Punches, Kicks, Trenches and Swords || Sasha & Tatsu
âI am familiar with it.âÂ
Tatsu simply nodded in recognition of Sashaâs answer. Whether or not that was the truth would be revealed within the next minute, although from what she knew her new student had no reason to lie about being more proficient in a particular combat style than she really was. In fact, she was a little surprised the other woman had answered affirmatively, when mastery of the complex theory could be considered pushing the boundaries of âintermediateâ skill, but the former bodyguard could never completely pass as any less than capable in combat, not to a trained eye; her posture was too well-balanced, the distinctively heavy footfall that had announced her presence too deliberate. It was entirely possible Bordeaux knew this, and was playing this safe in terms of believability. Smart, no wonder Batman begrudgingly implied she was valuable.Â
âI am not afraid of you making the first move,âÂ
However unwise the choice of the word âunafraidâ may have been in regards to her âmovesâ under any other circumstances, in this case they more than served their purpose, Sasha was clearly as well-versed in Hapkido as she had claimed to be. âYou passed,â Tatsu, announced, impressed. Her studentâs choice demonstrated honesty, patience and courage, all admirable traits and ones well-suited to a learning environment. She rocked on the balls of her feet ever slightly, signifying to her sparring partner that there would be no change in pace just because she had succeeded at her first challenge, and to keep her offensive stance fluid. âSurprising, as it happens so rarely,â she added, although the statement that the choice was unexpected was a lie. she had been forewarned that Bordeaux would remind her a lot of herself, and she never would have failed such a simple test of restraint.Â
"However, just because youâve impressed me, doesnât mean Iâll go easy on you. Rather, the opposite, now I know you can handle it," she informed Sasha, mentally running over the soundest strategy. Normally she would not engage an opponent in hand to hand combat from six feet, as the considerable range lend itself to overstretched manoeuvres, telegraphing and loss of balance by the time you arrived within striking distance, but the frequency with which she encounter assailants with guns and an intent to use them had rendered learning how to cross that distance effectively a necessity.Â
Without further warning, Tatsu leapt sideways towards her opponent, bringing her rear foot rapidly in contact with her front foot before firing blow in the direction of Sashaâs stomach. Mikulgi Yeop-Chagi, the Sliding Side Kick; fast, ground-covering and less telegraphed than traditional side kicks that employed the rear leg. Her first of assault didnât end there. Having entered the First Circle, she took advantage of the close range to send a notoriously hard to block left-handed hook punch into the other womanâs jaw at half-strength, she had no interest in breaking her new clientâs face, before she could retaliate in full.Â
That it had been a test wasnât surprising â that it was usually failed more so. Hapkido, as a martial art built around self-defense and using the opponentâs energy against them, did not generally encourage going on the offensive first. Doing so when it wasnât to your advantage was a rookie mistake. Sashaâs eyes narrowed as Tatsu rocked on the balls of her feet. The real test was probably yet to come. There would be no opportunity to let her guard down until after the lesson. Good thing sheâd done her warm-up exercises before coming here. It wasnât always possible before a real fight, but if you had the chance, there was no excuse not to. Sasha had learned the hard way to cherish her body.
âJust because youâve impressed me, doesnât mean Iâll go easy on you. Rather, the opposite, now I know you can handle it.â
âIâm not looking for you to go easy on me,â Sasha said, idly wondering if the comment about being impressed was flattery or not, then deciding that there was no reason to be flattering her. Not everything had a hidden motive. She should keep that in mind. âI am here to learn, not to be coddled.â If that meant getting her ass handed to her, so be it. She kept an eye on Tatsuâs footwork, watching for the slightest shift in her stance that would indicate her going on the offensive. Tatsu was good; there was no warning before she moved into what Sasha recognized as the Sliding Side Kick.
Not too difficult to block and counter, but Sasha froze for just a fraction of a moment as her heartbeat suddenly thundered in her ears. She watched the kick come at her and did nothing, didnât even really see the kick itself but only the snarling face of Vicki Cummings just before sheâd smashed the dumbbell down. Sasha could still feel the weight of it slam into her stomach, pushing all the oxygen out of her lungs; could still vividly remember the moment she had fallen down to the grimy floor, the taste of copper in her mouth and the utter loss of control as sheâd diedâ
But she hadnât. Only almost. The doctors had called it a miracle, and perhaps it was.
Sasha flinched away, narrowly avoiding the kick. Sheâd flinched. Better to discover this weakness now than in actual battle when the stakes were incomparably higher, but it rankled. It rankled deeply. She could not afford to be ruled by fear because of that one time she had collapsed, hemorrhaging, onto the floor of Blackgateâs dining hall. She had to be over that. She had to be better than that. But instead she had spent the past few moments stuck in her own head instead of using them to close the gap between her and Tatsu and launching a counterattack before the other woman could have even begun her punch. In a real fight, a potentially deadly mistake. In this case? Just very, very stupid.
Better not to dwell on it. Focusing on her breathing grounded her again. Too late to block the punch properly, but not to avoid it. Sasha pivoted on the ball of her lead foot, circularly moving her rear leg to a forty-five degree positioning from its current position so that Tatsuâs punch hit empty air where her head had been just before. She went on the counterattack immediately. Her left arm shot out, grabbing Tatsuâs to pull her off along the punchâs trajectory and off balance even as her right fist moved in to hit her opponent with an uppercut.
