The thirst is real [Cedric]

[Cedric Kenelm]

Jude's attempt to get upright failed as Cedric tightened his lock on Jude's leg. Now that the two boys were both on the ground, things were getting tense for Jude. Lacking knowledge of any better option, Jude would sit up and push his right leg forward as much as possible, keeping his knee towards the ceiling and trying to relieve tension by pushing his toes upwards. He had enough knowledge about how the human body worked to know that resisting Cedric's lock would mean a lot of pain. After scooting close enough to Cedric, Jude would attempt to push down with his right hand on Cedric's left ankle to loosen the lock and sit on the leg. Ideally, Jude would then slip out of the lock.

[Cedric Kenelm]

Something felt strange...was Cedric letting go? Jude was taken aback as Cedric abandoned the hold and stood up. Jude got to his feet as well, shaking out the right leg that had been under pressure. He looked at Cedric and said, "Thanks for the free pass, but don't let me off so easily next time. I might not get so lucky with someone else. So let's say you took that point. Let's go one more." Jude was impressed with Cedric's ground technique and raw strength, and felt fortunate to be able to spar against him. Jude would then take up his original stance. He had to be careful of the takedown this time.

[Cedric Kenelm]

Jude's eyes were beginning to adjust to Cedric's speed, so he had more time to respond to this move than to the last one. Jude reasoned that he wouldn't be able to catch the kick normally without taking a big bruise to his ribs. So, Jude would step toward Cedric to get inside, where the kick would have less force. While moving, Jude would then receive the kicking leg under his right arm and push into Cedric's lower groin with an open, sideways left hand to try and disrupt Cedric's balance.

[Cedric Kenelm This one probably the last one for me tonight, so no need to rush with the reply.]

Jude let Cedric's left foot drop to the ground, as he wasn't strong enough to keep Cedric's left leg under control without focusing on it. Jude's earlier push into the groin now connected, and it would most likely cause Cedric to lean/take a few steps, but not fall, backwards. Jude would then follow and move further in towards Cedric. During this advance, Jude would attempt an upwards open handed strike with his right hand to Cedric's neck. This strike would serve the dual purpose of skimming along the inside of Cedric's approaching left arm, leaving options open in case Cedric was trying a hook attack or other outside maneuver. While striking with his right hand, Jude would raise his left arm to prepare to block a blow/intercept a block from Cedric's right arm.

[Cedric Kenelm]

Jude was pleased that his attack had made contact. If it hadn't been his direct, inside strike against Cedric's outside one, Jude probably wouldn't have gotten to the target in time. Cedric did seem noticeably more serious now that Jude had landed a hit. Jude was determined to match that resolve, and readied himself for the next clash.

Cedric seemed to be going for a right straight punch, based on his elbow movement. Jude would have liked to step outside and perform an interception over the punch, but the speed of Cedric's attack was too high for that to work. So, Jude would raise his bent left arm to block the right punch, and then push the arm down. The blocked hit would still sting--Jude was not a fan of taking any sort of hit. Jude would then swing his right elbow inwards, with his hand near his chest, to knock Cedric's left punch to the inside. Jude would then attempt to use his left hand to grab Cedric's left wrist, step forward with his right foot to be on the outside of Cedric's left arm, and skim that arm with a right hand side chop to the neck. Regardless of the success of the wrist grab/counter strike, Jude's foot movement would keep him safe from Cedric's right leg, which appeared to be moving forward for a strike of some sort.

[Cedric Kenelm]

The height difference and Cedric's raised shoulder rendered Jude's attack ineffective. Jude also knew that he wouldn't be able to break out of Cedric's stronger grip just by pulling back. With no other choice left, Jude let go of Cedric's forearm and followed the pull in towards Cedric's body. Jude would snake his left hand to the outside of Cedric's left (grabbing) arm, and then place his right hand on Cedric's upper arm. With this hand placement, Jude would try to leverage the pull momentum and push Cedric's left arm inwards and against Cedric's torso. If successful, this would restrict Cedric from pulling the arm completely behind him, making the incoming leg attack less powerful.

During the push, Jude would also raise his left knee up and wedge it in between their two bodies to at least block with his shin or smother the kick/knee that was coming. Jude would be pushing forward with the simultaneous hand and leg moves in an attempt to push Cedric over while he only had one leg to stand on, and was already drawing Jude towards him.

[Cedric Kenelm]

Jude's sneaky left hand maneuver failed as Cedric forced the palm upwards. And because Jude was unable to pin Cedric's arm to his body, Cedric's balance remained undisturbed. Cedric's front kick would come into contact with Jude's shin, pushing the two boys away from each other if Cedric chose to let go of Jude's arm.

If Cedric maintained his grip, Jude would grab onto Cedric's arm to stabilize his joints and then pull towards Cedric. While pulling, Jude would step forward and place his left foot behind Cedric's left foot. The purpose of this would be to prepare for a trip, or secondarily, a hand strike to Cedric's left oblique abdominal area.