As I have said recently, we are making the most of the weather and meeting for informal training in the park. Now, I should explain the setup of this. There are lots of groups around the City, but for some strange reason we don't meet up much. In an attempt to alter this, myself and a few people from another group are meeting. This is not the optimal situation. Although we have different weapon preferences and different backgrounds, our basic strategies are shaped by the instruction of our honourable maestro.
I do not think I'm giving too much away by saying that he is a fairly static fighter, holding a strong defence and waiting for the other to become impatient or knackered through running around. It's an effective strategy. In a lot of systems the defender is considered to have an advantage. Even the German concepts of Vor and Nach- where you gain the initiative by forcing your opponent to do something can be used to explain a deliberate defence (probably..I'm not too familiar with the German stuff). I may remember to explain this in a later post.
One of the strengths of HEMA is that it is still evolving. This can be perceived as a weakness, but sod those people- they have no imagination or understanding.
Why is this a strength? Well, we have hundreds of people across the country all looking at the same manuscripts and getting different things out of it. Is this a failiure, a sign we're doing something wrong? My answer would be no. Look at sheet music- that's a precise notation, yet you will get people playing the same notation on the same instrument in remarkably different ways. This is the nature of art. Art rarely means the same thing to different people. This means that different schools have different focuses and interpretations, something considered minor to one group can be very important to another. It's not a matter of right and wrong, this is an art after all.
George Silver says that to become a true master you should be able to hold your own against a drunk, because he will know no fear. Someone untrained but determined, because they will not be predictable and a master because they will be the better swordsman. Safety does not permit the first option and most of my fighting is against my esteemed maestro, or the occassional newbie.
With this in mind, I was rather glad to hear that someone I've been wanting to fight since I became competent with rapier was heading to this city and had some time to kill after taking in a few museums. I met Mr N once, about this time last year, my first impressions were of an intelligent man and a good teacher.
It sounds pretentious to call our little band of scrappers a study group, but I suppose we are. This title was certainly earned this week as we enjoyed Mr N "waffling on" (his words) at us about how to use the rapier and pointing out a few subtleties that I've overlooked. Once the others were in a position to engage in swordplay, I got the bout I was looking for.
I have been working on a little project, I suppose you could call it the viola of the rapier world, I don't really want to say much more than that for the moment, I'm still working on it, and I'd like the element of surprise to be on my side when it gets to competition time. So this fight was testing a few things. Does my interpretation hold water and do I think my skill is at an acceptable level, all things considered.
The answer to the former is, probably. I blatently need to do more drilling and become more competent with muscle memory, but I didn't get hit that much
Monday 29 June 2009
Friday 19 June 2009
The swordsman who enjoys freeplay and sparring is an enemy of the Art?
Obviously I don't think so.
Freeplay is fun. As far as I'm concerned, that should be enough reason to justify its use- a fun thing to prolong interest in the art. But people do not think like me, and that is ok. So here are more intellectual reasons:
Let's start this by looking at why I'm not a fan of oriental martial arts. Kata, the struggle to fend off an invisible army by a sequence of 'programmed' moves. It has it's uses, helps teach proper form, for one thing. But remove the context of a fight and you are left with a bloke in white pajamas, stepping around a mat and waving his limbs about. I would like to see what happens if the imaginary fight surrounding the kata became a real one. Some things would work, some would not.
Ideally You should train as you would fight. Naturally, with swords that is difficult. You get quite a lot of amplification of force for one thing- so a certain amount of pulling your blows happens, you have a psychological difference when fighting in a mask (for example, your head is the most protected part of your body- a cut to the head hurts much less than a cut to the arm). Pulling blows is not a terrible problem- Once all the safety measures are removed from the sword (flex, bluntness, slappyness) it is more than compensated.
A mask, to my mind, is necessary and will remain so until I show such prowess with the blade that I can cut the corset from a tailors dummy without inflicting damage (then I move to an attractive cooperative goth chick, then an attractive, willing but uncooperative goth chick). The usefulness of fighting unmasked is questionable- your head becomes less of a target simply because you would never do that kind of thing with someone who would cause you great injury. My honourable and respectable maestro would have to curtail his instinct to go for a blow to the head whenever it's uncovered.
Anyway, I digress. I'm supposed to be talking about the uses of sparring and freeplay. As far as I'm concerned- my personal goals- is to fight. I understand there are going to be some compromises between that and using a sword to kill. I can live with this. I don't interpret what I want to do as a sport. I'd use the word swordplay more often if play didn't have such a negative/trivial connotation.
