Beginner Swordsmanship [Concluded]

[Darman Kebii'tra]

Vergil looked over the confirmation on his datapad. His request for one of the smaller training rooms had been approved so that he could practice his lightsaber skills. Vergil had long read about the Jedi Guardians and was eager to join the ranks of other legendary Jedi. He was infatuated with the idea of being a sword to defend his brother and sister Jedi. It had been a fairly long time since he got to practice with a fellow sentient. Vergil felt that you didn't get the same experience with a droid, there was only so much a programmed object could teach. Plus, Vergil needed this time so he wouldn't cause himself any embarrassment when he was with the others.

As Vergil reached the assigned room his Comlink gave another chirp. Looking down he saw the incoming message from one of the other Padawan in his class, Saana. The Togruta had accepted his invitation to practice together. Vergil quickly forwarded her the information from the room, a smile on his lips all the while. Once the message had been sent, Vergil keyed in the access code and entered the assigned facilities. It wasn't bad, in fact it was better than what he could've hoped for. It turned out to be larger than what Vergil expected, even what he requested. He had only placed a request for a room for five, but this looked like it could hold closer to ten. That would work in his favor if other Padawan's showed up.

Along the walls, trainers stood in standby mode. Giving them a glance over, Vergil decided that once the sparring was getting intense it would be a fun surprise to have some additional combatants join the fray. He would just need to remember to give Saana a heads up before he activating them, he didn't want any accidents. Taking a moment, he pulled out his datapad and accesses it's ports. It took him a moment to figure out the programming, but Vergil got them ready to fight as soon as they were activated. With a hum, the droids lit up and it's voice indicated it was entering combat mode. Vergil nodded to himself, but secretly hoped that he input the codes right. He was new at this after all.

Among other tools that Jedi's could use, several remote trainers also hovered, waiting to be activated. Perhaps that too could be used to spice up the practice. But he would wait before activating those, if he did at all. Form V was a very aggressive style, but Vergil's Djem So was specifically geared to fighting other lightsaber wielders. He didn't need a stray bolt hitting him at the wrong moment. Especially when live lightsabers were being used. Vergil glanced at the rack of practice blades and shook his head. He didn't want to use those if possible, but he would understand if Saana wanted to use those instead.

Satisfied that all the preparations were ready, he kneeled down on the training mat. Opening himself up to the force, Vergil recited the Jedi Code aloud to himself while he waited for Saana. He had sent out an open invitation to some of the other Padawan's, but as of yet he had heard no response. He supposed that only time would tell if any others accepted.

@CJ Solo

(OOC: This is an open thread for Padawan's to practice and get acquainted with one another. However, please message me before jumping in. Hopefully, we can use this to spring board into future missions and grow as a group.)

 

[CJ Solo]

Saan had had her first tastes of training; Jaleer's initiating her understanding how the Force could rejuvinate and then the class with Master Kai which had covered so much. It had been a lot to take in ever since that day on Tatooine and for a time she had been nervous and anxious. Becoming a Jedi Master like Kai, let alone a Jedi Knight like so many in history, was a tall order to say the least. Kai had an easy way about him, though, between his smile and the look in his eyes that had a way of putting all that aside and putting her at ease. Since the beginning, amongst everything that she had began to learn, Master Kai had given her a blue bladed training lightsaber. It was temporary, a means to learn and practice how to wield the weapon, until the time she is able to construct one of her own. So when she recieved a request from another padawan, one of those that had been in Master Kai's class with her, asked her to come train with him, she had accepted.

Saana was pleased with how welcoming the Jedi were. It was a stark contrast to the experiences she has had so far since leaving Shili. One day, she would be a Jedi Knight and then a Jedi Master; she would honor Kai's willingness to make her his apprentice, one of them anyway, and make him proud. Picking up the training lightsaber from where she had laid it down while cleaning up, she exited the cabin that were her sleeping quarters. It was a few minutes later that she entered through the door of the training room that Vergial had requested.

Saana's yellow gaze glances over the room, seeing the other Padawan there already. There were droids, remotes and other such training tools in the room. It looked much like the room that Master Kai had held in class in, though a little smaller perhaps. At last, her gaze comes to settle on Vergial. "Your name is Vergial, yes?" She had met a lot of people that day and she wanted to be sure she remembered correctly.

 

[Darman Kebii'tra]

Vergil smiled at the mispronunciation of his name, "Good day, Ms. Saana. You're close, but it is pronounced Vergil."

