Racks of melee weapons line the walls, filled with implements ranging from simple staves to hand axes to multiple varieties of sword. Almost every conventional melee weapon is represented, allowing the fighters to pick their preference and utilize their specific weapons of choice.

David Smith stood bare-chested in the center of the room, stance relaxed and feet shoulder width apart as he waited for the arrival of his opponent. His hands hung loose at his sides, wrapped nearly to the elbow in order to protect him from the force of his own blows. His feet and shins were similarly protected, and the shorts he wore were loose and well-suited to the demands of combat. With his torso bare, a keen eye might be able to detect the hair-thin scars that criss-crossed his skin, and it was plainly evident that despite his slender frame and long limbs his taught, wiry musculature still possessed a formidable strength. His dark hair was cut short (very nearly shaved) in order to prevent an opponent from using it against him, and his bare skin had been oiled to reduce the likelihood of a successful grab. All that remained now was to

Dylan Nicholson walked into the room and looked around seeing the weapons and smiling. He was dressed in a traditional white gui with black trim along the neck and shoulders and he wore a black belt on his waist. His brown hair was spiked backwards and his green eyes burned with anticipation. His hands were wrapped to the wrist to prevent him from breaking them when he struck and blocked. His feet were unwrapped and he wore a pair of geta.

stepping forward he took the geta off and laid them neatly together before stepping onto the mat. Walking forward until he was about ten feet from his opponent Dylan put his feet together and bowed, but never took his eyes off the man. When he finished the bow he said "my name is Dylan Nicholson I am a practitioner of multiple styles and will be your opponent it is a pleasure to meet you and spar with you we may begin when you are ready". After he said that he stepped backwards into a traditional karate back stance and extended his left arm with the elbow bent and his hand open facing the opponent. His right hand formed a fist chambering along his ribs and he was ready.

The man who entered was fit and stocky, or stockier than David at least, and wore the traditional garb of a Karate practitioner. Interesting. Immediately, his mind began running through tactics and strategies to deal with someone of that particular martial proclivity, but his body remained still until the other man had assumed his stance. "Name's David. Nice to meet you too, Dylan. " He would have shook his hand, but considering the circumstances he figured that little societal discipline could be done away with this time.

Moving forward, David tucked his chin and raised his hands to protect his face, leading with his left leg as he closed the distance. His opponent's stance was considerably lower than his own, and due to that also more tiring, so once he reached melee distance and his leading foot was next to Dylan's (on the inside side), he stopped and waited. The other man would either have to make a move first, or remain stationary for hours as his legs grew more and more tired and eventually gave out. That was the trouble with low stances. Sure, they're stable, but if your opponent decides to wait you out, you're screwed.

Dylan waited as the other man closed the distance between them. His left hand was just in front of the other mans hands and the other man had a foot on the inside of his. His left foot rose and turned hooking the other mans ankle and pulling it outwards. As the man was pulled of balance he would slam his other foot back down and lead with a karate punch rotating his fist to gain momentum

He let the foot pull his own to the side, and when it stopped he simply adjusted his back foot to compensate and recovered before the other man's offending foot had made it back to the floor. With a stance as even as his, it would take more than a few inches to unbalance him. When the punch came, he slipped to the left and aimed a counter strike at Dylan's right kidney, using his left hand to deliver a hook at the exposed side while keeping his right in a guard position.

The other man slipped his punch and returned with a strike to the kidneys. Dylan turned and exhaled as the man struck his abs softening the blow. Backing up and keeping his footing Dylan returns to his stance however this time his left hand is parallel to his solarplex.

David landed the blow and returned to his initial stance as the other man retreated, gaining distance to regroup. "Backing out already? We haven't even gotten started." Keeping his arms in a guard position, he advanced on the man, leading foot first, never letting his steps cross or his stance grow too narrow. He stopped when his left foot was just in front of Dylan's, their stances opposing each other now that the other man had switched to a leftie posture. "Care to give it another go?"

Dylan said nothing merely exhaled and cleared his mind. Stepping forward his front leg came up as though to throw a front kick at David's head but st the last second turned and drove a sidekick like a spear at his stomach. This kick delivered a lot of force in a blindingly fast motion it was one if his staple attacks.

