Drink lots of water.

I seem to have let the Saturday sparring slide into the background.  There's a combination of reasons for this, and a few of them are practical.

These are due to the lovely English weather and the antiquated public transport system we have over here. A quick history lesson for those who are not familiar with this amazing city.  The London Underground was the first underground railway line in the world. The first excavations were over a century ago and, as such, there are limitations. The platforms and passageways are fairly small, sometimes going all sorts of bizarre ways. It's not a nice thing to navigate while carrying a big bag of swords.  Adding to this, they've just turned King's Cross into an international station and so you have to deal with a lot of eejits who can't follow basic courtesy like "don't stand in doorways". They've also got bags about the same size as mine. It can be quite a stressful journey at the best of times.

Anyway, back to the heat issue. If you ever come to this fair city and enjoy a pleasant day. WALK. It is for your own good. You do not want to be on the tube, it gets stifling, busy, and very hot- this is England, we don't make provisions for strange things like sunshine and warm days, we're only just getting the first air conditioned tubes. Buses are not much better, and so travel will leave you feeling dehydrated  before you even start fighting.  This is not a good position to be in.

Fighting is hot and sweaty work. The padding and mask only serve to make it worse. I urge you to overestimate your need for water. You don't have to drink it all, but you'll be damn glad the extra litre is there. Be aware of the warning signs.

Heatstroke symptoms are:

• headache
• dizziness
• disorientation, agitation or confusion
• sluggishness or fatigue
• seizure
• hot, dry skin that is flushed but not sweaty
• a high body temperature
• loss of consciousness
• rapid heart beat
• hallucinations

 Dehydration:

• thirst
• less-frequent urination
• dry skin
• fatigue
• light-headedness
• dizziness
• confusion
• dry mouth and mucous membranes
• increased heart rate and breathing

Some of these you might not notice, some you might not have.  However, keep an eye out for them in both yourself and the people you train with and don't try to push through them. Everyone gets more training in if you don't faint.

Remember, hitting each other with swords is fun- treating injuries and life threatening problems is not.