Chapter 73 – Old Man Ijicho’s Martial Arts Lesson
After finishing the meal and digesting for a while, the old man stood up.
“Anyway, even if we arrive at the quarry today, it will be difficult to subdue them because it is in the evening. You can go slowly, so let’s do it here.”
“Huh.”
I stood up with a scythe, and the old man approached me.
“Let’s start with the basic posture.”
“Posture?”
At the old man’s words, I stupidly blinked my eyes while holding the scythe with both hands.
Speaking of posture, isn’t it okay to just hold it up and swing it anyway?
“Don’t you think it’s very important?”
“Eh. How did you know?”
“How many times has my husband entered my body? Just looking at your eyes makes me chuckle.”
Ron said with a smile.
Ugh, how can you just pick and choose these dog-like words? As expected, Jahwacheon⋯.
“In a fight, posture is the most important. It is the foundation that leads to attack and defense.”
“Is that so…?”
“Let’s start by thinking about the shape of the scythe.”
“Um…”
At the words of the old man, I looked at the scythe in his hand again.
At the end of the handle, which is longer than my height at 2m, there is a sharp blade about 1m long.
“From the point of view of the enemy, how should Hanseong hold the scythe to feel threatening?”
“It’s the enemy’s position…”
I never thought about the enemy’s position. It’s just that I’m holding it in a position that’s comfortable for me to lift.
As a result, I stand with my feet spread at an awkward width, my right hand roughly gripped close to the blade of the scythe, and the scythe attached to my body. If you think about it, it’s a really awkward posture.
It has no choice but to look like a cuckold.
“Um, I don’t know. For now, I understand that my posture is quite awkward.”
“The end of the handle on the other side without the scythe will be called the tip for convenience.”
“Huh.”
The front and back were separated by the scythe side and the end of the handle. The part with the sickle is in the front, and the tip of the hilt is in the back.
Roin continued his explanation.
“Since the front part is relatively heavier, the hands stick closer to the front, right?”
“Huh.”
“In order to take a stable stance without consuming stamina, I think it would be better to aim the back part at the enemy. Now, assume that there is an imaginary enemy in front of you and take a stance.”
“I’ll set up a skeleton for you.”
“Thank you,”
A steel skeleton was standing in front of me about 2 meters away.
As Roin advised, I aimed the tip at the skeleton. And put the front back.
“Umm, uh, my feet are getting a little vague.”
“Turn your body slightly to the side. Extend your left foot towards the enemy and step your right foot back. In that state, just turn your back and look straight at the enemy with your shoulders.”
“Mmm, ah. Certainly, it doesn’t feel so awkward.”
I feel like I have become a master of martial arts when I take the posture that many people who handle spears in Chinese movies have.
“Okay, that’s the rough stance. Now, aim the tip at the skeleton’s stomach.”
“Huh.”
“Now bend your left foot. Take a posture that makes you feel like you can run into your opponent at any moment.”
“Huh.”
As he did as the old man ordered, his shoulders and knees slightly bent, and tension like a spring flowed through his body.
“This will be your basic posture.”
“Um, but this is uneasy because there is nothing blocking my body.”
“It’s longer than most weapons, so I like this better. The act of stabbing the approaching enemy with the tip of this opponent is both containment and defense.”
“Aren’t you using the front side?”
If you attack the enemy, isn’t it more certain to attack the side with the blade?
When I had such a question, Roin immediately resolved it.
“Only when the front is clear, if you swing the front in this state, the direction of the attack towards the enemy is too obvious, so it’s easy to block.”
“Oh, is that so?”
“In a fight, you have to assume that the opponent is attacking and move, not always thinking about what you are going to attack. You’re not fighting a scarecrow, are you? Because the opponent is also struggling to survive.”
“Really…”
“The basic attack is to hit the opponent’s face with the tip. If it is correct, the opponent will fall into confusion, right?”
“Huh.”
It’s not easy to keep your cool when you’re stabbed in the face with a wooden stick.
“You swing the scythe by taking advantage of the moment when the opponent is confused. There are two ways to wield it.”
“Two?”
I think you just have to wield it, but there are two ways to wield it.
“Think carefully about the structure of the scythe. The scythe has a tip and a blade, right?”
“Huh.”
“The first way to swing is to swing the tip of the scythe at the opponent. From the opponent’s point of view, it’s no different than a stab from the side. It’s hard to stop.”
“Is that so?”
“However, if you stab the opponent with the tip of the scythe, the hitting point will be smaller, making it easier for the opponent to dodge.”
“Ah.”
“Most of them will run away. A person who is good at fighting will dig into the future. You won’t die if you get hit by the hilt.”
“Then what should I do?”
“There is a way to push the back of the scythe towards the opponent to knock them over. Or get back into position.”