He hoped that she wouldn't be too embarrassed, he was more amused than taken aback. He made sure to let a hint of it radiant in the force.

Seeing her training blade, he did frown a little bit, but quickly managed to hide it by turning to one of the training lightsaber racks. Focusing on the one closest to him, Vergil reached out to it in the force. He felt the invisible fingers wrap around the hilt with a warming sensation. Focusing a little more, Vergil attempted to pull it to him.

*Wobble Wobble* ​

Vergil focused harder as the blade slipped out of it's place and scooted about a foot from the wall. However, after a moment the blade stopped inching closer and instead simply wobbled where it laid. Vergil was straining so hard that he though he might burst a blood vessel. Exhaling the deep breath he had taken, he blushed deeply before walking over and picking it up. There was no hiding the embarrassment he felt, especially from the force. Unclipping his blade, he set it next to the rack before returning to Saana.

"I...ah..." He struggled to find the right words, "I...I'm still working on that."

Wow, he mused, he wasn't off to a very good start.

He returned to standing in front of her and indicated his readiness to begin. "Begin with some simple parries and then switch between offense and defense? I believe that you and I have some different techniques? Perhaps we could teach each other something...If you don't mind of course. "

I really hope that I'm not getting ahead of myself, he was once again musing, I don't want to scare her off.

"As we begin, may we introduce ourselves?" He stepped into Djem So's first stance, "My name is Vergil Tyel. I've been onboard for a little while, but I've been training as a Jedi for about 6 years now. I'm focusing my studies on my swordsmanship, but as you saw I'm still working on my...practical applications."

He smiled, "And you?"

 

[CJ Solo]

"Ahh... Vergil." Saana gave him a bit of a smile after repeating as he had said it, though there was still a soft accent to her pronounciation. The correction did not seem to bother her otherwise. The frown that flickers over his features does not go without notice and she tilted her head ever so slightly. Her gaze shifted to the series of training lightsabers as his did and she watched.

One of the hilts shuddered as though it had been shaken and then remained unmoving. That was it did until it slid from the wall and along the floor for a short distance and then only shuddered again before Vergil walked over to pick it up. A wry grin crept onto her features as she watched the entire thing. She was not the only one that had difficulty with it, it seemed. "It is difficult for me too, moving things. It has been more difficult than the other skills Master Kai has shown me."

"What is your style?" Saana nodded slightly, not objecting to his suggestion. From her belt, she took the cylindrical hilt of the lightsaber. Listening to him, she mused over how it seemed that everyone here had been here for years or at least had been training in some way for years. She held none of that experience. The number of training sessions she has been in could be counted on the fingers of her two hands. "I am Saana Tai. I have been here with the Jedi for less than a month. Before that, I did not even know that it was possible for me to be a Jedi."

With a familiar snap-hiss, the blue energy blade of her lightsaber sprung to life.

 

[Darman Kebii'tra]

"My master primarily taught me Form V. He explained it to me as a combat-oriented style which has two separate subsets. The first being Shien and the other Djem So. And while both versions seem to focus primarily on powerful strikes, they have there differences."

"Shien seemed to be more about redirecting ranged attacks, but in a offensive manner. My master primarily used it for fighting soldiers with blasters. He was very good at redirecting their bolts back at others."

"He tried teaching me once with those..." He pointed to the remotes, "But I never could get the hang of it."

Getting back into the first stance, "The version I know is the second of the two, it's called Djem So. This was designed more for fighting other lightsaber wielders."

"My master once explained that it was similar, yet very different than form I." Mimicking the voice that he heard for all those years, "Strike, boy! Strike with all the force of a great typhoon! You are to overwhelm your enemy. As soon as they strike, you strike back! And harder too!"

"But you have to be careful." Vergil warned, "You can get tired very quick from throwing your strength around. I usually couldn't last longer then a few minutes fighting this way. I would always get tired and then master would hit me in any opening he could fine."

"Why didn't you think you could be a Jedi? If you don't mind me asking." He added quickly. "And what style do you know?"

 

[CJ Solo]

Saana gave a slight shrug, and smiled. "Noone told me before Master Kai. I have been away from my home on Shili for two years now. I... suppose noone in my clan had the ability to know." She had no more explanation to it than that. "Though, we had many tales of Jedi."