Play is one of the best ways we learn. Look about you, remember the memory games and maths games you played as a child. Look at the rough and tumble of lion cubs that play is part of their training to become killers. So my aim is to play-The simple fact is I have no desire to kill anyone I face. In fact, I want them to have as much fun as me and come back for more.
So, how do I work towards that?
Simple Stationary drill (assuming that you can perform the action without moving)- building up arm movements, getting a feel for the acceleration and where to be aware of your own blade.
Mobile drill- Add in the correct footwork.
Target practice if possible.
This is all to build up muscle memory. Once the muscle memory is developing nicely some people will go for cooperative drilling. I'm not a fan- people don't let you hit them and don't come in for the blows in exactly the same way every time.
Uncooperative drilling- This is pretty close to sparring. You have restrictions to force you to use what you are trying to improve on. Huge variation on what can be done here, but it boils down to A will try to hit B, B does not want to get hit.
Freeplay- I suppose I'd classify this as sparring with minimal intent. The restrictions in place with uncooperative drilling are lessened, maybe removed altogether. But it lacks the 'killer' nature of competition.
Competition- Pressure testing. Regardless of how beautifully you pose with a sword, how elegant and smoothly you move. You're dead if you can't put it between you and someone who wants to kill you. In lieu of homicidal maniacs that the police will turn a blind eye to, competition is the most sensible alternative.
You use all these tools, identify weaknesses and start again, working to strengthen aspects of your fight.
Personally, I can take or leave competitions. I am a gamer by nature- I see no problem with losing if it results in a better game or an improved opponent. Don't mistake this for giving someone an easy ride or making a mockery of the Art. As stated before, I hold games and play in very high regard. In fact, they the keystones of intellectual, social and physical development.
But if I want to beat myself, I need to go up against people I wouldn't usually choose to fight in situations where losing matters. I need to face off against people who do not want to get hit and will try to hit me in return.
Also- certain things will not make sense unless someone is trying to hit you. I have some ideas about flinch reactions that I'm slowly shaping. I've always thought the best techniques embrace and build on hard-wired responses. There's no point reprogramming yourself if you can just add an extra twist into a pre-existing program.
We're interpreting something at the moment and the logic behind some of it did not make sense until uncooperative drilling. In fact, a lot of things like that don't make sense until it's put into the context of someone trying to kill you. One well placed thrust is remarkably good at showing you which direction your interpretation should be heading.
Freeplay is fun. As far as I'm concerned, that should be enough reason to justify its use- a fun thing to prolong interest in the art. But people do not think like me, and that is ok. So here are more intellectual reasons:
Let's start this by looking at why I'm not a fan of oriental martial arts. Kata, the struggle to fend off an invisible army by a sequence of 'programmed' moves. It has it's uses, helps teach proper form, for one thing. But remove the context of a fight and you are left with a bloke in white pajamas, stepping around a mat and waving his limbs about. I would like to see what happens if the imaginary fight surrounding the kata became a real one. Some things would work, some would not.
Ideally You should train as you would fight. Naturally, with swords that is difficult. You get quite a lot of amplification of force for one thing- so a certain amount of pulling your blows happens, you have a psychological difference when fighting in a mask (for example, your head is the most protected part of your body- a cut to the head hurts much less than a cut to the arm). Pulling blows is not a terrible problem- Once all the safety measures are removed from the sword (flex, bluntness, slappyness) it is more than compensated.
A mask, to my mind, is necessary and will remain so until I show such prowess with the blade that I can cut the corset from a tailors dummy without inflicting damage (then I move to an attractive cooperative goth chick, then an attractive, willing but uncooperative goth chick). The usefulness of fighting unmasked is questionable- your head becomes less of a target simply because you would never do that kind of thing with someone who would cause you great injury. My honourable and respectable maestro would have to curtail his instinct to go for a blow to the head whenever it's uncovered.
Anyway, I digress. I'm supposed to be talking about the uses of sparring and freeplay. As far as I'm concerned- my personal goals- is to fight. I understand there are going to be some compromises between that and using a sword to kill. I can live with this. I don't interpret what I want to do as a sport. I'd use the word swordplay more often if play didn't have such a negative/trivial connotation.
Play is one of the best ways we learn. Look about you, remember the memory games and maths games you played as a child. Look at the rough and tumble of lion cubs that play is part of their training to become killers. So my aim is to play-The simple fact is I have no desire to kill anyone I face. In fact, I want them to have as much fun as me and come back for more.
