An analysis of my sparring combat against Lord Kalkoran

[Andnoa]

An analysis of my sparring combat against Lord Kalkoran.By Apprentice TutamIntroduction
An opportunity at last, a chance to spar Lord Kalkoran himself, one of the three strongest Sith in the powerbase and it came by pure coincidence. The Lord returned to the Spire on Dromand Kaas desiring combat and either thinking quickly or perhaps foolishly, I jumped at the chance to fight one such as that. Previously in the day I saw my master, Sith Mitina, spar the other Lord, Sanguinus and I though it intriguing. I knew such power is possible if I follow down the path of the sith, but it is re-invigorating to see it first hand with blows faster and deadlier than I though possible thrown around as a standard rather than an exception. As I deepen my understanding of the force and of the concepts of combat, I aim (as all Sith should) to one day surpass such a display.
The Fight
When in the spire sparring pit, the Lord offered me a choice. A quick fight in which I would certainly lose or a slower more drawn out affair with neither of us using the force to augment our bodies, nor attack our foe. An easy choice I think. As with all things, the purpose of any spar is to improve the self. One thing Mitina has great skill in is constantly fighting at just above my level as if to test me and show the next steps in a fight and as such whenever I spar her I make great strides in my skill level, far greater than I would if I say sparred an acolyte or an Imperial. Offhandedly I made the comment that I would prefer the second option, preferring to remain intact and whole after the fight. In part this was an attempt to gauge the character of a man I have never had any serious conversation with. The Lords were naturally absent from my life up until now, having first no time for me as an acolyte and then no time for me due to the highest demands placed upon them by the war effort. Perhaps it is the concussion I now have as I write this, but I think I noticed the slightest exhalation of suppressed amusement.
A second condition was then attached. We would declare out lightsaber forms as we used them, so as to add technical challenge to the duel. When I would previously borrow a maneuver from Shii Cho to augment my Djem So, or vice versa, here I would require to stay within my lane. To show competence at a traditional fighting style rather than duck and weave between them. At once we both declared for the fifth form, something I had both longed to see and hoped to avoid. There is no question in my mind that he would be superior to me if we chose the same form and with this rigidity and lack of alteration to form, I would fail to sufficiently have the room to play around the forms known weaknesses. On the other hand, to see first hand the skill of a master and to learn from it is an opportunity too good to pass up. It would be worth most pain if I could learn from him how to fight more efficiently, to dominate my foes as the form requires.
A clumsy opening on my part. A building charge as I aimed to make him underestimate me with a clean but uninspired chop to the shoulder that was easily blocked and a counter sequence applied of an attempted shiim to the chest and then stomach in a U turn of the blade-tip. Fluid and deadly, as expected. Far more fluid than my own work which had focused on single blows up until now. Through this moment i saw the benefit of more sequential attacks but did not have time to process this information. I guarded against both attacks and followed up with a premature riposte, trying to catch the lord unawares, though I suspect that it just showed weakness and over eagerness to strike. Faster than reasonable (and I suspect reactions augmented in some way) the Lord stepped away and deflected the strike to one side with a one handed guard. Returning the assault he aimed a slash at me that while I was out of position very nearly ended the fight. A counter attack to my counter attack that I only barely defended against. Another realization was that the blade I faced was longer than my own. Perhaps an opportunity, perhaps a weakness but only time would tell.
I declared for Shii Cho now, having been turned so that the wall was at my back and falling back upon the basic form so that I might buy time to think. My lack of a plan for the fight was picked up now, as the Lord attempted Dun Moch. Sucessful in this, he accurately pointed out my own failures thus far and from this I was left with a pair of choices. Demoralize and lose so quickly to the man or take the failing on-board and learn from it. I had failed to come up with an adequate plan. I had been too keen to impress him with displays of power and skill that I failed to take into account thought.
I however was not given time to think. I should have used the time that I had before. Lord Kalkoran unleashed another flurry of attacks at me seemingly aiming to drive me backwards and ultimately succeeding in this. I continued to defend as he pushed me back and I admit spite got the better of me. I declared that I must embrace my emotions but I must not do so to the extent of the defector or his uncontrolled state. After this attempt seemingly failed, I unleashed an attack back, trying to convince myself and the Lord that this was far from over. A copy of the U-Turn attack he used earlier, though luckily enough I did not suffer for my plagiarism. Unfortunately I did not gain from it either and this effort ultimately proved fruitless when the Lord moved out of range and attacked back at me, attempting to Shiim my dominant leg with the tip of his blade. A follow up was a harsh vertical blow, seemingly to bisect me but in actuality to force me backwards to avoid bisection. I moved back from these, defending and attempting to come up with a better plan. Until then my solution was to attempt to goad him into a mistake, going into a tirade about force rage and the types of personality such a technique required.
The next strike was an attempted off tempo blow from myself. I have seen this used to great effect in the middle of a flurry of attacks but in this case I used it as a first attack, attempting to break orthodoxy in the hopes that it would not be guarded against as easily as the superior options. This was countered however by an offense of his own, attempting to force me backwards and away again like swatting a fly. Foolishly I missed the opportunity to defend myself, too committed to the attack against him and it cost me a gash in my leg and a great deal of pain from it. Ultimately this is where the duel was lost, but I persisted for several additional blows, vainly trying to think I could further work towards his downfall.
In pain and furious I attempted a violent stab at his neck, which perhaps went above the level of acceptable combat in a spar as should it have connected it would have been near instantly fatal. This was swatted aside however and I resumed my Shii Cho defensive stance with my weaker leg being substituted for my wounded dominant one. I was forced to re-adjust my guard several times over next, as the Lord walked around me at distance, forcing me to turn to face him and apply pressure to my leg as I moved. This is worth remembering I think. A way to twist the knife on foes I hurt. A follow up attack would be a feint of his own. Aiming a stab at my left before it became a shiim to my chest with a twist of the wrist.
Another fluke allowed me to dodge this as I stepped back from the stab only to find myself out of the way of the shiim through no conscious action of my own. One must not rely upon flukes.
My leg still injured I made the calculated choice to push off from it, causing me great pain but allowing an attack that would not be as predictable. A wrist twist of my own from a shoulder stab to an attempted Sun Djem to his weapon. A desperate last ploy but one with potential in my view. In this case however it was too much for me and the injuries in combination with the Lord's excellent defense allowed him to block the strike and then push me backwards off my feat, slamming my head into the floor for a brief moment of lost consciousness.
A defeat. Not an unexpected one, but the loss stings as much as any other.
Analysis and Conclusions
In the aftermath, Lord Trakaton made several comments to me that I will attempt to dissect for usable improvements.