When Vergil began to talk about the form of lightsaber combat he knew, as he demonstrated the stance, she listened intently. She had given a nod and then mimicked his stance to the best of her ability. Eventually, she relaxed her stance. "Master Kai began instructing me in... Soresu." She said the name of the form carefully as to ensure she spoke it correctly. "He tells me that it is a defensive form of combat that minimizes movements to conserve energy."

It was her turn then to demonstrate the opening stance of the form. She smiled a little at him. "He has shown me some of the movements, but I am still not very good at them."

 

[Darman Kebii'tra]

"He tells me that it is a defensive form of combat that minimizes movements to conserve energy." As she said this, Vergil smiled. This would work out perfectly with his Djem So, he thought, or in theory anyways.

As Saana began to demonstrate her own style of fighting , Vergil moved next to her and attempted to follow her movements. Thumbing the activation switch of the training blade, the weapon hummed to life. Already Vergil could tell that this would be different from how he was taught, but that was alright. In fact, Vergil was beginning to enjoying this.

"Would you mind running me through some of your drills?" He asked.

 

[Awoken]

Alma was locked in her room studying Jedi archives. It had been six hours that she did not leave her room for nothing, even feeding. However, the Force had planned for her something different that day. The purple Twi'lek was transcribing one of the archives when received a message on her datapad. A Zabrak male Jedi Padawan named Vergil Tyel had rented a room to train swordsmanship and he was invited any interested Padawan to participate. Alma stopped what she was doing and began to think. "Long ago that I do not practice my skills with lightsaber... maybe I should take the opportunity and resume my Makashi training". Alma closed her notebook, she preferred handwriting than typing, organized things on top of her desk, got up and walked to the door of her room. "Well, this may be pleasurable, right?" she thought as she unlocked and opened the door. She advanced through the hallways, following the coordinates sent by Vergil.

When Alma approached the door of the room where Vergil said he would be training, she heard noises that appeared to be not just one lightsaber, but two. Alma stopped in front of the door and wondered who was the other person inside. After a while trying to figure out she just decided to come in and see with her own eyes. Upon entering Alma discovered that the other person was Saana Tai, a Togruta female Padawan. The purple Twi'lek froze, as if in shock, perhaps because of being next to two people who she have never seen before. After seconds of stagnation, Alma shook her head, as if regaining consciousness, and after a deep breath said: "H-hello... I-i received the invitation for the training... can I participate?. Alma was used to train alone since her had become an Padawan. The company of other people was not something uncomfortable, only unusual and because of it Alma had some difficulty in expressing herself. However, the purple Twi'lek was willing to make an effort to attend the training.

 

[Darman Kebii'tra]

As Vergil was speaking with Saana when he heard the whooshing of the door. Quickly looking down, Vergil saw that his datapad indicated no new messages. Curious as too who was interrupting he turned around. Vergil was surprised to see a purple Twi'lek, who appeared to be another Padawan like him and Saana. Who, he thought, I was hardly expecting one training partner let alone two. He smiled at her apparent shock and waved her inside. To Saana, "It seems that we have another partner. Please excuse me while I greet her."

He bowed low to his training partner before stepping off the mat and walking over to the woman. Vergil, as he was prone to doing, began to size up this newcomer. She stood over him by several inches, but he had a few pounds on her. He extended his hand to her in greeting, "Hello, my name is Vergil. I'm pleased that you could join us today." Turning to Saana, "And this is my friend Saana. To whom do we owe the pleasure?"

 

[Awoken]

Alma looked at Vergil's extended hand and remembered the last time she had interacted with others without being during missions or tasks. After seconds traveling inside her own mind she raised her hand and greeted the Zabrak. "My name is Alma... Alma Venj. Nice to meet you... I-i mean... nice to meet you both.". Alma was visibly nervous, she did not know what to say or what to do. After greeting Vergil, Alma walked toward Saana intending to greet her. She extended her hand and opened a shy smile, trying to be as friendly as possible. "So... What we're training?" asked the purple Twi'lek after greeting Saana Tai.

 

[CJ Solo]

Saana was about to respond to Vergil's question when she heard the door slide open. The blue blade of her training lightsaber still active, she glanced back in the direction of the door to see a purple skinned twi'lek entered. Another padawan perhaps? As Vergil stepped off the mat to go greet the Twi'lek, she deactivated the blade for now and turned to face the two.