So, how do I work towards that?
Simple Stationary drill (assuming that you can perform the action without moving)- building up arm movements, getting a feel for the acceleration and where to be aware of your own blade.
Mobile drill- Add in the correct footwork.
Target practice if possible.
This is all to build up muscle memory. Once the muscle memory is developing nicely some people will go for cooperative drilling. I'm not a fan- people don't let you hit them and don't come in for the blows in exactly the same way every time.
Uncooperative drilling- This is pretty close to sparring. You have restrictions to force you to use what you are trying to improve on. Huge variation on what can be done here, but it boils down to A will try to hit B, B does not want to get hit.
Freeplay- I suppose I'd classify this as sparring with minimal intent. The restrictions in place with uncooperative drilling are lessened, maybe removed altogether. But it lacks the 'killer' nature of competition.
Competition- Pressure testing. Regardless of how beautifully you pose with a sword, how elegant and smoothly you move. You're dead if you can't put it between you and someone who wants to kill you. In lieu of homicidal maniacs that the police will turn a blind eye to, competition is the most sensible alternative.
You use all these tools, identify weaknesses and start again, working to strengthen aspects of your fight.
Personally, I can take or leave competitions. I am a gamer by nature- I see no problem with losing if it results in a better game or an improved opponent. Don't mistake this for giving someone an easy ride or making a mockery of the Art. As stated before, I hold games and play in very high regard. In fact, they the keystones of intellectual, social and physical development.
But if I want to beat myself, I need to go up against people I wouldn't usually choose to fight in situations where losing matters. I need to face off against people who do not want to get hit and will try to hit me in return.
Also- certain things will not make sense unless someone is trying to hit you. I have some ideas about flinch reactions that I'm slowly shaping. I've always thought the best techniques embrace and build on hard-wired responses. There's no point reprogramming yourself if you can just add an extra twist into a pre-existing program.
We're interpreting something at the moment and the logic behind some of it did not make sense until uncooperative drilling. In fact, a lot of things like that don't make sense until it's put into the context of someone trying to kill you. One well placed thrust is remarkably good at showing you which direction your interpretation should be heading.
Friday 5 June 2009
Ah... Summer.
Time for the usual outdoor pursuits. Days in the park, listening to the the gentle sound of willow on leather bamboo on flesh. Yes, now the weather is what passes for good in this green and pleasant land, we have decided to enjoy the sunshine while it lasts and have some additional, informal sessions outdoors.
The focus of these sessions is freeplay/sparring. I admit I don't do enough drilling- it's a means to an end and I'm likely to be developing bad habits because of this. Then again, I don't fight many different people either.
Fortunately, I haven't developed a suntan (mesh patterned or otherwise)
yet. However, I have noticed a few things about outside training that are worth mentioning.
Water-The most important one. Lots of water. Those masks get rather hot and you're being very active. After 2 hours fighting, a litre and a half of water is barely enough. It's much better to have too much than not enough- dehydration headaches (the main reason your head pounds during a hangover) are awful.
Know your surroundings- this is a common thread amongst schools of thought. If you can force your opponent onto ground where he will mis-step on his attack (a sudden dip, sandy ground where he was expecting firm earth) then do it. The same with the sun, he will find it difficult to parry a blow when you have the sun behind you. Fighting in a public area
also brings some safety considerations, curious onlookers, stupid dogs and children mean that you have to be aware of many things during a fight.
Focus- London in the summer is a beautiful place. People from all over the world flock to this city and enjoy its charms. This includes the many green spaces. As such, there are quite a few attractive young ladies of various nationalities wandering about in very little clothing.
Understandably, this kind of thing is distracting. Get distracted in a swordfight and you die. As last words go- "look at the legs on her" doesn't really cut it.
Filming- this is a useful tool. My honourable sensai and maestro can shout 'your legs are too stiff' until his throat is sore, but 2 minutes of video helped me analyse my stance and some problems. I am tempted to post and critically analyse my technique at some point in the future. It will give you an idea about where I'm coming from and would help frame my
words. But not today.
I have also started to fight mixed weapon bouts. I am still forming my ideas and opinions about it, all I can say right now is that it's fun and you stand a much better chance if you know the weapon you're against. So the knowledge exchange starts- I pick up a little longsword and they pick up a little backsword and rapier.
