[b]Simon, Scovian[/b]

KRACK!
Simon trotted over to the freshman who had made the hit, shifting his grip with a smile.
"Hold it here, flex the arm here, so your shoulder is supporting the weight, not your wrist. Don't brace your arm for the hit, brace your stomach, remember that you're going to be getting hit at the same time."
The younger centaur nodded, sweating heavily.
"It's really heavy!"
"Solid ten pounds, all stretched out in front of you. You get used to it, you're gonna get muscles you never knew existed. Next up!"
Scovian, the lion hybrid, pulled his helmet on, ratcheting it into place as he rolled his shoulders. Simon watched carefully, eyes flitting between the lance tip and the training dummy. A short ways away, the older members were drilling, slamming into each other at top speed. Simon had been delegated the duty of training the new recruits on the basics. Since he trained at night, walking them through the basics wouldn't set him back any. Scovian braced himself, then took a run. The lanced slammed into the training dummy, Simon watching carefully. The centaur walked over to the dummy, feeling the heavy shield where Scovian had hit.
"Scovian, come here for a sec."
With a snort, the lion padded over, pulling the helmet off.
"What?"
"You missed."
Blinking in confusion, Scovian examined the shield.
"What are you talking about, it's right there!"
"Yup. Out of the legal target area. Everyone, come over here, this brings up a good point. You see where Scovian hit?"
Simon gestured to the huge dent. The circular shield was specially designed to angle all hits to one side, and there was a large red circle at the center. Scovian's hit had landed outside the circle. Simon smiled, rapping the shield with one hand.
"Anyone wondering why we have red paint on both the shields and the sides of the chest piece that faces the opponent?"
Silence, before a female centaur spoke up.
"Um...to...make a target?"
"Exactly. The armor and shields are specially designed to deflect blows, and it's really hard to see with the helmet on. So we paint it red, easy to see, and that's what you aim for. Scovian hit outside the legal zone, the point wouldn't have counted."
"I couldn't see, it's not MY fault!"
Ohhh, that left a sour taste in Simon's mouth, but he smiled at the lion.
"I didn't say it was, this is why we practice. But I want to point out WHY it's bad to hit outside the target area."
Scovian gave a low growl, folding his arms angrily as he listened. Simon grabbed the shield on one side, specifically where the hit had landed, and began to pull back, twisting the dummy's arm.
"It puts torque on our arms. The shield is bolted to the chest piece, but trust me when I say I've seen the bolts break under the hits we take. Too much stress..."
KRA-KRACKLE!
The dummy's wooden arm ripped out of the socket at the shoulder. The freshman stared as the realization set in.
"And your shoulder is popped out of it's socket, or the arm is broken. We haven't had anything serious since..."
[i]Breaking bones, wood splintering, the crowd yelling out, blood, so much pain...[/i]
"...since last year, but that was an accident. More often, we just leave with big ole bruises and sore shoulders."
Simon pushed the smile back up, moving to set up another dummy, shoving the memory down deep.
"Whose next?"