11998/Dagger fighting with a Ninja.

Dagger fighting with a Ninja.
Date of Scene:	14 August 2020
Location:	Danger Room - X-Men Base
Synopsis:	Megan starts learning how to Knife Fight from Betsy. Sam watches from afar while taking notes.
Cast of Characters:	Pixie, Psylocke, Cannonball

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Pixie has posed:
It's early in the morning, usually way too early for Megan's preferences, but she was determined to get some formal training in with the master of melee combat, and while Betsy could be a bit intimidating when watching her fight, she seemed like the best person to help her improve her combat skills.

So here she is, dressed in her blue and gold X-men uniform, specifically her own unique version which is a modified mini dress with a leather bodice to give her some protection, long gold boots and gloves, her glittery pink faerie wings peeking out as she steps into the danger room and waits for her instructor.

Psylocke has posed:
Betsy is up in the control room, visible for a moment. Then the room around Megan shifts ever so slightly. There are blue fall mats on the floors now, along with a rack of weapons to the side. Some are real, some are wooden. Then the woman disappears from the control room.

A moment later, Betsy is entering the room. She is dressed in her costume, one that allows for freedom of movement and blends well with the shadows. She gives a brief smile as she offers a greeting in her posh British accent. "Good morning. I am sorry for the early hour but I have classes later and wished to be certain we had a good amount of time."

She stops about five feet away, hands at her sides. "You are wanting to learn knife fighting, to better be able to handle your dagger." Just to confirm they are on the same page. "How much training have you had with that weapon? Or any for that matter?"

Cannonball has posed:
Samuel Guthrie has came down was going to check on this and see about maybe doing a morning work out. He notices that there is a session running, so he will head to the control room, and check to see who is running and what they are,

Pixie has posed:
Megan Gwynn tries not to yawn from exhaustion. Hey, she had a late night otu partying (go figure, she's trying to enjoy the last few days of summer vacay before starting college). And she rubs her eyes a couple of times as the room shifts.

As Betsy enters, Megan nods and smiles to her. "Thanks for helping me out with this! I know you're pretty busy so I really appreciate this."

She nods to the next question, "Yeaah, hmm..I have some informal training with my dagger, sure. Nothing super formal though, mostly I learned a bit about throwing from Remy, some basic gun handling from another senior student, and self directed combat with my dagger."

She shrugs, "Of course what I really want is some advanced melee training, cuz I tend to rely too much on distance fighting..." she shivers, "More than once, i've been cornered, and that was scary.."

Psylocke has posed:
Betsy listens then moves to the weapons rack, considering the items displayed there. At the final bit, she glances over at Megan in concern.

"So we need to focus on martial arts more than weapons. But the weapon training is something you need to learn. Your dagger is a powerful tool that can get you out of those situations. I assume it works like Illyana's sword? It can take a person out of a fight without physically harming them?"

She looks back to the rack then draws out a wooden dagger. There is a casing around the blade. She removes the casing and there is a line of black paint on the side which would be sharp, if it were real. It is actually quite dull. The tip also has the paint on it. Then she draws a second one. She moves back on the mats, offering one of the blades, handle first, to Megan.

"The first rule of knife fighting. You have to be prepared to be cut. If it is just you and another person and you both have knives, there is no way to really avoid it and fight effectively. Have you ever been seriously cut with a blade?"

Cannonball has posed:
Samuel Guthrie will sit back and watch this, watching others sessions not unusual around here, and he does not want to interrupt. Who knows he might even pick up a thing or two on blade fighting. He will have to do some running later

Pixie has posed:
Megan Gwynn shrugs and smiles. "Hey, I'm pretty proficient in unarmed combat, I mean I dont have extensive experience but I've gone through standard training. I know basic self defense."

She nods again, "I did get some lessons from Illy about my dagger, so yeah it's pretty much like her sword but smaller...Although not as small as a knife."

Glancing at the knife, she bites her lip and nods again, taking it. "Oh wow, it's pretty blunt." she laughs but is glad that it's not gonna hurt if she gets hit. "Right...Umm, yeah, i've been cut with a knife..And I was stabbed with a sword.." she shivers at the memory, crouching down instinctively in a defensive stance.

To Sam she smiles and nods to him, and she's pretty sure he's here to see if she learned the lessons he taught her well, when she was oen of the New Mutants.

