Advanced Terran Empire Hand-to-Hand Combat Techniques - [Gym of some sort] - [Open]

[gold_ambition]

In retrospect, he was embarrassed not to have thought of it first. But he wasn't about to turn down a good idea just because a Spock had offered it, and within days James was ready. He had flyers--the e-kind, sent out with the rest of the Starfleet junkmail, with a picture he'd found on the network that was probably Shatner fighting but he'd put

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[rn_chapel]

Tina definitely wasn't ready for Advanced Terran Empire Hand-to-Hand Combat, but James had said he'd teach her some things with the knife that Spock had given her ages ago, and she figured that she'd loiter around until he was free and get some one-on-one instruction.

...Why did that sound dirty in her own head? Jesus.

She showed up in loose pants and a t-shirt that was really only tight because she'd had it since before Darcy started making changes in the shape of her body, but her clothes were comfortable to move around in even if not tailored and stylish.

She waited until James was unoccupied, and then stood in the doorway and cleared her throat. "Hey."

[gold_ambition]

"Hey," he said stupidly, smiling. And then he remembered the other day and eased his expression into something more neutral. "Come to see about a knife?"

Her tits were definitely getting bigger. Since people probably didn't look at tits in this world, James refrained. Ostensibly.

[rn_chapel]

"Yeah. I was thinking I'd start at the top and get you to show me how to kill people with one bare hand or whatever, but then I decided maybe that was overambitious, so the knife it is." She pulled the knife in question out of her purse and held it up. "I didn't know if I should bring it or not. Like, if we're going to start with something that's not... Sharp. And potentially lethal."

[gold_ambition]

James' forehead wrinkled.

"What, like a stick or something?" he asked. It was promising she'd come to him. She'd come to him, not allowed him to come. "Suit yourself."

He walked over to the corner, where the room was outfitted with a few cabinets of equipment: implements of various kinds, both lethal and not. There were a few short "blades" made of synthetic materials to match the weight of steel, and he selected two.

"It's nice," he said, looking over her knife with obvious interest. "Spock gave you that?"

[rn_chapel]

Tina nodded. "Sort of on the spur of the moment, so it was one he'd been using himself." She wrinkled her nose. "It feels really heavy to me, but then when I think about it, it's really not any heavier than a medical tricorder or something."

She shrugged.

A stick or something seemed like a good idea. Spock had looked at her askance when she'd suggested that she was more likely to injure herself than anyone else with a bladed weapon, but she was very aware that it would be easy to do something stupid like drop it into her foot.

[gold_ambition]

James didn't want her hurt, of course. Furthermore, she'd come to him for help and that meant time spent with him and the better, and longer, he could make that time, well, that was only sensible.

"The weight helps in some situations, though obviously, he's a lot stronger than you. It may not be the best choice. Here."

He handed her one of the training blades.

"Wrap your fingers around like this, like you're cutting bread. Not, you know, a shower curtain. What do you want to learn, exactly? I mean, are we talking self-defense only here? Against what or whom?"

[rn_chapel]

Tina wasn't sure how one would cut a shower curtain, but cutting bread was pretty straightforward. She gripped the handle.

"Self-defense is what he had in mind when he gave it to me, so I thought that would be good." Self-defense against James, in particular. "And I guess against a humanoid attacker? How minutely do you categorize this stuff?"

[gold_ambition]

He stopped.

"Why did he just give you a phaser?"

[rn_chapel]

"Dunno. He might have been thinking about concealment issues, or that I'd only need to worry about close-quarters fighting... I honestly have no idea how his mind works sometimes." She lowered her voice a little. "I heard from him not long ago, and he gave me some shit for not pursuing any lessons in his absence, is all. I could just lie next time he asks me, but I thought maybe I should go ahead and learn."

[gold_ambition]

"There's no reason not to," he assured her. "It just seems a little odd, all things considered. Still. You have to start somewhere. Okay. The specifics of who's coming at you only matter inasmuch as it affects the fight--their strength, reach, number of arms, that sort of thing. And obviously, if they have a phaser, you want to get out of there or talk him out of it. But I guess we'll start with something that makes sense. Obviously if someone's coming at you unarmed, you have an advantage as long as you know how to use the knife. So we'll start there."

[rn_chapel]

"Okay." Tina had the vague urge to tell James that she had passed her basic phaser course, and could be relied upon not to shoot herself or her friends in a distance situation. But it wasn't actually relevant. "I'm ready to soak up your wisdom."

[gold_ambition]

James had, of course, meant if she was armed only with a knife. But that was neither here nor there.

He wondered if she was being smart with him.

"Good," he said, tossing the other fake knife away and stepping back a few feet. Then he made the universal "bring it" gesture. "Come at me."

[rn_chapel]

Tina stood there awkwardly. "Seriously? I have no idea what to do. Well, aside from holding it like I'm cutting bread."

She looked at the practice blade in her hand, and at James, and at the distance between them. "And if it's self-defense, wouldn't you be the one coming at me?" She frowned. "I'm probably overthinking this."

[gold_ambition]

"A little," he said. She'd be dead in his world now, and he remembered at least to be grateful she wasn't there. "I want to see what your instincts are. And you won't hurt me. And I'm close enough that you can pretend I'm coming at you."

And he certainly didn't want to accidentally hurt her.

[rn_chapel]

Tina smiled self-consciously. "I can tell you right now that what my instincts are is useless."

But she gave it a try, aiming with reasonable precision for his kidney on one side (she'd decided that bouncing off ribs was too likely a concern for a target on the upper torso). She was clumsy, slow, and had tunnel vision, looking at the target and nothing else. But at least she had a handle on the placement of internal organs.

[gold_ambition]

James noted that with approval--though she was uncoordinated and open to any form of attack. He nodded, stepping back.

"Good," he said. "At least the aim--you wouldn't imagine how many people think they can just cut through bone, apparently. But see how easily I could disarm you? Now try again, like this."

He took the knife and demonstrated a few times before handing it back to her.