Gavin Phoenix
The Dark Jedi Order
"See first with your mind, then with your eyes, and finally with your body"
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Post by Gavin Phoenix on Aug 18, 2018 9:35:43 GMT -8
With each attack, Gavin could see Luxeria grasping the mechanics behind the blocks, seeing their benefit, and how to best make use of them. In the long run, she'd come to master these lessons in a a few years easily, if not sooner. He'd have to keep eyes on her.
He continued to press the attacks, pushing on her, speeding up slightly as he saw her being able to keep with his current speed. Still, he was limiting his range of attacks simply due to the reality of simply blocking. Without diverting to evasion techniques, many different attacks would actually hit as she wouldn't be able to block effectively. But once she had gone through all the lessons and fought with all this knowledge, it would be an entirely different matter.
For another hour, he pounded her with his strikes. He doubted she'd be as exhausted as the day before but would possibly be a little sore when it came to her arms. But he wanted to try and break her so he sped up his attacks and increased his strength more. In these last moments, he'd push her more than what she'd normally face. He came down with an over head chop with his right hand, a punch to her chest with his left, a hook with his right, a kick to her side with his left foot. He punched at her chest three times before kicking straight up the middle. Clasping both hands together, he brought them over his head with a slight jump to bring them down on her like a hammer. He then kicked at her side with his right foot before forcing the kick through and spinning to kick at her side with both feet to enhance the pressure. He the brought a hook around with his left hand, another chop down with his right hand, then followed up with a double kick up the center. Ready to bring things to an end, he punched at her chest with his right hard, then with his left, adding more force than the first strike. Without taking away his left fist from her chest, he pulled his right fist back, focusing all his strength into a final strike as he punched a third time at her chest.
The last strike was were the power truly was. It was far from the fullness of his strength, but if not properly handled, it was possible he could strain muscles and cause bruise bones, if not break them.
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Luxeria
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“Even the strongest mind can be manipulated. It’s simply a matter of finding its weakness.”
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Post by Luxeria on Aug 18, 2018 13:33:59 GMT -8
As time pressed on, she could feel Gavin's attacks getting harder, faster, and more elaborate, diverting away from the simple style attacks. But it wasn't anything she couldn't keep up with. The fluidity built into the positions aided her in that. With each attack, she did come to understand and grasp how to better hold her stance, learning that outside of the positioning of her arms and the give she had allow, it was the way she turned her body. Turning a bit then allowed for that particular leg to give her the brace she needed instead of stepping forward.
But once the hour passed, the power and speed in Gavin's attacks changed dramatically, establishing the idea he was ready to bring it to an end. She brought her arms up to block his first chop, already seeing how he was picking up the pace from the entire spar thus far. From her crossed overhead block, she brought it down in front of her without moving the cross, saving every ounce of time possible. From there, she switched to her wall block on her left, then right side. Bringing her arms back to her chest in her wall defense, she took the barrage of three hits before moving on. Instead of crossing her arms, her palms crossed so they rested on top of each other to block the kick up the middle. When his hands came together and he jumped, she went with a wall style block overhead. She had the time due to his little jump, but the power behind it was so much greater with both hands and the extra downward momentum. It forced her to give more than she liked, though she was able to hold him back by letting her head drop slightly. It was amazing to see the amount of strength he actually possessed. Unless it was some enhanced being, no one had brought down that much force yet. Then came the barrage to her right side with his kicks. The wall, of course, was the only choice. unlike the first flow of three, these kicks were much more potent, the give she allowed failing as she ended up using her entire body as a brace by the second kick with the third pushing on her and almost forcing her off balance. It caused a disruption to her flow as it took a bit to move to her right side and effectively block without it almost breaking. She was able to get her arms up in a sloppy upwards block, but the double kick up the center allowed her to gather herself a bit as the force he applied was weaker than normal. Finally bringing up her arms in a final wall, she took the three hits. The very first pushed her arms all the way to her chest, allowing the second to force her to lean back, ready to throw her off balance. Only because his final strike pulled back to gain strength and momentum was she able to step back on her right foot giving her the brace she needed to bare the next attack. Yet, she still didn't expect the force behind his punch. It was the strongest he had unleashed upon her, though it didn't help that his attacks built upon themselves to make everything more impactful.
She forced herself to stay straight, forcing her to slide back a couple feet, granting her a little distance. Her arms were shaking now, pain shooting through them. She was breathing heavy, though less from being exhausted this time and mostly in enduring the pain. She focused her eyes on him, arms still up, waiting to see if he'd attack again.
