A Fresh Start (Garrett Swenson's Training)

[glswenson]

Garett nodded slowly in recognition and reached to his belt, he withdrew the two lightsabers that had been in his possession for as long as he can remember.
"Will I get them back?" he asked as he looked down at them, in memory, then handed them over to his master.

 

[JMocks]

'No. They will be destroyed. A Jedi constructs their OWN lightsaber. It's also one of the test you have to pass to become a Knight. I don't think its a good idea for you to carry around a weapon that was crafted by a Bogan. That weapon has pain, suffering, and weakness written all over it.

I had to destroy my lightsaber once I defected as well. It made me feel, better. You're starting fresh, Padawan. Making a lightsaber that is connected to you through the Force is one way of starting fresh. You want to cast your history away from your mind. You don't want anything that will link you back to that tragic day.'

Josh took the lightsabers from Garrett and handed him a training sabre. Then using his lightsaber, he cut the two lightsabers Garrett was carrying, in half. Four metal pieces clanked on the floor.

'Now. One of the aspects of Shii-Cho is blaster deflection. Take this headband, and cover your eyes. I will signal for a remote to come in here. I will then tell you to begin. For this test, you will have to trust your instincts, Padawan. Let your instincts guide you. Now. Are you ready, Padawan?'

 

[glswenson]

"Right.." Garrett looked down at the pieces of his lightsabers, he looked at the colored crystals that had been within them and cracked his neck.

He took the training lightsaber in his hand and looked it over before putting the bandana around his head.

"Again with the bandana," he laughed. "I am ready."

 

[JMocks]

Josh walked over to a metal ball that was sitting on one of the various counters in the room. With one press of the button, the Remote came to life, then started to hover. You could hear the faint beeps coming from it. Josh picked the remote up for it and moved it over towards Garrett.

'No need to worry. As always, they blasts are set to stun. However, they do provide a, nice pinch. Ready yourself Padawan. Instinct is key. Begin!'

Josh hit the arm button on the remote and the Remote was ready. It slowly moved around, beeping. It then began to fire shots at the Padawan. They weren't instantly one after another. Sometimes there was a small gap between the shots. Sometimes a large gap between them.


[OOC: Time for you to long post again. :D]

 

[glswenson]

Garrett ignited the lightsaber and the white blade sprung out, he could hear a shot ring out from the droid and a sharp pain struck his chest the next moment.
He closed his eyes and let himself focus on the droid, the lightsaber was in front of him, an extension of himself.

He heard the shot ring out and quickly moved the lightsaber to where he believed it to be, he didn't feel a pain this time. Then another shot rang out and as he moved his lightsaber it struck him in the forearm.

'Damn..' Garrett though. 'How did I fight a Bogan?'
He thought back to his lightsaber duel with Leo, even though he was only channeling his anger and aggression, but then he thought back, to when he had done this with Master Zuhani and remembered what he had done.

He heard another shot and quickly moved himself to block it with the practice saber, another and he repeated.
A 3 -shot burst rang out and Garrett turned the lightsaber vertical in front of him, to block the first shot, then spun and twirled the lightsaber in a tight formation to deflect both the 2nd and 3rd shots back at the droid.

"I have had practice with this before." Garrett confirmed with his master.

 

[JMocks]

'Good. But showing off isn't necessary. Like the spin. Its foolish. On to the next level.'

Josh hit a button on the remote. The Remote was now shooting at a quicker rate. The delay between shots were no longer 2-4 seconds. Some coming in four round bursts. If the kid wanted to show off, lets see how he does now.

 

[glswenson]

"The spin was not to show off, I used that for aiming, for redirection."

Garrett turned back towards the droid and blocked two of it's shots before one struck his arm than his chest.
He placed his lightsaber at a down-wards diagonal angle across his chest and waited for the sound of blaster fire.
Garrett raised his lightsaber to the left and three shots were deflected before one blasted him in the leg.

Garrett winced before moving his arms left, then right, left, left. Four shots right back at the droid.
He tried to keep himself more stiff, returning to his mid-body between blasts, and only moving just enough to catch the blaster shot, nothing more, nothing less.
It got to the point when he was able to deflect or block 90% of the shots getting to him.

 

[JMocks]

'A spin is not necessary for redirecting a shot. You put your sabre where you want it to go, and the Force will do the rest. You are still in the early stages Padawan. Trust me, the spin is not needed. Its actually simpler than you think. Next level.'

The Remote was now firing the shots almost simultaneously. It would test the Padawan's true instinct and reflexes. This would also show Josh if he'd need more training in deflecting blaster shots or not.

 

[glswenson]

"Okay-" Garrett was trying to take in what he was saying but then it was as if the droid went into full-auto.
*phroom* a blaster bolt flew right past Garrett's head as he turned.
He raised his lightsaber and deflected two bolts, then one struck him in the thigh and another in his neck.

His lungs were starving for air as only a small amount was able to get through his air-pipe after the neck wound, but he never slowed down, Garrett was constantly moving his lightsaber trying to blast away every shot that came at him, he was able to get most, but some would slip through.

Garrett brought his lightsaber back into his defensive position down his chest and was able to block more blaster fire than before, he improved this with ducking and leaning to avoid the shots his lightsaber would not be able to block.

"Are we done yet?" Garrett asked as he redirected three shots right back into the front of the droid.

