[flashback]Fight like a man or fail like a boy

[Giph]

Spring 34th 508 AV Giph wasn't having a great day, not only did his mom's condition just continued to get worse and worse. The people at the hospital had also said they honestly didn't know what was wrong with her they only could ease her suffering a bit with medication while they waited for her to either fight of the disease by herself, which wasn't really going to work While that was bad news by itself, he wasn't even allowed to see his mom again, they had her in quarantine and nobody was allowed inside. Giph was pulled out of his moping when he heard a knock on the door of his home. He begrudgingly stood up from his chair and walked to the door and pulled it open, a look from shock coming over his face for a few scant moments as he saw the form of his father standing at the door. But that quickly made way for confusion. “Why are you here? Shouldn't you be trying to see mom? She probably would want to see you before she goes.” He stepped aside and let his father inside. “She might not die Giph. The healers said she could shake off the disease by herself. But thats not why I'm here.” He cut giph off as he opened his mouth to give a pessimistic reply. “I'm here, because you know I can't take care of you with all my duties...” Giph cut his father off. “I have been taking care of myself and my mom a long time already pops. So why are you here?” His father gave him a pointed look before letting out a sigh. “I'm here to teach you how to defend yourself, most people here won't try to hurt a child with a sick mother, they can't really justify it to themselves, but a child living all alone will be a target way to easy to pass up on.” Giph just fixed his old man with a uncertian stare. “You already taught me how to shoot a crossbow old man, what else do I need?” His fathers face twisted into something he didn't recognize and before he could react his father suddenly lashed out and hit him in the stomach. Letting him gasp for air as he doubled over in pain. “How would your crossbow help you in situations like these, Giph?” His father said in a condescending tone. Giph just forced himself back on his feet. “Fine I get your point pops.” giph managed to force out. By rhysol, his pops hit hard! “Good, help me clear a space in the middle of the house so we can get started.”

[Giph]

Giph helped his pops drag the table and the chairs out of the way, trying to ignore the dull ache coming from his stomach as he did so, that really was going to bruise later. When they finished shoving the table out of the way his father stood in the middle of the now clear space in the middle of their house. “Right, thats better. Now since you don't know anything about how to fight somebody lets start from the very basics.” Giph just rolled his eyes, yes the basics of fighting, how to punch or kick somebody in the nads, he knew that. “how to stand.” Giph looked at his pops as if he just said something completely moronic.”How to stand? Pops, I learned that when I was a bloody toddler.” Giph muttered. His father didn't seem fazed by his son's bad grammar or his remark “how to stand without falling over when punced in the face or kicked giph.” He walked over a bit closer and slid into a combat stance. “Why don't you try to punch me hard enough to let me fall over, I won't retaliate.” giph smiled at that, he could take a bit of payback for that punch in the chetst. He pulled his fist back and tried to plant it straight in his fathers stomach, his face being to high up for him to really hit anyway. Much to his surprise his punch didn't hit the soft abdomen, but was stopped by his father's elbow. “I never said I wasn't going to defend wasn't I?” His father said with a grin on his face. “But you get the point, even though you hit me with everything you got I didn't even move. Now just copy my stance. Giph just did that, he sunk a bit through his knees, just like his father was doing and raised his clenched fists until they where resting just underneath the hight of his chin. “Like this?” His father slipped out of the stance and gave him a look over before shaking his head. “Bring your legs closer together, both the width and the length of your legs can only be the with of your shoulders, any more or less and your stance becomes either unstable or it becomes hard to move. Also tilt your body a bit so that you are facing your opponent diagonally, tuck your elbows against your torso to protect your ribs and..” He gave giph a thwack on his stomach. Forcing the air out of his lungs “tense up those muscles, you will get hit there.” After giph got his lungs filled with air again and gave his father a glare he did what he asked. “fine now better?” his father nodded after giving him a quick look over and suddenly gave him a rough shove, which failed to send him sprawling on the floor. “That's why a stance is necessary. Now lets move on to the next thing,defense.” giph groaned at that remark, first he had to get through this stance thing and now he didn't get taught how to punch people but just how to defend? “Oh come on pops, can't you save that for later and teach me how to punch people first?” His father shook his head. “not getting hit is more important then hitting back. In the end of it all, a fight is just you needing to stay standing longer then the opponent. And not getting hit is a very important part of that. You can defend both by blocking the punch with your elbows or by simply dodging out of the way. The latter one is quite simple and just requires a lot of practice, but the blocking with the elbows needs a demonstration. Why don't you try to attack me giph?” Giph just gritted his teeth tried to keep in the stance and threw a shoddy punch at his fathers abdomen, who simply turned a bit and caught the punch with his elbow. “That is what is called a low block and its why you have to tuck in your elbows tightly, there Is also the high block.” He quickly demonstrated the block, he lifted his arm so that it was covering the majority of the head from the side of the raised arm. “I think that is the one you will be using as long as you are still so short. The casual jab at his height let giph grit his teeth, nobody said something about his height damn it! “Are you ready to give it some practice?” Giph nodded. “Bring it on pops.”