HEMA, Study and learning.

It's been a while, but I'd rather say interesting things than fill this up with bollocks.

I have recently taken one of my inevitably expensive trips to Foyles. They're starting to stock a lot of books in 'military history'. Arguably, they should be downstairs in the martial arts section, but it's a start. There's the glossy hardback Silver interpretation, a Talhoffer reprint, some Huttons and Mayer/Mair's polearms.

I was well behaved. I left with one book, and I paid for it.

I'm not sure if I like interpreting work. My group has done it a few times, mostly with Cappoferro- there are enough people around with the knowledge and the manners to assist when we get stuck or make cock-ups (That, and Windsor's interpretation is well written and works well as a reference point).

Don't get me wrong, I like asking "why this" and "how that" but it's nice to put that all on hold and build up the mechanics. It's very easy to get distracted by what does that mean and forget that the point is to become a swordsman. Unfortunately the local experts are far too manly and butch to embrace the kind of weapons suitable for a pasty faced, frilly shirted, makeup wearing weirdo.

The "local" rapier school is somewhere close to a 6 hour round trip away. If you include the lesson and the socialising, that makes it 9 hours for one lesson. I want to learn rapier and the off-hand weapons. Especially rapier and buckler. I can learn I.33, the earliest known sword and buckler techniques- but the dynamics of a fight with an open hilt are vastly different to the closed hilt I prefer. I've seen the local I.33 teacher in action, I like his style and I can believe he is a Name. It's just a shame the weapon does not 'talk' to me.

I'm not sure if the necessity of interpretation is a good or bad thing. A bad habit well learned is still a bad habit. However, it opens up a world of debate. I can email questions to almost every person that has interpreted a manuscript. The good ones will be happy to help, will not get offended by a good question and through the community will build a 'true' system. (for given values of true).

This was going to be a comment on sport/historical fencing.

However, my drinking companion needs a kick up the arse so he can explain the differences between epee and rapier. That and he needs to come out and play with us some more.

Instead, I think I shall talk about another common thread amongst HEMA. Joy.

The instructors I have had the chance to learn from have this simple thing in common. I have also seen it in those who teach, but I have not yet had the pleasure.

The thing about joy is that it can manifest in endless ways. From the obscure digressions of my own honourable maestro, the jolly arrogance of Mr Easton, the single minded perfectionism of Mr Rawlings, to Mr Marwood's Safeism. The Thomas Brothers and Swordworks (http://www.swordworks.co.uk).

I am informed that they are Names. Mr Easton, taking a strong part in the translation of one of the Fiore manuscripts. Mr Rawlings doing a lot of work on i.33. Mr Marwood's attempts at the Chap Olympics. If the Thomas' are not names- they will be. There are others, many others who demonstrate their joy in different ways.

There are admonitions against taking an instructor at their word. Something along the lines of "would you bet your life on it". Nowdays, the stakes are lowered- I'd bet a bone that any person I've named here would be upset at any serious injury to those under their instruction.

High Turnover.

We tend to have a high turnover in our group. I could go through a whole range of reasons, but the short version is that we're not a big group and our catchment area does not really cover 'our kind of people'.

Yes, I know it sounds elitist. It is in a little way. Accepting just anyone means that you could end up teaching people who aren't gentlemen.. (or gentlepersons- I'm elitist, not sexist)

What is "our kind of people"?

This is a difficult question to answer. There is no joining thread beyond being a fundamentally good human being and liking swords. So far, I've not met a dullard in HEMA- arrogant, geeky, singleminded, French, but never dull. I'm sure that will change when given enough time.

Xenephobic... possibly. But in the kind of way that means you invite a bunch of foreigners over because you want to beat them up and then get them really, really drunk and laugh at them. Then do it all over again. This time being a foreigner yourself and at the mercy of the hosts. More like the way you would fight a brother than anything else.

I suppose it's people who are serious about martial arts, but not serious themselves.

Efficiency.

The most honourable and wise Maestro that I am blessed to study under was recently injured. Being the kind of man he is, he could not abandon his students.

So, on his sick-bed, brought down by a sprained ankle, he had a revelation.

Pinning a foot is a training tool we haven't used until recently. The idea is- one person stays still, and the other comes in and tries to stab. Historical terms could be Patient and Agent... Hindering the back foot forces one person to be the Patient.

CappoFerro says that there are tempos to strike in (yes, I'm mixing terms, so what). Generally, as he steps, as he goes to strike, after he strikes and... stuff. Nailing your foot to the floor shows this quite clearly. If your distance is spot on, the agent will get a sword to the face every time- why?

Because, just as it is hard to pat your head and rub your tummy at the same time, it is hard to step forward and parry at the same time.*

*This may not be true. If you have set the blade so your strong lay by his weak, you may be able to turn the blade offline in the natural progression of a step. Thus parrying, stepping and killing in the one movement.

Further Teaching...

The Beast's suggestion that I may be interested in getting coaching qualifications has piqued my interest. I am probably a year away from being ready to take the assessment. Primarily because I still have a lot to learn, after all, I've only been doing this for 9 months or so. There are other reasons, for example, I am still to discover what 'my' weapon/system is.

Still it looks like a good qualification to have. The BFHS (British Federation for Historical Swordplay) are trying to produce an equivalent to the UK coaching certificate and the syllabus looks pretty comprehensive. Between turning 15 and discovering what women are for, I spent a lot of time freezing my nuts off in a Topper (the boat, not the hat), or a Wayfarer. During this time I gained enough qualifications to prove I was competent, did some first aid training (focusing on drowning, shock and hypothermia rather than anything I'm likely to see when fighting) and spent time teaching Scouts the difference between close haul and long reach. A morning of this resulted in an afternoon of free sailing. I found it all rather enjoyable and rewarding. Anyway.. that was two summers of teaching.

The BFHS certification covers first aid, child protection (may be useful, after all, Scouting is one of the reasons I got here), Teaching ability (group and 1 to 1), and a range of other sensible and practical things.

I'm expecting quite a few differences between this and what I had to go through to instruct on water, and I would expect (even demand) that sailing criteria are far more rigorous than the BFHS.

As sports go, sailing is open to more serious accidents than HEMA. It may sound silly- after all how could sitting in a boat be more 'dangerous' than getting hit with swords? The simple answer is this- if something goes wrong in a boat there is only you and lethal amounts of water and the wind continues to blow. If something goes wrong with HEMA, you may get a broken bone but at the first sign of something serious- everything stops and those who can will step in and help.

As knowledge goes- to teach the basic principles you do not need to be an astounding swordsman. Theoretically you will become a good swordsman by drumming these in and developing perfect measure/true time/whatever the Italian version of BraveStaar calls it. The principles are easy to understand, perfecting them and using them under pressure is a different matter altogether. Sailing, you need to be able to deal with a lot more, mostly because there's no guarantee of conditions. You can play the odds, but even then you've still got to be able to bring people safely back during the uncommon but likely scenarios.

From what I've read so far the accreditation is good, and has a lot of use away from the salle. It is certainly something to keep in mind.

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.

Drill, Drill and Drill again.

It's been a while. We've had Christmas and the usual inactivity that happens. But now it's time to get back into the habit of writing. My apologies if this is tedious, but I am forcing myself to write- otherwise I'll just take my sword in hand, wander into the sunset and not talk about how fun everything is.

What has happened in the world of HemaGoth? To be honest, not much. I've had my first freeplay using Longsword. I like it. That's about as much as I can say right now.

I'm starting to feel the need to push myself. My second intentions are poor, my identification and forcing of openings is poor. The basic body mechanics are there, but I'm more of a reactive than a pro-active fighter.