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Gavin Phoenix
The Dark Jedi Order
"See first with your mind, then with your eyes, and finally with your body"
Posts: 1,144
Affiliation: The Dark Jedi Order
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Post by Gavin Phoenix on Aug 19, 2018 11:21:55 GMT -8
Gavin stood there for a moment, arm still out from his last punch. Luxeria had been sent back, now standing a few feet from his fist. Taking a deep breath, he let his arm drop and stood straight. He looked at her for a moment before giving a nod and a smirk. "Very well done, Luxeria. Your defenses have held up quite well, even against my final assault. While not the strongest I can hit, its not to be taken lightly. I'm impressed. Do keep it up." He walked up to her as she relaxed, placing a hand on her shoulder. "Not only have you quickly picked up on the proper stance and how to give the right amount for the amount of power in the attack, you've established a strong sense of how well to flow between each block and to which block you should perform. Even more, you've added a new style block I didn't show you at the end. Very good."
He stepped away from her and turned. "Return here tomorrow and we'll move on to the next. As before, I also want you to spend some of the day training in what you've learned. I'll set up a droid here to fight you in a similar style for both evasion and blocking forms. Until tomorrow." With that, he gave a wave and returned inside.
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Luxeria
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“Even the strongest mind can be manipulated. It’s simply a matter of finding its weakness.”
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Post by Luxeria on Aug 19, 2018 11:29:54 GMT -8
Letting herself relax when he did, she took in his words without saying anything. She was glad that she was showing her worth to him that he'd continue to teach and push. She wanted to become stronger, better, and more capable. This was certainly the best way at the current moment. When he told her to train in the early part of the day, then return that night for the next session, she nodded.
It was only when he left that she rubbed her arms, giving off slight grunts. Even if she had endured the assault, it wasn't without its consequences. Normally, a fight was a mixture of evasion, blocking, and attacks that lasted for maybe ten minutes or so. Rarely, if ever did fights last as long as Gavin pushed her, which meant she'd be more than capable of overcoming the force and pain from another's attack. Perhaps even facing him full out would be a different matter.
But she had agreed those those and actually wasn't complaining. She just knew she had to be careful pressing forward. If she wasn't, she could come under great injury that would put her down for awhile. Still, the best medicine at the time was rest. So she left the arena and returned to her room.
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Luxeria
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“Even the strongest mind can be manipulated. It’s simply a matter of finding its weakness.”
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Post by Luxeria on Aug 26, 2018 7:36:34 GMT -8
As the next day came, Luxeria went on about her morning routine before returning to the training area. As Gavin said, he had a droid out there waiting for her. Approaching it, she saw it was deactivated with a control unit attached. With it was instructions about the modes programmed into it just for the purpose of training Luxeria in the previous sessions. Doing as the instructions said, she activated the droid and set it to the evasion mode. After a moment, it came to life.
::Evasion mode activated. Session beginning in thirty seconds.::
Luxeria gave an audible "hmm" when it spoke. Gavin certainly didn't want time wasted. Jumping back she readied herself as the droid came at her. Attacks came at a steady speed consistent with a droid. Nowhere near as fluid or as fast as Gavin, making it much easier though it still gave just enough push to keep her on her toes. She moved back and forth, flowing between her movements, ducking down, jumping over kicks, and sliding around the droid.
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Luxeria
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“Even the strongest mind can be manipulated. It’s simply a matter of finding its weakness.”
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Post by Luxeria on Aug 26, 2018 12:20:45 GMT -8
The hour passed on, as Luxeria evaded the droids attacks. She wasn't as tired as she had been before, though she couldn't tell at the moment if it was because she was getting better stamina-wise or just the droid being slower, meaning she didn't have to use as much energy in dodging. Either way, it didn't really matter. It was all working to enhance her own capabilities.
She was certainly doing better than before by what she could tell. She stayed closer to the droids attacks, keeping her from opening herself to a new attack and being capable of attacking the droid easily if she was set to do so. Once the hour mark was reached, the droid stopped and backed away for a moment. ::Evasion session over. Switching to defensive mode. Session beginning in thirty seconds.:: Taking a stance, it waited for the countdown to disappear to begin once again.
