Ow

I ache.

A lot.

I woke up at half past five this morning, and thanks to some rather hot chilli last night, my legs weren't the only things on fire. The professor was really pushing us yesterday, with lots of tough voiding techniques which are intended to make sure that when somebody tries to hit you you put yourself where their sword isn't. This involved rather a lot of twisting and stretching, and some mind melting geometry to position your sword so you have the shortest straight line from your shoulder to your target.

I had been feeling quite confident after the end of the last session, but I am starting to realise again how much there is that I don't know, and even if I did know it I would find it physically impossible to do just yet. Still, I've now got the manual to study, and if I can demonstrate a theoretical grasp of the techniques and treatises that should give me a reasonable shot at attaining the rank of scholar and earning my first sash.