Drill Construction Part 2

So in our last blog, I took a look at building training sequences to add some context.
I picked a few plays from Fiore, and strung them together from a starting place.

The drill from last week ((((here))))started from being pounded on by some one, and closing to grapple.

In the above video, I address a number of counters that Fiore suggests. watch the video for those.

That's all in good fun, but the main point of this blog is the construction of the drill itself. Not all of you practice Armizare. So why did I go with these plays, and why did i put them in this order? Let's look at it.

The drill:

Player (bad guy): Pound on our student, right/left/right, Mkes sure the student gets hit and has to cover.

Student: Gets hit with firt one, covers up until she closes to grapple to end the beating. (video starts here)

Player: Locks in the clinch to gain advantage. Should do so with an eye to getting their own knee strike of throw, but don't execute at this level of the drill, save that for "upping" the resistance later on.

Student: Thumb to ear to create space, secures head and drives knee, eye-push, re-drives the knee.

So, why to I start with the student getting nailed in the head? Frankly, most CQC actions begin because longer range option have failed, or the attacker is jumping some one. One of the assumptions that I trust in constructing a fight is that any given person will open with their best chance to win.

For this reason, I like to build a little of that into any sequence I train.

Second Why have the player crash in? Why not just "block" the next punch? Well, for one, most of my students have minimal boxing experience, and I don't want to lead them down the garden path to their own destruction. So, I have them tie up, shutting down the pounding, and possibly buying them a moment to reorient after that first hit.

The rest of the drill is pretty straight forward, creating space through dynamic action in order to deliver increasingly powerful strikes. Even if you replace the ear gouge with a hard palm heel, the chance of a knock out is not high enough.

The student learns to follow on by moving to new positions, changing lines and targets, forcing the player to readjust and re-orientate to each step the student takes. Off-line every time is the way to think of it.

I then take that drill, one that give them a number of options, practiced in context against a resisting target,  and teach the player to break each aspect of it in turn. The next level would be to run the sequence, and have the player not tell the student which play will be countered. This creates and even more dynamic energy.

The final iteration would be to have both play the roll of the player, pounding on each other in sets of three, and then instead of defending, one of them would begin the sequence. It becomes almost like sparring.

By building drills this way, a teacher can get people doing pretty advance moves in short order.

In Summary
- build drills that have context to the fight.
- create dynamic energy for your people to play off of.
- create chains of 3-4 actions so that later counters can be added "randomly" so that training partners do not grow complacent.

Write me if you have questions, if you follow my advice, please link you video here. I'd love to see you train, and so would my other readers.

Basic flow drill construction for Abrazare, or , Make Flow Drills Great Again

Cracking the chestnuts. 

In Fiore’s hand to hand fighting section (Ghetty Manuscript) we see a number of techniques displayed, but relatively little text to describe the actions, especially a lack of description of the nature of the attack you are receiving, and only the vaguest descriptions of his hand to hand strikes.  I have seen many interpretations for these plays, but I have seen relatively little work on the hand to hand strikes, or ferrire.

I feel that it is important to learn this materiel well.  To that end, I believe that it is valuable for a student of the art to become good delivering a number of strikes. Working these strikes on punching bags, Thai pads, and boxing mitts is all very good for building strength, timing, and confidence. Today however I will talk about flow.

Essential to all fighting, flow is the aspect of moving smoothly and quickly from one action to the next. One’s ability to flow can be measured aesthetically and practically. That is to say, a student can look great when doing choreographed drill, and have no ability to adapt in real time (react during sparring). The opposite can also be true.

We all desire our students to have both of these attributes, but as a community, we tend to prefer real time adaptability and application above aesthetics. That preference has led many teachers in the community to feel let down by flow drills. I know. but lets take a second look at how we use them. 

A simple follow drill can contribute to aesthetics and application. you just have to use them the right way at the right time. 

At the root level, the flow drill uses choreography to create context and energy so that students can learn to “feel” what they are doing while keeping the environment safe and repeatable. Now, those students must keep that context, and avoid gaming the drill. that will come later. So have them rep it till it looks good.  (getting reps in is always good, if the reps are good).

Once they can reliably repeat the drill and a brisk speed with good quality of motion, they can proceed to the next level. For higher level students, the drill acts as a control factor for “fight lab” exercises.  Such exercises allow intermediate and advanced students to riff off of one another and explore their own ideas of good flow. By inserting different actions into the control program, you can see where those changes lead. It also prevents gaming, as the player no longer knows what the agent will do or where those changes may come. This can be done in cooperative and mildly competitive difficulty settings. 

