Walking in the lower gravity goes faster even for people without my extra muscles. Think of the timing of musical notes. If I walk along at a pace where every step is a half note, two beats to a second, perhaps each step is two and a half feet and I move at about five feet per second. That’s about three and a half miles an hour.
Now, the gravity of Barsoom is about one sixth that of earth. Stepping in the same way, it would take about six times as long for your feet to hit the ground with each step. That’s if both of your feet left the ground at the same time, but that isn’t how people walk. Running, yes, but not walking. However, even walking, the girls took longer strides than you would on Earth. I would estimate that a fair walking rate on Barsoom might have been five and a half miles per hour instead of the three or four that we do on Earth.
But when jogging or running, the stride was much longer. Perhaps six feet at a stride. At four beats per second, the girls traveled about 24 feet per second, or 16 miles per hour. When running fast, it was possible to do twice that speed, and since the impact on the bones was much lower, the pace could be kept up for much longer. With my extra muscles, I could do about half as much again and maybe hit 45 miles an hour.
There was a difference in bone density between me and other inhabitants of Barsoom though. The greater gravity of Earth had forced my bones to be more dense. Though I could not break stones easily or grab a tree and rip it out of the ground, my strength did make so that my strikes did crush bones more easily. Especially when concentrated by my fist or a sword.
So, we walked. And then we jogged. And then we walked. Mostly we walked at a leisurely pace, just enjoying the journey. Sometime after noon, Aeyli announced that we were headed straight at Nobrus. We stopped for a bit of fruit and afterward we had our first session of bokken training.
We started with a fighting stance and then a proper grip. I showed the correct strike motions and then demonstrated the five main targets: head or neck, chest or shoulder or elbows or ribs, arms and wrist, leg or knee, and finally thrusting to the face or chest or stomach.
The girls were all fast learners and Aeyli was already practiced at all of these techniques.
Alexia was especially focused on the training and practiced harder than anyone, including Aeyli. Sashar surprised me by practicing nearly as hard as Alexia.
Belle asked, “How far is it to Nobrus?”
Aeyli continued to practice her basic moves and answered, “Well, if we walk, about three days. If we run comfortably, maybe a long day or a day and a half. Are you in a hurry?”
Belle thrust with her bokken and said, “No. A few nights on the moss will be nice, but if we are traveling, we have less time to practice. I don’t mind the journey, but it will also be nice to be in a place where we have a base and no plans.”
Aeyli said, “Yeah. I enjoy the practice. I would like it if we practice for an hour and then walk for an hour and then practice and then walk,” and she swung her blade in a strong strike to the skull of her imaginary opponent.
I said, “It’s best if we train for about 30 to 40 minutes and then walk for an hour. The body wants time to assimilate what it has learned. You will find that the next time we practice that you have improved even though we haven’t done anything.”
After a bit, we started off again. I had the girls keep their bokken in their hand, carrying it lightly with the left hand where the blade balanced naturally. The more they became comfortable with the weight and balance, the more comfortable they would be with it overall.
An hour later, we stopped again. We reviewed the basics that they had learned and then I introduced the first ‘Kata’; a set of patterns meant to simulate a short battle sequence with an imaginary opponent. I watched the progress and made corrections where indicated and lavished praise when I could.
Alexia practiced fiercely. I stepped about 20 feet away and sat on the moss and called her to come sit beside me. She stopped and came and stood in front of me, but I asked her to sit down.
I said, “Do you trust me to teach you?” as I watched the other girls work through their movements.
Alexia leaned forward watching every move that the other girls made intently and said, “Yes.”
I said, “Really? Will you do whatever I say related to the training?”
She said “Yes,” and continued to watch the others practice.
I said, “Then, lie down and put your head in my lap.”
Alexia looked at me and started to protest, but the look in my eyes and my smile seemed to quiet her. As she lay on her back and put her head on my thigh and looked up into my face, she still looked like she wanted to question me about what I was thinking.
I look down at her and said, “Princess, there are a lot of aspects to this training. The things that you are learning right now are just the very beginning. These moves are just a little bit of it. Tell me, when you cut a piece of wood, do you force it to do what you want? Do you force the wood to be what’s in your mind?”
She looked at me. She said, “How do you know about that? Some workers do just that. They grab the wood and cut it to be the way that they want it to look. It’s violent. When I do my work, I picture what I want to make and then I look for the wood that wants to be that thing. It’s one of the odd things about how I work. If you let the wood decide for itself, the thing that gets made is better. And easier.”
I said, “So, that’s how this training is. I will teach you things that I can’t teach the others. Maybe Aeyli will learn them, but I can see that the others won’t. They can learn to a certain point. They will be very proficient and fierce if they need to be. But if you let me, I’ll teach you the ‘odd’ ways that others won’t learn.”
She said, “Yes, of course I’ll let you teach me! I’ll do whatever you show me and I’ll practice harder than any of them!”
I said, “I know that you will work harder, but when I told you to lay in my lap you hesitated and seemed frustrated.”
She sighed, “You’re right. I did. It was my mistake. Oshen taught me what he could, but he doesn’t understand odd ways. Now I know that you do. I’ll let you teach me and I’ll quit teaching myself.”
I said, “Good. I know that you’ll like it. So much of the training is what you would call odd. The true swordsman is very odd. I won’t be able to explain what we’re doing at every step. Some steps have to be practiced before you can understand them.”
She said, “I’ll do it and you explain it when you’re ready, um, when you say that I’m ready.”
I said, “If I tell you not to train, will you trust me that even that is training?”
She said, “I will.”
I said, “Good. I’ll teach you everything I know. Are you ready?”
She said, “Yes!” and she started to sit up. I put my hand on her head and pushed her back down into my lap.
I said, “Your next lesson happens here. In my lap. I’m very serious about this.”
Alexia tried to relax in my lap and said, “OK. What do I do.”
I said, “You are going to practice while we make love.”
Her eyes went wide and she said, “OK? Um, OK. I… I’ll do what you tell me to.”
I said, “You enjoy making love with me, don’t you?”
She said, “Of course! Mark, I love you and being with you is more than wonderful. Last night was so good. If you want to make love, we’ll make love!”
I said, “No, I want you to practice. But I’ll show you how, while we make love. Trust me. This is important for you. Take a deep breath. Let it out slowly. Breathe slowly. Deep breathe in… and now out, slowly.”
As we breathed together, I placed my arm across her chest and cupped the bottom half of her left breast. As our breathing went on, I stroked her gently, running my hand over her chest and circling her breasts and fondling them. Her nipples began to harden, but her breathing stayed steady and relaxed.