Solo [Fighting Pit]Time to Make a Warrior Out of You!

[Iosha]

Time Stamp: 87th of Winter, 512AV Location: The Fighting Pit Iosha wasn't known for her athletic prowess, she always tried to think her way out of trouble, but the incident in the Dek cave rattled the young Konti since the Fall. She never gave her mortality any thought before because she always thought she would live to the ripe old age of two hundred and forty-six. However, Iosha started to realize that she needed to learn how to defend herself because the Dek in the cave almost killed her at the night of the party. Miquel told her to talk to man named Jhinapar the combat instructor in Wind Reach. When Iosha asked him about the man, Miqual laughed and called the combat instructor the “giant”. Iosha didn't believe the old man when he told her the dimensions of the man, but when Iosha got to the Fighting Pits, the konti mouth just fell open at the sight of the giant. Jhinapar was one of the largest humans, Iosha ever laid eyes on. She looked over at one of the Inarta fighters, and she looked back Jhinapar. She noticed the man wasn't native to Wind Reach because he was built much differently from most Inarta warriors. Iosha noticed Inarta tended to work on a more athletic body, so they utilize their speed and dexterity to their advantage. However, Jhinapar wasn't Inartan, and he was built more like a humans from Sylira. Where they tended to utilize their bodies for sheer strength over dexterity and speed. She was surprised the man didn't work on the leg muscles because he kind of looked top heavy, but she will never mention that observation to the giant man. Jhinapar keeping a eye on the two Inarta sparring, and he brought both his hands up to his mouth, and he breathed over them slowly to warm them up. Out of the corner of his eye, he noticed a figure in white coming towards him. Jhinapar turned enough to watch the spar and the white haired lady as she approached him. Suddenly, he saw one of the smaller Yasi landed a cheap shot against the larger Yasi, and he turned away from the white haired lady and yelled at the boy in common, “Hey! Are we in a bar? Because last time, I checked I wasn't a bartender, and in my ring, I do not allow cowardly shots to the genitals...” He glared at the a red hair teenager, cracked is knuckles, and he continued with a snarl, “Of course we could always change the rules for your next match with me. I am sure Wind Reach wouldn't suffer to much to loose your bloodline...boy!” The smaller Yasi nod wearily, and he said meekly to him, “I.... promise... I will fight more honorably next time, Instructor.” Jhinapar seemed satisfied with the young man's response to his threat. He turned and looked at the konti. He raised an eyebrow at her appearance because the woman was basically white except for her silver blond hair. However, the feature the giant noticed about her seemed contrast with the rest of her white features were her deep violet eyes. Jhinapar would definitely find the young woman more attractive if she didn't have the appearance of seventeen year old. He crossed his large arms and said to the young woman, “You don't look like a warrior, Konti. What are you doing here in the Fighting Pits?" Iosha wasn't normally a coward, but the sheer size of the man intimated the small woman. Iosha said meekly to the giant man, “Could you teach me how to defend myself.” Jhinapar turned his head slightly acting like he could not her the woman's voice; however, he heard everything the konti said. Jhinapar shook his head and said without looking at her, “You sound like a mouse, girl if you want to become a warrior, you need to have the mind set of one, so next time you ask a question make sure you put your fire into it.” Iosha knew she often slipped into her Konti nature where she tended to come off as soft spoken and meek. It was definitely difficult for the young konti living this way in the Wind Reach with such passionate people like the Inartans. It was part of the reason. She tended to slip into her silly nature because she learned that laughter can calm even the most passionate people. The downside she noticed nobody tended to treat her seriously. She was quickly becoming the funny fish girl, and she starting to wonder if she needed to change how she acted towards people. Iosha shook her head at Jhinapar and declared proudly, “I am Iosha Moonchaser of Mura, and I want to ask you if you can make me in a warrior.” Jhinapar smirked and he was somewhat impressed with Konti. She didn't just want to only defend herself, but she wanted to learn how to incapacitate a opponent too. He could tell the woman must have her reasons to learn how to fight. He figured what was the harm and helping the young woman learn how to defend herself. Jhinapar looked at the white haired woman, and she was dressed head to toe in heavy winter clothing. He shook his head knowing he must toughen up the konti. Rubbing his chin, the large man looked her over and said with a wave of a hand, “First, Iosha loose the parka and the mittens, and let me get a good look at you. I need to see what I am up against.” Iosha wasn't sure if he meant that as a joke, but she did what