Solo training, went through my Silver Chain requirements with steel.
Tag: sword
-
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.
-
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.
-
I caught the first half of a judging workshop. The focus was on longpoint rules, with side nights about PDX longsword rules. Some key points were the use of a gated point system going: touch, target, quality, control. A touch will pause/stop the match but is worth zero points. Targets worth points are only head and body. Included is a system of recognizing opponent followup attacks that reduce or negate victory points. In general, I was fairly happy with the system though it lacks a few targets that I consider good but they consider either too dangerous to the opponent or too open to counter-attack or mutual blows.
-
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.
-
Attended Brent's class, Indes Western Martial Arts. Basic cardio warm up followed Brent taking myself and a couple other new folks through some basic stance and movement work. We then did a partner movement drill, named "the ear game" because you're trying to reposition to either side of your opponent, practincing lateral movement and distancing. Boston then took us new folks over the basic X or "infinite" cut (similar to WCoS neck cut, but shorter, coming from the shoulder, and less snap so as to lead with a more guarded hand position). They use steel straight away for much of their drilling, so I was using my 40" overall bastard sword most of the night, starting with this cutting. We then moved into another partner drill where you maintain blade contact with your opponents weapon and attempt to manuever to achieve and keep the line on your opponent.
Brent then introduced the night's primary lesson, the montague. The move involves countering your opponents direct line on your face by rotating your sword CW as you deflect left slightly, keeping your tip up enough to maintain engagement and control of your opponents blade, then rotate or lever the blade down to catch your opponent's blade in your back guard and drop your point into a thrust to either the mid section or the upper leg (inner thigh, I should think).
After practicing the move for a while, the class seperated into those that were geared for full sparring and those of us that weren't where we continued with the contact drill. -
Tonight I observed the Indes Western Martial Arts class, a school of long sword combat. They have a more regimented format than Swordguild, though are otherwise fairly similar, as might be expected of two HEMA affiliated schools. I spoke with the main instructor for a bit after class and have decided to give his class a go.
-
I attended a class with Portland Swordguild, a group that studies HEMA. The head instructor, Jason, gave me a 15 minute orientation on the basics (four guard positions, some offensive defense perspective, some attack lines) and did a little bit of saber-like stick fighting (some kind of bamboo or rattan like stick, approximately a yard in length, with a leather cup hand guard at one end, with us wearing fencing masks, and sports protective gloves and elbows). The standard class format is to start with a 15 minutes study session focusing on a single technique, then break off into sparring pairs to for the remainder of the time, learning by doing and having the more experienced critiquing the less experienced as they spar. I think they have some good concepts and ideas that have been pulled from the historical texts, but this is the same style of learning I have observed in some previous groups (particularly the couple SCA groups I've visited) and I feel it is not beneficial for beginners. However, as I am not a beginner with the sword and martial arts in general, I may return myself at least on occasion if they are open to me using a better helmet (I despise fencing masks) and to me possibly questioning things they wouldn't normally question.
Additionally, Jason suggested that Indes may be a better fit if I'm looking for more structure.