A Fencer's Thanks

A Fencer's Thanks

 (Original photograph by Thomas V. Berger. CC Photoshop and Illustrator)

30 Minutes for 30 Days, the Return: Day 1

 30 Minutes for 30 Days, the Return

Since COVID-19 hit, I've been teaching from home. Like pretty much every teacher, hell, every person working from home, the stress can get to be over the top and I pretty much got swallowed up.
My sword has not been out or in my hand for months, it's not a good feeling.

Time to do something about it.

Back in 2017, I took up the 30 Minutes for 30 Days Challenge. It was a good experience and I got to really put a lot of my techniques under a microscope and made some real improvements.

So, today I begin again.

I've chosen to study the Bolognese School and tonight was all about the guards (guardie). Depending on which Master you look to will dictate the number of guards for their own system.  Dall'Agocchie taught eight guards (four high, four low), Manciolino taught ten and referenced a number of others. Marozzo, himself, taught about a seventeen.

Tonight I used a drill taught by Ilkka Hartikainen (https://marozzo.com/). It's a beautiful flow drill from one guard to the next.  Going from one guard to another, it is easy to see where cut and thrusts would fill in those spaces; how an offense becomes a defense that becomes a counter attack.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aijGSXbA2nw

The stances are more forward, similar to the bow stance in my Gung Fu system, as opposed to the more leaned back posture of other Italian systems

It was good to have my sword drawn and moving again. The day was able to quiet down, and the 30 minutes went pretty quick.

I will be closing 2020 out with the thirtieth and final day of this challenge. Somehow, that is very fitting.

One down, twenty nine to go!

Quarantine Solo

"Silent Goddess
Won't you
Conduct my fears away"
- Silent Goddess, Kamelot

https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=eFc0lRPtfdA

Tonight's practice is brought to you by Kamelot's "The Fourth Legacy".

I like training in the quiet and sometimes I enjoy working with music. This was one of those times.

Footwork and stance conditioning to start, shifting lead right to lead left. Crossing steps, then gathering steps.
Slow, at first.
Break it down:
1- Step with the lead foot
2- bring up the rear foot
 Repeat
1- retreat back with the rear foot
2- follow with the lead.

Don't let the body bounce or rise and fall, control the breath.

And so on.

Tonight I worked rapier and dagger against the ball and target.

After point control against the ball, it was time to go after the target. Putting the ball in motion, I attacked the target while using the dagger to block or redirect the swinging ball.

Keeping covered while attacking isn't always easy. If the off hand/weapon is out of place, it could lead to a double kill or, if the attack misses, then you get hit.
An unpredictable swinging ball made for a good drill!

Online training has helped. Some are live, some posted recordings.  Some are better than others, but they all help.
Checking in with my friends to see how they aare doug and if they're training is definitely spirit lifting.

Some friends have had to get tested and are waiting results, another friend is home, but still on oxygen; our township went from three positive cases and zero fatalities to 280 positive cases and eight fatalities in less than four weeks.

I know we will get through this, but the raid is long and rocky.

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!