A Notch in the Wood

[DeathToll]

((A practice bout OPEN to all Jedi and Sith, or NPC bot ...if that is your soup. This is CANON and will be used as Kemp's, and even yours if you so choose, log hours for training and bettering himself. Wooden weapons from the wall and Force Powers are -ALL- that is allowed here. No lightsabers/training sabers/actual weapons. You may use whatever type of weapon(s) a wooden stick or two may mimic. Please enjoy!))

..Strutting with a particular flavor as usual, Kemp's head bobbed back and forth as he casually headed straight for a sparring room. He'd been working on designs for a certain lightsaber hilt, and so he knew exactly the type of weapon he'd need to practice with. The nineteen year old Padawan, at 5 feet 4 inches, didn't stop walking after passing through the doorway. Once he had reached the rack on the wall holding smoothly crafted poles of dark dense oak resembling different types of weapons, Kemp snatched up a longer one with his right hand and tossed it softly to catch with a twirl into his other hand. Being ambidextrous more so added to Kemp's tendencies to show off rather than handle a weapon with skill, but at times it truly aided him in a fight. It always seemed to give him a one up on facing his oponents, at least at first. Spinning the long staff around as he still walked around the room, Kemp got a feel for the weight and the length of it. Now walking in a circle, he kept the staff moving and flowing around his body with ease; getting better as he practiced, he expected another of the many students to join him soon enough. Or perhaps, he'd instead work with a training bot. Either way, Kemp would get some work out of this stick; visualizing the beam of a lightsaber coming out of one end. He'd spent many days in these sparring chambers, with many more to come. Today was just another notch in the wood.

 

[TriDaan]

Jarak strode confidently into the training room, he'd had enough of the Jedi archives for one day and it was time to unwind by beating some training droids... Jarak stopped as he entered the doorway, another Padawan was already there.
What luck, this ought to be fun
thought Jarak. He quickly sized up his human opponent. Jarak would have a size and probably a strength advantaged, but he didn't like the skill with which the other padawan was flourishing his staff. With out a word Jarak entered the training room and selected a long wooden stick that was about the length of the Iridonian warswords he'd practiced with all his life. He gave the other padawan a quick salute and assumed the guard position.

 

[DeathToll]

Snapping his head sharply, Kemp saw the taller Zabrak go straight for a weapon and take up position. Kemp stopped the staff underneath his left armpit, holding it there with both hands as he moved to the center of the simple room to meet his opponent. Curving his steps into a circling right of his opponent, Kemp had an eager look upon his face as he unwound his arms to hold the staff diagonally before him.

"Ha! You ready?"

And upon any acknowledgement, Kemp made the first move. With a cross of his arms to the right, Kemp shot the lower left end of the staff forward at the Zabrak's right side. Putting some weight behind the single strike, Jarak would not be able to simply bat away the attack; but instead, Kemp made sure that Jarak would have to push the attack away with his obvious strength. And from Kemp's positioning across from Jarak, he was far enough away that any dodging counter would not gain advantage.

 

[TriDaan]

Ha you ready?
Jarak tilted his head with a grin, acknowledging Kemp's query and was greeted by an instant attack towards his right side. Jarak reacted automatically, spinning backwards and stepping towards Kemp's right flank, he felt the end of Kemp's staff brush the corner of his robe, inches away from hit. As he completed his spin he brought his stick/sword up in an arcing blow aimed at Kemps right temple. he probably wouldn't land it, but the beginning of a fight wasn't about making hits, it was about understanding the foe, and Jarak wanted to see how Kemp would react.

 

[DeathToll]

Already having the staff held out, Kemp had but to guide the center of his staff into contact with the Zabrak's attack.

Cutting the tempo's timing in half, Kemp was able to then rotate the top side around and down to strike at Jarak's forehead and bring the bottom side down for defense; all the while pushing out against Jarak's weapon (where they had made contact) and detering him from defending himself with that weapon.

Kemp's left foot aided him in this quick retaliation, slightly shifting forward and ready to take on more weight should Jarak dodge the attack and Kemp need to keep up the pressure by sliding his left foot away and morphing his simple attack into a sweeping one. That is -if- he needed to.

 

[TriDaan]

With his weapon locked against Kemp's and a blow coming towards his head Jarak disengaged and reversed his previous maneuver. Jarak felt the air stir when Kemp's staff whirred past his head as Jarak spun back to his original position this time aiming a low strike at Kemp's unguarded left leg,
Blast it he's fast! thought Jarak

 

[DeathToll]

As Kemp's quick-strike missed, he kept with his momentum and launched forwards and into the air off of that left foot as Jarak came back for him. Since Jarak had moved away and then came back, it gave Kemp plenty of time to react.