 

[JMocks]

'For now, yes we are. You may remove the blindfold.'

Josh disarmed the Remote, then moved it back to the counter. He then deactivated it. He made his way back to Garrett and took out his training saber. He ignited it, the blue plasma jutting out instantly.

'Now. I'm going to go over the form Shii-Cho with you. When it comes to the grip of the form, you are going to use a "hammer grip". What this is your hands are kept in a direct line with your wrists and forearms. This maximizes your strength from this form.

For the stance, your legs are slightly wider than your shoulders; bent at the knees. You are going to want to keep the hilt on your dominant side. So for me, its the right. As for the blade posture, you want that titled up at a forward angle. Not too much of an angle though. So be careful on that part.

When you go to strike, you want to keep your wrists inlined with your hands. The power from this form comes from your shoulders and your back. You are to strike with all your body weight, creating slow but powerful strokes when you attack.

When blocking with this form, you want to strike at your opponents blade. In doing so, you can sometimes push back a weaker opponent, leaving them open to an attack. Doing this is where this form shines. Now. Take the stance of this form as I just demonstrated.'

Josh deactivated his saber and stood about six yards from his Padawan. He then stood, and waited for his Padawan to show him if he understood what he just said about the form. He didn't expect him to nail the stance on the first try. Not everyone does. Only true blade masters do so.

 

[glswenson]

Garrett distinguished his lightsaber and untied his blindfold. He then re-ignited his blade, his right hand was under his left, with him holding his weapon towards his right shoulder, at a twenty degree angle forward.

He spread his legs slightly, but did not bend his knees, as that lapsed his memory as he tried to work by memory on what his mentor said.
"Like this?"

 

[JMocks]

Josh walked around his Padawan, observing his stance. He forgot to bend his knees. No problem there. He used the Force to bend Garrett's knees into the right position. From his observation, that was the only thing wrong with his stance. Maybe there was a future blade master in front of him? Who knew. After all, your life as a Jedi is what you make of it.

'This stance, is the Shii-Cho stance. Now. I want you to stay just like this. For an hour. I am going to watch you. If you move at the slightest, and I mean the SLIGHTEST, its another hour. And if you're thinking about using the Force, don't even bother. If you do, that adds an additional two hours, making it three hours you have to hold the stance every time you move. Do I make myself clear? Good. Your timing begins now.'

 

[glswenson]

Garrett's eyes widened as he heard the news.
He wasn't going to move his knees further than what his master has forced them into.
He was having no problem holding still for a good thirty minutes, then the back of his thighs began to burn.
Garrett bit together hard and gritted his teeth, his neck muscles protruding as he did so.
He could feel his knees beginning to give out.
He was used to constantly being on the move, jumping between buildings and climbing to high distances, not standing still, it was excruciating.
Ten minutes left, he had been keeping track in his mind.

Garrett was thinking of everything he could imagine to keep his mind off of his predicament. He was thinking of how he overcame the bed of rocks, or how he ran so deep into the forest, he wondered if he was ever going to be able to find that spot again, it held an intimate value for him.
A sharp pain was going through the back of his legs, he could feel his muscles fatiguing - 5 minutes.

"Ssss." Garrett let a noise escape his lips, the first outward sign of discomfort he had presented. He let out a small laugh, not of joy, but just laughing at the situation he was in. He was standing still, holding a lightsaber, with his knees bent, how silly he must look!

 

[JMocks]

'Time. Now fall down. And stand back up, resuming this EXACT same stance. It shouldn't be hard. Considering you just stood in it for an hour.'

Josh laughed, trying to make a joke at the end. He found it humorous. His Padawan probably wouldn't. He was impressed Garrett was able to go the full hour without moving. He let out a little noise, but there was no rule regarding noise. Only movement.

 

[glswenson]

"Oh no.."
Garrett did as he was told and fell down flat on his back, then arched his back and let himself pop back up onto his feet.
His knees were not in the same place and his lightsaber was angled a little more forward than it was supposed to be.

 

[JMocks]

Once Garrett resumed the position, Josh observed his stance. He noticed his knees weren't bent and his saber was titled too forward. Using the Force, he corrected his posture again. 'This, is the form. Get use to it,' he said turning walking away from Garrett. As he did, he used the Force to push his Padawan alittle bit. 'Resume the position,' he said turning to him.

 

[glswenson]

Garrett's lightsaber was to the side, he brought it back into the proper position and spread his legs to the right stance before bending his knees slightly.
He was beginning to feel comfortable like this.

 

[JMocks]

Josh used the Force again to push Garrett off balance. Every time Garrett would try to get into the stance, he would use the Force to disrupt him. He wanted to drill everything into his mind. How to stand in the correct stance, and the motion of getting into it. The quicker he could get back into the stance, the quicker he could defend if he was pushed by a Bogan. 'Good,' he said as he marked of 12 feet between him and Garret. 'Now. Show me what you got,' he said, igniting his training saber.

 

[glswenson]

"Oh no..." Garrett said under his breath.
He was used to fighting very athletically and quick, this was going to be very foreign to him.
"Your move."

 

[JMocks]

'As you wish,' Josh said as he made his way in towards Garrett. Once he got within striking range, he feinted towards his midsection, then twirled his right wrist to form a downward slashing movement from he left shoulder to his right hip.