An old story
I was clearing out my laptop, and I found this; I must have been venting, a little, I think.
Title: There's no trick to it
Fandom: Tortall - Tamora Pierce
Rating: PG
Characters: Alanna, gen.
The small group of Rider trainees stood quietly in the outdoor practice court. Unusually quietly, trainees having something of a reputation for mischief and pranks, though not as much as the Riders themselves. The four women stood fidgeting with kit and clothing, waiting. They had not volunteered; they had been ordered to take these lessons, but it was not the suggestion they were falling behind and needed extra training that worried them. It was the identity of the knight that would be taking the sessions.
“Right!” A voice rung through the still morning, making all the trainees jump. “Are you warmed up? No? Get moving!”
The Lioness vaulted over the post and rail fence, and her students fairly fled, starting to jog round the edge of the court. Alanna let them run round half a dozen times, until she judged they were panting enough to be warmed up, but not so much that they couldn’t concentrate on her.
“Alright, everyone.” She called, her voice a little softer now. “Join me in the centre here, and I’ll explain what we’re doing.” Her students came over, and watched her with trepidation.
“Now,” Alanna said, standing with her arms folded, her stern gaze passing over the young women. “You are here for a reason. Anyone know why?”
A chorus of head-shakes and shrugs were her answer.
“No? Well, I shall enlighten you. You are all competent trainees, or you wouldn’t have made it this far. But you are all small women, slight, light and lacking in muscle.”
The trainees glanced about at each other, surprised at what Alanna stated so blatantly, though they knew it was the truth.
“There will be times when you will be fighting one-on-one with a larger, stronger opponent. Most times, generally. I am here to teach you skills and exercises to help you deal with those situations, as I had to.”
“Excuse me, Lioness?” A blonde trainee timidly raised a hand. “We’re Riders, scouts and trackers, mainly. Not knights. We’ll never joust, or duel; is this really necessary?”
Alanna closed her eyes, and sighed. The trainees could see the muscles of her jaw clench as she ground her teeth in an attempt to hold her temper. Various whispers of “Now you’ve done it!” and “Couldn’t you keep your mouth shut?” hissed across the court.
“A valid question.” She opened her eyes. The trainees glanced at each other, confused.
“A valid question if you plan never to be surprised by the enemy, never be ambushed, waylaid, or captured!” The Lioness warmed to her subject, and her voice rose slightly. “We are not playing here, ladies! You may be irregular soldiers of the Queen’s Riders, but you will be in conventional combat scenarios! This is about preparing you for all eventualities; if you were six foot four and built like the side of a barn, fair enough, hit your opponent on the head with your battle axe. We are not, however, so we need different methods, different weapons. Unless you are keen to die in battle?”
Four voices muttered along the lines of “No, Lioness.”
Alanna calmed herself a little. “Good. I know your stature isn’t as much of a disadvantage to you as Riders as it might otherwise be; you don’t wear plate armour, you depend on stealth and speed, you fit your ponies well. But female warriors just don’t have that final option of brute strength, like the men do.”
She grinned then, a wolf’s grin.
“So we box clever. We can be faster, have more stamina, if we train correctly. I’ll teach you some Shang kicks and punches, because it’s not what you do, it’s how do it. We may have less reach than our opponent; we can use a pole arm so we have more. Look at the Yamani ladies’ glaives. I’m not saying we can’t be as good as the men; of course we can! I’ve not been bested as Champion. But we have to about it a different way.”
The trainees were watching her avidly at this point. One, an elfin girl who scarcely looked as if she had reached the necessary fifteen years, piped up.
“But, you, you’re the Lioness. The King’s Champion. We could never fight like you.”
“I’m still human, you realise.” Alanna grinned. “I was the worst wrestler of all the pages, but I practised, learned tricks no one else knew. There’s nothing special about practice and perseverance. Anyone can do it.”
“But not anyone can fight like you.” The girl looked unconvinced.
“Not everyone worked as hard as I did!” Alanna’s temper flashed up. “I personally guarantee by the end of these lessons you will all be the best fighters in your training group!”
More dubious looks were exchanged by the girls.
“Because those of you that aren’t won’t be alive to prove me wrong! Right pair up, we shall learn some Shang punches. First, form your fist.”
They worked hard that morning, and at all the subsequent mornings. The girls did credit to Alanna, and became impressive fighters. Other trainees talked of the “Lioness’ tricks” they had learned, but there was no trick to it. Only hard work, and harder work.
