Ruby was in fact pushed back, but she was also trained in seven different martial arts. She didn't get to where she was without toughening up. The shock caused her arms to vibrate, and she was pushed back even more, feet skidding through the dirt. When the Bo was thrown at her knees, she quickly sheathed her knife, and, as the rod was about four inches from her knees, kicked it up with her right foot, and caught it in both hands. The savage had the brutal-looking ax in his hand, and he was reaching for something behind his head, a mask. The smoke was already beginning to dissipate, so Ruby grabbed two smokebombs, and threw one at the man's face. It wasn't fast enough to prevent him from putting on the armor, but if it hit, it would cover his head with smoke. Regardless of whether it hit or not, Ruby would throw a smokebomb on the ground between them, and  fall back silently into the halls of the dojo. The man had too wide of a swing. Fighting him in the open was a disadvantage. In the dojo, while the rotting walls were merely paper, the beams of the broken building would hamper wide swings.