Closed [Fighter's Pit] To Defend You And Your Own (Elin)

[Garland]

Elin had that drive to learn, Garland could see it. He was glad for that, that was what removed the chumps from the champions, the willingness to learn, not skill or talent, but the want to better themselves for a reason or another.

Garland took another stance, this time aiming to dodge any attack Elin would throw at Garland to show her how to dodge. Garland nodded to Elin, signalling her to attack. "Attack as many times as you like, try to get through my defense, I won't counterattack, but keep your footing good and clear. I'll make mental notes about it."

Garland would dodge all of Elin's attacks, but he would purposefully drop his guard every few strikes to see if Elin would see the weakness in his stance. There was another thing that he wanted to teach Elin before the day was out, but only when they finished this exercise.

Garland kept an eye on Elin's feet, giving it quick glances, then returning to Elin's arms, seeing where she was aiming, and where the punches would land, he would move away from the fists that were aiming for him, the best way to break through this defense was to feint, he was hoping Elin could see that and hopefully land a solid hit on him.

[Elin]

Elin watched Garland take another stance, then she heard him tell her to attack, but to watch her footing, and she nodded quietly taking her own stance and trying to gauge what he'd do.

After a few short moments, Elin opted to strike out, aiming a fist for his chest only for Garland to easily dodge her. Next she tried to sweep his legs out from under him, and again he dodged and she watched carefully as he did so, trying to work out how she could do the same.

Carefully, she made sure her feet were grounded, and that she had a decent amount of balance so she wouldn't risk falling or tripping over herself, and again she tried to strike him, this time going towards his neck, but yet again he dodged the strike easily and Elin felt herself growing tired. She knew she definitely had to improve her endurance, as Garland had said, though she had no idea how to really do that, but she just opted to keep going as she grew even more determined and more desperate, though she tried not to show it or let that take control of her.

Instead she tried her hardest to keep calm and look over Garland, trying to gauge a weakness, though she was unsure of whether what she thought was weaknesses was actual weaknesses.

This obviously isn't working... Do I keep going or do I try something new? she thought to herself as she racked her mind for an idea. Then an idea came to her. Maybe she could trick him into dodging a different strike than the one she would throw.
Trying not to smile, Elin steadied herself for a few moments,

Then as she saw him looking over her eyes, she moved as though she was about to strike out with her left hand, before then changing last minute to strike with her right hand, aiming towards the side of his stomach, hoping that her attempting at feigning would work.

Boxcode by Gossamer

[Garland]

Garland dodged left, right, back, and ducked under ever attack Elin had sent his way, most of her attacks left her open to some form of counterattack, and Garland made a mental note of this. Although, that was to be expected, Elin had little to no training with fighting before.

Garland had gotten a bit cocky with his movement, and left himself open longer than intentional, his mind had also began to wander a bit. He had wondered if she needed a bodyguard of some sort, he needed a baby sitter from time to time, maybe she would need someone to tag along.

He shooed away the thought, there was nothing for Garland to protect her from, Syliras is one of the safest cities in the world, at least to his knowledge. He saw the feint coming in and dodged to where Elin wanted him to go.

He felt a strong tap on the side of his stomach and he looked down to see Elin's fist, making a clean hit to his stomach.

"Impressive, need to work on your execution, but that was a smart move." He praised and started listing down the things Elin needed to work on.

"You kept your eye on your footing, that's good, but your attacks suffered because of it, try to find a balance, if your attacks slow down or weaken, other fighters would have taken the opportunity to counter and make sure the footing is a nonissue." He said and walked around Elin.

"You think quickly for a someone who hasn't had any training before, that should keep you help a lot in training, it's not always the one with the biggest sword that wins, but one that knows how to use the weapons they've been provided." He then stopped in front of Elin.

"Endurance, you tried to hide the fact that you were getting winded, that's good, try not to show people weakness, fighting is as much as a mind game as it is a physical contest. Although, you must work on endurance, jogging and such would help plenty with that."

[Elin]

As soon as Elin heard Garland start speaking, a grin spread across her face despite her heavy breathing and the slight burning feeling in her lungs as she tried to catch her breath. She was tired, and she couldn't remember a time that she had done quite that much exercise, or anything physical in that sort of manner.

Then she continued to listen to Garland, nodding at each of his points and trying to commit them to memory, then her eyes followed him slightly as he started to walk around feeling somewhat awkward.
She knew that she was nowhere near the level at which Garland would usually be working with people at, but she was more than appreciative, and she knew that she'd have to practice on her own until she could improve what she could, then she'd have to find someone to try and train with until she had improved considerably.

Smiling slightly, she looked at Garland as he came to a stop in front of her, and she continued to listen as he said she needed to work on endurance.
"Yeah, I lack stamina, so I'll probably starting going for jogs tomorrow, or swimming maybe." Elin grinned as she spoke, before looking the squire up and down. "So what's up next then tough guy?" she asked, grinning slightly now that she'd managed to get her breathing under control and she seemed much less tired.

Her smile settling into a neutral expression, she stood up straight again, stretching her back slightly as she did so.
She glanced around the arena checking to see what others were practicing, but it seemed that most were focusing on weapons. It made sense, since weapons were probably considered more effective, though Elin preferred the idea of being able to fight without a weapon. She'd already attempted to learn to use a short-sword and hadn't been fond of it.

Boxcode by Gossamer