The Way to Fight- Training a Padawan

[starwarsgirl008]

Luxa awoke early in the morning. Her exhausting journey had allowed her to rest well and peacefully. She quickly prepared for the day, as she wanted to be ready to continue the training of her Padawan.

She walked gracefully through the temple, eventually reaching a side exit. She almost skipped through the doors.

In front of her layed a slender, but long stretch of land. It was grass filled, with teh occasinal boulder here or there. It was of no use of the Jedi, and so it layed in sleep for decades, until Luxa pondered upon it one day. It was the perfect place for a sparr. Private, and strategically placed. This would be the sight of the training.

[Eternal Skies]

Velos looked up at the ceiling as he awoke. The previous few days had been amazing for him. He’d managed to help prevent the traders storming Ryloth and assisted in the capture of the traitorous leader. The highlight though was his knowledgeable use of the trader’s ship. He smiled at he got up and prepared himself for another day of training.

Walking out of his room he stepped briskly down the corridor. He’d been given instructions by Luxa the previous night of where to go the following morning and he followed them carefully. Stepping into a side room he looked around slightly awed. Green grass with the occasional boulder blocking a flat surface.

”Wow”

[starwarsgirl008]

Luxa cringed as Velos spoke. She had been in deep meditation the past few minutes, and was surprised to see that her Padawan had come early.

"Welcome, Velos!" Luxa said. "Now, before we can begin, I must know where you stand. Tell me what you know about fighting with a lightsaber. Keep in mind, if you can say it, you can do it."

[Eternal Skies]

Velos looked up at Luxa and nodded.

”Sorry if I disturbed you Master.” Velos said bowing his head slightly and smiled. He looked around still surprised at the room. He’d never seen it before during his time in the Temple and he could see why. It was quite out of the way; as if it wasn’t meant to be there at all.

”Only the basics of Shii-Cho but…well I’m quite decent at them. I tend to do a lot of practicing alone to keep on top of my skills.” Velos said calmly trying not to sound egotistical.

[starwarsgirl008]

"Aah, shii-cho, the form of determination. It is basic, but one can be advanced without being basic first. Now that you have told me, show me." Luxa said, instructing another test upon her Padawan.

[Eternal Skies]

Velos listened to his Master and nodded at her instruction. He quickly retrieved his lightsaber from his waist and jumped back preparing himself mentally and physically. He wasn’t going to waste time asking stupid questions and just dashed forwards slashing down towards her chest with a quick movement and then spun quickly aiming for her hip. He wasn’t aiming to hurt but knew his Master could protect herself so put all his might behind it.

[starwarsgirl008]

Luxa shut her eyes as the young Padawan charged towards her. It seemed she became more in depth with herself when her eyes were closed.

Instead of blocking the attack, Luxa simply stepped back, allowing Velos to miss. "You truly do posses great skill for one just comming from a Youngling class, but I will still start you from phase one." Luxa knew velos didn't need to be taught from the very first step, but wanted to test his patience and trust with her.

"Shii-cho, known as the determination form, is tha base of all lightsaber tactics. The grip is simple. One hand is placed at the tip of the hilt, while another hand is brought up nest to where the saber ignites. Pressure is applied at the end of your hands, in the ring finger and thumb. Your top hand remains firm, while your bottum hand moves in a push-and-pull motion." Luxa watched her Padawan perform the motions.

"The form consists of basic verticle and horizontal attacks and parries." Luxa, again looking at her Padawan knew it was time to move on.

[Eternal Skies]

Velos staggered to a halt as his lightsaber sliced at the air across where Luxa’s chest had originally been. He looked at her but didn’t go to attack again hearing her speak once more. What surprised him though was that her eyes were closed and that she wasn’t really focusing on him.

Listening to her words he found his fingers tightening their grip. Not out of anger but rather out of acknowledgement that he was indeed correctly holding the saber the way it should be. He found himself stepping back instinctively as if he were about to attack but kept himself still.

As Luxa explained the basic attacks of Shii-Cho Velos nodded in agreement and understanding. He looked up at her smiling still in the battle ready posture.

[starwarsgirl008]

Luxa was very happy to see the response Velos made to her speech. He truly was a patient Padawan, and they were pretty hard to find.

Seeing Velos' actions, Luxa moved on. Of course, she hadn't truly practiced Form 2, Makashi, so she wasn't about to try to teach it to Velos. Instead, she kept ahead to Soresu.

"Velos, as long as you continue to practice your Shii-Cho, you shall have it mastered in no time. Allow, us to move on... Form 3, Soresu, the resilience form. It is a truly strategic form, leaving many options for you to fall upon in battle. It is a more defenive move, and can be used to fend off mulitple blaster shots at once. Truly, a valuable form." Luxa explained.

Luxa drew her yellow lightsaber, and sampled some basic moves from the form. It was more complicated than Shii-Cho, but still pretty simple. "Now, Velos. Your turn..."

[Eternal Skies]

The room was silent as Velos slightly relaxed his body seeing as Luxa spoke again. Listening to her, he grinned at her praise. He was pleased with how he was keeping Luxa happy but he felt himself getting more skilled under her wing. He watched her as she explained Soresu. He’d read about it slightly but hadn’t done anymore than that.

”Soresu…Sounds much more…skill based” Velos commented adjusting his hold to the one she had shown him. He stepped back performing the first move she portrayed but the ending was slightly flawed. Whilst it would do for most Velos didn’t want to leave the move incomplete. He repeated the move after that half a dozen times before the ending was finally correct.

”Finally” Velos muttered getting ready to attempt the second move Luxa had shown him.

[starwarsgirl008]

"Very good Velos." Luxa praised. Although Velos had made some minor mistakes, it was an excellent attempt preformed by a first-timer.

