"Good. Then in return you should know that I'm no longer entirely stable as a Cop. Courtesy of my time on the Force, there's a forty-eight hour hole in my memory. Trauma induced amnesia from an accident, they tell me, though nobody's been willing to tell me what happened since the day. It's taken nearly two years to get back into some level of physical shape and all the shrinks tell me my head isn't entirely screwed on right just yet. Favor for a favor, Nathan. Now you know."
This is the first time he's talked about openly with anyone. "It's irrelevant information, but it should go some way to explaining my disposition. But yes. That call to serve and protect - it's still there"
"Ok. More to the point. Most Police Officers out there train for standard Hapkido disarming techniques. Their baton training's a variant of Tonfa with a focus on subdual and defense. It's what I trained for starting out, but I've gone my own way since leaving the force. What I currently practice is an archaic street fighting style known as Bartitsu."
"It also applies to how I train my 'Mons, really. Most police work calls for fast take downs. Bartitsu's different on some level in focus, but the principles are the same. A fight is basically a dance and your opponent is your partner. Your moves are focused on what they do and the two of you are moving in concert since you need to read them and react accordingly. Difference being of course that you want to disrupt his motion and generally offset his equilibrium. Keep them off balance, blind them or just use the red fog to keep them from thinking straight. Hamper that flow and you dictate the pace of the fight."
"That's the first step. Once your opponent is off balance, you've got the tempo. That's when the real work starts. Once you've got a read of your opponent's strengths, this is where you need to match them to your own. If he's tough and slow, dodge around him. If he's fragile, smash him with big hits. Fight with your head before your hands. Find his weaknesses and match your strengths to them."
"Then it's time for the killing, so to speak." He gestures to his face, neck and groin. "Everyone has weaknesses. Even Pokemon do. The eyes, the neck, joints... If you're going to finish the fight, subject those areas to force and do so cleanly and the target will drop."
"It's simple advice. Nothing that you couldn't find out of a book, but the basics are always the most important. Notice I've told you nothing about forms, or combat styles yet, but I want you to think about these three basic ideas. The first is to offset equilibrium. The second is to keep the target off balance by neutralizing their strengths and playing up their weaknesses. The final is to finish things cleanly by going for vulnerabilities. It's what's worked for me so far and losing sight of these, whether by getting cocky or trying something flashy has always come back to bite me."
"If you'd like, I could show you some basic forms and strengthening exercises, though we'd need space to practice. Point is. That's really secondary." He reaches over and taps the side of Nathan's head. "What will get the process started faster than any other is you internalizing that."
He smiles.
"Questions?"
This is the first time he's talked about openly with anyone. "It's irrelevant information, but it should go some way to explaining my disposition. But yes. That call to serve and protect - it's still there"
"Ok. More to the point. Most Police Officers out there train for standard Hapkido disarming techniques. Their baton training's a variant of Tonfa with a focus on subdual and defense. It's what I trained for starting out, but I've gone my own way since leaving the force. What I currently practice is an archaic street fighting style known as Bartitsu."
"It also applies to how I train my 'Mons, really. Most police work calls for fast take downs. Bartitsu's different on some level in focus, but the principles are the same. A fight is basically a dance and your opponent is your partner. Your moves are focused on what they do and the two of you are moving in concert since you need to read them and react accordingly. Difference being of course that you want to disrupt his motion and generally offset his equilibrium. Keep them off balance, blind them or just use the red fog to keep them from thinking straight. Hamper that flow and you dictate the pace of the fight."
"That's the first step. Once your opponent is off balance, you've got the tempo. That's when the real work starts. Once you've got a read of your opponent's strengths, this is where you need to match them to your own. If he's tough and slow, dodge around him. If he's fragile, smash him with big hits. Fight with your head before your hands. Find his weaknesses and match your strengths to them."
"Then it's time for the killing, so to speak." He gestures to his face, neck and groin. "Everyone has weaknesses. Even Pokemon do. The eyes, the neck, joints... If you're going to finish the fight, subject those areas to force and do so cleanly and the target will drop."
"It's simple advice. Nothing that you couldn't find out of a book, but the basics are always the most important. Notice I've told you nothing about forms, or combat styles yet, but I want you to think about these three basic ideas. The first is to offset equilibrium. The second is to keep the target off balance by neutralizing their strengths and playing up their weaknesses. The final is to finish things cleanly by going for vulnerabilities. It's what's worked for me so far and losing sight of these, whether by getting cocky or trying something flashy has always come back to bite me."
"If you'd like, I could show you some basic forms and strengthening exercises, though we'd need space to practice. Point is. That's really secondary." He reaches over and taps the side of Nathan's head. "What will get the process started faster than any other is you internalizing that."
He smiles.
"Questions?"
