The Basics of the Sword – Master Macbeth's Struggle
As I began the lecture, I decided to teach the three of them the fundamentals of proper posture.
“Basic posture” wasn’t something you needed to worry about if your swordsmanship was already good, but the three of them were beginners among beginners.
“From now on, you will swing the sword ten times. Exactly ten times only.”
“Professor, please tell us what effects it has!”
Macbeth raised one hand and asked.
My pupils trembled at the question I had never imagined.
‘Is this really a question asked out of pure ignorance?’
“What effects do you think it could have?”
“I want to see how strong the power of swinging the sword is.”
On earth. Even though it was their first time holding a sword, I hadn’t expected this level of question.
“I would like to hear how the other two feel about it.”
“It looks like he wants to check the fundamentals.”
“I think the same.”
Fortunately, Elson and Rua gave proper answers.
I nodded my head, confirming that both had been right, then turned to Macbeth.
“That is exactly what I meant. I want to check the fundamentals of holding the sword. A master’s stance in holding the sword, the force they put in, and even the form are completely different from those of beginners. You can see the difference in just ten swings. Since we’re already talking about it, how about letting Macbeth try first?”
“Yes, Professor!”
Macbeth lifted the hilt of the sword high above his head with both hands.
“Hiyah!”
And with a thunderous shout, he swung the sword.
The problem was that he had to repeat the same motion ten times, and every single time he did it like that.
Eventually, after about five repetitions, Macbeth started to run out of breath.
The height he lifted the sword lowered, and his shouted voice grew quieter and quieter.
I already knew what the problem with Macbeth was, but I still had a reason to complete ten swings.
To let him confirm for himself what kind of problem he had.
On the ninth swing, Macbeth stumbled forward while swinging the sword.
The final tenth swing was almost done without strength, just lifting and lowering it.
“I’m done, Professor!”
Macbeth answered loudly despite the slight shortness of breath.
From a professor’s perspective, it was very impressive, but it was not the time to praise him warmly yet.
“You’re done? From what I saw, Macbeth has not even swung the sword properly even five times.”
“What? But I did swing it ten times as you instructed, Professor.”
“That’s not swinging the sword. You were swung by the sword. Perhaps you didn’t put enough force into swinging the sword and stumbled forward at once?”
“Eh… I’ll do it again!”
Macbeth’s face turned sour, and without me even telling him, he lifted the hilt again.
“Stop. I wasn’t trying to scold Macbeth. I was just trying to teach that this won’t do.”
“Ah, so that’s it. Understood!”
“Swings will break your body if you swing wrongly, so I’ll teach you how to do it from next time. You’ve worked hard, so take a short break.”
“Yes!”
If enthusiasm was too much of a problem, it was still a problem, but Macbeth was blessed with excellent build and strength.
Rather, the urgent task was to teach him how to relax and how to put power exactly where it was needed.
As Macbeth sat back down, Rua jumped up as if waiting.
“Then next is me….”
“Next, let’s have Elson try.”
“Hiiing.”
Rua sat back down.
“Me, me? I should go after Rua….”
“Anyway, Elson will naturally do it even if I don’t force him. Come forward.”
I held up the hilt and waited.
Since it was his turn anyway, it meant he shouldn’t make my arm hurt more.
Elson came forward hesitantly and took the sword.
“It’s the same. Swing it ten times.”
Since Macbeth had already scolded him a bit, Elson looked at my eyes.
But whether Elson looked at my eyes or not, I just quietly watched him and waited.
“Ha!”
Honestly, I was surprised.
Elson’s stance for swinging the sword was surprisingly good.
Perhaps it was time to retract the statement that all three of them were beginners among beginners.
“I’m done, Professor.”
“Very well. Go sit down.”
“Eh? Me, me….”
“Do you have something to say?”
When I urged him to answer, Elson spoke in a timid voice.
“I hope you would point out my mistakes, Professor.”
