Round II

I finally for down to the Bhakail practice in Philly, it was as fun as I remember!

It's another great group of people with a lot of talent, I had some good fights and did a lot of dagger work and a few hard lessons on the value of retreat and regroup.

It was good to be back there.

Good Practice

We have a really good practice at Glen Gardner; a broad range of skill sets to keep everything competitive, capable teachers and a welcoming atmosphere to get new people started.

With all of this, when visitors from other practices join us, its always a high energy night!

I got some good lessons in distancing and disengages as well as creating a better flow with my techniques.

Stepping Up

When I first started, I was pushing two practices a week, then, as always, like got crazy, and I was only able to make it to one.

In all honesty, I got a little comfortable with it and Ive been working with one practice for a while now. 

It's time to step my game up.

This passed week, that changed and I got to a second practice. It was small, maybe five of us, but it was a great chance to really analyze and break down what worked for us and what we needed to improve.

It was a good night, with some really good fights.

I'm planning on  continuing with, at least, two practices weekly from now on.

Did You Fence Today?

I saw a flow chart for musicians in one of the schools I was substituting in a little while back; it was fun, but also pretty direct.

I figured I that I (and other fencers) could use something like that.  It was fun to make, too!

Steel Therapy

"Steel Therapy" is a term that many fencers I know have come to use.

It could be a rough day at work, all sorts of stress crushing in and it's amazing what a couple of hours at fencing practice can do to ease things.

This was definitely needed on Tuesday; some sibling stuff blew up and left me upset and a bit scrambled. After talking to my wife she said "you are going to fencing practice, yes?".

Yes.

Suiting up, rapier in hand and the therapy began.  There's just something about losing yourself in a match; nothing else exists except for your weapon, your opponent and their weapon.

By the end of the evening, I'm soaked with sweat, lessons learned, some laughs had, and much more centered.

Gotta love Steel Therapy.

Growing as a Fencer

Like any martial art, learning the sword is more about the journey than the destination.  It sounds cliché, but is there really any Master out there who can honestly claim that they have learned everything there is to know about their craft?

Each time there is a breakthrough, there's a whole new set of challenges to meet; new angles of attack, manipulation of distance, methods of attack and defense, better conditioning, and so on. 

It's a quest for the perfect technique, as we celebrate brief moments of the pieces lining up, while the sword seems to hold all the secrets: "Just get the timing and angle right, human, you'll be amazed at what I can do!"   Sometimes it's an encouragement, sometimes it's a bit mocking, but it works all the same.

A Fencer's Mardi Gras

I must say, the cloak is a tiring parry weapon, but damn fun!

I'm getting more comfortable with it, but I have to work on smaller movements and keep an angled guard.

It can encompass some pretty intricate strategies as well as simple voids and wards.

Master Orlando brought a bag of Mardi Gras bling for fighting incentives: beads for anyone who can beat him three out of five fights and chocolate coins for those whose fighting showed style as well as skill.

He is an amazing fencer, so the challenge was very real; so much so that only one of us, Malcolm, won the challenge.

For myself, I was only able to score one win off of Orlando (single rapier), but he observed that my guards and defense had improved and earned a coin.

Good times!