she was told. She took off the mittens and the fur lined jacket, and she gently put them on the ground. She was happy, she wore the cotton blouse from her homeland because the wind was quite cold on the cliff. Jhinpar walked over and inspected the young woman. He reached down, raised on her arms, giving her a disapproving look. He looked at the rest of the Konti body and shook his head. He could tell the woman was seriously lacking muscle mass needed for training, so he would have to add body building into her training exercise. He had a feeling training the Konti was going to be a long process, but he knew if she put some dedication into it. She would be as agile and flexible as any Inartan in Wind Reach. Jhinapar nodded to the young woman and a said softly, “OK, I will teach you, but first we must work on your body. Honestly, Iosha you are way to soft for my liking. What do you do to stay physically fit right now?” Iosha crossed her arms to try to stay warm, and she thought about it for a moment and said louder than she wanted too, “Well, in Ravok and Mura, I swam a lot in the lake and the ocean when I was a child, but when I lived in Taldera and Avanthal, I didn't have much time to spend time in the water because most of the lakes and rivers were frozen most of year.” Jhinapar smiled when she mentioned swimming and listened to her explanation why she didn't continue the exercise. He gave her a big smile and said to her, “Well, I want you to continue your swimming, Iosha. You can swim in the lake and ocean when spring and summer comes around, and in the winter time, I want you to use the underground lake for swimming. However, I don't just want you to splash around. I want you to start doing laps.” Iosha smirked when he mentioned “splashing around” because she wondered if skinny dipping with Kovac would fall into the category of splashing around. Jhinapar looked at her and said sternly, “First, I want to work on your flexibility, dexterity, speed, and endurance because you are built more like a Inartan, and I think training you like one will benefit you.” He looked at the pale young woman and barked a command, “I can see your cold, so I think a good run would be beneficial. Why don't you run ten laps around the fighting pit, and I want you to warm up first, so the first lap I want you to go slow, but on each lap, I want you to go a little faster. Now I want you to stretch though...Iosha.” Iosha bent over and started to try to touch her left foot with both hands, but she could only reach down to her knee. She frowned to herself and stayed in the stretch until Jhinapar told her to move to the other foot. She didn't fair better trying to touch her other foot, and she could only touch the bottom of her knee. Iosha instructor command her to start doing the splits, but she found out how inflexible she really was when she could only make it down a foot during the stretch. Jhinapar told her to stop stretching and said softly, “I am going to demonstrate for you some other basic stretches, and I want you to follow along, Iosha.” Iosha watched as he sat on the ground, and he straightened out his legs in front of him. He nodded to her to follow him, and she sat on the ground and straighten out her legs. Jhinapar nod and said, “Now I want you to behind over and try to touch the tip of your toes.” After he said it. Iosha noticed her started to demonstrate it for her, and the large man was only able to reach the top of his ankle. He looked at her and said softly, “OK, I want you to touch your toes, Princess.” Iosha giggled at the big man and his nickname for her, and she bent over as far as she could, but she could only touch the top of the knee. However, she start to feeling slight burning in the back of her legs. Jhinapar nodded and smirked at her, “It starting to burn isn't it, Princess. Well, I want you to hold that position for thirty ticks. If it hurts too much stop, but I want to see how long you can hold it.” Iosha started to count to thirty trying to hold the position; however, the burning sensation in her muscles were too much for the Konti, and she had to stop after fifteen ticks. Iosha looked up her face slightly pink and she smiled, “It feels kind of good, Jhinapar.” The big man nodded to her and stretched out his legs in each direction. He look at her and stated, “Now this stretch is the same as the other, but instead of touching both legs at the same time, I want you to touch your toes just one of your feet. I don't care which, but I want you to hold it for thirty second unless it starts to hurt to much, and you are done with one foot switch to the other. Now go!” Iosha did what she was told, and she stretched out her leg and she bent down trying to touch her toes, but she only made it to her knee again; however, she was able to do the stretch for twenty second instead of fifteen like the last one. When she was finished with her last stretch, she switched to the other foot. She was able to hold her stretch for seventeen ticks, and she stopped and looked up with a smile at Jhinapar. He figured it was time for her to run, so he jumped up and commanded, “I want to see how fast you run around the pit, Princess. Now Go!”