Surprised, she took another stance. She hadn't expected this turn of events. It had been assumed she would just stop the program and reset the programming when she was ready, but that wasn't the case. Gavin truly wished to push her. Suddenly, the droid moved in and began moving through its attacks. While not fast, the wee consistent, moving between each attack in swift and regular intervals, keeping her constantly moving. As the attacks hit, she worked to adjust to the pressure, already knowing she was going to be hurting a little more than when fighting Gavin. He might have been assaulting her harder, but the droid's metal body made it worse. Still, she pushed through, guessing it'd be another hour.
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Luxeria
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“Even the strongest mind can be manipulated. It’s simply a matter of finding its weakness.”
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Post by Luxeria on Sept 1, 2018 13:19:38 GMT -8
As the hour came to its end, Luxeria found herself fighting for breath. For two hours had she been here, an hour spent simply evading the droid, then another spent defending against it. What did Gavin have in mind in pushing her like this? She didn't know what he sought to achieve in this level of training, but she didn't think she'd be capable of enduring what he teach her by the day's end if she kept this up.
Luckily, the droid suddenly stopped and shut down once the time limit had been reached. She stumbled back a bit, falling to a knee as she took heavy breaths, trying to regain her composure. A difficult task, taking at least ten minutes to calm herself down enough to think clearly. Sweat poured from her body, soaking the ground around her as it fell. She felt disgusting, her clothes drenched in her sweat. But she doubted she'd have the time to go back for a shower, or even if it'd be a worthwhile with more training on the way. No, for now, the best option was to rest and regain her strength until Gavin came out to meet her.
With that, she took a seat on the ground, letting her body relax. She intended to meditate, but it wasn't long until she was laying back and drifting off into a short nap.
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Luxeria
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“Even the strongest mind can be manipulated. It’s simply a matter of finding its weakness.”
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Post by Luxeria on Sept 3, 2018 9:23:33 GMT -8
A few hours had passed as Luxeria lay at the edge of the training arena. Slowly, she woke from her slumber and stretched out. She was still a little worn, but otherwise, her strength was returning well. Looking to the sky, she saw she had time before Gavin would arrive and start their next session. She could grab something to eat, for which she did, only to return quickly to the arena. She had nothing else to do outside the prospect of returning to the archives and looking to a new subject to study, but elected to simply wait and meditate until Gavin's arrival.
Closing her eyes, she let herself slip into her meditations, thinking about the training she was undergoing. She could easily see the benefits granted from it, despite being simple and basic in its nature. She wagered she wouldn't see the full effect of it until later, but it was still clear to her eyes. But what was more was the length and intensity behind the training. Never before had she put this much time a day into her training, much less undergoing such intensity each time from the start. In the moment, she saw it just wearing her out faster and faster. But perhaps, that was the point. With time, her stamina would greatly increase. After all, the passed few days revealed Gavin seeming to barely break a sweat after the constant attacks against her. So it was more than useful, the way he was training her. Perhaps she'd pursue such training on her own as well when not on missions. She was well aware of her strength and even though it was coming along very well, she still had quite a ways to go. She wouldn't lose sight of that, she couldn't. Pride and arrogance was a path to failure.
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Gavin Phoenix
The Dark Jedi Order
"See first with your mind, then with your eyes, and finally with your body"
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Post by Gavin Phoenix on Sept 5, 2018 9:11:00 GMT -8
Gavin came out to the training area around thirty minutes after Luxeria began her meditations. He was constantly busy with training, the youngling class, special training with Nidana directly after, then finally Luxeria after grabbing a quick bite to eat. It didn’t bother him though. Training for hours was always something he did, especially with an apprentice. But since Anya’s departure, he had become bored. Coming to Iridonia had proven to be a wise choice. It kept him focused and his skills sharp.
Moving to stand a few feet in front of Luxeria, he looked around. Her clothes held the tale of heavy sweat and the droid’s position was different, meaning she had gone through the full two hours of training. Smirking, he crossed his arms. "I see you’ve been busy. Good. Ready for your next lesson?"
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Luxeria
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“Even the strongest mind can be manipulated. It’s simply a matter of finding its weakness.”
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Post by Luxeria on Sept 5, 2018 13:17:27 GMT -8
Luxeria opened her eyes as Gavin spoke, giving him a nod. Standing to her feet, she took a deep breath. "I assume, if the current pattern is an indication, counters and parries are next in line?"
