Completed Edge-a-cation Part IV

[Tazrae]

Timestamp: 72nd of Spring, 522 A.V.

Continued From: Edge-a-cation Part III

Taz nodded her thanks to Gracelin. The woman was a good teacher and she was so far breaking down the machete in a way that Taz could follow and absorb.

“Another forward grip… this one is stolen directly from the saber.” Grae said, walking back to Tazrae’s side and rearranging her hand on her outstretched machete. She carefully readjusted her fingers, playing them out wrapped around the grip with her pointer finger gripping the blade opposite of her thumb… not touching. She adjusted Tazrae’s thumb so it was resting along the spine of the machete. She asked Tazrae the same question. “Now… tell me about this grip? Advantages? Disadvantages?” Gracelin prompted.

Tazrae shuffled her fingers out of the grip and back into it, then moved from the first grip to the second grip, as if testing the waters and thinking. “I feel like because my thumb is strong, I can drive harder, faster, deeper… fight more fiercely. It has the same advantages as the first grip, but the disadvantages are huge. “I can tell with my fingers not touching each other, my grip isn’t as strong. So I feel like I could loose my grip or be disarmed easier…. Like someone could tear the machete out of my grip.” She paused, tilted her head, then carried on. “I feel like I want to close my hand and grip more tightly, even though I don’t think I can grip harder than I am now. This is less than ideal.” Taz added, shaking her head.

Gracelin smiled encouragingly. “You are using your head. Good. Your opponent can generate leverage against an open palmed grip like this, and that can cost you your life. The advantages in this position is that its great for control and ideal for a long reach. But what you were doing there a moment ago was ideal. Practice shifting your grip, changing the way you hold the blade mid-move. Use this for reach, and regrip for parry. If you slide your thumb, for example, more towards the blade, you are putting the machete in a more forward position making it easier to slash with. It gives your wrist a stronger lock…” She said, reaching out and sliding Tazrae’s thumb into the new position, then stepped back to scrutinize it.

“Now, whats bad about the new adjustment?” Grae asked.

Taz looked thoughtful. “I know you haven’t talked about it, but machete work is not like swords or daggers. Its not even like a bow. It feels bloody and brutal. To me, its an intimidating weapon that’s somewhat horrific by nature. I feel like when people get stabbed with knives, they don’t feel it immediately often. Or if they get shot by an arrow it takes a bit for them to realize they’ve gotten hit because of all the battle rage going through them.” She paused, taking a breath, then continuing on. “But machetes make big visible wounds that have traumatic affects immediately. I’ve seen even accidents get bloody when people use them that don’t know what they are doing. The first time I saw an accident like that… I froze up… and I would have sworn that was something I’d never do. So this grip makes me think that when this machete gets bloody, maybe covered with visceral fluid and gore, I couldn’t keep a hold of it.” She admitted.

[Tazrae]

Gracelin agreed with that. “Its true. That’s why you use the grips you can use as long as you can use them then switch when you have no choice. People don’t understand the realities of a machete being a bloody instrument of death. They create true violence that’s swift and immediate in the damage they do. And unless someone takes someone’s head off with a broadsword or cuts through armor with one, you want something like your little jungle wacker by your side because of what it can do. Once you strike a blow, a bloody horrific mess might follow. And the shock of seeing that sort of damage, immediately, can freeze you up. That’s why when we train, we’ll go against very real opponents. We’ll hunt with them. We’ll cover you with blood and get blood splatter and spray on you. We’ll make you numb for this, because you’ll need to be to fight another human or sentient creature with a machete. You are going to mess them up and you have to be used to that.” Grae explained.

Tazrae swallowed a bit, shook her head, and was suddenly not sure she could do it. She needed a weapon and had to be able to defend herself… but this was a reality she wasn’t so sure about. Could she kill people? Yes… she’d done so before. She’d taken a man’s head off that had hurt her… with her teeth. Would a machete be any different in terms of defense or a live or die situation? She could do it. The seed inside her had changed her… had made her more feral in so many ways. She could kill, both for mercy and revenge. She knew that… knew that from the proof of her past.

“It’s not going to be a problem. I’ll learn to appreciate the blood if not enjoy it. The type of horror you are describing is just a quicker means to an end. I don’t need to kill cleanly to kill. I just need to kill.” Tazrae affirmed, causing her companion to grin proudly.

