Combat Practice

[This is not a written journal entry, but is an audio recording of Nichol's voice. He sounds like he's in a bit of pain.]
 
"Before you ask, whoever's looking at these things, I wasn't planning to switch to the audio thing I heard some others are doing with this new tech. I mean, it seems like it could be useful, and all. I just have my writing hand in a big bowl of ice since Lio - no, it should be Officer Levon - took me down in that duel. I knew he had a good punch, but apparently he had a lot more than that in hiding."
 
The recording picks up a sigh. "And here I thought my normal methods would do the trick. When you're fighting someone good, get them off balance before it starts. I knew I hit something when I did the whole Lord Levon bit at the bar, and when the tail feint got him off balance, I thought I had the thing close to in the bag."
 
"Of course I just started treating it like an actual honorable duel and crap, instead of a training spar like an actual fight. I tried doing the normal straight-forward thing, and he got me in the ribs. Hard. I was barely able to launch a desert wind at him."
 
A bit of shifting in his seat, and the clinking of ice moving around, picks up on the recording. "Turns out Officer Levon has a couple buttons you don't wanna push. Next thing I know he was screaming, and he knocked my practice sabre out of my hand and nearly took the hand with it. And the worst part is that would be a loss, but I got sucked into it too and started treating it like an alleyway brawl back at Parliament City. I barely got control back before I stabbed him. And then a couple seconds later *HE* starts apologizing for what he did, after I pulled a couple of my normal tricks and still lost!"
 
"I mean, he won it fair and square, but next time we need to tighten up the rules. It's real clear I need to work on more than using distractions and emotions against someone I'm fighting. If it's a fight, I need to be ready to do a full-on fight, especially if getting them mad and unfocused just means I have less room to work. And if it's killing someone, don't worry about to duel, just do the deed. ...not that I expect the Captain to put me into wetwork along with sailing. -aw, crap, I shouldn't have said that. How do I delete what I was sayin - SH-"
 
A bit of clattering, and the recording suddenly cuts off.