Given the distance between the two men, and the height advantage possessed by David, he had little worry that the kick was actually intended for his head. The other man would have to completely give up his balance and commit entirely to the attack, and even then the odds of reaching his head were not good thanks to the positioning of his back foot. So when the kick instead came in at his stomach, he twisted his torso to catch it on his right side (also cutting its journey off prematurely and thus limiting the power behind it) and wrapped his right arm around the extended limb, trapping it against his body. From there, he moved forward rapidly, left hand still held in a guard position, and attempted to push Dylan off balance and onto the ground.

If successful, he would then use his new-found leverage to get on top of Dylan and begin driving punch after punch at the other man, alternating the powerful blows between his head and ribs.

Perfect he smiled as the other man caught his leg and pushed forward. He jumped as the other man pushed his back leg coming up and performing a hook kick at the other mans right temple as he fell. Due to taekwondo he had taken this kick was standard and delivered flawlessly. If this hit it would at very least make the man release him. After he hit the ground he would kick up and return to his stance.

Creative, but foolish. Dropping his head lower as Dylan launched the flying kick, it sailed over his head and David kept pushing, adding the downward momentum of his duck to the momentum he already had going in order to slam his opponent face first into the floor. Once he had him there, he would immediately proceed to plant a knee in his back while still holding the right leg, now bent backwards at an extremely uncomfortable angle as David put his weight into the knee. "Anytime you wanna quit, just say uncle."

Pushing up with his arms he thrust off his back leg and rolled away from the other man. "I'm afraid it will take more than that". He quickly and concisely got into a balanced stance with both hands in front of him half open. His right foot in front and slightly raised.

When the other man pushed, David shifted his right leg farther out and used the leverage he had on the trapped leg to prevent the roll, then dropped onto his back and brought his right leg back in to hook around Dylan's right wrist, pulling it out from under him to remove any leverage he might have gained from it, then began applying force to the trapped leg in order to hyper-extend or even break the knee. A LOT of force, in fact, using his hip as the fulcrum point of this makeshift lever to prevent the leg (which would now be between his own legs) from simply hitting the floor and going no further.

Dylan stopped struggling and tapped the ground twice. "i submit" and waited for the other man to release him if he did then Dylan would stand bow again and return to a stance. This time the intensity in his eyes was almost tangible in the air. He slid the top of his gui off letting it fall as he was left bare chested in his gui pants and ready to fight.

David released the other man and returned to his own feet as Dylan did the same and removed the top half of his outfit. Returning to his original opening stance, left foot forward and hands held in a guard position, he once again waiting for his opponent to make a move. "One, zip. Not that I'm keeping score." He was totally keeping score.

Dylan stepped forward spinning and jumped with his front leg then brought it around mid air to do a roundhouse kick. If this attack landed even if blocked it would still do massive damage and if he missed he would simply and into a defensive stance.

David ducked as the other man leapt into a flying kick with his right foot, rushing immediately forward to catch the other man off-balance before the right leg could return to a stable footing. PLacing his right foot behind his opponent's left, he grabbed behind the knee of the right leg, preventing it from being used to maintain footing, and pushed on Dylan's chest with his own right hand, leaving him nowhere to go but back to the floor.

Once he was on the floor, David would mount him, placing one knee on either side of his rib cage and squeezing as he threw several punches at the other man's face, alternating between his left and right hands.

As the other man tried to tackle him he wrapped his left laeg around the man keeping him in a guard between his legs then grabbed his Davids arm with his own. It was oiled and slick but he held on and pulled the other man down where he threw his left leg under his Davids chin and grabbed the back of davids head with his right hand. He pulled David's head toward his chest with his right hand and used his left leg to push against the mans neck to choke him while holding Davids left arm with his own.

Shoving his right elbow into the pressure point just above the other man's left knee, David forced the appendage down to the ground before the foot could traverse even half the distance it needed to get under his chin, then immediately pulled his right knee over Dylan's upper leg and forced his own shin down onto his opponent's soft inner thigh. A position that he knew from experience was extremely painful.

He didn't stop there though, and as soon as his right knee was settled, he chainsaw-jerked his already slick left arm out of Dylan's grip, then dug that elbow into Dylan's right knee using the same pressure point he had on the other leg. This time however, he would only push the leg far enough to slide his own left leg through and get out of the other man's guard and into a mount position. From there, he would continue his original plan of driving a series of punches at his opponent's face.

throwing his hands in front of his face Dylan bucked his hips to throw the other man up then brought his legs in under the mans thighs and kicked. This should send the other man off and give him enough time to kick up and get into his stance again.