Red Sonja teaching swordplay

Dusk. Those soldiers who had been selected by lot to accom-pany Prince Omeron on his return to Thesrad were preparing themselves for the trip—looking after their horses, adjusting their armor, cleaning their weapons at the last minute, and instructing friends who remained behind what to do for them should they not return. Sonja, off to one side, said no goodbyes and shared no messages. She had faced sorcery far more often than most warriors ever do, and had not died by it. She had no intention of forming her plans around the possibility of dying by it now. Instead, she was sharing some of the finer points of swordplay with one of Omeron's rogues. Blades out, they were standing in front of a small birch tree and using it for a target.
"Now some of the Kushites," Sonja was saying, "have only lately come to use the sword. Since they've had no real experience or long practice, they've devised their own ways of handling the weapon. It can take you by surprise, but many of their moves are very practical, and most northern swordsmen aren't aware of them. So you'll have that advantage. Watch, now. He's coming at me full-front but I sense he's going to sidestep. I must parry. Instead of your usual thrust and follow-through, do this..." Expertly, she lunged at the birch tree, sword out, and executed the move.
Omeron's man was startled, as much by the smooth skill of the woman as by the move itself. "I've never seen it done that way!"
"It gives you a hair's breadth of a moment to decide which way you want to come in with it," Sonja continued. "It's safer than the usual way, where you leave yourself a little open in order to complete your thrust. Try it."
He did so. "Like this?"
"Bring the elbow up a little more, that balances you better."
He tried a few more times, and bark shavings peeled from the birch.
"You've got it," Sonja said, smiling. "That's the way." Omeron, meanwhile, was standing with Sadhur and a few other of his chiefs, giving last-minute instructions in a low voice. Ilura was nowhere present in the camp, and this disgruntled Sadhur.
-Red Sonja: Against the Prince of Hell