Class with Sal, Nate, Mark, Charlie, and Joe. Chris called out, and Don did late. I talked a little about proper bowing and seiza form, then we stretched and started on requirements. I put Sal and Nate together and worked with Mark, adding thrusts, then had him pair with Nate and Sal alternately to go through Cutting Pattern 1 which I worked with Charlie and Joe, improving Charlie and adding thrusts, and getting Joe started on the second half of the cuts and blocks. I also reviewed Nate’s basic cuts and blocks.
After a break, we started with some Blind Man’s Boffer, then the students made a Balance 1 and 2 course, and we finished with a round of machine gun drill, head cuts only.

Class tonight with Sal, Chris, Nate, Don, Mark, Charlie, and Joe. In seiza, I reviewed the six traditions and the three rules of swordsmanship. We then stretched and I paired Sal with Nate and Don with Chris, and worked individually with Mark, Charlie and Joe. I continued Mark working on his basic cuts and blocks, instructed Charlie on the second half (decap and leg cuts and blocks), and instructed Joe on head and neck cuts and blocks, also covering defensive stance for both Charlie and Joe. After a break, we had a total of 40 one on one matches between Sal, Chris, Don and myself.

Class with Sal, Mark and Charlie tonight, plus Joe observed a second time and Jill observed her first class. During the opening seiza, I spoke about the Best of the Best, and I talked about the guiding WCoS principle of adaptability and evolution of our sword fighting technique based on the trial by live and realistic combat. We then had a quick stretch and then Sal worked on his own while I worked with Mark and Charlie, going over the head and neck cuts and blocks, and then continuing with Mark on the decap and leg cuts and blocks. I checked in with Sal for a short bit, then introduced Mark to Cutting Pattern 1.
After a break, we had Balance 1 and near-2, followed by machine gun drill for head cuts/blocks, then neck cuts/blocks.

Class with Sal, Chris and Mark tonight. Charlie and Joe observed. Quick stretch and then Sal and Chris went through requirements while I instructed Mark on defensive stance and head and neck cuts and blocks. I then worked individually with Chris and Sal, and finished with a review of Mark. After a break, we had 18 matches of one-on-one sparring with Mark logging.

Class with Sal and Chris, Mark observed a second time and Charlie observed his first class. Stretch and briefly reviewed Mantis with Sal, then Chris arrived and I paired them for requirements while I went through mine. I then worked individually with them on various techniques. After a break, we alternated for Refined Stikes pairs and working the thrust rings, then went through Balance 1 and 2+ incorporating the thrust rings again. We ended with a modification to the machine gun drill, what I’ll call a 180 machine gun drill, with one opponent on either side attacking in alternate succession. We started with just head, then head and neck, and lastly neck and leg.

Conditions: Light to medium rain during class, heavy prior to class leaving large puddles and significant mud.

Class with Sal and Chris tonight, and Mark observed (and assisted with logging). Stretch and requirements (mine with steel), followed by a focus session between me and Sal and Chris separately. After break, we had best-of-three one-on-one matches, with the winner of each set staying in the circle.

Class with Sal and Chris. Began with a review of Cutting Pattern 2, then went through requirements. After requirements, I worked with Sal on two of his moves, The Drop and Whispering Wind, then worked with Chris on Kata Ich and instructed him on Kill the Tiger. After a break, we had Balance 2, then a blind gamut with a partner guiding us with voice commands. We finished with a boffer gamut, first just dodging 50% speed attacks, then blocking faster attacks.

Class with Sal and Chris. Stretch and requirements, then I focused on development items, working with them individually. After a break, we worked through a multi-station round-robin with Balance 2, Refined Strikes (attacker), thrust rings, Refined Strikes (uke/partner), and Kata Ich. We finished with bunkai/application for Kata Ich, pairing one person in the middle with an opponent on either side to provide the corresponding blocks and attacks for the kata.

Class with Sal and Chris. After a stretch, I had a focus session on The Illusion, then we went through requirements. I then worked individually with Chris, then Sal, working on key development items. After a break, we paired off for 1-on-1 sparring, 9 matches with each opponent for a total of 27 class matches, followed by four rounds of three-person combat.

Class with Chris. Stretch and then a focus session on combat movement. Full requirements for both of us, with a focus on key areas he needs to work on, then a short break. Refined Strikes followed by light armored (helmet and gloves) parry – 3 attack and open attack.

Class with Sal and Chris. Stretch and a brief focus session on Jumping Tiger 2, then requirements. I then worked individually with Chris on several of his requirements, then with Sal on a few of his moves. After a break, we had 26 matches of 1-on-1 sparring.

Class with Sal, Chris called out. We covered all our respective requirements, then went over Cutting Pattern 2 a few more times. After a break, we started with Refined Strikes, then I introduced dagger and knife fighting, covering the differences in blade types, the different kill zones, and some of the stance and posture choices, after which we did Refined Strikes with long daggers. I next introduced the axe and how it varies from the sword, and last we looked at the use of an off-hand dagger, doing several quarter speed 1-attack parry rounds with sword-and-dagger to get a sense of the flow and possibilities.

Class with Chris. Stretch and full requirements, followed by a focus session on kata ich. After a break, we had 21 light to mid contact matches.

Class with Sal and Chris. Medium rain and mud, and cold temperatures. Stretch and requirements, then I did focus sessions with each of them, going over Cutting Pattern 2 and their newest moves and other material. During the break, I setup a combination speed mud gamut with a hurdle and Balance 1 and 2 course with a thrust target.

Class with Sal (late) and Chris. Worked with Chris on Kata Ich, finishing with both of them performing the kata a few times. We then worked on Cutting Pattern 2 a little before breaking off into requirements, Sal and Chris paired and myself on my own. After a break, I covered Warrior Stance and spoke about the requirement of The Story for White Rope, then we worked for a while longer on Cutting Pattern 2. Chris was instructed on Double Chop and I reviewed Sal’s Whispering Wind, then we finished with a final few Kata Ich, with an emphasis on precision, control, and restrained power or “feeling”/”Chi”.

Class with Sabrina, Sal and Chris. Requirements twice through (Me/Chris, Sal/Sabrina::Me/Sabrina, Chris/Sal). During the break, I gave Chris his Green Braid evaluation, which he passed. After the break, we had sparring (Sabrina sat out, logging). Total of 27 matches (9 per opponent), plus three matches of 3-person combat.