The Rapier Virus is contagious. Maybe because a rapier just doesn't hit as hard as a longsword, maybe because we all secretly want to be gunless Musketeers, maybe because rapier and dagger just looks so damn cool. These things make it a fun weapon to use, easy to start, difficult to master and provides pain in new and interesting muscles. I gave the longsworders some brief instruction on how to use it and some are now making noises about
getting their own.
It may be my bias towards one-handed weapons, but I find the longsword terribly confusing. Not only do I wonder why it took several centuries to produce something as blatently sensible as a basket hilt (my knuckles do not like the simple hilt found on most swords) apart from that, there's something like 12 guard positions. So far, the only thing that makes sense
to me is cutting through to another guard. And the grappling. This may seem counter-intuitive to people unfamiliar with swordfighting, but there are two distances that are 'safe'. One is so far away that he cannot stab you, one is so close in that he cannot stab you. Unfortunately there's this zone of painful death between the two. Still once you're in close you've got to wrestle, disarm and kill your opponent before he has a chance to react. I'm used to fighting at distance, a rapier blade is long and your opponent is likely to have a
dagger. This means there is only one safe distance- closing means you're likely to get a blade between the ribs. Fighting against people who grapple is a different experience, part of your brain is geared up to get rushed, disarmed and pinned and so you are even more aware of keeping the right distance.
The focus of these sessions is freeplay/sparring. I admit I don't do enough drilling- it's a means to an end and I'm likely to be developing bad habits because of this. Then again, I don't fight many different people either.
Fortunately, I haven't developed a suntan (mesh patterned or otherwise)
yet. However, I have noticed a few things about outside training that are worth mentioning.
Water-The most important one. Lots of water. Those masks get rather hot and you're being very active. After 2 hours fighting, a litre and a half of water is barely enough. It's much better to have too much than not enough- dehydration headaches (the main reason your head pounds during a hangover) are awful.
Know your surroundings- this is a common thread amongst schools of thought. If you can force your opponent onto ground where he will mis-step on his attack (a sudden dip, sandy ground where he was expecting firm earth) then do it. The same with the sun, he will find it difficult to parry a blow when you have the sun behind you. Fighting in a public area
also brings some safety considerations, curious onlookers, stupid dogs and children mean that you have to be aware of many things during a fight.
Focus- London in the summer is a beautiful place. People from all over the world flock to this city and enjoy its charms. This includes the many green spaces. As such, there are quite a few attractive young ladies of various nationalities wandering about in very little clothing.
Understandably, this kind of thing is distracting. Get distracted in a swordfight and you die. As last words go- "look at the legs on her" doesn't really cut it.
Filming- this is a useful tool. My honourable sensai and maestro can shout 'your legs are too stiff' until his throat is sore, but 2 minutes of video helped me analyse my stance and some problems. I am tempted to post and critically analyse my technique at some point in the future. It will give you an idea about where I'm coming from and would help frame my
words. But not today.
I have also started to fight mixed weapon bouts. I am still forming my ideas and opinions about it, all I can say right now is that it's fun and you stand a much better chance if you know the weapon you're against. So the knowledge exchange starts- I pick up a little longsword and they pick up a little backsword and rapier.
The Rapier Virus is contagious. Maybe because a rapier just doesn't hit as hard as a longsword, maybe because we all secretly want to be gunless Musketeers, maybe because rapier and dagger just looks so damn cool. These things make it a fun weapon to use, easy to start, difficult to master and provides pain in new and interesting muscles. I gave the longsworders some brief instruction on how to use it and some are now making noises about
getting their own.
It may be my bias towards one-handed weapons, but I find the longsword terribly confusing. Not only do I wonder why it took several centuries to produce something as blatently sensible as a basket hilt (my knuckles do not like the simple hilt found on most swords) apart from that, there's something like 12 guard positions. So far, the only thing that makes sense
to me is cutting through to another guard. And the grappling. This may seem counter-intuitive to people unfamiliar with swordfighting, but there are two distances that are 'safe'. One is so far away that he cannot stab you, one is so close in that he cannot stab you. Unfortunately there's this zone of painful death between the two. Still once you're in close you've got to wrestle, disarm and kill your opponent before he has a chance to react. I'm used to fighting at distance, a rapier blade is long and your opponent is likely to have a
dagger. This means there is only one safe distance- closing means you're likely to get a blade between the ribs. Fighting against people who grapple is a different experience, part of your brain is geared up to get rushed, disarmed and pinned and so you are even more aware of keeping the right distance.
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