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After catching the wooden staff with ease, he scowled a bit. Sword practice? Not my favorite, but I'll take any training at this point. Taaru moved further into the field to distance himself from the others a little. He took the first stance with Tryston's direction, and awaited Kukiko and Katori to join him.

"What was it you said before, Tryston? Form is the foundation of fighting?" Taaru tried to remember the rest of the phrase, but couldn't come up with it. He was sure he'd be reminded in a second, but he was somewhat disappointed in himself for not being able to remember.

[Taaru 8]

Tryston nodded his head, "Yes and without it you would fail." Or fall, however, you wanted to consider the phrase. He held the stick in his hands, his own weapons discarded to the side as he held onto the practice stick, "It's important that you keep your footing no matter which weapon you choose." It would help them to learn to fight like this so that if they ever needed to fight hand to hand they would have some idea of which stances to use. Kukiko's question gave him pause and the iceling warrior considered it a moment before actually grinning ever so slightly, "We'll see how you handle this first and then consider a larger weapon." His own broadsword was a testimony to that. Tryston did not handle delicate swords himself and preferred the larger blades.

Twisting the stick in the air, Tryston spread his feet so that he could position himself. "You must have solid standing so that nothing can move you." He instructed firmly, "If anyone rushes at me I can prove how important a solid stance is."

[Tryston 9]

Taaru looked around and groaned. "Aw, Katori. You're not really going to make me rush at him, are you?" He could still remember the last time he tried sparring with Tryston and ended up getting knocked on his butt. He was sore for days after, and took training much more seriously from that point on. Still, I guess I'm due for a bruise or two. I might even be able to finally get him with all the hard work I've been putting in.

He turned to face Tryston, but hesitated. Trying to take the man down was much easier in his head, and it was quite the daunting task.

[Taaru 9]

Tryston rose a brow towards Taaru and Katori. He could understand why they were hesitant but one could not get stronger without a few bruises and bumps along the way. Katori was slightly a hazard in her own right so he could not help but to feel a bit less guarded whenever she opted out of the charge. Whether the girl meant it or not there was just something about her punches that could break a man or weapon no matter how sloppy the attack. He was honestly preparing to attack them himself, a lesson in never lowering your guard, but then Kukiko's battle cry caught his attention.

Oh? It looked like the newcomer was up to the challenge. Tryston could not help the smile that flickered across his lips whenever he noticed her lack of form. It was simply too easy. The ice warrior waited until the last possible moment before bending and swinging his own weapon so that it connected with the back of Kukiko's knees. "If you don't take care of your grounding then you'll find it's easy enough to fly in battle."

[Tryston 10]

Taaru bounced to the side as Kukiko butted him out of the way. He frowned at her comment, but decided that a retort would probably bring her head-on charge onto him instead. I've probably already gotten on their nerves enough today. I'll let her have this one. Besides, he knew from her stance already that she wasn't going to get very far.

It almost made him cringe as he watched Tryston easily dodge the attack, and counter with a blow to the back of her legs. Yup, that was me once. We all start somewhere. He reflected on his own training days, and thought about how much progress he and Katori actually made. He knew if Kukiko had the determination, she, too, would make the same improvements. With her head-on attitude, it really shouldn't be that hard for her, that's for sure. He called out to her, "Try bending your knees a little more!" He figured he might as well try to help, instead of being unhelpful and making silly remarks. He really just didn't want to see her get hurt too badly. Her mom might not let her come over again if that happened!

[Taaru 10]

Acknowledging Taaru's good advice to Kukiko, Tryston braced himself for her next charge. Rather than attempting to knock Kukiko over like before the ice warrior patiently waited until her 'blade' was a breath away from his own body. In that last split second he moved towards the right, the air from her strike whooshing against his ear. "Not bad." He replied quietly as he watched to see how her body would handle missing its target. Would she be balanced enough to recover and swing again or would the momentum be too much for her? If it had been 'bigger' as Kukiko wanted earlier Tryston was certain that the forceful movement would have resulted in the younger iceling tumbling over her own feet. He had even waited until the last moment to move so that she would have an even harder time to adjust. Reactions could only rely on how solid a foundation she had after all.

[Tryston 11]

Taaru nodded and kept his voice low while keeping his eyes on Kukiko's strike. "Yeah, Let's get him as soon as Kukiko recovers. Ready?" He waited for the precise moment that Kukiko gained her footing. Tryston's back was to them now, so they might get the jump on him. Taaru readied his stick, waiting patiently.

There! He moved in to attack, hoping to get the jump on Tryston. He won't be ready for all of us!

[Taaru 11]

Ah. There it was. Tryston was rather impressed that Kukiko recovered so quickly. Still he had trained for years as a warrior and had survived several battles so Tryston was quick to catch onto Kukiko's second swing. He actually had to raise his own training staff and the sound echoed through the area as the two weapons collided. "Good." He mused before noticing more movement, "Really?" The ice warrior let out a little huff before twisting backwards to avoid Taaru's attack. Bracing himself into a crouch Tryston stared at all three of his new opponents coolly before realizing that Katori had not swung her weapon yet. That was the one he dreaded the most because the girl always packed an extra punch in her swing.

I suppose it's time to get a bit more serious. Standing he brushed the dirt from his leathers before raising his training staff defensively. If they wanted to all attack at once then he would show them how a true warrior adapted in the midst of battle.

[Tryston 12]