Phantom Hunters | Saphir Casters Academy

38 | Sword Dance

XXXVIII | SWORD DANCE

    "Again!"

    Kael hit his sword on the wooden dummy, his wrist aching from the previous impacts.

    "You're too stiff," Kita said. "Relax your wrist. It's a common misconception that you must hold the hilt in a vice grip. Your movements become clumsy and restricted, leaving openings for an attack."

    Kael recalled Jarref saying similar things.

    "Hold with your thumb, forefinger, and middle finger, and loosely curl the rest around the hilt. Relax your shoulders, loosen up."

    Kael did as Kita told him, hefting the weight of the hilt onto his thumb and first two fingers.

    "Now, when you're cutting down the enemy, you want to use your shoulder or tricep. That way, you won't tire out as easily. Raise your arm until you feel the weight of the sword in your upper arm."

    Nodding, Kael concentrating on the strain of his muscles. He adjusted the sword as Kita told him to, until he felt his arm tense from the weight of the weapon.

    "Good. Now hit your target."

    Kael raised the sword and slammed down on the dummy, once again feeling a dull ache in the joint of his wrist.

    "No, no. You're flailing your arm like a tentacle!" Kita sighed, holding her own sword out. "You want a straight cut, like this."

    She whipped her blade forward, somehow her sword moving like it was an extension of her arm.

    "You see? Use your elbow to move the sword, not your whole arm. It should be natural, like a dance. You know the dancers who use ribbons to create swirls?"

    Kael nodded. Though he had been very young, he remembered being mesmerised by the graceful travelling dancers at the capital city. "Yeah. I saw them in a circus once."

    "They twirl their ribbons like it's a part of their body. Only the flick of their wrist is used to create each purposeful flow. Using a sword is similar. You want to use it like it's a part of you, like it's a whole different muscle that doesn't burden the rest of your limbs."

    Kael repeated his blow, trying to follow Kita's directions. Eventually, after a few cuts, he was able to find the groove until his sword felt at least somewhat like a finger, albeit a very deformed, clumsy one.

    "You're getting better," Kita said. "Though, I'm not sure you'll get good enough by the test."

    "I will," Kael said with more conviction than he felt. "I have to."

    Kita held in a sigh. Instead, she concentrated on the next lesson. "Now, don't hit the practice dummy. Try hitting forward without using the dummy to stop your sword."

    Kael nodded, assuming the stance that he learned as soon as he entered the arena. His feet were spread at shoulder width, his right leg slightly in front of his left. Using just the joint of his elbow, Kael raised the sword and brought it down.

    He was surprised when it refused to stop, and he nearly dropped it from its momentum. The tip of the sword hit the ground, sending vibrations of protest through its body.

    Kita clicked her tongue. "The most important part of using any weapon is control. Not only do you have to control your element through the vessel, but you must also learn how to control the weapon itself. If you don't, your weapon will fight against you, as it did right now. I'll tell you again, think of this as a dance, and your weapon a part of you. If you could not control your legs, you would fall. Do you understand?"