Ouroboros Spine symphony of bones

she would watch him closely, circling around a bit to see where there could be possible weak points. she was pleased with his first self-correction, noting the readjustments he made within the body for better protection.

"good correction," she would say to him as she finished her path and came before him again, "you must be able to change positions if needed." strength certainly made up a large portion of fighting, though it was a technique that often swayed others in the direction of winning more than anything.

"now, let's see if rodyn can stay standing. stay strong, try not to move." the woman would back herself up a few steps off to the side before picking up speed towards him. she would push her shoulder in as a bit of a [polite sparring] shove to see if it would unsettle the man in his position. her shove lacked the power the bruise him, but was just enough over the threshold to knock someone over who was not prepared.

now there were 2 tests going on. one was to see if the man would be able to stay standing. if he failed, then shikoba would see how good he is at rebounding and saving himself from toppling. recovery was just as important as anything else.