Teaching.

It's the New Year, and this means one thing- people with Resolutions.We're a small group and although I have the experience and skill to fight safely, there's not really enough room in the salle to hold two classes/one class and some freeplay. This means that we cater for the newcomer, and all of us take part in the beginner's lesson.

I bet you can already imagine my groans and sighs.. Well, you're wrong. Basics are basics for a reason. Of course, I would like to go on to some hideously complex stuff or just get back to a bit of freeplay/sparring/pressure testing but the basics are important. You can't spend too much time on judging distance, building up muscle memory and learning how not to get hit.

Besides, this is the umpteenth time I've done the introductory class and so I am confident (and knowledgable) enough to explain principles and correct the beginner. This low-level instruction helps me one hell of a lot, I can see and feel the mistakes that I make. It also slows me down
and forces me to really think about what I am doing. The more thought that goes into it now, the less thought is needed when I don't have time to think.

It's also showing me that I understand things I thought I hadn't. We're still on a rapier phase and we were doing the basic thrust parry drill. (A thrusts slowly, B parries.) Even working at slow speed I was automatically disengaging the blade, circling under and taking advantage of the opening. Slowing down to explain why I did it helped me realise that I, too, take the blade wide during my parries.

I have only just 'got' the void of the right foot, again when I paused and explained it to one of the newcomers. Under pressure, I suspect I'll still use the void of the body- it just feels safer. Still, it's good to have another technique to use.

Teaching is a very good way to lock the basics into your mind. Maybe I should get Swetnam's manual and see what happens if I start trying to explain that to people.