COVID-19 Solo

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.

Aaand We're Back!

I took a break from posting. It happens, I'm not apologetic about it; things get busy, something has to give.

Our practice lost it's site at the end of December, and we've been working out of a high school in that general area.  Because it's a public school, it was unavailable to us for the month of January.

It was inconvinient, but it made many of us seek out other practices and some decided to get a small practice more lovely.

It worked, I got to teach a bit, and prep for the Birka fencing tournament.  The Market Place at Birka is a major SCA event that has  three hour bear pit style tournament.  The lists are 10' x 10' and a real ready for close quartered fencing.

For practice, I marked out 9' x 9' lists so when we were in the full sized lists, we would have more maneuverability.

My martial arts training always had a contingent for fighting in tight spaces.  Basically, if your style requires a lot of space to be effective, it isn't.  I approached this with the same mentality. Regardless of the length of the rapier, the fact is, historically, fights took place in alleyways as much as open fields and common areas.

Strategies included offline fighting, employing more of a cutting game and my dagger saw more use. There were some really good matches, some had a stronger strategy than me, but all of it had good take aways.

This past weekend was a two day seminar called AEdult Swim. Fencers from all over the country show up for classes and sparring and having fun after hours.

Range and line closing were high on the list of things to pay attention to.  I received some good compliments and great advice.  I also made note that when fatigue set in, old flaws re emerged such as floating elbows and dropping guards. Remaining vigilant was it's own contest at times, I was even able to self correct at times.

More to come..

Working it Through

Tuesday night saw some good fights.  Last week lessons (See "What Long Quillions You Have!") definitely took root.  While not perfected, blade gaining and re direction was happening a lot more.

Most of my bouts were single rapier.  It's good to keep this form fresh and growing, it's easy to get wrapped up in companion weapons but it can take away from the singles skills.

Footwork felt better measured and attacks more decisive.

For companion weapons, I chose the cloak and buckler for the night.

Cloak is not like anything else, in my opinion.  Mine is full length and made of wool, it has some weight.  Cloak fighting requires a balance of controlling the cloak and working with its movement.  Finding this balance allows the fencer to go from linear to circular movements smoothly, if not, it's easy to have it turned against you.

Buckler is fun. It is a brawling weapon on the surface, but by employing angles for deflection and the edge for misdirection, it is also a complex companion.  Also, it's less wear and tear on the fencer.

In a previous post, I talked about how practice was theraputic; I suppose the universe decided to test me.  My cousin passed away the Saturday of Thanksgiving weekend.  

Being a teacher, I can't afford to have anything from my personal life effect how I interact with my students; it isn't their job to look after us, so it all has to be packed away until I get home.

Tuesday did its job.  I had no control over losing my cousin, I have no control over the pain of his wife and children, or anyone else's, but I could exercise control over my action in the List. I could focus and immerse myself in my fights.  Engage my opponient's and hug as friends and compatriots after.  It gave me a break.

Many Thanks

Today, I give thanks to the First Bladesmith, the First Master and the First Student.
I give thanks to generations Martial Artist for their sacrifices so we may learn.
I give thanks to my brothers and sisters of the sword for sharing your skills and knowledge and your comeraderie.

Happy Thanksgiving!

What Long Quillions You Have!

At practice on Tuesday, my teacher and I worked on blade alignment and controlling the opponent's weapon.  "You have these long quillions, let's put them to work!".

Swordplay relies on subtle techniques to make the more familiar cuts and thrusts more successful. In the movies, most choreographies show a lot of swinging and blade to blade action, but a small turn of the blade can take an attacking blade out of line, allowing for a successful strike.

The drill we worked on was turning the rapier and using the quillions (cross guard) to grab the opponent's blade and countering with a thrust.  These turns are small, a quarter to half an inch as the wrist rises and the blade is grabbed and opponent on point.  When combining the snare with a rising wrist, it keeps the incoming blade away from your arm or vitals.

It was an effective drill and taught many lessons that were applied in the bouts that occurred after that.

Musings

 

 Myself fencing at the 100 Minutes War, mask art by me.

It's been six months or so since my last post. Life hasn't let up, yet. There's been good and bad, it's kept me running, regardless.

This passed Pennsic, I fell in with a great fencing unit called StormGuard.  My Master is also a member and once home I accepted their invitation, as well.

Good times!

Time constraints with work and school kept me from practice for over a month and it definitely took its toll, footwork needed to be tighter, attacks and defenses smoother.  Fortunately, it comes back quicker these days.

Being back in practice feels wonderful.  I can be stressed or exhausted, but once I'm suited up, giving a nod for a challenge and picking up my blades and I'm feeling good and ready to go.

At the 100 Minutes War, I was surprised being inducted into the Order of the Silver Rapier. It's an award of martial prowess in the List and in the melee field.  It was completely unexpected, but I was deeply honored and grateful to be recognized in such a way.

The Order of the Silver Rapier award scroll by Master Orlando Sforza (George Lavigne)

Round 'n' Round!

"This is the segno, where you'll make your students walk, stepping forward as well as back, with weapons in hand, round about, putting their feet in the edges that cross the segno tondi."
~ Achilles Morozzo

The circle has been a part of martial traditions across the world.  Morozzo knew it was important enough to illustrate an eight pointed star or compass to express its importance.

The circle is actually a frame for four intersecting lines creating eight directions; this gives the fencer complete mobility with the ability to expand in attack and contract in defense from any angle and direction.

My left arm is still, mostly, out of commission. Without being able to effectively cover myself, I am working even harder to keep a narrow target while making my movements smoother.

I'd love to say this has been easy, but the small bruise coming up from a spot that got tagged a few times. :). It hasn't been a total disaster; it's been frustrating and a lot of fun, too.  This is all part of the learning and there is never a good reason  to avoid footwork. .