[Iosha]

Iosha started to run around the pit, and at first she decided to run at slow jog, so she could get used to the cold air. The jog wasn't too bad, and she could feel a slight burn in her legs. She looked over and no other Inarta was paying attention to her, so she thought it must be a normal exercise for the other members of the Fighting Pit. As she made it to the edge, she made the mistake of looking over. It was a long way down if she fell off the side, so she started to slow her pace, so her momentum wouldn't bring her over the side of the ledge. She turned at the curve and jogged along the edge. She could feel her breathing and heart was starting to quicken with every chime. When She eventually made it to Jhinapar, she started to slow down, but he barked at her, “I want to see running, Princess!” Iosha spend up her pace to a slow run as she ran past him. She could start to feel her leg muscles start to burn, her heart was beating faster, and her breathing was starting to become ragged. She didn't want to run by the edge, so she ran closer to the sparring rings; however, she had to dodge people and objects laying on the ground. As Iosha approached a small crate, the konti picked up her speed, and she ran towards the box. When she got to the box, she jumped over it. However, while she jumped her toe hit the side of the box and tumbled to the ground. She sat on the ground holding her knee until the throbbing pain went away. It took five chimes for the pain to subside, and she got up and slowly jogged back to Jhinpar. The large man only shook his head and said to her, “Follow me, konti.” Iosha wondered where the Chaktawe was bringing her next as she followed him through the Fighting Pit. As she followed him, she started to look around at the other fighters, and she could see they were either sparring unarmed or armed. She started to wonder if she could find a sword instructor here too. She needed to work on her swordsmanship too. Jhinapar said without turning around, “Do you use a weapon, Princess?” Iosha nodded, yes, but he wasn't looking at her, so she said softly, “Yes, I know the basics of the longsword and the short bow.” Jhinapar said softly, “Next time you come to train. I will have a sword instructor for you.” The large man stood front of large leather bag hanging down from a rocky over hang. Iosha looked at the metal chain, and she could tell by the rust. The bag had been hanging her for many years. Jhinapar put a hand on the bag, and he said sternly, “OK, Konti I am going to teach you the basics of a punch. Now let me see your hand.” Iosha took off her mitten, and she showed the large man her outstretched webbed hand. Jhinapar looked at her hand and said softly, “When you make a fist, you clench your four fingers to the middle of the palm.” Iosha does what he instructed, and he inspects her hand to make sure it is right, and he said softly, “Make sure you don't put you thumb under your fingers unless you want a broke thumb when you punch someone. Now rest your thumb on side of your fingers, Iosha.” Iosha accidentally put her thumb on top, and he quickly adjusts her mistake. Jhinapar gave her a smile and continued, “Now you need keep your pinky alighted with your wrist, so it is straight when he punch. Otherwise, you can break your wrist. Also it is important, so the energy of your impact heads straight into your target for a more effective punch.” When she demonstrate what he asked her to do. He continued softly, “OK when you punch, you want to hit the target with knuckle of the index and middle fingers. These are the strongest fingers; however, if you hit the target with the ring and pinky, you will have a greater chance of breaking those fingers.”

