"With ice in our veins we stand against the Blackest Night"
Lord Knightfall
CVmU-Real Name: Rychard Knightfall
CVmU-Aliases: Lord Knightfall, Warden of the North, King of the Mountain
CVmU-Alignment: Chaotic Good
CVmU-Height: 6'3"
CVmU-Age: 31
CVmU-Weight: 178 lbs
CVmU-Hair Color: Brown
CVmU-Eye Color: Black
CVmU-Species: Human
CVmU-Birthplace: The North - Styðicetaðr
CVmU-Gender: Male
CVmU-Occupation: Warden of the Midnight Mountains and Lord of the Nights Keep
CVmU-Relationship Status: Married
CVmU-Affiliation: Order of the Northern Knights, House Knightfall
CVmU-Family: (under-construction)
(bio under-construction)
Swordsmanship, Training, Skills
An author of the sword, the aggressive styles of nothern swordsmanship teaches that one has as many as five classical targets on and or across the plan of an opponents body. Areas noted for their advantages when striking at an enemy. On a mathmatical scale that number increases expediently. Upper, lower, and middle strikes are decisive. Left side and right side attacks are fluid and are best used when there is an overhead obstruction. These are the areas that one can expose to find their counters. In particular, timing is important. Timing goes hand in hand with rhythm.
Fooling the opponent into believing that they have timed you is how to best time them. And this can be done with an understanding of the purpose behind rhythm. And in combat, rhythm is established only to be broken. Once an opponent has grown accustomed to one's rhythm e.g. footwork and flow of attacks, that is the time to break. Lure the opponent into growing accustomed to for example, sword attacks from the outside, then in the execution of an outside strike, break rhythm and cut inside where the element of grappling is of great use.
While patience is a virtue, to wait for the opponent to over-commit to strike in the hope of an opening for a counter is to allow the opponent to seize the initiative. And if all one does is wait on the defensive for the opponent to make a mistake, it is not the opponent making the mistake, but the swordsman himself.
For if all one does is react in the hope of a counter, not only has one become passive, but react and react and react, and eventually, the incorrect reaction will come. This brand of swordsmanship teaches otherwise, to seize the initiative with wise aggression. Essentially, this means that the responsibility of creating openings is the swordsman's, not the opponent's. Feints, footwork, taunting, and grappling can all be used to lure the opponent into performing an attack that leaves various pockets of space open for counter-attacks.
Parrying or blocking a bladed strike is not done by placing one's sword in position to meet an incoming strike with the sharp edge of the blade. That only succeeds in damaging the blade. Eastern swordsmanship teaches that blocking is accomplished by meeting an incoming strike with a strike of equal or greater force from an angle that will allow the swordsman to knock the opponent's sword from their grasp instantly disarming them.
This is generally successful when one has forced the opponent into a weak plane where their footing is not stable, such as on the retreat. An overhead strike for example, which is typically powerful and carries the additional force of gravity, will either knock the opponent's sword from their hands should they attempt to block, or at the very least, will cause them to stagger and their defense to crack. It is in this situation where the swordsman can then press the attack with a flurry of sword strikes designed to force the opponent into a purely defensive position where they are perpetually on a weak plane, breaking their defense down and then landing the killing blow
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