Lesson One - The Weapon
Lucan stood at the head of the class, before three practice dummies. As the indoor classroom began to fill up, he nodded at the number of students. They will suffice, he thought as he scanned their faces - filing away their names if he knew them, placing them in folders associated to Ajah or Ajah Aspiration.

The Trainees from the Yards outnumbered the channelers this day, just like the days he had taught this Class before he left the Tower - many years ago.

When the flow of students cut off, he quickly counted them and nodded subtly anew. "Welcome. I am Lucan din Nicander Riven Sail Asha'man. This is a class in which you will learn the basics of how to throw a dagger."

One young trainee in the back was stricken with an odd expression, and hurriedly left the room. Lucan smiled faintly and subtracted one from the number in his head. "Those of you who are in the right place need to learn a few things before we start practising this skill."

Slowly pacing before the Class, Lucan told them the theory behind the skill that he had learned - explaining exactly what lay before them.

"Dagger throwing involves a few basic principles of mechanics. Your objective will always be for the point to stick into the target with a sufficient amount of force. For this to be successful, the factors of accuracy, distance, number of rotations in the path to the target and placement of the body must all be taken into account.

"You see, the dagger rotates during flight. This means that you, assuming you eventually learn throwing the same way every time, must either choose a specific distance for each type of throw, or make minute adjustments to the placement of the knife in your hand. Additionally, the angle of release and torque of the wrist comes into play. For example, holding the knife farther away from the centre of gravity will cause it to spin faster, whereas holding it closer will have the opposite effect."

"These variations in throw technique can be combined to allow the thrower to stick the knife into a target anywhere up to sixty or seventy feet away. Throwers may additionally make use of these adjustments while throwing from off-center, around corners and while running. Of course, your style, force and knife will undoubtedly result in different distances, but the method of determining these distances should work for anybody."

He rounded on them, making sure they were paying attention with the search of his pale grey eyes. "In the beginning, you will try to always make the same movements with your arm and body, with always the same force. Having mastered those constant movements for the throw, you can eventually find the distance from the target where the knives stick if you throw them with these movements."

Lucan stepped back and pulled a variety of daggers out of the back of one of the dummies. He held up the first one. "This is a dagger made specifically for throwing. For those of you with a study in other bladed weapons, as well as most of the rest of you, notice that it has no crosspiece. It is just a blade and a handle." He balanced it on one finger. "Also note that the centre of balance is roughly in the centre. This allows for a good twirl through the air."

Next he held up a slightly larger dagger. "This is a more versatile dagger. It does have a small crosspiece, and thus can be used in close combat, but that advantage causes it to be more difficult to throw as accurately as the first one." He balanced this one as well. "This is balanced closer to the handle, making the throw more difficult, but the knife fighting a bit easier."

Finally he held up the third one. "This... this is a perfectly ordinary knife that I was allowed to borrow from the Tower Kitchens. You shouldn't throw this kind. It won't work. Basically, I brought this to demonstrate that just because it's a knife doesn't mean you can throw it and expect the results you want."

Smiling faintly, he continued. "For this class, each of you needs to choose one of the types of daggers. Think of the advantages and disadvantages of each and take that into account when you make your choice. Remember though, that this will be a lot easier if you focus on one type for now, until you are good with it. Then you might learn to throw the other knives.

"Over on the table there, you will find some knives. They are the real thing, and even though I may be a Healer, I will have little tolerance for you cutting yourself carelessly. Find one you like and then return to your places. Feel free to approach me with any questions you might have." 

Lesson Two - Warm Up
"Well then," Lucan said, after everyone had chosen a weapon. "Now, set the dagger down on the floor in front of you. We're not ready to use it yet. First, just like in any other physical class, you need to stretch and get the blood flowing into your muscles. Roll your wrists, work your fingers, and prevent them from getting hurt by the strain you will submit them to."

He demonstrated by first moving his tattooed hands in circles while keeping his arms perfectly still, rolling his wrists. Then he started systematically extending and retracting his fingers, one by one then all together.

"This is key; Put your hands out in front of you - both palms facing toward you. Put your right hand behind your left and wrap your right hand around the mound where your left thumb is connected to the hand." Lucan demonstrated, explaining off-handedly since the anatomy of the human body was a known subject to him. The Yellow Ajah had taught it to him in explicit detail. He held his hands up so they could see.

"Now pull down, twisting your wrist." He waited for them to limber that wrist a little before instructing them to move on to the next one. "When you're all stretched, we'll begin throwing. From now on, I want you to do these stretches every morning when you wake up, as well as before every class, or any other time you practice throwing. It would be a shame if one of you were to sprain something. I - or some other Yellow - will not always be around in time to save your life.

"For your enemy won't wait for you. He will kill you where you stand if your wrist fail at an awkward moment."    

Lesson Three - Technique
After everyone was stretched, Lucan spoke up. While he did so, he walked to the table and picked up one of the daggers.

"The easiest way to grip your dagger is the hammer grip, where you hold the knife as you would hold a hammer. You may place your thumb on the spine, the narrow side, of the knife, since some people find they can aim better this way. Your wrist has to be absolutely stiff when throwing, otherwise you will get uncontrollable rotations.