Holding onto the staff underneath his right armpit, Kemp would check his right shoulder into Jarak's right shoulder in an attempt to lift his left foot over Jarak's attempt; and in this checking collision, Kemp would use their bodies' connection as stabilizer for his own rolling maneuver. He'd hit Jarak like a child's body against the edge of a stirdy cylindrical pillar, not moving Jarak much at all, and roll a rotation around Jarak's left. Kemp would spin (rotating towards his left shoulder) away from Jarak's weapon and turn around to face Jarack with a releasing of his right arm so that the staff could freely and horizontally strike out across Jarak's face as he turned around to find Kemp.

((tell me if i need to clarify))

 

[TriDaan]

Jarak's blow never made contact, Kemp lifted his feet of off the ground as he shoulder checked Jarak, unfortunately Jarak still had his weight primarily on his left foot from his missed blow and Kemp's body weight, combined with the unspent momentum of his own blow sent Jarak sprawling, he had enough good sense to shove off from the ground, augmenting his own strength with that of the force creating about ten feet between himself and Kemp. He rolled as he hit the ground and spinning on one knee, while bringing his stick up into guard position now facing Kemp in the kneeling position, he observed how his opponent had landed...

 

[DeathToll]

Wobbling with one right footed landing followed quicly by the more stable left, Kemp still managed to eventually spin around and face his opponent with some good distance between them. The whole maneuver was made without thought or hesitation, just as Kemp was in life; and so would the entirety of this duel be.

Kemp swirled the wooden staff around to his left side, similar in effect to the horizontal strike he would have done, releasing his right hand to freedom. Kemp's closed lips pressed tightly, changing the tan pigmentation to white. He stepped out to the side only to spread a shoulder width stance, spinning the staff clockwise and upwards and over the tops of his knuckles and catching it with his right hand underneath. Replacing his left hand evenly with his right onto the staff, Kemp held the wooden pole diagonally with the left side low and right side high and dug his left foot into the ground (more forward than his left); standing some feet away from his opponent to await Jarak's recovery and attack.

 

[TriDaan]

(OOC: Going to try an attack made up of several short simple ones, a 'flurry', you can react to each one individually as to how you block, avoid, parry or are hit by. If you completely block one, the attack stops there and then you post. If you don't like this type of post let me know and I'll stop.)

Jarak decided to change the style of his attack, though he was more practiced with the Iridonian warsword, he knew that Vaapad, the lightsaber style he had started to learn, was the superior combat form. Standing to his feet Jarak lowered his brow and glared at his opponent. Then he charged, letting the force flow through him he sped across the roomer faster than he normally could have done, when he reached Kemp he unleashed a flurry of attacks relying on the force and his own raw emotion to lend strength and speed. First striking for Kemp's right hand where it held the staff, next a vertical overhand blow, then an attack against Kemp's left shoulder, finally ending the barrage with a thrust aimed at the throat.

 

[DeathToll]

((it's cool! i like people's unique ways of approach))

As Jarak came at him, Kemp had to fall back with some temporary defense. Jarak's first attempt was met with a raising of Kemp's staff to deflect the strike as he stepped back. Jarak's second attempt was more avoided, as Kemp lunged low and to the right. Kemp had let flow his left hand's grip across his body as his right hand curved over head in an 'L' shape, the staff angled down to let the downward strike of Jarak's slide off and to the floor. Jarak's next attempt was batted away with the lifting of the tip of Kemp's staff handled by his left hand. And further flanking around Jarak's left side, as he had been doing with each attack, Kemp let Jarak's final thrust shoot forward and miss Kemp entirely. As Jarak thrusted forward, Kemp moved around back and allowed Jarak's momentum to carry him forward without restriction, and swatted at the back of Jarak's neck as he passed.

Whether he hit him or not, Kemp hesitated after the fact as he realized the severity with which he swung his staff.

 

[TriDaan]

The momentum from his thrust, too slow to make contact, carried Jarak forward in an overextending motion, though such over-balance was the glaring mistake of a novice, it caused him to pitch forward just low enough to miss the full force of Kemp's devastating blow, Jarak heard it whip overhead with extreme force and felt a slight *click* as it brushed one of the two-inch horns at back of his head. Jarack let his momentum carry him to the ground in a crouched position,

"So that's how it is..." thought Jarak angrily,
referring to the force behind Kemp's blow.

From his crouching position he sprung backwards before Kemp brought his staff back to guard, reversing his 'blade' in his left hand and thrusting behind himself with all his might, as he jumped into the upright position, mere inches from Kemp's body. If the thrust hit it would be a rib breaker for sure. He slammed a right elbow backwards to where Kemp's head would be if he had simply dodged the thrust by moving right.

 

[DeathToll]

Kemp had hesitated. That was a fact. It was a mistake. That too was a fact. And as the Zabrak lept backwards towards him, Kemp could only push off and leap back as well. The edge of the wooden weapon indeed pressed against Kemp's stomach as he avoided the strike's force. But if it had indeed been a lightsaber, Kemp would have been stabbed a couple inches deep.

