Luvi’s punishment ended, and she had been doing ‘the walk’ as her teacher called it. It was a way of moving while holding a weapon, or so the man said. Luvi was ready for something special after "perfecting the walk" for almost three hours. She was asked if she knew how to use a polearm, but she didn’t. Supposedly that was why she was sent to this teacher – so she could learn how to use one.
She hated polearms for one sole reason… they were so heavy compared to swords. She knew that this was still in the realm of the "basics," so even though it appeared possible to master the weapon, she needed more strength. And since she didn’t like strength training, she was not particularly interested in it — especially given the length of time required to learn how to use even slightly heavier weapons.
Alfred reached behind him and retrieved a short stick, disregarding Luvi's lack of enthusiasm. "My girl, you have to understand the basics before you can become a master," he said, passing Luvi the stick that she had now identified as bamboo. "Turn it! Vertically on every side! You will need these cleaves in your future training.” Luvi was not a master, but she was familiar with some of the principles and used the light stick to quickly complete all of the moves requested of her.
“With a little practice, you will be able to spin it fine because it's of good quality and honestly doesn't weigh any more than what you should be using. Simply give it a whirl." Luvi laughed at the joke and rotated the polearm, nearly losing control multiple times during the exercise. "Well, since you can now spin it, how about we just go with something equally heavy…" Luvi was given a thin metal rod and started using it once more.
Up diagonal, then an arc that descends to the left, and then another arc that descends to the right. She practiced again and again until Alfred asked her to stop. "You look great doing two-handed spins, but it's time to try one-handed spins now. I can assure you that you will love doing this!”
Luvi was given a brief break before starting to spin in the same manner as before, adding random intervals as she went. She would spin the rod over her body and rotate it along her axis until it reached her other hand. It was an awkward motion that befitted a beginner. Luvi was starting to enjoy the technique now, and she was using it more quickly and rapidly until the rod was more of a blur than a distinct shape, though when she picked up speed, it was easy to lose control of it and have it fly off to the side. She was used to the weight now and whirled the weapon with surprisingly little effort, the small shift in weight barely perceptible.
She trained so hard that when she went to bed she slept instantly. When she woke, she realized she had not slept for very long – a few hours at most. It was difficult to adjust to sleeping in another’s bed. There were beds all around her, mostly empty except for Alfred’s and the man employed to look after the facility. The room had a faint aroma of perspiration, which was from Luvi's highly enjoyable workout after a challenging day of training. How wonderful it was for her now that, in just a few short hours the previous evening, she had learned a number of fundamentals, giving her a joyful sense of progression. She slowly closed her eyes and returned to sleep, looking forward to another hard training day.
The next day, Luvi stood with the other students, waiting for instruction. "Okay, let's begin with another fairly easy technique. Although your opponent won't see it that way, this one is more for utility than for actual striking." Alfred smiled as he used his toes to turn over a wooden stick that was resting at his feet. He then reached out and took hold of the stick with his hands. "Assume the fundamental stance and hold the weapon normally. Step forward, slamming your weapon in the direction of the adversary. The idea is to impale your opponent's sternum by lunging forward with only your right leg and stabbing.”
Luvi took a stance, gripped her polearm, and swung it forward before lunging forward with both feet. To her astonishment, Alfred extended his arm, grasped the blade, and pulled it forward, causing Luvi to lose her weapon, her balance, and ultimately her stance as she staggered forward and hit the ground.
"You became unbalanced when you stepped forward because your stance was broken." Alfred took a new position as he spoke, turning to face Luvi. "Although fundamental, the position is the foundation of your strength. In essence, it is your roots, and without them, you will eventually crumble under the weight of your own development. Once more!” Luvi, who was now standing motionless, took the polearm from him.
"Try again, but don't lose your balance!" Luvi assumed the position and stabbed forward, swinging the weapon into position. She lunged, stepping forward with only her right foot and stabbing with a good deal of force, making sure to keep her back foot planted. To her dismay, Alfred easily knocked the stab away and turned to face her. "It was better than last time, but this time maintain a straight back! Your waist and leg movements provide the power; a straight back allows you to transfer more force.”
Luvi did as she was told and took up her position again, maintaining better posture. Leaning forward, she made a lunge with her right leg. Even though Alfred could feel the strike's fluid force, he managed to block it once more, though this time Alfred found it a little harder to resist the force.
"Superb," he exclaimed, "almost faultless." He glanced to the side and then looked up at Luvi.
"But you blocked the strike so easily!" She turned to face Alfred, waiting for an answer, and rolled her weapon nervously over in her hand.
“Yes, exactly as I stated! Ahh This is a useful move that diverts attention and moves quickly to make the opponent do what you want him to. Sometimes a fight is about more than just making the other man bleed for you - you need to make the opponent obey your will," he said with a big smile on his face. He picked up a smaller wooden weapon off the floor and turned to face Luvi. "Let's go on!"
Now, Alfred positioned himself in front of his pupil, his wooden weapon ready, scanning the area for any sign of impending attack. Luvi launched a lunge, but Alfred blocked it with a downward blow, spun around, and pushed himself between Luvi and her arm. Then, with a blur of movement, he raised his weapon and allowed it to drop to within inches of her throat.
"I'm going to teach you how to counterattack right now. Smoothness in motion is the secret to this tactic, as it can occasionally prevent attacks from happening that would otherwise be more devastating.” Alfred spoke as they both took their original positions. "First and foremost, consider my attack strategy as I strike. Which kind of block will allow me to access my body's various parts? Which body part will you be able to hit directly, and which body part will you hit in order to render me unconscious? Are you going to hit the sternum? Maybe you'll aim for my legs? Perhaps even go so far as to land a lethal blow at my neck? Ultimately, this is a freeform strike where you control how much damage you are able to deal. In the end, it's up to you.”
He let out a cry and swung his weapon quickly toward Luvi. Luvi was obviously unprepared for the surprising speed of the downward and vertical strike, as evidenced by her attempt to block it only after it would have broken a bone. Her teacher stopped just an inch above her shoulder.
"Pay attention, Luvi! You must sense what I am doing and understand my thoughts. Search for anything, even the smallest twitches in the arms and foot movements! Be aware of my plans!” He struck out in a similar manner once more, but this time it was vertical and upward. Luvi reacted much faster this time, blocking the strike. She made an awkward attempt to push the weapon away and go after Alfred, but Alfred was quicker to react and caught Luvi on the side of her left leg. “Better. All you need to do now is make it more flowing! Remind yourself to always be one step ahead of me and consider how you will open me up.”
Luvi groaned. This training was getting difficult, fast. After all of this she felt like she was still just a beginner. She knew experience would come in time, but her teacher wanted her to be perfect right off the bat!