"Now, continue to practice the two forms, and then we can move on to the next form. However, in battle one must learn to fight without a weapon. Tell me Velos, what do you know about The Force?" Luxa asked.

[Eternal Skies]

Velos looked pleased with himself as he relaxed himself. Soresu was going to be his next lightsaber style; he was determined to learn it to its extreme. He listened to Luxa more as she began to move onto the Force. He wasn’t as skilled in the use of Force but was still confident enough.

”Not as much as I know about lightsaber use but the basics. I think” Velos stated.

[starwarsgirl008]

"Please, think about what I have asked today. We will pick up here tommorow." Luxa said, proud of her Padawan's first day of training.

(Keep an eye on the Council of Reconciliation. I will sign us up.)

[starwarsgirl008]

Dawn. A time of peace and harmony, and Master Luxa Magna's favorite time of day. The sky outside was a magnificent shade of orange, as the sun attempted to break the barrier of the atmoshpere with light. It was still too late for club goers to pollute the street with their presence, and too early for the civillians to be rushing to their jobs. And so, Luxa sat in simple silence. Her only company was the Force.

Luxa had recently returned from Empress Teta to recover to Lost Jedi. The mission ended half complete, with one Jedi agreeing to return. Luxa, however, viewed it as a complete success. The Jedi Order was not about forcing people to join, but keeping peace, and Luxa believed she and her allies had prevented to former Jedi from embracing the Dark Side.

On the mission, Luxa lost touch with her senses, thinking only of the mission and not of the wlefare of her allies for a few brief moments while on the trip. Luckily, she was able to overcome this setback, and regain touch with the Jedi ways. Yet this proves something. Even the most experienced Jedi Masters have much to learn.

Suddenly footsteps echoed down the halls of the Jedi Temple. They rapidly approached the room Luxa was in. Luxa knew it was her Padwan learner, a young boy known as Velos. He too had traveled to Empress Teta, completeing his second mission alongside his master. Luxa had been observing him, he had learned a lot and was ready for some more skillful learning.

Up until this point, Luxa had focused on teaching Velos lessons about fighting without a weapon, and how the most important weapon is a Jedi's mind. However, a lightsaber was also an important lesson, and Luxa believed it was time to teach Velos how to properly use one...

[Eternal Skies]

The days had passed slowly with little movement for the young male who had been laying in the Medical Bay for almost a week after the mission. The medics had made sure he didn't move. The injuries themselves had not been massively severe but because he had suffered quite a few of them he'd been restricted to the medic bay. 10 days had passed now and Velos was becoming agitated and wanted to spend some time training now. He'd been lucky to survive the mission and wanted to get back to his Master. She'd come in regularly to check on his progress and now was the day he could leave.

Slowly he moved his aching body off the bed and stood up. His hand grasped his lightsaber attaching it to his belt before he walked down the corridor. He was ever so eager to start training again. The mission had strengthened him in ways he hadn't learn of yet but could feel that he had matured since the mission. Maybe it was the time he'd spent thinking. He shrugged as he walked into the training room.

Standing there waiting for him was his Twi'lek Master. Luxa. He smiled and nodded in respect if she turned to face him.

”Master. It's nice to be on my feet again. Thank you for visiting me whilst I recovered. I'm ready to resume my training if you are ready.” Velos said quietly nodding in more respect.

[starwarsgirl008]

"Very good." Luxa said with a bright smile. She gaxed at Velos, extremely proud. His courage was surely amazing. His endurance was at a skill level well above his own, yet Luxa had to wonder if he would have been injured if she had trained him in more advanced way with a lightsaber.

She gave a slight nod to Velos to explain she was ready to start. "I hope you have come ready to learn, we have much to do." she said.

"Before we can move on to anything more advanced, I must ensure the basics are perfected." she paused for a second and then continued. "I know I you have almost mastered Shii-Cho and I briefly explain Form III, Soresu, to you. These forms shall prove valuable to you on the field of battle- why not try some basic stances in these forms..."Luxa began to demostrate, grabbing her lightsaber and igniting its yellow blade, to refresh the Velos' memory. Her arms seemed to flow on the air, as if they were in water. She gave another nod to insrtuct Velos to follow her examples.

[Eternal Skies]

Velos stretched up as he walked into the training room. "Ugh I hated being unable to move for so long. I've been looking forwards to this." Velos said calmly obviously not holding any anger towards his teacher. She wasn't meant to rush his training and his injuries were not her fault. He could tell that she guilted herself over his wounds and he sighed quietly.

"Ready I am and I look forwards to continuing my teaching under your command." Velos said softly. For only 12 years old he was maturing much quicker than before the mission. His lightsaber felt cold in his hand from lack of use and the lightly lit blade extended from the hilt and Velos crouched himself into the Shii-Cho form before performing a sequence of basic shii-cho moves before changing to the first move he'd been taught from Soresu. He landed quietly before getting into a slightly more defensive stance; the stance of Soresu.

"How was that?"

[starwarsgirl008]

Luxa smiled as Velos performed what she asked, and then grinned when he asked her a question.

"Velos," she began. "In the Jedi Order there are only two sides to a task: do and don't. Often, it is not hard to determine if you did do, or didn't do, something. So instead of asking me how well you did, ask yourself, did I do exactly what she asked, or did I not?"

She paused for a moment, and then went on, hoping to form some sort of lesson from this speech, "Trying to do something is another word for practicing to complete a task. Just think about it, you'll see what I mean."

Luxa stopped her lecture and then allowed Velos to ponder for a minute. A few moments later, an object caught her eye: a stone hiding in the corner of the training area. Luxa sought out to teach Velos another lesson. She smoothly raised her hand from the side of her Jedi robes, grasped the stone using the Force, and proceeded to hurl it at Velos' back.