Falis shook her head when she say Meche's stance. "Remember, everything starts from the core stance," she told the woman, adopting the position herself.

"It's from here you have the most flexibility. You can move your spear in any direction, be it rotating the back up like I had done to block," she said with a demonstration, "or you angle the shaft, covering your body as much as you can, to alter the incoming strike just enough to it misses you." This she showed by taking her spear, moving it a bit to the side and down, as if guiding an incoming attack to her left and thus missing her body.

Back to the ready position. "Got it?"