[SP-F7] The Craft of Drawing out the Sword

[Ren 0]

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The Craft of Drawing out the Sword

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A blistering sun shone upon this simple day, as the wind were nowhere to be seen. These passing days had kept Ren a bit occupied, as he searched for new ways of honing his skills, kenjutsu was no longer suiting his needs, thus he needed something a bit more stronger. Thus, he spent this few passing weeks, searching from one corner to another, looking for new training methods that might surpass his current ones.

The young wolf was now sitting upon the oak lumber which defined this magnificent dojo, it was indeed a piece of art. Dojos are pretty rare within the VRMMORPG Sword Art Online, thus it took him a while to find one, especially since this one was almost completely encased by mountains. A rosemary scent was being carried within the room by a howling wind which was caused by the opened doors.

[Ren 0]

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He spent countless days searching for books, he even took those who had little in common with kenjutsu. He even had the necessary backbone for this fighting style, as outside this game he participating in Kendo classes, training himself a few years. Thus, he was now ready to beging training a more advance type of kenjutsu, but before doing that he would practice the basics and medium techniques once more.

[Ren 0]

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A few sessions of practice took the first part of his training, it consisted in using techniques such as kihon tandoku which meant basic strikes or techniques, kihon sotai which was the practice of basic movements and the last part was kata, for which he used a dummy to practice upon. The kata training was originally meant to build up his reflexes and imbue Ren with proper mastery and understanding upon combat.

[Ren 0]

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His index finger flicked a few times within the air, while Ren’s eyes were darting those notes he made. With a few more gestures he opened up some notes and a few pictures and sketches that he found about katanas. He studied it thoroughly, looking for all kind of strong posts and weak ones in case he would fought another user.

[Ren 0]

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"Never though the katana was this complex." the wolf muttered towards himself whilst his eyes widened, forcing his eyebrows to arch. Whilst looking upon his notes, inside his arms was his own katana, named Muramasa, as he was studying it whilst learning the purpose of all those individual named parts. His mine was astonished by the knowledge he was reading, though he kept reading, soaking it all within himself.

[Ren 0]

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After a few hours passed outside was getting darker, though that didn't stop the wolf from reading. A chilly wind was blowing within this dank and eerie night, forming a nice sanctuary in which he could study. The Menu's light emonated against Ren's face, illuminating it and the room around him, his eyes were heavy though that didn't stop him at all.

[Ren 0]

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With a few more flicks, he swapped away the notes and started looking upon the blade. The notes which he had gathered, by either searching through countless books or buying them from information brokers, thus they gave the young wolf a good understanding about the swords. He was learning which part of the blade cutted the most, as balance and preciseness were key factors within a fight.

[Ren 0]

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It was almost six in the morning when the wolf layed his head upon the hard oak floor. Ren closed his eyes, catching a few hours of sleep before waking up in order to continue with his training. The next day was the day when he would start training physically as the mental notes were already carved inside his head. Outside was nothing more then a fair and calm weather, as the sunlight was slightly shining within the room.

[Ren 0]

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<< Kihon Tandoku >>

Striking / Slashing / Thrusting Techniques

Ren’s posture was statuesque whilst with the use of both hands the clenched tightly upon the katana’s handle. Rapidly he swung the blade within the thin air, vertically, horizontally and last but not least diagonally. On this training methode he also gained dexterity when it came to unsheathing or sheathing his sword, the speed which he performed these things was gradually increasing.

[Ren 0]

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<< Kihon Sotai >>

Movement / Swiftness / Footwork Techniques

Whilst keeping his straight posture and holding his katana, Ren moved from place to place, doing pirouettes and other kind of footwork, but always keeping his center of gravity. His support upon the legs started increasing as the days were passing, these influenced his fighting style heavily, since sword fighting requires body motion as well, especially when it came to thrusting attacks as most of their power linger within speed and correct postures.

[Ren 0]

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<< Kata >>

Kihon Tandoku combined with Kihon Sotai

This training method required Ren to use all the things which he trained so far, combining movement techniques with attacking techniques. A bit ironic since he knew all these techniques before, as he practiced them within real life. Though there’s a big difference between knowing how to use them and actually using them correctly, it took him a while to realize the important gap between those words.

[Ren 0]

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Two weeks passed and Ren finally had finally managed to build the base which was needed in order to proceed with the next phase, as the real training was about to start now. The swayed his index finger a few times within the air, opening up a menu which contained a few notes that he gathered for his next training method. It wasn’t hard to understand the concept behind yet, though it required hours upon hours of training, perfection was the key word here.

[Ren 0]

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<< Menu >>

BattÅjutsu (抜刀術 battÅ-jutsu)

Also known as "the craft of drawing out the sword"

This particular fighting style is practiced with a live-blade, such as a katana, thus this is nothing more then sweet compliment towards kenjutsu. Training in such a fild will increase the combative effectiveness, through various factors, such as distancing, targeting and last but not least, timing, thus Ren's speed played a important role here.

[Ren 0]

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Firstly, he started by practicing the drawing of a katana from within its sheath, though everytime he performed this technique he tried gradually increasing the speed and force. Also, a greater drawing speed gives Ren more of an advantage in combat than an opponent whose speed is much slower then his. This happens due to the katana’s sharp blade and also its curvness which allows the the user to apply more strenght when drawing it.

[Ren 0]

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During his training, Ren used a couple of basic techniques. One of the most frequent he used was consisted of combining a downward slash with a descending jump in order to add more gravity and power towards the blow. The second one he used was more of a Area of Effect attack, since he moved whilst taking the advantage of a centripetal forced which increased his drawing speed, making this technique a good counterattack.

[Ren 0]

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As the days kept passing by the less sleep he would get, Ren dedicated most of his time sheathing and unsheathing his sword whilst performing a various amount of slashing techniques. The secret behind this fighting style lingered within combining the perfect amount of footsteps whilst placing a certain amount of force when drawing the blade, as too much force might make the move slugish. Training alone was a plus for the lonely wolf, as he didn’t had to restrain himself not even a single bit.

[Ren 0]

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At the beginning of each technique, Ren slowly started keeping a good amount of control and applying a great amount of restraints upon himself. Despite brute force and sheer speed, this fighting style also requires carefully handling whilst keeping a serious and focused mind. Luckily for Ren he didn’t lack a keen mind, thus he could easily remain focussed upon his target without stuttering even within pressure.

[Ren 0]

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Ren had a slight ace stored within this sleeve. As, his profession was alchemy he crafted for himself a small amount of Stamina Replenishment Potions, in order to not grow tired easily and invest more time within his training. The wolf was determined to do whatever it meant in order for him to grasp his goals, nothing was about to hinder his evolution. This was nothing more then a wretched jungle, he needed to grow stronger in order for him to survive here.

[Ren 0]

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The sun was slowly sinking within the horizon, getting itself covered by those towering mountains. A crimson red light shone upon the lands whilst drops of sweat were falling upon the dry wooden floor. Signs of strains could be seen upon his body as Ren was training constantly, he didn't had a good sleep these passing days. Despite the pain which he was feeling from his constant hours of practicing, the wolf still kept going.

[RyujinSeaLord 0]

Are you training hard or hardly training? asked a familiar voice as a floor board creaked, and clearly I did it on purpose.