Lain sat at the counter, happily sipping ale with Skye. It had been a long time since they had had time to just sit over a cup or two and just talk. "So, Skye, what's happened with you lately? It's been awhile..."
Waiting for Skye to finish sipping his drink, Lain gazed out the window at the shining tower. Tar Valon was so beautiful... Lain sighed. Tomorrow he must continue his vigorous training. Well, not actually resume it, as he practiced from pre-dawn to until the sun was well above the horizon every morning... He hoped he was getting better. He could feel himself getting stronger...
xxxx
"I hope that all of you have received attention from the Yellow Ajah sisters here to heal those bruises and other injuries from your training and lessons from before. Today, we will progress to basic attack forms in close unarmed combat."
Turning around, Flehrad pulled a sheet off an object behind him. "This is a wooden man, a tool available for single practice in hand to hand combat, however as we do not have enough of them in the yard, you will be practicing with each other for now, and in your spare time, you can use them."
Pointing at the strange contraption, the senior Gaidin explained it's usage to the assembled trainees. "This device represents a man. Each one of these short posts at the various heights and angles represents an arm or a leg, or even a weapon. When you strike one, it reacts." A gentle push on a post caused the object to spin and some of the posts wiggled. "It reacts in a fashion to how a person would, by turning this way, that way, and throwing counter blows. The harder you strike, the harder and faster it reacts to you. Be wary, as you will easily hurt yourself if you are not careful."
Turning back fully to the group, Flehrad began the lesson brief. "The object of hand to hand combat, is to be effective. Without a weapon, you must make use of everything you have. To the exception of knuckle dusters, wrist blades and spikes and so forth, you are already heavily armed. Versatility, variety and surprise are at your disposal." Indicating an assistant closer, Flehrad asked "How many ways are there to attack in a basic move?" The general response murmured.
Each of the moves were demonstrated to the trainees as Flehrad listed them. "One, the punch. Two, the open heel of the hand. Three, the finger poke. Four, The slap. Five, the elbow. Six, the shoulder. Seven, the kick. Eight, the stomp. Nine, the knee. Ten, the head butt."
"That is only with one side of the body. With both, combinations are possible and you can effectively deliver a series of unexpected blows quickly. Pain and injury are not always the objective, but to place them off guard, off balance, confusion, disorientation, so that you can follow with a stronger attack." Turning again to the assistant, Flehrad then asked another question "How many places are there to attack on a person?" Once again, an unsure response.
"Unlimited!"
Running his pointing finger from head to toe on the assistant, Flehrad continued. "Every single point of the body is open to attack. Knowing what is most effective is important, but even the wrong attack will still work. The body is sensitive to many things applied. You must find them."
Nodding to the assistant, Flehrad finished his briefing with their instructions. "Today, you will spend half your time on the wooden men in turns, while the others waiting will practice with each other on learning what are the most effective methods of attack on each other. There are plenty of Sisters to heal you are you progress as long as you do not kill someone. You must also remember the pain, and live to relish it. You may now begin."
xxxx
Lain listened carefully to the Master of Arms. This time, he was determined not to fly across the courtyard. However, from the sounds of things, pain was a definite thing in this lesson...
As the Gaidin finished, Lain looked around for a potential partner. As he gazed across the courtyard, he noticed everyone else was quickly pairing up. Oh well, he thought. Wooden man for me...
Lain joined the small group of people standing in line. He watched attentively as trainee after trainee struggled against the device. This should be interesting... he thought. As he got closer and closer to the wooden man, he wondered whether this was a good idea or not. But before he could finish, he was thrust in front of it. Lain braced himself and threw a punch with the side of his hand. The contraption whipped around, soundly thunking into his head. "Ow..." he muttered. "Ok, I can do this." Lain kicked the wooden post lightly. Slowly, it turned to meet him, and he blocked it, sending it back the other way.
"There we go," said Lain, concentrating hard. As he blocked and kicked, he decided to try punching. As he did so, he also sped up, getting the hang of it. Faster and faster, he whirled around the wooden man.
"Ack! Too... fast!" murmured Lain, out of control. From behind, the contraption swept his legs out from under him, hitting him as he went down. "Oomf." he grunted as he hit. Inching away from the machine, he got up slowly, rubbing his new bruises. He motioned for the next person to go, and limped over to an Aes Sedai. He looked down as she took his face in her hands, and merely shivered as he was healed. He had grown up around Wilders and rejected Accepted.
"Thank you, Aes Sedai," he said with a slight bow, and moved over to the other side of the courtyard, ready for the second part of the lesson.