So, for this exercise, I have cobbled together three of Fiore’s plays into a root level flow drill. Think of this as the control element for your fight lab. The drill will begin with some sort of context-for-engagement, and then proceed to move through a series of actions.  While the drill I have filmed for you is one sided, there is no reason why counters and secondary actions cannot be added here. 

In this case the context will be a punch in the head, and the player (blue hair) will close to grapple to avoid further pounding. 

The ferrire under the ear will be first in this sequence. After the student close to a prese, the player will jamb his thumb up under the ear of the antagonist. This is painful, and the distraction will allow the player to reduce the space and shift position.

This buys time for the player, and forces the antagonist to reorient. 

The second action will be to deliver a knee to the groin. The previous attack should buy the player space, and if if was successful, the antagonist will likely be moving to counter the ear attack, leaving their attention away from the low line. remember to keep the antagonist's head near yours, and drive deep.

Finally the face push. Ballisticly launch the Antagonist's head back, thumbs to the eyes (only in real emergencies, not in training please). The player can shift their grip and re-attack with the knee from here, remember to ballisticly recover their head to your shoulder, being blasted back and forth is highly disorienting.

Please, If you have a similar sequence you use, of you do a fight lab and make changes, I would be curious to see what you did. Put links in the comments if you want to show me and the readers here at the Redwolf Swordsmanship Blog. 

Jesse Out. 

Martial Family, Club Pride.

Pre-dawn in Chicago. Cold Coffee in the cup holder of my car from last night. No time to eat, I have some where to be.

I meet up with my crew and head into the loop, It's a quick run, no traffic at 6 am. Not on thanks giving day. 

I pass by a few other groups, people huddled in the pre-dawn, and get directions from a lady in a red coat. By the time we park it's 7 am.

One of the guilders, Nick, was waiting for us though the street was empty. Through the morning, 40 or so more of us would filter in. 

Now, I'm not gonna lie,we looked good. We looked top notch. I am proud of my students and my people. We marched, for the third time in the Chicago thanks giving day parade.

But that's not why I am pleased. These people are more than my students, and Forteza is more than just a salle. These are my people, my friends, my comrades. We sweat, We work, and We bleed together. We sling steel and one another, we toss each other, we triumph together.

It's moments like this, the people waiting around for the parade to begin, laughing, dancing, joking. the children smiling and practicing hard, excited to be on TV for the first time in their lives. These moments make me proud of what we have wrought here.

In life, you are born unto a family, and that's fate. You can choose your friends, and that's a choice. 

That's love, and it's what keeps me in the game. 

Love of the art, and love of these people.


That's why I do this. 

Playing the Prize - Leveling up at the Chicago Swordplay Guild

The List Awaits

So what does it mean to hold rank in the CSG?

I know the concept of ranks varies widely from school to school in the historic swordsmanship world. Some places have only student and instructor, others a loose confederation of individuals.

Here in Chicago we started a tradition back in 2001: We fight to prove our place in the guild.


We call this Playing the Prize.




Now, to be allowed to do it, you must have passed a vigorous private skills exam, and a lengthy written test. Why? First, we need to know they can do what is expected of a swords person. This test is nothing new for the student. We have several ranks within the guild, Novice (6 weeks), Companion at arms (one year), Scholar and it's 3 subsequent grades (two years, and one more for each grade) Free  Scholar (5 years) and Provost (7 years). They have tested before scholar.

The underlined ranks are prize ranks. Ranks where there is more than just a test.

Let's remember, tests don't show us everything. They show us what you know, sure. The tests do not show us if you can back up those skills. The real deal, the proof mark if you will, is the Prize.

The Challengers

The Prize consists of three fights, each three minutes long. They come back to back with only a short, one minute break in between. Each round is against an opponent who has passed the test before you. An opponent who has watched you and learned your weaknesses and strengths.  Each Challenger will in turn punish your flaws and draw out your strengths.

You will enter the list, no one beside you save for your fellow defenders. You are greeted by the cheers of the crowd, a full house, waiting to see what you will do. Salute, On Guard, Ready, and Begin!

Three minutes will seem an hour. You sweat and strive to defend your right to be here, the challengers testing not only your skill, but your resolve to proceed. They will test it well.

After your fight, one of the marshals, your novice instructor, will peel off your mask and water you, before sending you right back into the fray.

The Prize is more than a test, it is a right of passage. It is exhilarating and uplifting, but also an overbearing and slogging battle. When it ends, you are weighed and measured. One is either found wanting or accepted as a full student,with freedoms and privileges barred to newer members of the school.