"The hammer grip is primary used with heavier knives, such as can be used for knife fighting too. Like this one," he said and held it up for the Class to see.

"Next is the blade grip," he said and changed the way he held the blade, "Its more commonly referred to as the pinch grip and is used to throw light knives fast, suddenly and with force, which cause stress to your arm and chest when throwing. Lightweight throwing daggers float or wobble in the flight if thrown too slowly.

"The dagger has to be gripped between thumb and index finger, in a manner that it is a straight extension of your arm. You can hold it with the two thirds of your index finger and the thumb, or only with the fingertips. If you grip a heavier knife or want to throw further, you can additionally use your middle finger.

Lucan separated them into three lines, one in front of each dummy. It was done like he ordered around his crew on a Sea Folk ship - short and clear commands. The difference from now and then was that his voice did not have to compete with the winds of the Aryth Ocean. The commands were hushed yet carrying.

"I think we're ready to begin. Those of you in the front of each line should be standing on a line I've drawn on the floor. This line is seven feet from the dummy in front of you. At seven feet, a dagger will turn half way around. Since it leaves your hand with the hilt toward your opponent, at half a turn, the tip of the blade should hit the opponent. Distance is very important. The dagger spends little of it's time blade forward."

He unbuttoned the coat of his black uniform and reached behind his back. The white shirt he wore underneath the uniform shone in stark contrast to his tanned skin. He pulled out a smooth metal dagger from a hidden sheath, the steel ending in light ivory hilt. It was slender yet long, well balanced with a heavy blade. It had no crosspiece.

Settling himself at seven feet from one of the dummies, he held up his hand, ready to throw. Holding the blade tightly at its tip between his thumb and the middle knuckle of his pointer finger, he looked around. "Those of you who can't see, break formation a while and find a place where you can. This is how you'll want to hold the dagger."

When everyone had found a place they could observe him and taken note of how to hold the practice blades in their hands, he continued. He held the blade near his ear and very slowly went through the motions of the throw, bringing his arm forward and flicking his hand, mostly at the same time. He demonstrated slowly a few more times then asked if anyone had gotten it.

After explaining for everyone who hadn't, a small smile slipped into his predatory yet handsome features. "This is something close to what it should look like." With that, he went through the same motion, only faster, and this time he let go. The dagger stuck into the dummy.

Lucan simply walked over and plucked it out, sheathed it, and turned back to the class without buttoning his coat. "Now you try. Those of you not throwing at the moment, watch the person in your line that is, so as to notice which part of their dagger strikes the dummy and where. Each of you should throw twenty times."

Much later, when everyone was finished, Lucan dismissed the class. "Same place, same time, on the morrow. Remember to do your stretches tomorrow morning."   

Lesson Four - Distance
 After everyone had finished their pre-class stretches, Lucan addressed them - hands folded behind his back.

"Welcome. I'm pleased to see you've all returned. Did you all remember to do the stretches this morning?"

Not waiting for an answer, he motioned to the dummies. He had to assume they were not stupid. They would regret their negligence later, should their wrists be sore and cramp during their exercises. "The lines on the floor from yesterday are gone. They've been moved back to twelve feet. At twelve feet, a dagger will make one-and-a-half turns. Once again, this will bring the point forward. Reform the lines you were in yesterday, and throw twenty more times at twelve feet."

Before they began, he had one more thing to say. "This is going to take more force. You'll have to put more power behind the throw to make it go those extra feet. Remember that, and if you're using one of the daggers that have a crosspiece, you'll have to use slightly more force because of air resistance and lack of blade-weight.

"Also, do not aim at the whole target, but a one specific point. Pick the area you aim at, as in the throat or the chest or the like. Most likely, you will notice that your knives do not stick in the target point, but in a specific direction beside it. Once you ascertain the flaw in your accuracy, it is easy. Just move the point you are aiming at in your mind.

"Like yesterday, I'll be wandering around with a word or two for each of you. If you have any questions, feel free to ask."

When everyone had finished throwing twenty daggers at twelve feet, Lucan once again gathered everyone's attention. "Now we come upon the difficult part. Since the lines at seven feet are gone, I want each of you to try and judge seven feet as best you can and throw another twenty each. This is basically just a test of your ability to judge distances.

"Remember; when training the throwing movements, take care that the arm is stretched out completely - but not without muscle control - and the knife points exactly to the target when you release it. The wrist should remain stiff during the full movement. Now, go ahead."   

Final
The class stood in a group in the middle of the Training Yard. Beside Lucan stood a rack of daggers and another practice dummy stood not far away.

"It's time for your test," Lucan began, standing in front of his students. "Everyone form a single line. While you're waiting for your turn, find a weapon that suits what you've been practising with and hold on to it.

"When it is your turn, your task is two-fold. First, you must judge out either seven or twelve feet. Second, you must sink the blade into the dummy. When you've done this, make sure I've marked you, then retrieve your dagger, and stand aside so that the rest of the Class can finish.

"Each of you has three tries. Begin."