hadriel_logs | (no subject)

Who: Sonya Blade and Margery Tyrell
What: Lessons in Self Defence
Where: Guard’s training area
When: Monday afternoon
Warnings: N/A. Will Change if needed

Sonya had heard of what happened to Margery; at the very least, she knew something happened, knew it something to do with the demon attack that went on. When word came around that she had ‘returned, she thought back to the offer to teach self defense; a conversation through texts proved her desire to learn was still there, more so now than ever. The last time Sonya agreed to train anyone, they had already taken some sort of combat instruction, and while Margery had some basic skill with the sword and was a dance of sorts, it wasn’t the same as actual combat training.

She had arranged their first session in the Guard’s training area, keeping it delayed only long enough that she hoped Margery was recovered enough to handle the strain. As this would’ve been new to her and the first time Sonya was training someone with a minimum amount of experience, this first lesson would’ve been more to gauge her strengths and endurance.

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

[Margaery enters the Guard's training area with all of the confidence she can muster. right now, that's not a whole lot. she gets jumpy when she's not at either her apartment or the Elfhouse. she knows rationally that she should be perfectly safe here, in the heart of the Guards' headquarters, but convincing the rest of her of that is tricky.

but she puts on a confident smile and calls a greeting to her trainer]

Sonya, I'm here. Thank you ever so much for agreeing to help me.

[It's easy enough for Sonya to pick on the nuances of Margery's body language, and in truth she couldn't blame her. Having near death experiences was shocking enough, but to be killed and resurrected, that would be enough to knock anyone off their course.]

Wait till after this session, then see if you're still thanking me. [She attempted a smile for her benefit. The way this place worked, they couldn't afford to take the slow and steady approach.] Normal basic training takes about ten weeks, but after what happened, I think it's best if we speed things along. First four weeks or so will be spent on mastering joint locks, submission holds, and choke holds, all of which will be useful against an opponent larger than yourself.

[Which, they had to be honest, was likely going to be a majority of those that tried to attack.] Once you get a hang of that, we'll go onto integrating actual attacks. Every session we'll also work on stamina and speed, all of which will be beneficial in a real life encounter.

[it's even worse when it happened at a place where she used to feel safe from such attacks. despite the Null, Margaery had always considered herself safe at Hadriel]

I see. [she manages a smile back] It seems that most people here are larger than myself, although my--my attacker was about my height.

[one would generally think so, but Hadriel has its unpleasant surprises] What kinds of attacks? And I can see how that would be useful.

Same principles still apply, though a smaller opponent would be easier.[Of course, she'd have limits even in terms of size, but Sonya hoped to level the playing field.] Hard strikes, either with the fist, heel of your palm. The elbow and knee are the strongest bones in the body, and a well placed strike to certain points of the body can create the most damage with little effort on your part.

[She was never a fan of some of the more flashier moves some of her allies once used. To her, it was all about defeating or killing the opponent before they could do the same.] Let's go on the mat, start to warm up. First fifteen minutes won't actually be combat training, just exercises to get the muscles loosened up and your heart rate up.

Edited 2018-04-16 16:38 (UTC)

How do you make a proper fist? I've heard that you're supposed to have your thumb on the outside of your hand. And what would those certain points of the body be?

[Margaery just never wants to feel as helpless as she did when the demon attacked her. she wants to be able to at least try to rescue herself, or at the very least make an attacker have to work for it. she goes to the mat] Yes, that would makes sense. I'm ready to begin.

[She nodded.] That's right, if you hold your thumb on the inside while punching, the force would be enough to break it. [And the whole point of fighting someone off was 'not' to get any broken bones.] When you throw a punch, you punch with the knuckles on your hand, not your fingers, like this.

[She'd taken the both of them towards the punching back in the area. Carefully, she made a fist and slowly aimed it towards the bag, so she might see it.] You also never want to fully extend your arm, but always have it slightly bent, so you have better control. Now lets see you make one.

[She stood back from the bag to watch.]

Ouch. That sounds like it would defeat the purpose of punching as well as make it difficult to do it again.

[she goes along curiously. she wants to learn how to do things properly. Margaery makes a fist according to Sonya's instruction and does her best to imitate what she's been shown. her arm over-extends a bit, but the fist itself is done accurately]

How was that?

It's a start. [She reached forward and corrected her arm, pulling her fist in just a fraction.] There. Pull back, tense your arm and then punch.

[She moved behind the punching bag to hold it steady.]

[she allows her stance to be corrected] All right. I'll do my best.

[and she throws another punch, this one better than the first, but not terribly strong]

[Sonya quickly debated; going several punches for a few minutes would be a good warm up, but she needed to get her used to throwing more power into them.] Now, give them three at a time, one arm after the other.

[She moved to stand aside her, holding her fists up to her face.] Hold your fists up like this, protects your face in need of blocking. Now, one-two-three.

[She punched the bag with each count, going for a steady speed instead of a fast one. They would work on speed later. After the demo, she once more moved behind the bag.] Again.

[yes, at this point she's not terribly strong yet, though she's better than she had been before she started sword training. she follows Sonya's instructions to the letter] Like this?

[she watches intently and follows her lead] I can do that.

[she nods, gets herself into position, and throws three punches as instructed. she puts a little more strength into these punches]

Good, now again. [She braced herself against the bag.] Three punches, fast as you can.

[She meant to keep this up, until she could get the speed and form without even thinking. Learning to fight was like dancing-all in muscle memory.]

[she does it, a little faster this time.

fortunately, Margaery's an excellent dancer. that means that the tools needed to learn are there, they just need to be engaged]

[She has her go through the combinations several more times, keeping a steady pace. While point was to push endurance and warm up, she didn't want her to reach burn out just yet.

Okay, you and stretch and roll your shoulders a bit, then we'll move on from there.

[she is definitely pushing her endurance. ladies of Westeros weren't intended for such activities. they were to smile and be pleasing and, in Margaery's case, to become queen by any means necessary]

All right. What will we move on to? [she sits on the ground and stretches her arms towards her toes, repeating that several times before she moves on to rolling her shoulders]