[IC] RuroniHS vs Chev

[ruronihs]

Ryozan stared down his opponent in the clearing, feet planted firmly in the dirt, left foot leading. With his left hand, he steadied the sheath of his sword while his right hand grabbed the hilt, putting tension on the blade but not drawing it. He leaned forward and crouched down slightly, the right side of his body facing his opponent, but all of his vitals guarded by his arm. He had no intention of killing the girl that stood before him, but he was still not one to take his training lightly and if she wasn't careful she'd definitely feel his attacks in the morning. "So Karela," he began, offering her a few words of advice before the match, "have you seen this stance before? It's called an iaijutsu stance. Look at where my weight and power are focused. What do you think I can do from this stance? What does this stance prevent me from doing? Once you have thought of these to things, show me how you attack."

[Chev]

Karela watched her opponent carefully as she thought of what to do.

"Alright." She said simply as she placed her right foot forward and pulled a handful of kunai knives out and held them in her left hand. She began running at Ryozan with the kunai hand extended. She wasn't going to kill her sparring partner but she wasn't going to go easy on him either. Her first move was going to try and get at his exposed right side. She wasn't going to go for his vitals but the rest of him was fair game as far as she was concerned.

[ruronihs]

Ryozan calculated Karela's speed as she ran towards him, and then he released the tension on his blade, letting the sword fly out of its sheath with blinding speed. "Wrong!" he shouted as he aimed his quickdraw slash in a wide arc, covering the entire area in front of him, but pulling back the range so that the blade would not bite into Karela's flesh during her frontal assault. The blade flashed in front of him just long enough to thwart the advance, and then he quickly snapped it back to its original position inside the sheath, ready to unleash another quickdraw slash. "As you see, I currently control the space in front of me. The range of my control is equal to the range of my sword plus my reach. You thought that the side I am leaning forward with was open, so you advanced on it, but I can afford to show you an opening because it is within the space I control. In short, the opening you chose to advance on put you first in the range of my sword attack. A head-on advance is not the correct way to defeat this stance, however you seem to have the tools to beat it. Here is your hint: what is the range of your Kunai compared to the range of my sword?"

[Chev]

"As you see, I currently control the space in front of me. The range of my control is equal to the range of my sword plus my reach. You thought that the side I am leaning forward with was open, so you advanced on it, but I can afford to show you an opening because it is within the space I control. In short, the opening you chose to advance on put you first in the range of my sword attack. A head-on advance is not the correct way to defeat this stance, however you seem to have the tools to beat it. Here is your hint: what is the range of your Kunai compared to the range of my sword?"

Karela thought for a moment. "The Kunai has a longer range then the sword when thrown. But once you get in close does it have the same attack capabilities as your sword?" She asked as she walked back towards where the starting point of her last attack.

[ruronihs]

"Certainly not," Ryozan replied frankly. "The kunai has superior attack capabilities for close range combat. The very factors that make my sword dangerous at mid-range also limit its efficacy once you get in close. The speed and power of a sword increases as you approach the tip while the area down by the sheath and my arms can to little harm. The kunai is a short weapon and, unlike the sword, can be used very close to one's body. So, if you can find a way to advance past my attack zone, you will have the advantage. I can think of three basic ways to accomplish this: a defense that can withstand the anticipated attack, neutralizing my attack capabilities, or maneuvering around my attack radius. Choose a strategy according to your strengths, and according to what you perceive are my weaknesses." With that, he entered his iaijutsu stance once again and waited for the attack.

[Chev]

"Very well." Karela said as she planned her next attack. After a few moments of thinking she had an idea for a new strategy.

She ran at Ryozan and shot towards him as she picked up speed. At first, it looked as if it was another head on attack. But at the last second, Karela ducked under the sword and slammed her Kunai knives against the hilt of the sword before twisting to the side to avoid a possible counter-attack.

"How was that?" She asked.