Impressive.
Too impressive. These were my first students in this life!
If I were still the age I was before my regression, I would have ruffled their hair to no end.
Elson still showed a passive attitude, but after being encouraged, he seemed determined to try his best.
“Elson hasn’t used the sword much, but it seems he learned something somewhere. Is that correct?”
“Yes. Probably because being a knight has been a tradition in my family since long ago. My parents are both knights, and my two older brothers….”
“You must have always looked up to your family. That’s probably why you could pick up the basics quickly, Elson. Reduce hesitation and use power more boldly. For now, this is enough.”
“Yes, thank you, Professor.”
Elson bowed deeply and returned to his seat.
“Next is Rua. No, Rua student’s turn. Come forward.”
“Yes!”
Rua answered cheerfully and came forward.
Because her body was small, she needed to use a small sword.
But even with the small sword, Rua’s eyes widened the moment she picked it up.
“Whoa, it’s heavy.”
Rua’s body had no muscles at all.
Probably because she had been locked in a room since childhood.
Though it was sad, the thought that stamina came first came first.
“It’s the same as before. Swing it ten times.”
“Understood, Professor!”
Rua took a deep breath, then carefully gripped the sword.
“Elson did it like this earlier, right?”
She seemed to be trying to copy the posture Elson had shown.
‘Huh? Right now….’
Compared to copying, her posture was even better than Elson’s.
“And you shouldn’t be swung by the sword, but you should swing it.”
Rua firmly centered her body, then lifted the sword to an appropriate height.
In that state, she swung it down while putting in as little force as possible.
It was a clean movement without extra.
When Rua had swung the sword three times, I raised my hand to stop her.
“You haven’t finished ten times yet. Did I do something wrong?”
“Although I understand that Rua hasn’t studied the sword, when did you study it separately?”
“I’ve watched knight lords training. Ah, my brother also trained, but Professor….”
That was exactly the same as Elson’s case.
Even if there was any difference, it was only that they had watched Macbeth and Elson first.
Then, in that short moment, they had understood the principles of all my words?
“Let me see a little more. Finish the rest.”
“Yes!”
There were minor flaws, but Rua swung the sword ten times in a stable posture.
Even though Rua had weak basic stamina, she showed no sign of tiring while swinging the sword.
“Macbeth, Elson?”
“Yes, Professor.”
“Look carefully. You are doing much better than both of them. It’s not because you’re my younger sister that I’m praising you, but truly.”
Rua, after finishing the tenth swing, looked at me with sparkling eyes.
“Professor, please point out my mistakes.”
“Right now, there are no mistakes to point out. Rather, I’m worried that the three of you might progress differently.”
“Then you mean I did well, right? Then praise me!”
“I praise you very much. Truly well done. Better than expected.”
Rua had already come right in front of me and slightly leaned her head.
It was a request to be stroked.
But right now, Macbeth and Elson were watching.
‘But….’
I hesitated for a moment and reached out to gently stroke Rua’s head.
I would have wanted to hug her tightly, but I held back as much as possible.
It was commendable that she quickly understood what was important and applied it right away.
Beyond that, it was even more praiseworthy.
While I stroked Rua’s head, Macbeth and Elson, without me even asking, tried to pick up the sword and swing it again.
Following Rua’s movements.
The three-hour lecture time was enough to teach the mindset beginners should have.
To learn the essential posture and mindset when holding a sword as theory and harden them in their heads.
That was the first thing to do while learning the sword.
The first lecture ended with assigning homework to memorize what I had taught about mindset and posture.
I bade them a polite farewell and left.
At this point, it was a real big deal.
I had barely held back the urge to teach them even more harshly, but when they followed so well, I felt my own motivation rise.
Teaching was fun, too fun.
‘Do I have any aptitude for being an educator?’
But I immediately shook my head.
It wasn’t that I had aptitude.
It was thanks to the students being good students.