You will be take your oath, and be given your garter - an ancient symbol of skill and honor. The garter will be given to you by one of those who stood to challenge you. One who's vote you earned to pass this test. If you read the inside of the band, there will be the names of all those who wore that band before you. You will write your own name there as well, so that one day you might pass on that garter in an unbroken chain from senior student to novice, again and again.

The Guild Book

You will sign your name in the guild book, on pages lovingly hand painted. A page that has been waiting for your name. A page that will carry your name forward, as an example generations to come.

We do all this to teach you. To show you that many of your limits have fallen away, and which problems still nag your fencing. We do it to to inspire you to new heights, and to help you feel the bonds you share with your fellow swordsfolk more strongly.

Someday I hope to see your name in the guild book, and your feet on the floor of the Prize List.

Short post this week - Low line lock, low line arm bar.

a nice little summary of dagger class from tonight.

https://youtu.be/dry9N0CvRZM

I am very fond of the close in materiel, it seems.
Any way, if you are having trouble with you Ligadura Soprana, this should help.

Ties that Bind - the Figure 4 aka Ligadura Soprana

So, tonight in class we were working on the ligadure soprana, a continuation of last weeks lessons @ Forteza Fitness. Remember that this is all class footage or quickie footage that I shoot just for you gentle reader. I take requests if you want a more in depth look. Leave comments below.

Any way, Fiore's Ligadura Soprana is a fun technique, basically a "figure 4" lock. We should note that this action comes up many times in Fiore's manuscripts. Personally, I find it significant that this is the case. The old man was not one to repeat himself when he has the option to self reference earlier bits, which he does in several cases.

So, any time a play get a lot of attention from him, it's worth giving a bit more attention.

In the video ( https://youtu.be/4Nua76njYbw ) I only go over two of the 3 variants. Yes, he talk about it more than 3 times, but the lock itself is only shown in three variants. The inside and outside are my faves, the the under the arm is repeated more. I'll leave that to you to explore.

So, some key points:

One: don't miss the defense, or you die.

Two: you can't safely advance till you've broken the targets structure. Move thier elbow, don't hug thier arm which is what will happen if you let you body come in before you've properly begun the lock.

Three: Firire Help. Hit or strike the target before you try these, so thier attention is not on the play, but on the strike you just did or atleast attempted.

Four: It's all strikes. Don't get snakey with it. Stop the thrust, and HIT the enemy elbow towards you. The hit becomes a pull, but you can't do this with out precussion. We call that a massage. It's not a fight ender....

Between that and the video that shoudl cover it. Let me know if yo uhave questions.

J

Revisiting Bio Mechanics

I was talking with my friend and student "Boston" early this morning, and he asked me an interesting question about bio-mechanics. This blog is not about that, but it rather a smaller part of that conversation.

Fiore's First master of Long Sword

So here we have the first master of the long sword plays, where in the swords are crossed at he points. With a simple redirection we are able to cut the head or arms of the opponent, or possibly to thrust him.

This is the same in the three versions of his manuscript that I have read. So, as an exercise in bio-mechanics, lets break down what's happening in the play and what is demanded of the body to make it work.

Let's start with a few limiters: I am not including the next set of actions, we are only talking about crossing at the points, not the mid-blade. Keep the discussion tight, it's a blog people.

You don't need to be in great shape to have decent bio-mechanics, but conditioning does matter and there is a threshold below which skill cannot trump power. So, they are related.

Now, let's watch the video.

https://youtu.be/i_d1iM0nVwY

Now, you see how I go about it. What you see here is the use of  foot work to create an angle that will wedge out the other persons sword.

Noteable points:

1. Step left to gain an advantageous angle.

2. Cut down, onto the flat of the foe's blade. you'll note that this lets you almost glide down the foe'     sword as you suppress his cut.

3. Make sure your point ends up in line, even if you succeed at cutting him on the way in.

4. Use your back muscles. This action will fall apart with out having your body committed. Not over committed, though.

5. The player is settling his weight into a forward cut, not a downward one.

* Some notice that you may be able to get away with with out great footwork here, but it requires more skill and power to do to it that way.

* Bad footwork is not advised.


It's also interesting to note the that most of fiore's sections begin with a play that leaves the left foot in the front, and the player's weapon on the inside. Food for thought.

Medieval Beat-down. What are firere?

Hand to hand striking in the medieval context.

https://youtu.be/EXzvNpZagtA 

(Here is the attendant video you all love so much, but you will need to read on.)

