Sharon and Garrison: Training

[xp-friedlander.livejournal.com]

Later that day, training proofs to be a bit harder.


"All right, I am ready." Sharon bounced on her heels a few times, her hands loosely at her side. Finally she settled into a stance, legs slightly spread and hands up alert. "So... where did you learn to fight?"

"Originally? JTF2 training. Then the Academy and finally by two very short and mean veterans with a propensity to bite. You've met Old Man Logan."

"Canadian Special Forces, he?" Sharon looked him over appraisingly and threw a fairly simply punch, wanting to see how he would react. "When did you serve?"

Kane barely moved, swatting the punch aside with a flick to the inside of her wrist. "Specialized program. I went straight into the RCMP." He bounced back on the balls of his feet. "I also used to teach unarmed combat here, so you don't need to hold back."

"Fair enough... And Special Forces in the Police? Now that is an interesting combination." With that she launched another punch, but with a lot more power behind it, followed by a kick aimed at the back of his knee.

"I'm an interesting guy." He ducked the punch, letting it go over his shoulder. He caught her kick by the ankle and twisted, dumping her unceremoniously to the mat. "You're telegraphing."

Sharon rolled with it though, swiftly returning to her feet. "I've been out of practice for while... even longer since I had a sparring partner who really knows what they are doing." Getting knocked on her ass a few times should teach her though.

"It's actually worse than that. I've got this... chip in my head. Picks up opposing fighting styles. Longer we fight, the better I get against you." Kane said with a grin. "So don't hold back anything."

"I'd say that just means a challenge." With that Sharon did lash out again, but at the end she could feel herself pulling her kick like she always did... the habit having become muscle memory. "Dammit."

"Pulling your strikes is interfering with your timing. You got a hesitation in your moves."

"How do you do it? Your strength is above mine..." Sharon fell out of her stance and looked thoughtful. "If you taught self defense you must be mighty good at switching back and forth?"

"Training. You learn how to dial down your strength at the start of the fight. Keeps your movements natural without knocking someone's head off their shoulders."

"My case is the other way around. I am used to keeping it dialed down all the time." Sharon settled in a stance again. "I guess I would need to learn to not hold back when needed."

"I'll make you a deal. You land five hits on me. But in one of them, I'm going to hit back and I won't tell you which."

"Alright." Sharon agreed and her eyes narrowed a bit. Straight out kicks and hits had failed so far, even with her holding back issues, but changing the playing field might work. She feinted with her left arm, her right foot lashing out at the same time to break his balance.

Kane didn't move, except to shift weight on to his leg. It was like running into a concrete post, barely registering her kick. "Come on, Sharon. Trying to pick around the edges with someone stronger than you is a waste of time. If you're going to hit me, fucking hit me." He swatted her leg and and drove a short body blow into her ribs, sending her stumbling.

She went with the movement, falling back and easily rolling back on her feet. She studied him for just, before her eyes flashed and she unleashed a flurry of kicks at him, aiming at those vulnerable spots and finally driving her fist into his solar plexus with as much force as she had within her.

It was like punching a wall. Kane grunted, the only indication that she'd hit him.

"Good. Better. But you're not going to beat me on strength alone. Leverage is your friend here." He grabbed her wrist, twisting her out into a painful joint lock and then shoving her to the other end of the mats. "Solar plexus are good, but there are better points. Break a strong guy's nose and he's blind. Get him in the instep or the groin and he's compromised. That's when you focus on the body blows."

"Aka, fight dirty. Got it." Sharon nodded. She knew the vulnerable places of the body well enough, both from her martial arts and her medical training. "How about when you add durability or enhanced speed to the mix? You'd have to lay trap somehow..."

"No one said every match up is going to be fair. That's why it is important to discard your old patterns. Adapt your fighting style."

Sharon shook her head, laughter in her voice. "Still, I can't believe you're basically telling me to use S.I.N.G. against a strongman." Almost immediately she lashed out with a quick flurry of kicks and strikes, hitting the various points in quick succession, finishing up with an elbow to his solar plexus once most. The only one she held back on was her kick to his groin.

As her elbow bumped his chest he grabbed her by the back of the shirt and slammed her hard enough into the mat to make her see stars. With a flick of his wrist, she was sent skipped over the mats end over end, fetching up against the wall at the end.

"What did I tell you? If you're going to hit me, fucking hit me. Otherwise, you're wasting both of our time."

"I figured I'd save the family jewels, but clearly not..." Sharon muttered as she levered to her feet and made way back to the mat. She didn't hesitate though, lashing out with a growl and hitting all the points once more in succession, but this time she did not hold back, letting her temper out in the full power of her strikes.

This time her attacks were full force, although it seemed like he was able to stop each attack just a split second before it hit him. As she finished and circled back, Kane was nodding. "Much better. You're not telegraphing your attacks when you're not trying to hold back."

"It's something at least. But it still feels like smarts is the most important thing against a strong man. How about the use of pressure points and nerve clusters? Is that something that could have an advantage?" Not that Sharon had worked much with them, but she had done enough martial arts that she knew a few basics.

"They are definitely an option, although let's focus on unkinking your mechanics first. I'll sign you up for my advanced class and you might want to talk to Logan as well. He's got a master's in dirty fighting."

"He doesn't need to fight dirty... he can just slice and dice." Sharon remembered seeing him in action during the hunt in the sewers. "Who else is working with you in the advanced class?"

"Oh, you are selling the old man short. Even with his claws in and my physical advantage in pretty much everything, I wouldn't want to go toe to toe with him, Logan went past skilled about fifty years ago. Now, he's so nasty it's friggin' artful."

"I might enjoy sparring with him... once I get some of the kinks ironed out." Sharon settled once more in her stance. "So, what's next?"

"A world of all new, all different pain." Kane said, cracking his knuckles with a grin.