“What if we dig forward?”
“Pull the scythe. Then you can attack the opponent’s back with the scythe’s blade. Of course it won’t be easy, so it’s best to avoid it. Or throw away the scythe and kick it with your fist or foot.”
“Hmm.”
I knew the rough way to deal with it.
“Then what is the second wielding method?”
“You swing the blade of the scythe at the opponent. In this case, the distance will be shorter than swinging the tip of a scythe.”
“The blade of the scythe?”
At Roin’s words, I swung the scythe lightly. Certainly, it is not the same as stabbing the opponent with the tip of the scythe by swinging it with all one’s strength without thinking.
It is self-evident that the distance is shorter if you swing the scythe sideways and let the blade touch the opponent.
“Isn’t it worse than swinging the tip of a scythe and stabbing it?”
“This has the opposite advantage. It’s hard to dodge because the hit point is wide.”
Stabbing with dots and swinging with lines. Clearly, the difference in area is different.
“It’s easy to block instead.”
“What if I get stuck?”
“The advantage of this weapon is that the attack comes from the side.”
“Huh.”
“The opponent will turn his body to block the scythe flying from the side, so in the meantime, you should kick it with your foot. But to be honest, the front is heavy, so once you swing it, the gap gets bigger. So make sure to use the front only when the opponent is confused. Basically, aiming the back at the opponent and stabbing becomes the main technique.”
After listening to Roin’s words, I definitely have a sense of how to handle weapons.
“The most important thing is to know the distance of your weapon.”
“Distance?”
It’s a word I’ve never thought of. What do you mean you need to know the distance when it’s not like shooting a gun?
“For example, if Hanseong sticks out the tip right now, will he get hit by a skeleton? Wouldn’t that be right?”
“Hmm…?”
I looked at the tip of the old man’s words while aiming at the skeleton.
What if I shot it at the skeleton’s face?
Will it reach won’t it reach
“Hmm? Are you very vague? It may or may not be possible.”
“Would it reach?”
“Okay?”
At the old man’s words, I pushed the sack all the way forward. Short of time
“Can’t you reach me?”
“When you throw, you have to move your body as well. Who gets hurt when you just move your arms like that and throw them out?”
“Is that so?”
“Now, the left foot was in front and the right foot was behind, right?”
“Huh.”
“Bend his left knee and crouch at his waist. Extend your right foot with the heel off and only the forefoot on.”
As Roin said, he bent his left knee and crouched down. And he stretched out his right leg. The center of gravity of the body is shifted forward.
“In that state, push your body with your right foot and jump forward. Stab the opponent’s face while sticking out the tip!”
– Dig!
I pushed myself with my right foot. Due to the center of gravity that was leaning forward, the body jumped forward, resulting in considerable speed.
Using that speed, he thrust his arms forward. Intense stab with weight! I felt the power so intense that if it accidentally hit me in the mouth, I would break my teeth!
– Whiik!
“Oh.”
Contrary to the strong power, the tip brushed the skeleton’s neck and flowed to the side.
“If your attack misses, don’t panic and keep your distance!”
“Ah, yes!”
At Roin’s words, he fell away from the skeleton and regained his posture.
“Good job. It’s your first time, so do you do exactly what they teach you?”
“Hehe. Praise me more!”
“But you can’t be careless. You didn’t get it right If you can’t hit even an opponent standing still, it will be more dangerous in real combat.”
“That’s right…”
The power was definitely great. Unlike standing stupidly and swinging with only arms moving, moving the body puts weight on it and produces powerful power.
However, it is difficult to set the aim point.
It doesn’t even look like a game.
Even though it’s my body, I can’t do it my way!
“What if I miss in practice? You’re not going to give your opponent a chance to distance themselves.”
“At that time, you have to turn the sack sideways and hit the opponent. Or throw away his weapon and hit him with your fist.”
“Can I just drop the weapon?”
In movies, knights say that weapons are life and treat them with respect, but my woman is good at telling me to throw away weapons.
“A weapon is, after all, a means to kill an opponent. If a weapon gets in the way of killing an opponent, then you should throw it away, even if you have to pick it up later.”
“I see.”
“To sum up today’s teaching, there are three types of attacks that can be done with a scythe.”
“Yes, the tip of the handle, the tip of the scythe, and the blade are used in three places, right?”
“That’s right. Fighting with weapons is, after all, a game of notice.”
“Attention?”
“Either anticipate what kind of attack the opponent is going to make, block it, or counterattack. Or did you attack first? You have to use it properly. In other words, you have to be able to read the other person’s thoughts. Now, Teacher Roin’s martial arts class ends with this!”
“Huh, you worked hard.”
“Only in words?”
“Hmm?”
“At night, what to expect?”
Roin stroked my chin with a seductive gesture.