Fun stuff, but dangerous stuff. I was asked to give my take on this, and so I will.

First, lets start with some of Fiore's words on the topic.

First, there are two kinds of Abrazare, one for sport, and one for defending life. If you are defending your life, you will employ anger, cruelty, and every trick and device you have at hand.

If you are not in harness (aka armor), you should strike to places most painful and dangerous, such as the eyes, nose and temples, under the chin and into the flanks. Be ready for what grapples and binds this gives rise to.

So, right out of the gate, before a single picture is drawn, he tells us these things. So I follow these instructions. Now, many of my newer students have asked, "How do we do that, Boss?" I am forced to respond "The old man did not tell us." I smile when I say that though, as this is a half truth.

Fiore left us a strong tactical doctrine, and the link of this section to it is very strong. His list of targets only includes targets near to us, and no center line body targets. Every target he lists can be hit from an acressere step off line and to the left, however.

So even here, Fiore is asking us to stay out of the inside unless we own it. So, step one, follow the over all tactical doctrine we Fiore-folk already know. The only difference is that at very close range, moving left will not bring you to the inside every time.We don't really want to be on the inside anyways, as the inside is where the bigger player wins. So don't have a punching match from a position where you have to absorb return fire.

Moving off line is also vital be cause it forces our opponent to play catch up. a moving target is harder to hit. Since the old man says to hit only after we've tried to shut down the opponent by gaining an advantageous prese (Grip) and trying to break him, we have to assume that we are striking because the opponent is free to move. So move in return, before he smashes your head.

Now, What kind of punches do we use?

I like the hammer fist for in-close work. It's easy to form, easy to employ if you hands are high, hits hard, and has low risk to your own hand. It's flaws are low range, and short target list.

I also like the open hand jab and cross strikes. These open of range, still have knock-down power, and give you a chance to gain that advantageous prese that we want so very badly. Not a lot of flaws there either, as they shut down the return lines to your neck and head, and have low risk of hand breakage.
Really, the only flaw is that you fingers can get grabbed and broken (Does not hurt as bad as you'd think, but I've been there and do not recommend allowing it to happen to you.)

There are lots of other strikes, and if you want an exhaustive list, well, pound sand. that would take a long time.

Lets focus on what strikes DO. They hurt the enemy.  What are the elements of hurting some one?

Target. Hit'em where it hurts. Fracture their jaw, knock'em out, stun their liver, and break bone. Hit bony areas, and make sure you transfer energy well. The temple, side of the jaw, front of the neck, collar bone, floating ribs and kidneys are all great for this. Fiore leaves off the classic solar plexus and the German heart punch, but to land those, you need to be fully inside the enemy's arms. Bad Plan.

Power. Hit'em hard. If you are serious about striking, you should work on you mechanics until you love your punch. Other people should dislike holding pads for you, and you should be able to throw 6-10 hits in a row with that same consistent level of power. This does not mean plow in at 100% output, but rather make you 70% output a threat. follow through. This is overlooked a lot. Remember, you are trying to punch the other persons organs, not their skin.

Follow-up. After contact, either hit'em again, or attach and switch to a break, bind, or throw. As a famous grappler once said, "Hit him 2-3 times, submission is more easy". If you do not gain attachment, kept the pain faucet running, and hit the opponent 3-4 more times. if they block you in some way, they have either handed you and arm to break, or are now open some where else. Hit them in that new open spot. Keep them from recovering initiative.


I'll follow this with a second blog of the body mechanics, but I hope this helps, gang. Again, please leave me comments, so I can address your feedback.

Pruning the Decision Tree Part 2 – The strategic mind set in Armizare before the clash of steel.

Hello Gang, Jesse here.

My student and Friend Phil "Boston" Canzano of the Lone Star Swordplay Guild had some pointed thoughts to share after my last blog. I will share them here, in hopes that you find them as interesting as I did. Also, if you are in Texas, near Austin, look him up.

https://www.facebook.com/groups/837046509663213/ right there on face book.

So, with no further delay, I present to you guest writer Phil.

Red Wolf recently wrote a wonderful blog on tactics in range. He purposely did not address the out of measure pre-fight study. To quote the blog:“Some others would say planning begins when you meet your opponent before the match …

What I am really talking about is the strategy we employ once the fight is joined. I.E, we have turned off the targeting computer and are listening to the force”.The intention of this blog is to read Greedo and fire the first shot. Or as Fiore says about the lynx “No creature sees better than me, the Lynx. And I always set things in order with compass and measure”.

