Quarterstaffs

PBTD 04/6

Katie practices in the training room on sword techniques, and Pandora suggests that she graduate to a quarterstaff (6-foot pole), and then move up to a double-bladed staff (with spikes on the end). The length is ideal, because you never get too close to an enemy. No one knows their techniques, so Katie goes on-line to research the info. No one had time for long drawn-out moves during a demon battle, so it needed to be a tactical fighting technique that would improve their kill rate while not putting them in more danger. The Quarterstaff seemed simple and useful, and put a distance between the demon and the wielder, a useful factor.

PBTD 04/16

Katie again trains in quarterstaff moves. Pandora helps her, insisting that the series of basic moves become automatic. Pandora was right. It WAS in her head, and it was becoming comfortable, Pandora had learned the moves centuries ago from one of her interests she had been with for thirty years.

PBTD 06/14

Katie visits Joshua to design a modification, to have extendable blades. The end cap would be made of our metal, and I want to be able to remove the blades. Joshua sketched out the staff as it currently existed. A tip was added. A button would unlock the shaft. From there it’s manual, as in I have to twist the shaft. Once twisted, it should lock into place. I was thinking something like eighteen-inch dirks coming out either from the sides to allow a slicing motion or one that springs from the tip that can be used to stab. Either way is fine.” Just don’t make it so narrow that they break off. Demon skin is thick and hard, so I don’t want it to be a one-and-done kind of thing.”“Right, so it needs to be thick, and it needs to be reinforced in some way, I think I can come up with something relatively quickly. It’ll just take me a little bit of time to forge the dirk.”

PBTD 07/6

Joshua gave Katie her new Quarterstaff. “It’s got the metal at both ends for added protection, and I did a few more modifications.” He grabbed the center and pulled it apart, holding up two batons. He held them by the ends and pressed buttons, waving them as knives popped out. Katie took the batons from him and clicked the buttons that pulled in the knives. “This is amazing.” “I carved your name into the side of each,”Katie locked the two pieces back together and stepped into an open space. She warmed up with her staff, swinging it through a couple of katas to get used to its weight and balance. Katie clicked the buttons and the longer blades emerged as she continued her form. She stabbed, then rotated in place and attacked with the other blade. She twisted the staff and the two pieces came apart, allowing her to attack in two directions.Slamming them together, she twisted again. However, she didn’t succeed in locking them and stumbled. “Gotta work on that,” she murmured and slowed down, her smile lighting her eyes.

PBTD 07/12

Pandora coaches Katie on its use.That’s good, Pandora told her, but you are still fighting it. You need to relax and make the staff an extension of your body. You need to—and I know this sounds corny—become one with the weapon. Why don’t you let me show you? Katie took a deep breath and allowed Pandora to inhabit her whole body. Pandora moved her through the motions, showing her the stances, the way that the staff was designed to cut through the air, and how to push with maximum force. Once Katie’s body was rolling through the motions like they were natural, Pandora amped up her speed and skill. Katie twisted and pulled the staff apart.

She whirled quickly and sliced the sticks through the air, then whipped them back to her sides. She jumped and kicked her legs out, slamming the tip of the staff into the dirt as if she were striking an opponent on the ground in the chest. That’s unreal, Katie exclaimed. No one sees fighting like that anymore. No one has the discipline to learn how to do that.You’re right, Pandora admitted. Practice isn’t the same as it was when we did it thousands of years ago. Then there was nothing but you and your weapon. Everyone gets so comfortable now in the fact that they have guns and crazy knives, and other things that make being a lazy fighter much easier. When you have nothing but you and a wooden pole you learn to use that pole the best way you can. You learn to be disciplined. You learn that your health, your physique, and your strength play more of a role in fighting than the weapon itself does. Eventually you learn that your mind is really the controlling factor.Think about how you felt when you first got here, waving the pole through the air and trying to find your steps. You were timid, but once you let your mind go—once you were confident in your grip, and trusted in me—you were unstoppable. It all connects, and it is much more than just aim-and-shoot. That is why you will survive long after the others—because your mind is there.

PBTD 08/3

Pandora teaches Katie the Chatan Yara No Kon Sho, which is a simple kata, refining movements to better utilize the powers of the body meshed with the qualities of the staff.