[Iosha]

While listening the Chaktawe, Iosha started to realize that the act of punching someone or thing was quite a dangerous feat for the untrained individual. Since doing it wrong could result in a broken bone. After a few weeks of practice, she figured Jhinapar's technique would become almost second nature to her. She just had to learn the basics first. The large man told her to make a fist, so she demonstrated making the fist for him; however, he had to move the thumb back over the fingers. When her fist was correct, he continued his instruction, “When you punch a target, Iosha, you need to get in your fighting stance, so you need to have your right foot back and your left foot forward. Make sure you put your right fist by your hip, and you protect your face with your left hand.” Iosha watched him get into his stance, and she decided to mimic his stance. Jhinapar get out of his stance, and he started to inspect her stance for mistakes. Jhinapar straightened her left arm, so it was at a ninety degree angle in front of her. He widened her stance by moving her back leg farther back with his foot, and he told her to stop being to stiff on her front leg, so he showed her to lift up her front leg slightly and balance on her tongues. The whole process of the stance was vary awkward and unnatural, but she figured it to will seem natural over a few weeks of practice. Iosha wobbled slightly while she held the stance in position. The Chaktawe quickly got into his stance once again and said softly, “When you punch Iosha, you need to step forward with your back foot. I am telling you because it will had power into you strike with the forward momentum. Now when you punch, Iosha, you start with your fist on your hip with the thumb up towards the sky, so when you step forward and throw your punch, the process of turning your fist into the more natural position with your thumb down will add addition power to your punch when you strike the target. Now let demonstrate for you.” Iosha watched him demonstrate everything in slow motion, so she understood what he was talking about. The whole process wasn't to difficult to understand, so when he was finish with his demonstration. He turned, looked at her, and said, “When you punch the bag, you will also gain muscle strength because of the resistance of the bag. Overtime you will see a development in your muscle mass. Now, I want you to do one hundred punches with each hand than you can call it a day, Iosha.” When Jhinapar left her alone, Iosha made her fist and started to get into her fighting stance. She put her right foot back like Jhinapar showed her, and she put her left leg in front of her lightly putting her weight on her toes. She felt her start to wobble slightly, but she widened her stance, and she noticed her balance started to equal out. Iosha made a fist in her left hand and put it up at a ninety degree angle in front of her face. When she was finished, she made another fist in her right hand and rested on her hip. She looked at the large bag, stepped forward with her back foot,throwing out a punch at the middle of the bag, and yelling in Kontinese, “One!” When she struck the bag, she noticed her wrist hurt because she didn't keep the bottom of the hand aligned with the wrist, so when she struck the bag, her wrist started to ache with a dull throb. She rubbed her wrist until the pain was gone, and she took up her fighting stance again. Iosha made sure her next punch was correct, so she aligned her bottom of her hand with her wrist. Iosha made her fist, and she stepped forward with her back foot and sending the punch into the middle of the bag as she yelled in her native tongue, “Two!” Iosha continued the punching drill until she finished her one hundred punches on each of her hands. She looked at the bag and saw the bag was a bloody mess because she must of cut her knuckles on the cold leather during the drill. She stepped away from the bag, and she noticed her arms felt like jelly. Jhinapar appeared behind her, and he smiled at the bag and said softly, “I wouldn't worry about the blood, Iosha. I will have a dek clean it up, but you did a good job. When you start out your hand will always look like it does now, but you will learn over time how to deal with the pain. Also, the bag is especially hard today because of the brisk wind when it get warmer. You will notice the bag will be slightly softer.” The Chaktawe looked at her up and down and said with a hint of amusement in his voice, “So you still interested in becoming a warrior, Konti.” Iosha looked at her hands for a moment and looked up at the Chaktawe and said with a laugh, “Konti are tougher than we look Chaktawe. I will be fine. Now I will be back in a few days to practice again, so I will see you than.” Iosha still feeling warm from all the exercise. She grabbed her winter cloths before she left the Fighting Pit.

[Stardust]

Iosha

Skill	XP Earned
Observation	2
Body Building	4
Running	3
Unarmed Combat	4
Rhetoric	2

•	Lores Earned
•	Learn From Past Events
•	Jhinapar Is A Very Large Man
•	Stretch Before Running
•	How To Make A Fist
•	How to Punch Correctly
•	The Konti CAN Be Warriors

Dream On

I've never read this sort of training before and actually enjoyed it. Thanks for keeping my interest. Iosha is just so spunky. I love it. I couldn't help but feel for her though. She had better prove herself to be the kickbutt Konti she's meant to be!

If you have any questions or concerns regarding your grade, please send me a PM and we can figure it out.