Under the assumption that a fight / match has not started let’s look at the first part of this statement “No creature sees better than me”. What does this mean to me pre-fight. Literally I’m using my eyes. I want personally look at the following things.

First, gear. What part is the most chewed up part of the gambeson? Is it the left shoulder? Let’s say it is. What does that tell me about the opponent? Either the washing machine has chewed it all to hell or, more likely, my opponent gets hit there a lot, therefor it may be a weakness I can exploit. What part of the sword is chewed up. The punta might inform me they favor a thrust. A highly dinged Forte tells me this person probably likes to close and close hard. What shape is the hand protection in? If it is in bad shape, then I can theorize the hands are also a good target as it would appear they are not great at protecting them.

Secondly, size does matter. Folks I’m 5’10” 160 lbs soaking wet so this is important to me. If I look across the floor and see a 6’5’ 280 lb beast with a chewed up Fort I can assume 2 things about them. 1) They close distance to grapple or plays of Stretto. 2) Grappling is not my best option, measure is probably my best friend here.

Third, the opponent’s gate. Yes I watch this like a judge at a Westminster kennel club dog show. I have noticed over the years that people who step short in their normal everyday walk do not pass as far as someone with a larger natural step. This allows you to gage what their measure is. To build on this (and going back to what Jesse was talking about in his blog) after the first pass, did they acress, circle, pass I.E. is there a pattern of movement they are using and can I disrupt that pattern to my advantage.

Four, miscellaneous cues. This would include things like are they a lefty or righty. What does the first guard tell me about them? Forward or back weighted to start? Is there structure in alignment?

Fifth, putting it together. While seeing these cues and putting them together in an instant may appear to be a Sherlockian task (to quote the man "I deduced there were 13 possible  outcomes"), the brain will only be able to process this information quickly through practice. For our purposes, the most practical way is through free play, solo cutting drills and sparing. Why solo cutting drills? Simple answer is, if you don't know what can be done out of a guard, you can't limit the opponents options.

Time for the anecdote, I left Chicago and moved to Texas (Yes it is the heart of Mordor) with no one to practice with. Necessity being the mother of all invention, I quickly realized that if I broke down each guard, I was not only perfecting my attack but also breaking down my opponent's attack, in this case it was a tree with an x carved into it.

All of these items lead up to the second part of Fiore's statement “I always set things in order with compass and measure”. By processing this information quickly, I can set myself up for success by pruning even more branches off of the decision tree by assessing and processing the information before combat begins.

So get out the compass and tape measure, make an eye exam and remember they are watching you too.

One other thing I want to mention, painted masks. This can make all of this a little tricky as you may not be able to see the opponent's eyes. No biggie, go back to my first point, what part of the paint job is all scratched up. These masks should never intimidate, they should inform.

Hope this was helpful. All the best and happy sparing!

- Boston


Thanks for reading. Please Leave comments! we care about your feed back, and as always, I take topic requests.

Pruning the decision tree - strategic mind set in Armizare.

Oh Decision tree, with thine barren
 and thorny branches, bleak are your
heights, for in you is a forest of 
blows, too many choices, and you
 are home the balorous squirrel,
 Hesitation.

Decision trees.
What are they? What do they have to do with sword fighting?

My instructor recently reminded me that if I am not acting with a plan, I am just cutting pretty patterns in the air. He is not wrong, we need a plan of action in order to close in and land a hit on the other person.

Some say that your plan should keep you two or three moves ahead of your enemy, kinda like a good chess player. My only beef with this "chess" analogy is that chess is not played in real time, the players take turns, so initiative is fixed. Not so in a sword fight; initiative is dynamic and can change hands frequently.

Also, I cannot wait for a few moves to occur before I see how the fighting is shaping up.  A fight develops much faster than chess does. I need to know what the enemy is going to do, and I need to know it before I get hit.

Some others would say planning begins when you meet you opponent before your match. While its all well and good to suss out those details (lords know I have), what I am really talking about is the strategy we employ once the fight is joined. IE, we have turned OFF the targeting computer, and are listening to the force. Yeah, yeah, I know we're not Magic Space Wizards.

My A.D.D. mind has assembled a slightly different analogy, which can be applied to not only sparring, but to various most of my training models.

Let's call this analogy pruning the decision tree.

We begin with the problem: I am trying to solve is that I want to hit my enemy without being struck myself in return.

