Special combined Portland and Seattle class at my place with guest Kaiden Brennan, Bryce, and Patrick. Stretch and requirements, pairing Bryce and Patrick to go through a couple times plus spend additional time on cutting pattern and specific practiced moves while Brennan and I went through our requirements using steel. Refined strikes. Break to armor up, then 60 one-on-one matches and 5 multi-opponent matches.
Tag: steel
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Class with Bryce. Stretch and full through my requirements and his. A few extended rounds of Add-On. Break and then 100 full circle cuts with steel (me 2-handed). Finished up with a few rounds of unarmored parry (1, 2, and switch).
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Second day of the faire event. More steel and boken melees.
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I journed down to Redding for Kaiden Sal's publish exhibition event. There was a mix of steel and wood melees.
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Today I participated in the all-steel 2017 Best of the Best tournament. This year the rule was you may only use your primary style of study, which mine is the bastard sword (hand and a half-ish, roughly 40" overall). There were 13 competitors to start, though two had to drop out due to injury (giving and receiving). I placed 3rd, which is fine, but I'll have to strive for better next year.
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One on one with Sal today as I had made my way down to Redding. We discussed how the Redding Dojo was progressing and then went through our Silver Chain requirements using steel. Key points for myself were:
* remember the final two carotid draw cuts,
* make certain the sword and foot are in sync for Lightning,
* adjust my range accordingly to my uke retreat in Whispering Wind,
* use the new ending on kata ichi (after the two neck blocks, make an advanced thrust block before turning with right leg block and the final head block),
* use the adjusted ending to kata ni (after dragons tail, use the Illusion for the 180, i.e. the sword comes up and over the head/shoulder before thrusting, not around the side as I have done in the past),
* and recite the six traditions, three types of moves, and three rules of swordsmanship in that specific order. -
I journeyed to the Hayward Dojo and participated in the 2016 Best of the Best tournament. Top rankings went to Gad, Gemini and Vea, however I was awarded recognition for my exhibited skills and versatility.
In addition to the tournament steel matches, I did 20 or so boken matches with a few of the lower ranks, too. -
Solo practice, went through all of my Silver Chain requirements (using steel). Included Kodiak and Dragons Bite, and started experimenting with a move tentatively named Vampire (right shuffle in right neck cut feignt spun into left back edge neck cut ("scorpian") with lateral shift to left stance).
I am training in the park, and a guy (Daniel, I think) happened by and gave me a katana that has been sitting in his closet for a couple years ever since his friend gave it to him. I offered to teach him to use it, but he said he wasn't very interested and probably too busy. I provided him a contact method if he changes his mind.
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I journeyed down to the Hayward Dojo for a Day of Combat and to support Sal's 30 minute non-stop battle and Crimson Chain test, and I also was a part of Steel Wind's steel Red Rope test.
We had a good number of fighters present, six in steel and several more in wood. It started with Sal's non-stop, then the main combat event was 5 wood matches, 5 steel matches, 5 wood matches, 5 steel matches, and 5(?) scenario wood matches. -
Class led by Brent. Jog/etc warm up, agility ladder, ear game, distance game, and binding game. We then a "Playbook" drill, where with a partner you build a series of attacks and counters (i.e. I make the same unopposed attack three times in a row, then I repeat three again with my partner making the same counter, then three times again with me countering the counter, etc). We started at just attack and counter and worked our way up to four techniques total. Finished with some slow-motion sparring. Steel feder for all except distance game.
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Class led by Brent. Standard Jog+ warmup, then I did the agility ladder with the experienced students while Brent was working on stance with the newer students. Agility ladder is a 20-ish foot webbing and plastic rung ladder spread on the floor that we pass over in various stepping and hopping patterns. We progressed through ear game, three rounds with the third holding swords and being mindful of distance (measure), into a measure and evasion drill (permitted one cut which opponent may attempt to evade and make one counter cut), into cutting drills practicing a short-up/long-up/long-down and a short-scorpion/long-down pattern.
We then reviewed the primary lesson of the night, using zornhaus to counter oberhaus. As the opponent cuts on the diagonal from their shoulder toward your neck (oberhaus), you counter cut placing your blade on an upward slanting line directed at your opponents face while switching stance (triangle stepping) off the line of attack. You are then free to thrust their head or throat before they react.
We practiced this for a while, then formed a few pits where the experienced did some sparring and the newer, myself included, worked a bit more on this technique. -
Class led by Brent. Warmed up with "Stance Tag", then he took the newer students through the basic stance drills (advance and retreat in left stance, then right, then strafing in left, and then strafing in right, then some stance switching and zig zag patterns). Next was the ear game, then basic cutting drilling, this time doing the X cut pattern, an under/over pattern, and a right/left temple pattern. Following this was the We moved into the bind drill of keeping the swords engaged and seeking an advantage. The main technique study today was a review of the montague followed by an introduction to a counter for montague. After working through those for a bit, the newer folks want back to the contact drilling while the upper folks sparred. Today I did everything with borrowed steel feder.