spar log!

[garmr]

Who: guts berserk and... you?
What: SWORDS PRACTICE!! SPARRING!!! PUNCH FRIENDSHIP?
Where: Training Area
When: After the sheetcake bonanza, during training time
Warnings/Notes: semi-open! Basically just a place to keep all the planned sparring threads together. Just hit me up if you'd like to do something.

(( Feel free to use the prompt below or have them be in a general training scenario - I will run with it! ))

Comments

one of the only time's he's considerate

[somnioergosum]

Ronan clearly had not thought this one through. He could blame a variety of things, mainly not being used to a giant opponent with an fucking iron arm. But even he would have to admit that he was outmatched in experience too.

That would come later though because first Ronan had to extricate himself from this situation. He tried kicking at Guts's torso again but there wasn't enough give for him to do more than wriggle.

If Guts didn't have that damn sword, Ronan would have a few options now. But since he did, the best Ronan had after a split second of thought was to try and smash the sword out of Guts's hand.

Essentially, he tried to smack the hell out of said hand with his plastic blade all while fiercely kicking and jumping in an attempt to disentangle himself.

...He really hoped no one was watching this.

[garmr]

It's flipping time! The moment his leg is trapped, the knuckles of that sword hand are shoved into his chest, less a punch and more a simple force to slam his back onto the ground. Shoving his weight around isn't the most finessed aspect of a sword duel, but it worked well enough when Guts had a unbalanced opponent caught in his grasp. It was certainly more his style.

He will move with the inertia, sliding up past his legs to stay kneeled over his torso. The iron arm, now freed of its task, switches to dealing with the flailing sword arm, mainly aiming to keep it pinned and away from his own face. The fist on his chest, as expected, will neatly line up his own blade up against his opponent's throat and jaw once they hit the ground.

It's a lot to keep track of in one fell takedown - but he's clearly done it before.

[somnioergosum]

Ronan could take comfort in the fact that his flailing was mercifully short. That was about all he could take comfort in, since despite his best efforts, he had the wind knocked out of him. The sword finally fell from his grasp.

He would've kept fighting but even he had to admit defeat when a sword was to his neck and he had nothing up his much too tight sleeves.

After a few moments of heavy breathing, he spoke. "Alright. You win this round. Give me some breathing room."

[garmr]

He gets up, releasing his hold calmly enough once the fight is ceded. There is a lot that could be gleamed from a duel like that - Ronan was a scrappy one. He can't help but feel a little endeared.

"How long have you been training with your sword?"

It isn't meant to be an insult - Guts genuinely wants to know more about him.

[somnioergosum]

Ronan pushed himself up onto his feet. He finally let himself rub his ribs. It didn't feel too sore. Time would tell if it left a bruise or not.

"None. I just got it." Just made it but Ronan wasn't about to admit to that yet. Who'd believe him?

Well, O.K. A giant guy with an iron arm might, which was honestly more reason not to say anything.

[garmr]

"You have some good fighting instincts, but you put all your bets on the first strike. It leaves you open to counter attacks."

Did Ronan want some free advice? Well, he's getting it anyway!

"If you're doin' something like that, you'd better make sure you don't miss."

[somnioergosum]

If this were anything but fighting and he hadn't already realized he needed to seriously beef up his combat skills, Ronan would've told Guts to fuck off with that advice. Luckily, this was the one area Ronan was willing to shut up and listen. Time would tell how long that lasted.

"No kidding," Ronan said dryly. "It's not as easy as it looks." Who would have thought there was more to it than 'pointy end goes into the other man?' "I'm guessing there's no secret trick to make sure I stab someone first, is there?"

[garmr]

"You lay the groundwork down every day."

That's it. That's the only trick he knows.

Even Guts will come here to swing his sword however many hundreds of times in a row to keep it all committed to memory. At this point its just habit, but it took quite a bit of consistent effort.

"Do you want to learn?"

[somnioergosum]

Ronan was a fool, but not a big enough one to say no to that. Aside from the whole "everyone's trying to kill you" thing... it's a sword. How cool would it be to learn to actually use one?

He cracked his knuckles. "Is that an offer?" He tried not to sound too eager at that.

[garmr]

Don't push it Ronan!!!

"I can spar with you and show you how to train yourself. It's up to you to do the rest."

He won't be getting chased down here, Guts will be able to tell if he's been doing his homework when they fight.

[somnioergosum]

Don't tell him what to do!

"I'm good with that. I'm not gonna ask you to hold my hand." In his experience, learning was similar whatever you did. Whether it was learning to throw a punch or playing an uilleann pipe-- or using a sword, apparently-- someone showed you the ropes. You took it from there.