In my fight, I am not exactly planning ahead. We don't know what the person in front of us will do (not magic future reading space wizards), so we have a large number of potential decisions we may need to make. Too many, in fact, as our foes can do lots of stuff and strike from many angles.

Or can they? Position and range heavily limit what your foe can bring against you at any given moment. The wider the range, the more potential options the foe has, and one of those options is decreasing the range to the next tier. Mind you, though, range can be so great as to make your enemy momentarily irrelevant. If the foe cannot make a threat that means anything, ignore it.

The cone shrinks as we close, reducing the number of meaningful things that can happen, but also robbing you of reaction time, so be careful not to take this visual out of context. If range gets to 0, and you have not won, you are likely dead. 

Position is the other variable control. We cannot know the future, but we can know the current position and range. This is where the pruning begins. Since we can know the targets current position (guard and foot alignment), we can know their options that flow from that position.

If we adjust our position to potentially counteract the things the enemy's position can do, already our decision tree has lost 3/4 of its branches, since those options are divisible into the quadrants through which the first movers sword will pass.


By knowing the enemy's options, and adjusting our own position accordingly we have gone from "every thing can happen" (within the confines of weapon, and range) to "these things can happen", this being 3-5 things that any given position can manage.

Now, by choosing our next action (it does not matter really if you are first or second mover at this level of the discussion) to cover the enemy's shortened list of options, we limit that enemy to 1-2 meaningful actions. (we have to remember that some of the things that can happen, such as getting hit and dying, the enemy abruptly leaving measure, or killing your foe don't matter to the next layer of the process, because the process is halted.)

Instead of trying to remember hundreds of if-then statements that our training has driven into our lizard brains, you have neatly boxed the target's choices, and you only need to have one if-then line in your cued up code. We can handle that, right?






In Summary,
1. If you are not paying attention, anything can happen.

2. By maintaining an effective counter guard, or going on a planned offensive, you can reduce the number of potential out comes.

3. after the first action begins, there will only remain one.  or two valid outcomes, and with training, you can use that foreknowledge against your foe.

4. I deliberately did not talk about initiative. This is because if you are planning well, and reacting in real time to your opponents position, you can choose who has it. One can move first,  or by choosing to move second, assuming you can control your measure, you keep the initiative after a fashion. Also, the model work on both side of the coin, in terms of initiative.

- every move you make is building a coffin, lets just hope the right person goes winds up in it.

Jesse out.

CRASH! 5th Master leg pick thoughts.

https://youtu.be/uBb8nqBLCew



BANG!

I love leg picks. It's not a secret.

They offer a number of challenges to many of us who practice Armizare, however. I have heard a lot of reason stated as to why folks are not good at them. Lets List a few:

"I am too weak to pick up so&so"

"They leave me too exposed, so I avoid using them"

"They are too easy to counter"

So,  have some counter arguments, but before I get to them, lets remember that Fiore says that everything in his book is stuff that works, and he knows this becasue he did it, or saw it done more than once.

So, while strength can be a draw back for a lot of close-in fighting technique, it is not the sole deciding factor. Still, the old man him self suggests you be stronger and faster in wrestling. If you are weaker, remember that you still have an obligation to yourself to win the fight, go home, and kiss your family goodnight. Done right, a leg pick can help a mouse fell even the mightiest tree.

In terms of exposure, most folks with this complaint are working slow, or being lazy with their set up. Every chance to access the low line is preceded by occupying the foe's high line. If you are not doing that, there is no reason to transition to the leg pick. 'Cause you'll be exposed.

Finally, countering anything is possible. Here again, I don't see the leg pics as any easier to counter than anything else. If, that is, you remember the above paragraph. KEEP the high line OCCUPIED. The moment that fails, you will likely get countered.

Well, those are my short thoughts. see the above video, with a few more details.

Cheers, Jesse.

Leave comments below.

Basic lunge exercises

https://youtu.be/2c-JbIqT_zE


So, I was asked to leave a little advice for getting fit to fight with a rapier. These are a few general exercises i use to work the chain of events that go into a lunge, and more importantly, the recovery from a lunge.

It's just a little taste, but you can see the use of them.

now, I do not want you to think that this is the end all be all of training you body for the lunge, indeed, far from it. but this can help you get past a few of the humps in smoothing the action out.

as always, enjoy, and look for more posts soon, the long delay is over.

J

Two is better than one - the reinforced block.

The Stronger Fortess, From the Ghetty Text

So, we see this idea in the Flos Battaglia several times, it must have been worth it, as good ole' Fiore does not repeat himself all that often.

