He could have easily fought against her attack, done his own counter, but that wasn't the point of the exercise. Pushed back, he let her get the hit on him. A couple of steps backward to regain his lost balance, he brought his arms up as if to ready for another attack.

"Good work!" he said again. He could see a weariness in her movements, so he straightened and shoved his hands in his pockets. That was probably enough for a first lesson. "Tired? We don't have to keep going. We can always meet up outside of this to train more."

In fact, despite his anxiety about fighting, he kind of liked the idea. Mostly as an excuse to spend more time with her.