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Gavin Phoenix
The Dark Jedi Order
"See first with your mind, then with your eyes, and finally with your body"
Posts: 1,144
Affiliation: The Dark Jedi Order
Traffic Light: Green
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Post by Gavin Phoenix on Sept 5, 2018 15:38:55 GMT -8
Gavin smirked with a nod. "Very good. You’re paying attention and looking ahead. Yes, we start with counters and parries. Considering you development through the Makashi form, I don’t need to explain anything to you. The style is built around these and by now, I imagine you are quite skilled with it. So I will simply say this: use what you’ve learned the passed two days. Find the proper points to parry my strikes and to deliver a counter strike." He then took a stance. "One piece of advice I’ll give you is to spread out the pattern in which you do make these strikes. Just because you always put yourself in a good spot doesn’t mean you should take it, nor should you do it a lot. It would be fine against me as it’s the point, but in real combat, do something to often and your opponent will be capable of reading you before long. Understand?"
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Luxeria
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“Even the strongest mind can be manipulated. It’s simply a matter of finding its weakness.”
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Post by Luxeria on Sept 6, 2018 5:58:03 GMT -8
Luxeria looked him over uncertain of his claim. "And what about you? Are you going to be capable of taking any of the hits I dish out? I imagine you’d wanting me fighting to the best of my ability."
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Gavin Phoenix
The Dark Jedi Order
"See first with your mind, then with your eyes, and finally with your body"
Posts: 1,144
Affiliation: The Dark Jedi Order
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Post by Gavin Phoenix on Sept 15, 2018 12:40:58 GMT -8
"You need not worry about that. Provided you keep your attacks below the head, I'll be fine. I didn't come into this unprepared. Now, let's begin." Gavin came at her swinging with his right, then left, followed by an uppercut with his right. Shifting his weight to the right, he kicked with his left leg at her right side before driving in a punch straight at her chest, then an upper cut with his left that redirected over to his right side and became an elbow towards her face. As it crossed back to his left side, he brought up his right leg to kick her side.
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Luxeria
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“Even the strongest mind can be manipulated. It’s simply a matter of finding its weakness.”
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Post by Luxeria on Sept 15, 2018 12:54:43 GMT -8
Luxeria brought up her arms to her left side to block with hook, then dropped a bit to dodge his left. Already it felt odd after the progression of her session with him. To be able to dodge and block now gave her even more freedom of movement, but had to adjust once again to it. As she came up from her duck, she leaned back to her left to evade his uppercut. Moving her arms to her right, she performed a gripping block to his leg. Bringing her arms up, she blocked the punch at her chest before shifting her arms down to his uppercut to keep his attack just away from her as it moved to her right. Ducking back down, she evaded the elbow and brought her hands back to her left to grip block his leg.
Taking the moment to make a strike, she knew it to be now. With his leg in her grip for that moment, his movement and reflexes were hindered for a split second. Stepping forward, she moved inside his defenses, and delivered a palm strike with her right hand at his chest while her left hand still worked to hold his leg.
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Gavin Phoenix
The Dark Jedi Order
"See first with your mind, then with your eyes, and finally with your body"
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Post by Gavin Phoenix on Sept 15, 2018 13:12:20 GMT -8
Gavin stumbled back at the impact as well as being only on one foot. Had she been allowed to attack him fully, she would have had an extra moment to push her attack and put him on the defensive with her choice of timing. He gave a quick nod before pushing forward again.
Jumping forward, he kicked with his right foot before spinning to his right to give a spin kick with his left foot aimed at her head. As he faced her again, he punched at her chest with his left hand, then delivered a hook with his right, then a hook with his left.
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Luxeria
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“Even the strongest mind can be manipulated. It’s simply a matter of finding its weakness.”
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Post by Luxeria on Sept 15, 2018 13:39:03 GMT -8
Luxeria took a stance as Gavin stumbled back, readying herself for his next barrage. She couldn't help but smirk at the opening her attack created, believing that he wouldn't just play games and overstate the effectiveness of an attack. If anything, she gauged him to react accordingly, despite being able to handle it, to show his students how well an attack actually worked. She figured, as he did, that she could have pushed in with another attack if that was part of her current session.
As he came forward with his kick, she simply stepped to the side slightly as the kick moved up beside her, then ducked down a bit under his spin kick. Instead of blocking his punch to her chest, she leaned to her left and used her left hand to brush his attack off to the side. As his first hook came, she reach out to grip his wrists with both hands, then dropped and spun under it and used it as a shield to block off his left hook. One the other side of his arm, her back was to him. With both arms out and one in her grip, she let go with her left and stepped back on her left foot and slammed her elbow into his chest.
