ShadowClan Training Cliffs

[Puddle~]

Originally Posted by Kori the black cat

Caught by surprise shadepaw started to slide off his mentors back, he knew his mentor would do something to get him off but he didn't expect this. Forcing his claws down he tried to Keep his position but he couldn't and fell to the forest floor "oof" he said in a complaining tone "that hurt".

{Sorry for the slow reply}

With the apprentice sliding off his back, Finchwhisker whipped around to face hik, expecting another attack. When nothing came, however, he flicked his tail and gave a questioning look. “Well? Are you just going to stand there? Remember, you’re fighting, not pretending to be a rock.” It wasn’t a tremendous deal at the moment, since this was Shadepaw’s first time. Still, he made a mental note to work on agility and perhaps reaction time when they actually moved on to proper teaching. A moment of lingering hesitation in a real battle could easily mean defeat.

[Levi 99]

Originally Posted by Puddle~

{Sorry for the slow reply}

With the apprentice sliding off his back, Finchwhisker whipped around to face hik, expecting another attack. When nothing came, however, he flicked his tail and gave a questioning look. “Well? Are you just going to stand there? Remember, you’re fighting, not pretending to be a rock.” It wasn’t a tremendous deal at the moment, since this was Shadepaw’s first time. Still, he made a mental note to work on agility and perhaps reaction time when they actually moved on to proper teaching. A moment of lingering hesitation in a real battle could easily mean defeat.

At the words of Finchwhisker, shadepaw dropped into a low crouch and inched forward his eyes focused on his mentors shoulders. He had planned to charge head on and leap in order to catch him off guard but as he charged and drew near he realized the Tom was taller than expected. Thinking fast he leaped for his mentors paws and wrapped himself around them in hopes it would make him lose his balance

[Puddle~]

Originally Posted by Lukas Novick

At the words of Finchwhisker, shadepaw dropped into a low crouch and inched forward his eyes focused on his mentors shoulders. He had planned to charge head on and leap in order to catch him off guard but as he charged and drew near he realized the Tom was taller than expected. Thinking fast he leaped for his mentors paws and wrapped himself around them in hopes it would make him lose his balance

Shadepaw's approach was certainly... interesting. As the apprentice leaped towards his paws, Finchwhisker simply lifted them off the ground and shifted his weight back onto his haunches. With Shadepaw on the ground right in front of him, he brought his front paws back down, which would potentially slam right onto the apprentice's head if he didn't get up and out of there fast enough. In other news, he did intend to end this mock fight session relatively soon. Perhaps even right after this attack. For now, he'd seen all that he needed to and was devising a list of skills and tactics they definitely needed to cover in their actual training, and which of the basics they could skip right over.

[Levi 99]

Originally Posted by Puddle~

Shadepaw's approach was certainly... interesting. As the apprentice leaped towards his paws, Finchwhisker simply lifted them off the ground and shifted his weight back onto his haunches. With Shadepaw on the ground right in front of him, he brought his front paws back down, which would potentially slam right onto the apprentice's head if he didn't get up and out of there fast enough. In other news, he did intend to end this mock fight session relatively soon. Perhaps even right after this attack. For now, he'd seen all that he needed to and was devising a list of skills and tactics they definitely needed to cover in their actual training, and which of the basics they could skip right over.

As Finchwhisker's paws slammed onto his head Shadepaw laid on the ground for a moment to gather himself before sitting up, he knew that if he was going to become the best warrior in the forest that he would have to train and become stronger than he was. He then dropped into a fighting stance again and said "alright I'm ready"

[Puddle~]

Originally Posted by Lukas Novick

As Finchwhisker's paws slammed onto his head Shadepaw laid on the ground for a moment to gather himself before sitting up, he knew that if he was going to become the best warrior in the forest that he would have to train and become stronger than he was. He then dropped into a fighting stance again and said "alright I'm ready"

Right after his paws had come down on top of Shadepaw, Finchwhisker lifted his tail to signal a stop. “We’re done sparring for now. I’ve seen all that I need to,” he said, pausing to give his apprentice a few more moments to recuperate before continuing. “You have adequate persistence and resilience. Perhaps your fellow apprentices could learn a thing or two from that. Howwever, we do need to work on your reflexes. While I haven’t taught you any techniques yet, it’s important to know you must act quickly in battle. One heartbeat of delay in reaction could result in a serious injury.”

“That being said, let’s begin. I will be demonstrating each move first, then I want you to try and mimic it, and I’ll give you a couple of pointers. He’d skim over the more basic moves, for the sole purpose of teaching Shadepaw what they were called.

“The first two are the front paw blow and front paw strike.” To demonstrate, the deputy raised a front paw high into the air, bringing it down hard, as if it were slamming into another cat. He repeated the same movements again, only this time with unsheathed claws, to demonstrate the strike. “Now try to copy that.” These moves were nothing difficult at all. If Shadepaw couldn’t do them almost flawlessly, then he wasn’t sure how he’d manage to teach him anything more advanced.

[Levi 99]

Originally Posted by Puddle~

Right after his paws had come down on top of Shadepaw, Finchwhisker lifted his tail to signal a stop. “We’re done sparring for now. I’ve seen all that I need to,” he said, pausing to give his apprentice a few more moments to recuperate before continuing. “You have adequate persistence and resilience. Perhaps your fellow apprentices could learn a thing or two from that. Howwever, we do need to work on your reflexes. While I haven’t taught you any techniques yet, it’s important to know you must act quickly in battle. One heartbeat of delay in reaction could result in a serious injury.”