Vergil was already introducing himself and she observed as he did so. When Alma approached her, she smiled softly. For a moment, she looked at Alma's hand and then reached out to accept it as she recalled the use of the gesture. "Alma. I am called Saana Tai. We were discussing the lightsaber forms our Masters have taught us. Vergil has asked me to show him what Master Sara has shown me."

 

[Darman Kebii'tra]

While Saana introduced herself, Vergil walked over to the training droids and quickly reset the programming. Since they weren't sparring yet, he didn't want any accidental activation's. Instead, he changed the settings for defensive mode. By the looks of the readout, this seemed like it would set the droids up to only counter a sword swing, instead of being able to counterattack as well.

"I originally had them set up to join while we were sparring," Vergil said over his shoulder, "However, I think that we should begin by introduce our styles instead. Alma, right before you came in Saana was showing me her style...Soresu?" He looked to Saana to make sure he pronounced it correctly.

"I'm a practitioner of Djem So, a style of fighting blade wielders." He added. Stepping back, the trainers signaled their readiness and made their way to the mat. Walking over to the weapon rack, Vergil picked up one of the training blades. On his way back to the training mat, he passed the second blade to Alma, "I didn't see if you had your own blade yet, but to avoid accidents do you mind using one of the trainers?"

"If either of you would like to start, please do so." He smiled mischievously, "But if you want to start with a workout, I can show you the basics of Djem So."

He glanced down and saw that he had a message waiting on his comm. Looking over the message quickly, he turned to the ladies, "It seems like we'll have another Padawan joining us. But please let us go ahead and begin."

He forwarded the necessary information to Padawan Nos'ahru. He also made sure to inform him that they were going to begin practicing and for him to grab a practice blade when he arrived. Once he had confirmation that the message was sent, Vergil took his place in front of a droid. He smiled, "Shall we begin?"

(@CrazziAzn: Feel free to hop in)

 

[Awoken]

Alma took one of the training blades and walked to one side of the room. There she stood in lunge position, something that fits perfectly to her lightsaber form. With her left foot in front and her right leg positioned behind, Alma was perfectly positioned to practice Makashi. The Twi'lek performed the traditional Makashi salute and said: "My specialization is the second form, the Makashi. Much like the third form, Soresu, Makashi is focused on fluidity, precision and economy of motion.". Alma makes a brief stop to think while looking her blade and after a few seconds turn to speak: "I chose Makashi because I appreciate the lack of acrobatics that the style possesses... Also, Makashi is a elegant form, what held me even more to such style." . She then looks at her co-trainings and ask: "And you? Why did you choose such forms?"

 

[CrazziAzn]

Nos ran through the corridors, dodging Jedi left and right as he approached the training. He hoped he wasn't too late as he narrowly avoided a collision with the doors as they neatly opened for him. He looked around and saw the Zabrak and Togruta that he had seen before at Master Kai's training session. He also saw a Twi-lek that he had not met before. Out of breath, he gave them a wheezy smile as he bent over to catch a breather.

"Sorry I'm late *gasp* -had to help clean a droid from *gasp* -an oil spill in the hangar." He stood up and gave a friendly wave to Saana and Vergil "So what're we doing first?"

Looking around and surveying the room, Nos saw the array of training equipment, and went over to introduce himself to the newcomer. "I am Nos'ahru Vol'nara. It's a pleasure to meet a fellow padawan." He said with a grin. "and you are?"

(OOC: Sorry I'm late. I had work on and I'm on Australian time so my posting may be a bit late during the day.)

 

[Darman Kebii'tra]

"My specialization is the second form, the Makashi. Much like the third form, Soresu, Makashi is focused on fluidity, precision and economy of motion.". Alma makes a brief stop to think while looking her blade and after a few seconds turn to speak: "I chose Makashi because I appreciate the lack of acrobatics that the style possesses... Also, Makashi is a elegant form, what held me even more to such style." . She then looks at her co-trainings and ask: "And you? Why did you choose such forms?"

"I didn't necessary choose this form, but I found it easier to practice this version. My master tried to teach me Shien, but my connection to the force isn't currently strong enough to move my blade enough to bat away bolts, let alone try to redirect them. However, Djem So allows me to be a little bit more in control of battles against other lightsabers." He explained. "But personally, I'm glad that I began on this path. Some of the old records I've read indicate that many Skywalkers were practitioners of Form V." Vergil beamed.

"Now, before any more interruptions..." He trailed off as, for once, his force sense indicated a rapidly approaching presence. "Ahh...that must be the last person."

The Padawan, covered in an oil-covered tunic came to a halt at the door. "So what're we doing first?"