Psylocke has posed:
"Then you know a knife cut hurts, but you can work through it. I'm not talking deep penetration into the body. I am talking here." She turns her arm, motions to it with the other mock knife she is holding, careful not to touch her skin with the paint. "And here." She motions to the other arm with her free hand now. "You use your arms to block, just like you would in hand-to-hand. Legs as well sometimes but less so with a knife typcially." She moves to the mats, nodding for Megan to join her. "While your dagger is longer, it is the same principles. Closer to those of a shorter blade than a sword."

She considers a moment, head tilted a little. "Admittedly, a thrust to the body, if it hits certain organs, is going to be something that might take you out of a fight. A sword is a different situtaion. It has more range and is larger usually, thus causing more damage."

Cannonball has posed:
Samuel Guthrie waves when he is noticed. He will say over the intercom "If ya need me to bring up any specific visuals or programs for ya lesson Betsy, I am going to watch if your ok with it."

Pixie has posed:
Megan Gwynn blinks and nods. "Y-yeah, sooo are you saying it's better to use my arms and legs to block a sharp, painful knife than to use my knife to block attacks? How come?" she frowns, "It's not fun getting cut.."

Megan glances down at her knife, abit shorter than her dagger, but similar principles. "Soo hmm, what's the best way to fight with a dagger? Up close, I guess right? Only doesn't that make you more vulnerable?"

Psylocke has posed:
"Because it is more difficult to hit the knife with a knife. It isn't like you have three or four feet of steel between you where it is easier to block with the blade of your own to keep them further away. With a knife, you are going to have to be close to hit anyway."

Betsy holds out her blade, straight in front of her, at arm's length. "If I am swinging at speed, trying to stop six inches of steel or less with steel is unlikely. It /can/ be done. Hold up your arm like you are striking, just extended as though you are making a swing at me."

Cannonball has posed:
Samuel Guthrie watches them a bit more. He hmms a bit as he listens to it. The young man has not really done any knife fighting either so he does pay attention. HE may have a bit of advantage though and will have to work out a bit on his own with it.

Pixie has posed:
Megan Gwynn swallows and nods again. "Ahh, I see. Okay..I guess I just gotta..Get used to the pain, or use armour. At least the gauntlets I wear are pretty tough. It helps, if just a bit?"

Another nod and she brings up her arm, and takes a swing as directed, at Betsy, wishing she'd asked for this sooner.

Psylocke has posed:
"A tactic that can be used, if you have the time and resources, is wrap your non blade forearm in cloth. A jacket, a shirt. You've likely seen that done in the movies."

As Megan swings, Betsy brings up her arm to block, just as though it was a punch. The block is aimed for the forearm, meant to push it away and redirect it so that the strike doesn't happen. She freezes there, holding that position with their arms together. "If you get your blade knocked away here, it can be twisted and slice my arm. But I'm still in the power position. By me blocking and controlling your knife arm, you lose your chance at using your weapon, but you open a chance for me to use mine." Psylocke brings her knife hand forward, in a slow arc toward Megan's torso. She doesn't strike and it is all slow motion, meant to show and demonstrate. She pauses there. "Then you have the opportunity to use your free arm to block my strike, just as I did yours."

Cannonball has posed:
Samuel Guthrie hmms and makes mental note to ask a couple questions to Psylocke a bit later. He pulls out a tablet and marks his question down for later, letting this be Megan's lesson .

Pixie has posed:
Megan Gwynn blinks. "In a cloth? does it help?" she smiles, "Well I guess I dont always have these tough gloves to protect me, but okay.." but she furrors her brow, trying to focus on the tasks at hand as Betsy blocks her swing, and she staggers back a few steps.

"Ooh, I gues that works." she smiles, eager to try herself. Her eyes widen as Betsy goes for her torso, but of course this is not for real or she'd be toast. "Ooh, okay soo...Block with forearm, use cloth around hand as needed, keep the upper hand..Literally and figuratively..."

And when Betsy pauses, she does try to mirror her moves against her, using her free arm to block the strike. "Oh, so a lot of it's like we learned in unarmed combat then.."