Here, more than any other anti-dagger action, we are bringing up a shield. now, in harness, this quite literal. The metal case on our arms protects us. But even with out a hard shell, this action is useful.

It helps us wedge off the space more strongly, separating our foe from his/her weapon and getting us in a position to go after either the weapon or the wielder. Fiore indicates the weapon is best to go after, as that is the thing that will kill you. You can enter into any play of the first remedy, and even some wrestling, if you have a mind to stay in close.

It also gives us more leverage against larger weapons like spears and lets us break the strikes of foe far stronger than we may be.

It is, however, easily countered. So, if you use this tactic, don't over play your hand, as your foes may counter it as we show in the second video clip.


Clip one

https://youtu.be/Y1SLTzINNiA

Clip two
https://youtu.be/tGxqAmPUy9s

Sweep the Leg! Not really, just my weekly teaching blog

Michael Sims asked me to Take a look a holds from behind, and so here it is. 





https://youtu.be/U0fG4A7SFqc

So, here is one of Fiore's answers. Sorry to skip the full nelson, but it did not fit with my lesson this week. 

Key points to take away from this video:
- You don't have a lot of time or space when some one has you from behind. 
- Find or make the space you need to act. 
- Act in one tempo.


I'll let the video do the talking, but as always I love feedback. 

J

5th remedy of dagger from fiore.

Just working the basics here.


https://youtu.be/Wwrm3spE1A8



The 5th remedy of dagger is an odd duck. The "stick-up" style attack is as old as mankind, with the aggressor (agent) using a display of force to cow the defender (patient) into compliance. Despite the frequent occurrence of this action, it's hard to create a real-feeling context. With out real feeling context, a lot of folks think they can do these moves (and they can), but have no idea when to deploy them. Incorrect deployment is just as bad as doing it wrong in his case.

In the video, I set up a VERY rudimentary context, but I left out emotion. If some one has it in them to use this sort of threat, they will not be calm. They will not likely be calculating. They will be desperate, over-wrought, and probably expecting to win. Use the script of the villain to your advantage, only break from his script when it will aid you, and not before.

I cover it in the video, but I will say it again here: If they are talking, give then a posture and words they might expect. If the knife is coming (as happens in prison style shankings, the old grab & stab combo) then ignore the attached arm, and DEFEND the BLADE.

To sum it up: the remedies of the 5th dagger master are cool, and can work very well if you are in the right situation. In the wrong situation, they are not useful and indeed get you stabbed, so use your judgement.

Jesse Out.

PS, I'm still taking requests, if there is a topic on your mind.

Spiking your target - 1st master deployments and dealing with the knife.

In a prior article, we talked about Fiore's  dagger, and how it gets used. Today, we'll expand on that concept a bit.

I'll let the video do most of the talking, but i want to label this here.

In this class we are doing two types of dagger deployment. One is against the random assault, or the hold up. This is a classic approach to anti-dagger training. The flaw here is that while a good tool to teach the concept, the position is far too static. This is not a game of battle ship, where in we stand and duke it out.

The Second set of drill will take the concept taught in the first, and see if the students can apply these techniques in a more dynamic, less co-operative environment. Now I want to be clear, this is not scenario training, nor is it sparring. This is simply creating a situation where all the pieces are moving, and the agent is not compliant.

Here is an example of a "controlled context drill", which is NOT sparring, but allows the studet to begin to explore the situation, not just the technique at hand. (ALEX here has freedom to use any technique he knows, which is a fair number)

https://youtu.be/R9GST5CM0wE



Now, feel free to use you imagination to build on this drill or create other situations with which to deal. My favorites are when the player have reached a neutral bind, sword on sword, and one of them transitions to the dagger.

Working on Fiore's Ligadure - more in my series of classroom blogs.

Fiore offers us 3 primary "Ligadure", and a handful or variations on the theme. Most of these occur in the dagger section, but they are also found in the sword sections.

Personally, I like to follow Fiore's advice in terms of his order of operations for close range fighting which he lays out in the Ghetty manuscript, before he introduces the guards of grappling.

They are as follows:
- Have strength
- Have speed
- Know how to grab the target
- Know how to break his limbs
- Know how to bind (ligadure) his limbs
- Know how to make you hits count (strike dangerous places)
- Know throws
- Know dislocations

Now, since breaks are higher on the list, I take that to mean We are looking to do that where ever possible, and IF we tie him up, we are looking for throws and dislocations. I use a good slug to soften the target, or buy time for a more permanent solution (but a knock out would be sweet gravy).