“That being said, let’s begin. I will be demonstrating each move first, then I want you to try and mimic it, and I’ll give you a couple of pointers. He’d skim over the more basic moves, for the sole purpose of teaching Shadepaw what they were called.

“The first two are the front paw blow and front paw strike.” To demonstrate, the deputy raised a front paw high into the air, bringing it down hard, as if it were slamming into another cat. He repeated the same movements again, only this time with unsheathed claws, to demonstrate the strike. “Now try to copy that.” These moves were nothing difficult at all. If Shadepaw couldn’t do them almost flawlessly, then he wasn’t sure how he’d manage to teach him anything more advanced.

"Well this should be easy" thought Shadepaw, he followed the demonstration that Finchwhisker gave then looked at him and said "what's next".

[Puddle~]

Originally Posted by Lukas Novick

"Well this should be easy" thought Shadepaw, he followed the demonstration that Finchwhisker gave then looked at him and said "what's next".

Finchwhisker watched carefully as Shadepaw performed the two moves. The execution was impeccable, just as he had expected. However, he wasn't going to stop to compliment a basic maneuver such as this. Any cat could pick up those two moves with ease. "Next, we have the back kick. This one can be tricky to perform at times, so when you attempt it in a real fight, you must ensure everything aligns properly," he replied, getting into position for the demonstration.

Starting off, the deputy shifted all his weight into his front paws, exaggerating the movements so Shadepaw could understand what was supposed to be done. After holding that for no more than a heartbeat, he lashed out with his hind legs, using the force of his front legs against the ground to propel himself backward and slightly up. "The back kick comes in handy if you wind up with an opponent behind you. It works especially well as a blow to their face, or to their side, if you need to try knocking them down. Got that? Now you try it," he said, backing up to give his apprentice some more room. And so he didn't accidentally get kicked in the process.

[Levi 99]

Originally Posted by Puddle~

Finchwhisker watched carefully as Shadepaw performed the two moves. The execution was impeccable, just as he had expected. However, he wasn't going to stop to compliment a basic maneuver such as this. Any cat could pick up those two moves with ease. "Next, we have the back kick. This one can be tricky to perform at times, so when you attempt it in a real fight, you must ensure everything aligns properly," he replied, getting into position for the demonstration.

Starting off, the deputy shifted all his weight into his front paws, exaggerating the movements so Shadepaw could understand what was supposed to be done. After holding that for no more than a heartbeat, he lashed out with his hind legs, using the force of his front legs against the ground to propel himself backward and slightly up. "The back kick comes in handy if you wind up with an opponent behind you. It works especially well as a blow to their face, or to their side, if you need to try knocking them down. Got that? Now you try it," he said, backing up to give his apprentice some more room. And so he didn't accidentally get kicked in the process.

Shadepaw paw could tell that this move would be a little harder than the last, but he decided to give it his best. He shifted all his weight to his front paws and before his mind could tell him to stop he kicked up. It was almost as if he were trying to throw off a cat that had dug their claws into his back, but when his paws touched the ground he stumbled struggling to catch his balance. As soon as his balance was caught he looked at Finchwhisker and asked "how did I do."

[Puddle~]

Originally Posted by Lukas Novick

Shadepaw paw could tell that this move would be a little harder than the last, but he decided to give it his best. He shifted all his weight to his front paws and before his mind could tell him to stop he kicked up. It was almost as if he were trying to throw off a cat that had dug their claws into his back, but when his paws touched the ground he stumbled struggling to catch his balance. As soon as his balance was caught he looked at Finchwhisker and asked "how did I do."

"Hm, not quite right," Finchwhisker mewed as he stood up to demonstrate once more. This mistake had lowered his faith in the apprentice just ever so slightly. Yes, it was unrealistic for brand new apprentices to get every single thing right on the first try, but his high expectations overpowered that thought. "Make sure you've got your front paws firmly planted on the ground before you kick off. Keeping them a little farther apart should help you balance better. Like this." This time as he demonstrated, he made sure to face Shadepaw so his apprentice could see it from a different angle. "When you come back down, make sure you've got an idea of where your hindlegs will be landing. I want you to do the move again, using the tips I just gave you. And I expect it to be done properly."

[Levi 99]

Originally Posted by Puddle~

"Hm, not quite right," Finchwhisker mewed as he stood up to demonstrate once more. This mistake had lowered his faith in the apprentice just ever so slightly. Yes, it was unrealistic for brand new apprentices to get every single thing right on the first try, but his high expectations overpowered that thought. "Make sure you've got your front paws firmly planted on the ground before you kick off. Keeping them a little farther apart should help you balance better. Like this." This time as he demonstrated, he made sure to face Shadepaw so his apprentice could see it from a different angle. "When you come back down, make sure you've got an idea of where your hindlegs will be landing. I want you to do the move again, using the tips I just gave you. And I expect it to be done properly."

Shadepaw knew he couldn't mess up the next attempt, he had to get it perfect no questions asked. Making sure to keep his paws spread out and planted firmly on the ground, Shadepaw shifted all his weight to his front paws and prepared to jump already planning to land a few rabbit lengths away from the rock that he'd used earlier to mount onto his mentors back. He took a deep breath, closed his eyes, and kicked back landing strong only a mouse length away from where he was planning, then looked to Finchwhisker for his approval.