12-03-2009, 01:07 AM
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 The match didn't go well for the coyote, as all of them had expected. There just wasn't a way for someone of his size to compete with a wolf who had some idea of what they were doing. It was true that occasionally a coyote would kill a wolf by virtue of his or her claws and finding access to the neck, but it wasn't frequent, and if that wolf knew to beware of claws on two legs the same way they were wary of fangs on four, it was almost impossible. Nikolov knew that there were things one could do from the bottom; he knew that he'd seen Skoll demonstrate a few things, but he couldn't summon them out of memory right then, and so he landed on his back with a wolf on top of him and his left hand grabbed and controlled by the more powerful right of his adversary. Having an enemy in a headlock before going down was a good start, he knew, but again, he only had one arm, and that wasn't enough for someone of his strength to get Ty's head in any meaningful hold. With the wolf on top of him, he struggled to his his legs over the hips of his enemy...he remembered enough to know that when it got this close, position was everything. Nonetheless, he didn't remember the twisting and turning that gaining position entailed...it wasn't as easy to pick up by observation as basic striking was. His ears fell in frustration as he realized that just by virtue of height, he'd fallen with his hips below Ty's, which meant he was at a disadvantage already. "You needed to think of that when you fell, Nik," Mala intoned as the coyote looked from side to side and squirmed beneath the shifting weight of his opponent. "He's too strong for you to do anything about it now: your only hope for position was the transition." This might have been nonsensical to the idle viewer, but all of them here had some background in fighting, enough to translate the message: when wrestling for position, a lot was decided during the fall. If Nik had thrown his free leg (the one that hadn't been hooked) over Ty's hip as soon as he knew he was going to fall, he could have fallen into 'guard' position, which--while still disadvantageous--was the best hope a fighter had at the bottom, where the hips and legs were above those of the enemy, locking their position and preventing them from moving up on you. Provided you could defend your gonads (this being done primarily by occupying the enemy's hands) this was the best 'position' to have from the bottom. Alternatively, 'half-guard' also prevented the opponent from having free reign over your defenseless form by locking around one of their legs and preventing them from achieving 'full-mount' in which their legs were above yours and they had a completely superior position to their already grounded enemy. Fighting with fangs changed this dynamic slightly in that the 'disadvantaged' party, who was lower down in relative position, might--on a good day--manage to take the throat with their fangs if the dominant canine got too close. One way or the other, though, Nik had not managed either position he might otherwise have taken, nor any of the best positions he'd seen Skoll do, and was currently in a completely vulnerable position to an adversary who was already naturally stronger and heavier than him. From here, in a real fight, Ty would have a range of options. The first and most obvious was clawing. Gravity plus strength and an opponent with no ability to maneuver meant anyone in Nik's position would become a veritable scratching post. Raining down blows was another option, or a blend of both. A punch became much more devastating when the victim's head was either propped against or held down to the ground, as the earth created a backstop magnifying the impact of each strike. Further real-world options would include choking (in which gravity and pressing of the upper body would assist in crushing the larynx) and throat or artery-opening by deliberate use of claws. And that was just basics. Given that the spar was clearly over, Jantus asked for a simple demonstration as to whether or not Ty knew what he could do from this position before moving on. ***** "Alright," Jantus said, looking around their small group. "Now that we've seen that you can handle yourself against a much smaller opponent, I'd suggest you go up against either me or Mala." He looked at his sister and scratched his chin. "I guess we're both bigger than you, though if you find someone as big as me I suggest you run, rather than train to take 'em on." He shrugged. He wanted to find Ty a better sparring partner for a while on two legs before he offered a match with Aivyr on four. Still, he did intend on drilling the kid on four legs, so long as he had interest to continue. |