Rancho Coronado

  November 7th

  2069

  Koda stretched out her arms, rolling her shoulders as she turned to face Sophie. "Alright, Twig. We’re starting with striking. Basic shit first. Punches, kicks, elbows and knees.”

  Sophie gave a small nod, already beginning to settle into a fighting stance. Koda made a small, amused noise before stepping forward. "Lemme see your stance."

  Sophie adjusted slightly, keeping her feet shoulder-width apart, weight balanced, hands up. Koda walked around her, observing. “Alright, not bad,” she muttered. “You ain’t standing like a gonk at least. Now, let’s start with punches.”

  Koda took a step back and lifted her fists. "Start with the jab. Straight punch, snap it out, snap it back. No lazy punches. If you don’t bring it back fast, someone’s gonna smash your face in.”

  Sophie threw a simple jab. Koda watched, shaking her head. "Again. Make it faster. Don’t telegraph it like some gonk street kid.” She did it again and almost shrunk back when the older girl yelled, “What did I just say!? Don’t telegraph your punches! You better not waste my fucking time!"

  Sophie didn’t reply, instead repeating the motion, each time refining it under Koda’s watchful eyes. After a few more, the grumpy girl seemed satisfied. “Finally, something decent. Cross next. Step into it, twist your hips, let that power come from your body, not just your arm. Unless you wanna punch like a noodle, which I wouldn’t recommend.”

  Sophie shifted her weight and threw a cross, driving the strike forward with her whole body. Her chrome knuckles flashed under the dim lighting as Koda smirked. “Huh. Not bad. You don’t hit like a noodle-armed corpo brat, at least. I guess we can move onto hooks then.”

  Koda demonstrated, twisting her whole body as she swung her fist in a tight arc. “It’s not a haymaker. A hook should be tight, controlled and powerful. You ain't throwin’ a wild, bar fight swing; you’re trying to rattle skulls.”

  Sophie mimicked the movement, feeling the torque through her core. Koda corrected minor details, ensuring she kept her other hand guarding as she struck. They worked through uppercuts next, Koda emphasizing the importance of keeping her form tight.

  After running Sophie through the punches a few more times, Koda cracked her neck. “Your punches aren’t too bad so we’ll move onto the good stuff; kicks.”

  She snapped a quick front kick into the air. “Simple forward snap kick. Straight out, ball of the foot. Hits hard and keeps ‘em back. Try it.”

  Sophie followed suit. Koda watched, then gestured for her to try again. “More snap, don’t just push.”

  After a few adjustments, her kicks started landing with the crispness the Animal girl was looking for. From there, Koda moved on to roundhouse kicks, low kicks, and push kicks. She also demonstrated how to pivot on the standing leg, how to keep balance, and how to generate power even with her smaller frame.

  Most of the skills she taught were things Sophie already had experience in, courtesy of the Basic Unarmed Combat skill, but Koda turned out to be a treasure trove of insights. The older girl was especially good at helping adjust the skill knowledge to better suit her smaller frame.

  After kicks, they cycled through elbows next. Koda’s eyes glimmered with satisfaction as she demonstrated a downward elbow strike, bringing her arm down in a brutal arc. “This? This cracks skulls.”

  She made Sophie practice horizontal and upward elbows, making sure she kept her other hand up at all times. Knees followed after, with Koda grabbing Sophie’s shoulders to demonstrate proper leverage. “Clinch and knee. That’s how you break ribs.”

  When Koda mentioned headbutts, she smirked. “Good last resort, but unless you got a chrome skull, you’ll just knock yourself stupid.” Sophie scoffed slightly, but took the advice seriously.

  Occasionally, Koda would correct her positioning with a quick slap to the arm or a shove to remind her to stay balanced.

  After another round of practicing each strike, Koda grabbed a set of focus mitts and slid them on. "Alright. You’re not hopeless. Time to put it together. We’re doing combos."

  Sophie exhaled, shifting her stance. "What kind?"

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  Koda gave her a feral grin. "The kind that hurt. First, jab, cross, hook. Simple. Try it."

  Sophie fired off the sequence and Koda nodded. "Again. Faster." She repeated it, changing her movements slightly until they were more efficient.

  "Good. Now jab, cross, step in, knee." Sophie did as instructed, stepping forward with the knee strike.

  "Better. Next, cross, hook, low kick. Aim for the thigh if your opponent is fleshy. If they’re chromed up, I’d suggest not trying to strike with them, unless you have the chrome to do so. If you decide, for whatever stupid reason, that you want to trade strikes with a chrome gorilla, aim for the side of the knee. You’re small, so you’ll need to chop ‘em down." Koda continued calling out more.

  "Jab, slip, uppercut, hook."

  "Front kick, jab, cross, elbow." Every strike was punctuated by her limbs hitting the mitts, adding to the violent music being played throughout the gym.

  "Cross, step to the side, liver shot, hook."

  Sophie leaned into her training fully, paying close attention to everything her new ‘coach’ was telling her and making the necessary adjustments. At the same time, Koda seemed to be getting into the training, especially when she used Sophie as a target to demonstrate how a proper strike should land.

  At one point, Koda paused, rubbing her chin. "You should lift more, Twig. You hit well, but you’d hit better with some real muscle. And your size isn’t doing you any favours with striking."

  Sophie just stared at her for a moment before huffing. "Not everyone can be built like you."

