said, after taking a small breath, “Serenity is the bastion of those who fear their own emotions. Whereas passion stems from the realization that our emotions are one of our most powerful assets, and they can be easily transformed into raw energy and allow us to topple our foes through sheer force of will.”

“No harmony, only chaos,” his voice was now almost a whisper, “The universe was born from chaos, and to chaos it will return. Harmony is lie put forward by those who intend to harness the power of chaos and bend it to their will, but chaos cannot be harnessed. True power comes from accepting discord and lending yourself to its furtherance rather than fighting against it."

“No life, only death. The final line of the code is the most poignant. The acceptance of death as the ultimate eventuality shows a strength of character that few beings are ever able to obtain. Rather than hide from death like the rest of the cowards in the galaxy, the Dark Jedi embrace it. It is a unique mindset that keeps us from hesitating and drives us forward with an unmatched fervor,” he finished with a smile. What could he say? He was still a politician at his core. At this point, he was sure that would never completely change.

 

[Mars]

Aiden nodded his head as his student spoke each line of the code and followed it with a solid explanation on each part. He knew it well and Aiden could feel that Enig agreed with the lines as he spoke them. In Aiden's mind, this part of the training was rather boring. However, it was totally neccesary for the acolytes to understand the code fully. "Never forget the code Enig, it will be what you live by for the rest of your life." Aiden said. "Moving on, do you know how to meditate? It is central to our next part of training."