Darvin smiled, pleased. "Good. That's the sort of attitude we need you to have to survive." He said, circling around her again. She was fierce, in her own way, but only when cornered and provoked. The Dragoon Guardian wondered again fleetingly about Kelski’s history. She never talked of the past… nor of the future for that matter. He was the one providing for her future by giving her this training. And even now he didn’t know why he was doing it. There was nothing really in it for him. He could test his drugs out on Kelski at any time, whether she liked it or not. This way, he felt just a little less guilty.
Kelski watched him closely, the wooden dagger he’d given her clenched tightly in her hand. She’d taken a forward grip and was standing absolutely perfect. Darvin thought she looked exotic and dangerous.
“Okay… now we’re going to talk about reverse dagger grips. When I say a reverse grip, I mean when the dagger blade and point oppose the thumb.” He demonstrated with his own wooden dagger. “That means the dagger is reversed and opposite of the actual forward grip. These grips have a ton of different names…. The stabber, The Icepick, The Talon… Let me tell you though. People formally trained in dagger will tell you that reverse grips are for the inexperienced person that just wants to stab something. They fill this is unrefined and improper. I’m telling you now Kelski that there is no proper or improper way to hold a dagger. Your hand can accommodate a ton of different positions, holds, and grips. Use what feels comfortable to you. This is Sunberth. There is no elegant, proper or distinguished ways of fighting. The only goal is to save your life or take something from someone weaker than you are. If this grip feels good to you and you can use it, then use it. I’ll be going through each grips disadvantages and advantages, but you still need to choose for yourself.” He offered, tossing his dagger up in the air for a moment and then catching it neatly.
Kelski shifted uncomfortably. She kept moving the dagger from forward to reverse positions over and over, swinging, and taking a minute to get a feel for it. Darvin watched her then stepped closer to catch her wrist and make some adjustments.
“Now the first one is called Reverse Edge Out. This is important if your dagger only has one sharpened edge or a sharper edge on one side than another, which many people that fight with daggers train for. There’s a whole host of daggers out there, Kelski and edges matter. That means you want your best edge orientated outward, away from your body. You want to make sure the daggers you own can accommodate both grips – forward and reverse – because you don’t always have time to look at how you are grabbing your dagger if you need your weapon in a hurry. If handles and hilts only fit your hand one way, get rid of it because it’s a disadvantage. Now… what does this grip do for you?” As he talked Darvin reached out and adjusted her grip on it, pushing her fingers closer together and wrapping her thumb over the end of the dagger, giving her a serious ability to drive the dagger deep into something or someone.
Kelski nodded once the dagger was re-positioned in her hand. It felt good, dangerous even, and she smiled slightly.