  Koda snorted. "Shame. Guess you’ll never be a real fighter." The provocation was a poor attempt at some weird kind of encouragement, so Sophie ignored it, focusing even more on the training.

  They continued working until spotting Ursa, who gave them an approving glance. Koda stretched, then rolled her shoulders. "Alright, that’s enough striking for now. You’ve got a good foundation.” She yawned, then frowned. “Oh.”

  Sophie exhaled, wiping sweat from her brow. Despite the soreness settling into her limbs, she was ready to continue. “What’s up?”

  “Nothing. Let's start with grappling.”

  Koda gestured for Sophie to step forward.

  "Before we go to the ground, we’ll start here. Clinching. You shouldn’t need to use it, but it’s important to know regardless."

  Teacher raised her hands, palms open, and stepped in. "The clinch is often misunderstood as ‘just grabbing your opponent’. That’s wrong. A clinch is a tool to exert control. If you don’t control your opponent, they’ll control you."

  With that, she reached forward, her right hand latching onto the back of Sophie’s head while her left arm wrapped around the inside of Student’s right bicep. The merc had to fight her instincts in order to not immediately begin struggling. Koda’s fingers gripped just enough to secure control but not so tight that it was impossible to escape.

  "This is the main position you’ll find for a clinch. From here, I can move you, break your posture, or set up strikes if this were a fight." She pulled down lightly on Sophie’s head, forcing her to bend slightly at the waist. "As soon as I snap your posture like this, I take away your strength. Stand back up."

  Sophie straightened up and allowed Koda to adjust her grip. Both hands were now behind the head, elbows pressing into the smaller girl’s collarbone.

  "This is the position you’re fighting for. Once you have this, escape is nearly impossible. Fighters often use this to throw knees. Wrestlers might use it to break balance. Now, break my grip."

  Calling upon the knowledge in her mind, Sophie reached up and wedged her arms inside Koda’s limbs. She pressed outward, flaring her elbows while simultaneously stepping back. The older girl allowed it, nodding in approval.

  "Good. You’re small. Anything that can give you control of your opponent is what you need to learn. Technique is far more important than brute strength. Now, let’s move to the body lock."

  Koda stepped in, wrapping both arms around Sophie’s waist. Her large hands locked behind the younger girl’s back, just above the hips. "If I grip you too high, you can still move your hips. Too low, and I don’t have control of your upper body. Here, I have both."

  With a sharp twist of her torso, she forced Sophie off balance, stepping through and spinning her to the ground. The landing was rough, though the subdermal she had mitigated it somewhat. Koda immediately followed, maintaining chest-to-chest contact before securing side control.

  "If you can take someone down, follow them to the ground. It’s a general rule, so only do it if the situation allows. However, if I let go after throwing you, I lose the advantage I’ve just gained. Now, let’s talk about hooks and control on the ground."

  Koda slid into mount, straddling Sophie’s torso with her knees wedged against the smaller girl’s sides.

  "From here, I control the fight. I can strike, I can submit, or I can hold position until you make a mistake. But if I don’t control my base, you can escape."

  Sophie tried bridging; thrusting her hips upward to throw Koda off balance. The bigger girl reacted smoothly, widening her base and pressing her hips down.

  "That’s good, but I anticipated it. However, if I don’t post my arms or widen my base, you’ll throw me off."

  She then shifted, sliding one leg around and moving to the back. In one fluid motion, she secured her legs around Sophie’s waist, locking her feet together around her student’s thighs.

  "These are my hooks. They keep me attached to you. If I lose them, I lose control of the situation. Now, let’s go for a choke."

  One arm snaked under Student’s chin, the other hand gripping her own bicep. She placed her free hand behind Student’s head and squeezed gently.

  "This is the rear naked choke. If my arm is too low, I’m just squeezing your neck like a bad hug. If it’s deep, I cut off the blood flow on both sides. You don’t have to crush the windpipe. Blood chokes work faster. Unless it’s a ‘borg. Then do things as violently as possible."

  She released the choke before Sophie could tap.

  "Now, let’s go over a basic limb lock."

  Koda shifted again, one leg sliding over Sophie’s torso while she controlled her right arm. She trapped it between her own arms and extended her hips upward, forcing the elbow joint straight. It didn’t do much considering how flexible the smaller girl was, but the point was made.

  "The armbar. Your arm is caught between my legs and your elbow is hyperextended. If you don’t get out, it breaks."

  Releasing the hold, she sat back. "Grappling isn’t about brute force. It’s about control. You make your opponent react, then capitalize."

  She looked at Sophie, her expression thoughtful. "You’re smaller than me, so you need to use leverage more. Speed and angles will be your best tools. You won’t win by forcing things. You’ll win by setting traps. Now, get up. Your turn."

  The two girls continued practising for nearly an hour before Koda finally called it quits. Despite being tired, Sophie was overjoyed. While a lot of the striking was stuff she’d already practised, having a partner to grapple with made things much easier than trying to train by herself.

  “It’s getting late. Come back tomorrow and we’ll continue with the grappling.” Koda grinned. "That’s where the real fun is at, plus it’s probably gonna be the area you need to work on the most." There was a slight pause. “Also, sorry for being a bitch earlier. I thought this would be a waste of time, but it was actually fun.”

  Sophie gave her a tired smile in return.