Title: There's no trick to it
Fandom: Tortall - Tamora Pierce
Rating: PG
Characters: Alanna, gen.
The small group of Rider trainees stood quietly in the outdoor practice court. Unusually quietly, trainees having something of a reputation for mischief and pranks, though not as much as the Riders themselves. The four women stood fidgeting with kit and clothing, waiting. They had not volunteered; they had been ordered to take these lessons, but it was not the suggestion they were falling behind and needed extra training that worried them. It was the identity of the knight that would be taking the sessions.
“Right!” A voice rung through the still morning, making all the trainees jump. “Are you warmed up? No? Get moving!”
The Lioness vaulted over the post and rail fence, and her students fairly fled, starting to jog round the edge of the court. Alanna let them run round half a dozen times, until she judged they were panting enough to be warmed up, but not so much that they couldn’t concentrate on her.
“Alright, everyone.” She called, her voice a little softer now. “Join me in the centre here, and I’ll explain what we’re doing.” Her students came over, and watched her with trepidation.
“Now,” Alanna said, standing with her arms folded, her stern gaze passing over the young women. “You are here for a reason. Anyone know why?”
A chorus of head-shakes and shrugs were her answer.
“No? Well, I shall enlighten you. You are all competent trainees, or you wouldn’t have made it this far. But you are all small women, slight, light and lacking in muscle.”
The trainees glanced about at each other, surprised at what Alanna stated so blatantly, though they knew it was the truth.
“There will be times when you will be fighting one-on-one with a larger, stronger opponent. Most times, generally. I am here to teach you skills and exercises to help you deal with those situations, as I had to.”
“Excuse me, Lioness?” A blonde trainee timidly raised a hand. “We’re Riders, scouts and trackers, mainly. Not knights. We’ll never joust, or duel; is this really necessary?”
Alanna closed her eyes, and sighed. The trainees could see the muscles of her jaw clench as she ground her teeth in an attempt to hold her temper. Various whispers of “Now you’ve done it!” and “Couldn’t you keep your mouth shut?” hissed across the court.
“A valid question.” She opened her eyes. The trainees glanced at each other, confused.
“A valid question if you plan never to be surprised by the enemy, never be ambushed, waylaid, or captured!” The Lioness warmed to her subject, and her voice rose slightly. “We are not playing here, ladies! You may be irregular soldiers of the Queen’s Riders, but you will be in conventional combat scenarios! This is about preparing you for all eventualities; if you were six foot four and built like the side of a barn, fair enough, hit your opponent on the head with your battle axe. We are not, however, so we need different methods, different weapons. Unless you are keen to die in battle?”
Four voices muttered along the lines of “No, Lioness.”
Alanna calmed herself a little. “Good. I know your stature isn’t as much of a disadvantage to you as Riders as it might otherwise be; you don’t wear plate armour, you depend on stealth and speed, you fit your ponies well. But female warriors just don’t have that final option of brute strength, like the men do.”
She grinned then, a wolf’s grin.
“So we box clever. We can be faster, have more stamina, if we train correctly. I’ll teach you some Shang kicks and punches, because it’s not what you do, it’s how do it. We may have less reach than our opponent; we can use a pole arm so we have more. Look at the Yamani ladies’ glaives. I’m not saying we can’t be as good as the men; of course we can! I’ve not been bested as Champion. But we have to about it a different way.”
The trainees were watching her avidly at this point. One, an elfin girl who scarcely looked as if she had reached the necessary fifteen years, piped up.
“But, you, you’re the Lioness. The King’s Champion. We could never fight like you.”
“I’m still human, you realise.” Alanna grinned. “I was the worst wrestler of all the pages, but I practised, learned tricks no one else knew. There’s nothing special about practice and perseverance. Anyone can do it.”
“But not anyone can fight like you.” The girl looked unconvinced.
“Not everyone worked as hard as I did!” Alanna’s temper flashed up. “I personally guarantee by the end of these lessons you will all be the best fighters in your training group!”
More dubious looks were exchanged by the girls.
“Because those of you that aren’t won’t be alive to prove me wrong! Right pair up, we shall learn some Shang punches. First, form your fist.”
They worked hard that morning, and at all the subsequent mornings. The girls did credit to Alanna, and became impressive fighters. Other trainees talked of the “Lioness’ tricks” they had learned, but there was no trick to it. Only hard work, and harder work.