Psylocke has posed:
They take their time. No rush. All slowed down movements so she can see exactly what is going on. "It is very much your martial arts training. You just have to be aware that if that specific hand hits, the fight is over. Instead of being willing to take hits to the torso you might otherwise." Since that is part of hand-to-hand, learning how to absorb blows when it was right, to bring in an opponent closer or line them up for a counter attack.

"The gloves are great if you happen to be in costume. But if the fight breaks out and you are in regular clothes, you use what you can. The material makes it more likely it will get cut than you, allows for a little more time before you might be bloodied. Anything to keep yourself at the advantage. If you can take complete control of their weapon hand, they are at your mercy."

She shows a maneuver, twisting her arm with Megans, putting her hand in a grip that will force fingers to drop the weapon (if it was actually done with force, which in this case it is not). It puts Betsy right next to her. "I could stab you multiple times, if this was done at speed, in the torso, while you are trying to keep me from catching your arm in the hold."

Pixie has posed:
Megan Gwynn nods. "And of course, knives are more dangerous." she flinches at the thought of being cut. Still, Megan does her best to follow Betsy's movements. "Okay, that makes sense." she nods some more, feeling more relaxed now as she goes through the motions.

But when her arm is twisted, she yelps a bit as the weapon is dropped from her hands. "Meep! so how would I get out of this?"

Psylocke has posed:
"Your best bet? Go for the leg of your attacker. Throw them off balance so they loosen the hold. When they do that, you can actually reverse it completely and have them in the same hold. It's all muscle memory, just like your martial arts. Practice it over and over until you have it down."

Betsy glances up to Sam in the booth. "Can you hit code Psy 7-0-1 please?" It will reload the Danger Room to a setting which is a Japanese dojo, complete with a Master off to the side. "I created this one a long time ago for training. You can work through various tactics and methods. When I can't be around, the computer can simulate Master Ye for you."

Cannonball has posed:
Samuel Guthrie nods, and will type in the codes to bring this one up. He will look down at the simulation and nods "I was sorta hoping for Mr Miyagi " He will admit. He hmms and says "Does he work with swords and different types of swords?" He is curious

Pixie has posed:
Megan Gwynn nods, easily forgetting that it's similar to unarmed combat. "Right!" she grins and looks down at her legs, and goes through the next few steps in her mind but doesnt go through with it physically, waiting for the next move.

And then the dojo is created and she smirks at Sam. "Hah! Wouldn't that be something? Hopefully I don't have to fight someone bigger and scarier than that." she smirks but gets ready for anything.

Psylocke has posed:
"Not on this level," Psylocke calls out to Sam as she releases Megan from the hold and moves in front of her to a ready position. "You can browse through my programs up there. This level is for basics with knives. The sword ones should be in the nine-hundreds. There are a few that are locked to me alone, as they are a higher difficulty level, more interactive and less instructional."

She looks to Megan. "We can keep working through some of these moves at slow speed then gradually faster. You'll need to just practice. Get hit a few times in a safe manner, learn how to avoid it when it's the real thing."

Pixie has posed:
Megan Gwynn swallows as she listens, wondering if she'll ever get that good to check out more advanced stages. "Hmm..Okay..Are we gonna spar now?" she smiles as she tightens her grip around the knife, looking a bit excited about the idea. Of course she's not an absolute beginner but..

"Okay, I can do that, drills and stuff first, right?" and Megan readjusts her stance again and steps towards Betsy with another downward swing of her knife as before.

Psylocke has posed:
"We can spar. Just keep in mind that every paint stain on you would have been a wound. And vice versa. For now, we just work through things. Let you get a better feel. Find what works and what doesn't. Later, we'll get more in depth and you can work on your own with this program anytime. Build up that muscle memory." And with that, she moves to block the swing, going in for a wrist grab, twisting in close to prep for a hip throw and bringing her knife back as though to stab Megan in the tummy.

Obviously, not one is getting stabbed.

But it's a start and that is where all training begins.

Cannonball has posed:
Samuel Guthrie nods as he watches and says "Also you have the extra to think about, you might want to keep your wings in close as you can during a fight like this.

Pixie has posed:
Megan Gwynn nods and is totally okay with starting off with some practiced exercises first of course. She gets grabbed and thrown, although this time Megan rolls to the side, climbing quickly to her feet and bringing her free arm down to block the next stab and counters with another swing.