“Good. That’s an attitude you need to adopt this weapon as your own.” She added as Tazrae nodded.

“If my machete got bloody with my thumb like this, I can see my thumb sliding off and me dropping the machete or maybe losing control of the blade and getting cut deeply by it.” Taz added, shaking her head, slightly uncertain of this grip still.

“So its not something we use?” She asked, curiously.

Gracelin shook her head. “No. We use it. Everything goes. We use all we have until things get nasty and gory and we can’t use it anymore. Then we use the safest things and what will kill the fastest. If your opponent is dead, you don’t have to worry about sloppy blood-slicked grips.” She emphasized catching Tazrae’s eyes and holding her gaze.

The young Innkeeper nodded. “The other grip gave me limited use too… I could only cut one way, but since Sweet Refrain has a double-bladed point, I can cut in a backhanded motion too, right?” Gracelin nodded at Tazrae’s question.

[Tazrae]

“Now, the other thing I see is that your stances need work, Taz. There are three I’ll show you and everything else will come naturally thereafter.” Grae said, reaching out and nudging Tazrae’s feet further apart with her own toes. Then she stood back, took a stance similar to the one Tazrae was now using, and demonstrated how she could move back and forth with her feet planted in a balanced stance. “This is the triangle stance. It lets you move easily in a triangle motion… right left back and forth.” She said, demonstrating with her own machete, showing Taz how her feet should work.

“Give it a try.” Grae urged.

Taz nodded and jumped forward, then back, moving within the triangular stance and found the footing good, steady, and it felt as if her feet were planted yet still able to move. She kept moving, instinctually, like an animal would rather than ground to a halt and stand there dumbly. Grae nodded, and began talking as Tazrae moved.

“Footwork is the key to any bladework, Tazrae. You just don’t stand there dumbly and trade blows with your adversary. And that holds true if its one enemy or ten. Instead, you protect yourself and leave the scene as soon as possible. Your footwork will allow for that. It’s just not useful for running away, though there is that. Your feet will take you and your weapon to your opponent, allowing you to close the distance, apply force, then remove yourself from the threat. The next thing I’ll teach you is the four-step which is something we’ll practice and repeat over and over again. It’s very simple but you’ll use it for the rest of your life for what ever weapon you are using. I’m going to teach you balance and coordination, which will hold your body steady and keep your weapon working the way you want it too.” She added, then paused.

She pulled a piece of chalk from her belt pouch, and reached down on a flat spot on the rocks and sketched out a big square divided into four parts. It reminded Tazrae of a window with four perfect panes. The top left square was labeled with a one, the top right a two, and the bottom left a three, and the bottom right a four. The numbers didn’t go in clockwise position. They were labeled as if someone was reading a book.

“We are creating a square with four quadrants. What you do is start with your right foot in the two quadrant and your left foot in the four quadrant.” Gracelin demonstrated, then moved for Tazrae to take the position. “From there, your first step is with your lead leg. In this case that’s your right foot. It goes from the two back to the three in the lower left. Face forward throughout the entire movement, staying straight and upright as you do so. What you get is your legs are crossed, so your feet are horizontally in a line, but your right leg is in the front of your left leg. From here, your left leg comes from that quadrant four and goes behind you to quadrant one.” Gracelin explained.

“Now you are mirrored from where you started. Your left leg should be forward and your right leg should be behind you on the same side. From here, your left leg that is in quadrant one steps back, in front of your right leg, to go back to quadrant four.” She explained, and though it sounded complicated, the dance was neat and kept her body moving and her positioning well.

[Tazrae]

Tazrae practiced the motion before Gracelin added to it, giving her more pieces of the footwork.

Gracelin continued with the lesson, where Tazrae ended up with her feet. “Now your legs are crossed again with your left leg in front of your right leg and your feet are horizontal. You never stop facing forward the whole time, Taz. From there, your right leg comes from quadrant three and steps back behind, into quadrant two. Now, you’ve made another full circle. Right leg forward, left leg behind, in vertical alignment. Keep your right foot in either quadrant two or quadrant three and your left leg stays in either quadrant on or quadrant four. Practice this over and over again, inside that box. Build that box in your mind. Keep that box in your heart. Training sessions should start and end with this. Get yourself so used to this its ingrained in your memory.” She stated.