• He made the comment that I came to this with no plan and while this is true, I did have some ideas through out on his methodology and a potential method to defeat him. The issue came that he did not allow such an opportunity and I lack the skill for now to force one upon him. His additional light-saber blade length was a great strength for him in this, forcing me to battle his defenses constantly if I even wished to get into range of his body. Never-the-less, in encloses spaces I do wonder if I could turn it into a weakness, forcing his weapon to contact the walls and risk slowing.
• He made the point that I was fool to use Dun Moch against him as it raised either the possibility of failure or of enraging him, both of which would be of little use to me. On this I agree for now. If I were his equal it might prove a more effective tool however so this is not an idea to permanently remove. I must merely exercise restraint. The irony is not lost on me that I have gone from being too timid in my first spar against my master to too aggressive and risk taking. Somewhere in there there must be a balance where calculated and costed risks are taken.
• Thirdly, he strongly recommended that I do not change forms nearly as often. Each form's goals do not necessarily align with each other and a sudden change will disrupt the flow of battle. Here is where I reveal the plan I had come up with. My intention was to push Lord Kalkoran towards the wall and the blade racks where there would be far less room for his large weapon to be used. I only used Djem So when in a position to push him and Shii Cho when I had my back to the wall in the hopes of being pushed backwards. In addition to this, I noticed that i was in sparring robes and he in full armor and I had hoped to duck and weave through his attacks so that he would tire himself without augmentation. Both of these goals were not achieved, but I do suspect both had at least some merit.
• From my own work, I noticed that he was far more keen on counter attacks than attacking directly. Observation of the foe must yield results. If given the opportunity to spar the same foe twice, I feel I could make large improvements to my form and technique, but likely they too.
• I have grown to rely upon augmentation and like abilities. At times it was difficult not to use these powers in combat. I must learn to fight without.
• Finally, the Lord used sequences far more than I. Flurries of attacks with a goal behind them. I must stop thinking about the next attack and start thinking about the ones after that and how my next feeds into it. Fluidity and control are the future for me.

Ultimately, I never expected to win the spar, but if I went in without wanting desperately to do so, I would be no Sith at all. Conflict gives us hierarchy. Lord Kalkoran is above me in that hierarchy due to experience. With time I will gain equal experience or fail. It is only through passion will I gain strength. From these goals, I will structure my independent training further and from this I will grow and become more powerful.

Glory to the Empire.
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