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Gavin Phoenix
The Dark Jedi Order
"See first with your mind, then with your eyes, and finally with your body"
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Affiliation: The Dark Jedi Order
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Post by Gavin Phoenix on Sept 15, 2018 13:48:14 GMT -8
Gavin felt the impact on his chest and stepped back a bit. She was learning quickly as he broke her hold and went right back into the attack. He continued to push her for the next hour as he had the times before, making his attacks harder and harder to evade and dodge while trying to make a strike against him
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Luxeria
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“Even the strongest mind can be manipulated. It’s simply a matter of finding its weakness.”
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Post by Luxeria on Sept 16, 2018 7:20:36 GMT -8
She could feel the difficulty rising with each strike he made against him. While in one case, being able to both evade and block opened new doors for her, allowing her to more easily handle situations that would hinder one movement or the other, Gavin's attack patterns became harder to deal with. If anything, she was starting to see just how capable he was. Still, she managed to keep him at bay, avoiding and blocking attacks, making the occasional strike as each opening was revealed. She was thankful for her Makashi training and its use of counters and parries. It made things so much easier.
But as the hour passed one, she could feel her strength beginning to give. She was covering three things at once in this session and it was starting to show. Her evasions were getting to close to his attacks, her blocks were giving more than they should have, and her attacks were starting to barely effect him and his movements. But if there was anything she had come to expect from the sessions thus far, it meant it was about to drive her into a corner and push her harder than the rest of the sessions and she just what she could do in her weakened state.
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Gavin Phoenix
The Dark Jedi Order
"See first with your mind, then with your eyes, and finally with your body"
Posts: 1,144
Affiliation: The Dark Jedi Order
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Post by Gavin Phoenix on Sept 17, 2018 8:34:33 GMT -8
Luxeria has predicted accurately in what Gavin’s plans were. Then again, it had been the same pattern since the first session, so it should have been an obvious approach. It didn’t matter if it was predictable in this instance, however. Knowing he was going to lay into her in one final barrage wouldn’t help her if she couldn’t anticipate the actual attacks.
Coming in quick, he performed a double kick, first with his left then his right, going straight up the middle. The moment he had his footing, he punched at her head with his right before spinning to his right and making a spin kick with his left foot. As his foot landed, he brought it back up to attack with his knee. He then went in for a jab with his right hand aimed at her chest, then a jab with his left at her right side. Following that cane an undercut with his right towards her gut then a left hook at her head. He then spun once more, giving another double kick, spinning around with first his left, then right. Gaining his balance, he finished off by sending both fists at her at once, his right aimed at her chest and his left at her stomach.
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Gavin Phoenix
The Dark Jedi Order
"See first with your mind, then with your eyes, and finally with your body"
Posts: 1,144
Affiliation: The Dark Jedi Order
Traffic Light: Green
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Post by Gavin Phoenix on Sept 21, 2018 11:05:58 GMT -8
~A couple days after his first class~Things were going quite well with the students in his class. They were learning at a decent rate and he felt that he'd be able to take them into the harder parts of his training sooner than expected. But for that, he was going to need some supplies. He sent a message to Viox Savage's headmaster, seeing if he could get a few things in the works. Whether or not they could be provided to him wasn't an issue. He had always found ways to get the results he sought from particular training, though access to these items would make things easier.
In the message, he first requested a collection of thirty training lightsabers and fifteen double bladed training staves. He went on to explain why he requested such a number was because he required all his students to become skilled in the use of Jar'Kai and double-bladed lightsaber combat as well as defense against them. The greater flow of knowledge allowed for greater preparation for whatever they faced in the field.
The next was a rather interesting piece of equipment. It looked to be a balancing beam connected to other beams. Based on the plans, each beam was ten feet long and ran four beams long and three beams wide. Each connecting point was a round cylinder. When connected the rods could lift the beams ten feet off the ground, either together or adjust to different heights individually. The beams and rods could also loose some size, going from a five inch wide beam to a one inch wide beam. This was described as a tool to help enhance the balance of the students to the highest degree that could be managed in such training.
Next came dummy designs built around particular species. As he went on to describe, part of his training was to focus their attacks on vital organs and pressure points when an opportunity arose. However, with each race came a different biology. The dummies were meant to be built with small precision sensors that would cause the eyes to light up each time it was hit successfully. This would allow his students to fully adjust to know where exact points were on a being's body.
He had a few other ideas, but decided to leave it at that for now. Time would tell if his request was approved or not, but he had time to wait and come up with alternatives if need be.
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