"We are about to start, please grab a blade and bring over a dummy." While he waited for the Padawan to comply, he turned to Saana and Alma. He gave a Saana a chance to answer Alma as well. Once it seemed like everyone was ready. "Perhaps I should begin. Once everyone is ready take your preferred stance in front of your droid. However, know that you don't necessary need to start in one to begin. This is primarily because you should always be in motion. If you feel the need to have a stance, as I do, turn to your side." Vergil demonstrated. "This is recommended so that you create lower target for an enemy. You should be attacking, parrying, and counterattack."

Vergil brought his blade up, point at a 45 degrees angle in his typical opening stance. Extending his feet in an open stance to help balance himself, he focused on his target. The droid, expecting an attack, raised it's blade to protect itself. Vergil let his training take over, opening himself up to the force and the others. He closed his eyes, took in a deep breath, and then reopened them. With a mighty WHOOSH Vergil lunged at his target, saber springing into action. He brought his blade across the droids chest, something that would kill any unarmed creature, which the droid deflected.

Yet Vergil didn't stop, he kept his body in motion. Moving from point to point, swinging his blade in a clash of light and sound. Every time he hit, he felt more of his strength pouring into the strikes. It started off with the droids limbs beginning to be knocked dangerously close to it's head. Yet Vergil didn't let up the assualt. In fact, he felt his connection to the force strengthen with every exchange. And than it happened, the droid a step back. Vergil smiled, and took a step back as well. "Control," He puffed, "Is what this is all about."

The demonstration couldn't have lasted more than a minute or two, but already sweat was breading on Vergil's brow. "Any questions?"

 

[CJ Solo]

"My choice was... It is the form that Master Sara is skilled in, so it is what he began to teach me. I did not realize there were so many others." Saana watched as Alma introduced herself and her form of choice and then as Vergil volunteers to go first in demonstrating his form. In truth, Saana would not mind the fact as it gave her more time to read and and understand what it was they were doing. She only observed the first few moves Vergil made before she moved to mimick what he was doing with the practice dummies, then trying a second time.

 

[CrazziAzn]

Nos looked on in silence as Vergil demonstrated his Djem So. He was impressed at the strength of it and to his untrained eye, it looked pretty good. After Vergil finished, he went to rack and picked up a training lightsaber as he heard Vergil speak.

"Any questions?"

Nos silently shook his head, happy to let others ask the questions as he set about mimicking the Djem So opening stance. He closed his eyes and let the force flow through him. He mimicked the basic strokes that Vergil demonstrated and began to grasp a rough concept of the style. He understood why it was all about control.

 

[Darman Kebii'tra]

Vergil watched the opening moves the two others had started with, nodding in approval with his untrained eye. His training droid watched him warily, careful that Vergil wouldn't spring on it again without warning. Vergil opened his mouth to continue his explanation, "Good job. Remember to keep moving once you've begun. Get a feel for your opponent and begin drawing on your inner reserves to add power to your strikes." Thinking back on Master Kai's class, "Open yourself up to the force. Let it guide your movements and give your strength to continue."

While the others practiced, Vergil returned to his dummy. Circling around, he lunged for once again to launch his assault. "Let's practice for another few minutes and then switch off."

 

[AshtynnAmidala]

A young human female taps a button on a keypad near the door. It swipes open with a satisfying sound, and the girl steps inside. The young padawan crosses her arms across her chest shyly and proceeds towards the group of other Padawans Padawans training. "Hello.. I am Padawan Ashtynn K'tano" Ashtynn takes a step forward "Is there a master present?" The young girl is unmasked, after pulling down a cloak hood. Her blue eyes flicker across the training area, spying other padawans and even droids!

 

[John P]

Sondo was heading down towards one of the training rooms, as he had heard rumours of a training session. He didn't want to be around anyone because of his anxious nature, but he felt as if he had to get started on training as soon as possible. He had only just arrived among the other Jedi, and this was going to be his very first session.

As he approached the door, he saw that it was already open, and he saw a young female of his race approaching a group of Jedi. He didn't know any of them, and he didn't want to draw a lot of attention to himself, so he just walked in and leaned against a wall a little bit behind the female who seemingly had just entered the room. He was dressed in standard sanded Jedi robes, and his face was almost entirely covered by his hooded cloak. He wasn't that easy to spot now that the others had started focusing on the young female, so now he just waited for the group to notice him.