Tazrae began to practice, just as Gracelin instructed, while her instructor took a break and lounged back on the rocks. Taz danced through the routine, correcting her steps when Gracelin made disapproving noises. She must have repeated the process a hundred, maybe two hundred times, until sweat busted out on her back and under her armpits and the front of her shirt was soaked. It was only then when she was breathless that Grae called a halt and added to the lesson.

“Train your endurance this way as well. Use this process over and over again to get comfortable with the weapon, and then we’ll break you out of the box and have you dance it all over all kinds of terrain. Its good practice… really good practice.” Gracelin affirmed, then took another break to let Tazrae breath a bit. They chatted about the Estuary, what was found in there, and just a little about their lives as Tazrae caught her breath and rested. When she was ready again, Taz rose and took her first position stance.

“First, stand like you are – on guard, and hold your machete on your lead side, lead leg forward, with your other arm held up and near your body. I want you to think of your machete hand as your lead hand, then the other hand and arm becomes your shield. Put your shield hand up, but turn your wrist up with your palm facing your body. That way, if you get slashed, cut, or likewise wounded, someone won’t be opening your wrist and bleeding you out before you even get a chance to start the fight. I would definitely consider armor on that wrist and forearm – both – if not good wraps. Eventually you’ll be using the machete with both hands, so your lead and your shield arms and hands will change. But don’t be afraid to use your shield arm as a shield. A cut arm or hand won’t take you out of a fight, Tazrae. It just hurts, and you can learn to ignore that. Use that shield arm and hand to protect your face and throat. Don’t let some wild animal or dagger wielding enemy cut out your eyes. Your forearm can take a lot of cuts before your face can.” She pointed out, smiling slightly.

[Tazrae]

Gracelin adjusted Tazrae’s positioning of the hand, bending it at the elbow and bringing her arm up and placing her palm pointing towards her body so the limb was curled in like she was trying to cover her heart. When Gracelin was satisfied, she stepped back and looked thoughtfully at Taz. Then, they got back to the footwork with weapon included.

“Now… your feet are at the start position of the four-count drill. I want you to always practice moving while wielding your machete. Don’t stand stationary. Keep moving. Now… run your four-step movement while keeping your machete forward of your body. As you move, keep the weapon out before you, no matter where your feet actually move to. Concentrate on the footwork though, for now… hold the machete stationary before you, though don’t be afraid to bend and twist, flex and move. Repeat, Repeat, Repeat Taz. Always keep your machete towards your enemy, no matter what your feet are doing. Do this drill a few chimes at the beginning of your training sessions. It will get you used to the footwork, will get you used to the power of your body moving itself around, and will give you force behind your machete strikes. Others will use an overhand untrained haymaker punch in fighting… or strike from their rear keeping their off-side forward to get a bigger swing. That’s exactly what you don’t want to do, Taz. You never want to haul your machete back and throw it over your shoulder to strike. You can see it coming a mile away if you know what to look for and that’s a true sign of someone untrained.” Grae added.

Taz nodded, practicing for all she was worth, running through the newly learned footwork while concentrating on keeping her machete extended forward with her lead-cut arm forward. It didn’t feel natural, but she inherently knew that it would with enough practice and time dedicated to it.

Words: 2558

Continued In: Edge-a-cation V

[Tazrae]

Grading!

Tazrae –

Machete +5, Endurance +2, Logic +4, Psychology +2

Machete: Forward Grip, Machete: Saber Grip, Machete: Advantages And Disadvantages Of Various Grips, Machete: Bloody and Brutal, Machete: Makes Big Brutal Wounds, Bloody, Gory, Psychology: What Damage Weapons Do & How They Affect Your Actions, Machete: Kill Quickly, Not Cleanly, Machete: Use Everything Don’t Hold Back, Machete: Triangle Stance, Machete: Four-Step Stance, Machete: Practice Footwork, Training: Start And End With Footwork, Endurance: Sustain Motion Throughout A Fight, Machete: Cutting Arm Verses Shield Arm, Endurance: Cut Arm Can Take Hits More Than Face/Eyes