However, since it wasn't, Kemp had avoided any danger all together; and just as soon as he had landed (simultaniously with the full extension of Jarak's elbow and strike) - Kemp swung up the lower end of his staff held by his right hand, to strike at the back of Jarak's open left thigh with a harsh smack; and then without hesitation hammered down the over hand left end of the staff held by his left hand towards Jarak's current left shoulder area (or that general region, seeing as Jarak might move in reaction to Kemp's first attack).

 

[TriDaan]

Jarak felt sure he'd feel Kemp's nose crunch under his elbow, instead his thrust made contact with Kemp's body, however it had been light contact. Jarak grimaced with pain as a sharp *thwack* rang out when Kemp's staff hit him squarely in the left thigh, had it been a strike from an ordinary, sword length weapon, His leg probably would've gone dead, as it was his leg felt definitely weakened.

That was the trade off of a staff weapon, you traded the shear strength of extended arm blows, for the ability to strike in quicker succession with two ends.

Not hesitating, but instead driven by pain, Jarak lashed out with his sword arm (left arm) fully extended, spinning towards his left shoulder in a whirlwind slash, turning to face Kemp and hopefully knock out some teeth. *Clack*! Jarak's blade smacked squarely into the upper half of Kemp's staff, stopping both weapons. Jarak quickly moved up against Kemp's body to to pin the lower end of the staff between them and keep Kemp from lashing out with it. Now they were in a "saberlock" where Jarak hoped to use his strength and weight to advantage.

"Nice hit... you'll pay for it." snarled Jarak, his face only a foot away from Kemp's.

 

[DeathToll]

Kemp smiled, a good head's length beneath the Zabrak's.

Kemp didn't stay there long before dropping down like lightning, letting the lower right end of his staff aim for the gap between Jarak's legs, in one fluid motion - the top side of the staff dropped and let Jarak's weapon fall only to his right if anywhere at all, as the underside slapped against almost the exact same spot it had a few seconds ago against the back of Jarak's thigh. With this single motion Kemp was able to use his shoulder and kick his leg in underneath the Zabrak's weakened left leg, and with that hit it was a sure thing Kemp would manage the quick torque-like motion to rip Jarak's left leg out from under him and let him fall to his back.

With this one twisting motion, Jarak's attempt at overpowering Kemp would have been his undoing and ensured Kemp's success. As well, Kemp would have come out towards his right side as Jarak would at very least stagger to -his- right side; and the opposing directions would keep Kemp from any harm. The quick trip was exactly that: quick. As well, it was unexpected and utilized Jarak's strength as a weakness; literally.

 

[TriDaan]

(OOC: Was kinda hazy on exactly what Kemp did here, how he hit Jarak again in the same spot with his hand on the staff the same when Jarak was facing towards him this time instead of away as he was before, also hazy with the tripping part.)

Jarak felt a familiar *thwack* on the inside of his thigh. Oddly, it hurt less this time, though he could tell it might collapse if hit again too soon, he needed to create some space and stretch it. Kemp pressed his assault and, sure enough, targeted Jarak's left leg, tripping him and causing him to stagger to his right. Jarak went with the momentum, leaping off his right leg and for a second time in the duel springing away to create space. He twisted in mid-air, landing about eight feet from Kemp and rolling into an upright position before turning to face his opponent. He stomped his left leg experimentally, it hurt, badly, but the weakness had been temporary. As Jarak raised his guard he promised not to let himself be touched again, especially not another leg hit.

 

[DeathToll]

Kemp swirled the staff around as he turned to fully stand and face his opponent.

Then, with a few quick steps of a jog forward, Kemp stomped his feet down (left foot forward) just as he jabbed one end of the staff down before him at Jarad's left foot. Expecting Jarak to be cautious with his left leg, Kemp only sought to distract as he was prepared to avoid any quick counter.

 

[TriDaan]

Jarak brought his stick down hard in a double handed blow with as much speed and strength as he could muster, his target: Kemp's right hand. He would surely score a resounding blow, but if Kemp moved his hand the blow would surely land on the staff itself while Kemp was readjusting, causing the staff to fly from his weakened grip.

 

[DeathToll]

And just as Kemp had expected, his staff was the bait. Ducking the blow entirely, staff and all, the Zabrak's force behind the swing would keep him from avoiding Kemp's counter.

Jarak seemed angered with that swing, and Kemp took advantage of it.

His momentum was already taking him downwards when he stamped his staff down. This, and the expectation of Jarak's focus, aided Kemp in completely dodging the attack as he ducked under and smacked two quick blows; one into Jarak's stomach as Kemp passed by Jarak's left, and another into Jarak's open left shoulderblade.

Since Jarak had swung at Kemp's knuckels, Jarak had swung from Kemp's right to left and made it easier to bypass any danger and make the two strikes cleanly.

 

[TriDaan]

"Hahaha!" laughed Jarak, "I know when I'm beat and I have the courage to admit it." Here he dropped his stick.
"It's good to meet you, name's Jarak, what's your's?

the blows hadn't been terribly hard, but had Kemp been wielding a lightsaber, or some sort of vibro-weapon Jarak would have been dead. Jarak had lost this sparring match.