Anyone reading this now knows that, nationwide, we are quarantined and most of us are homebound.
It's a crazy time and it's leaving a lot of us to figure out our jobs remotely, while Essential Personnell must go into work.
In the midst of this, all of our practices are shut down for the foreseeable future.
Does that mean our swords get packed away?
Hell no!
We solo drill and, in some cases, teach classes remotely. We share drills and ideas on Social Media and make sure we check in with each other.
Tonight, I covered a few different things, mostly to get fluid. When my school district shut down, we teachers have been in a "make it up as we go" mode. Things are still coming together, but I was finally able to get some practice time in.
Stance training first.
Static traini is great conditioning. Assume your guard position. Make sure that your body is in proper alignment. Feet are in proper position, your sword in correctly angled for protection, finally, your off hand is in place.
Now hold it. 30 seconds, 46 seconds, 60 seconds.
Switch sides and repeat. Build on this. Can you hold position for three minutes? Five minutes?
Physically, this conditions your muscles, tendons and ligaments. It is putting proper stance and guard into muscle memory. You learn to relax into your stance, instead of being tense , so it is strong, but natural.
Psychologically, you learn to deal with and overcome discomfort and a certain amount of pain. This is where you begin to learn the attrition game. There is strength and advantage in stillness.
Next was footwork.
I'm in a small area but it's ok. Begin slow and deliberate. Advance and retreat. Advance and retreat.
Nothing fancy, but make sure it's right.
Make it quicker, mix up directions.
Add crossing then gathering steps.
Make sure your guard and off hand are on point!
Add thrusts, then lunges.
Finally, I drew a circle into the carpet. It's small, barely three feet across.
A while back, I wrote about the Italian Circle; a boundary that encloses eight directions.
There is only enough room for a thrust or a shallow lunge. The drill is to move into these eight directions without leaving the circle. Attack and move, in guard, to the next quadrant.
It felt good. Next practice will be a bit more structured. Perhaps disengages are on the menu.
Stay healthy and smart. Look out for each other and keep practicing.