So, that should give you perspective as you watch me teach some of these binds.
Enjoy.

https://youtu.be/TuGfYvFZIh0

Spine Locks: Wringing out a towel. AKA more class notes.

Still in a wrestling chapter.

The Plate in question. 

Looking a the plays of Abrazare, today, we are on the spine lock,

Now, I included one of my famous warm ups as well, to help with context. Since the class room is a laboratory environment, it is easy to lose sight of when these actions can occur in a fight, and what the goals are.

The drill will speak for itself in the class room clip. Drills like this one are part of my abrazare (Close-in fighting for non-Italian speakers) classes to help the student learn the timing of these techniques, as well as to prepare them for a little bit of contact.

Now, I feel strongly that such things are important, and that with out such basic contact drills, students will require a much longer learning period.

In short, and to quote the master, you must know how to come to and advantageous grip.

Enjoy!

https://youtu.be/IkISctJd-tU

Follow on plays from the first remedy of Abrazare.

Here is a brief clip of this weeks close quarters class. A bit more technical than last weeks, but I think the lesson of context has been retained.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pAU5wUpmz-s

A brief classroom look at abrazare, base remedy and followup throw.

https://youtu.be/IkPUzI5QS7s

This a classroom shot, which I thought turned out OK. shows an entry into the first remedy, and give basic advice. As always, feed back helps make me a better teacher, so feel free to comment.

I like the remedy, but context can be tough. This is just one of many ways you can find this throw useful.

Fiore's Dagger - What are we dealing with?

There is a lot of talk about knife fighting. As traditional martial artists (we are following old-tyme martial arts) we often get captivated by the techniques. I know I do. But lets not lose the forest for the trees.

Knives are dangerous. We all say that, but do we know it? Do you know what it is to be cut, and see yours, or some one else's blood? I hope you do not. That knowledge is never gained in a positive way.

So, we are dealing with a knife. what do those look like. Well, Fiore used a pretty big knife,  but a wide variety of other forms existed at that point in history, as well as now. We need to be prepared against all of them.

Rondel Daggers

     

Modern Problem Knife

So, how do knives hurt us? They cut or stab. In Medieval times, the thrust was considered more dangerous, as it entered into the body and damaged bits they had no technology to heal. Also, cuts can be superficial, and are less likely to penetrate clothing. As such, they can be less reliable.

Target color: Red from overhand,
Blue from underhand, and purple
for overlapping zone

Cuts are most effective with large blades, or to relatively unprotected areas. I would not write them off as nothing, but they offer less impact as well, so a glancing hit may not be felt by the target.

So,
     - Cuts to unprotected areas.
     - Stabs/Thrusts to any where.
     - (Pommel strikes with big knives may also be a factor, but you        deal with them them same, so let's not worry over them).

So, what do these attacks look like?
I have watched many, many hours of CCTV knife attacks in order to study this. It seems that stabbing attacks are still more common than slashing attacks. Both tend to originate from a draw or a place of concealment. Cuts tend to be pretty big and a little wild.  Thrusts will come hard and repeatedly. Also, most attacks are accompanied by the attacker attaching to the target with his free hand.

It turns out that this is not very different from Fiore's day. Fiore suggests that overhand attacks will land some where in the lower head / upper chest of the victim, and that under handed attacks will land some where between the groin and the heart. His advice seems to hold true even to this day. (see chart)

The final thing to consider, both then and now, is that the knife is gonna be coming in pretty hard. This will not be a duel. In the medieval times, the knife was prohibited from friendly deeds or arms, but not the duel to the death. This will not be a cold and dispassionate attack, it will be an amped-up, last ditch attack from a desperate swordsman who's first lines of defense are down. Modern assailants are more likely on the predatory end of things but they still are emotionally charged, and their thrust(s)will come in with as much power as they can muster.

So, to recap:
1. We know the attack will come from close range, and with little warning.
2. We can Roughly judge, based on grip, where the strike will come (assuming we see the knife before the strike)
3. It will hit us HARD, and often repeatedly. The Agent wants us DEAD.

Keep these things in your mind while you train.

To that end, train at multiple power output levels, and train against good attacks.
     - Aim for your target.
     - Use well formed, direct attacks.
     - Have attacker begin from both a ready position and the draw. you need to understand both.


OK, so next week we'll start looking the various rememdies, and how we can train them to work well for us.

Cheers,
J

Tossing folks.

I am starting off the next module of our program with our basic Abrazare Materiel. Part of my project to improve my self is to watch a few minutes each week of my own teaching. I like this clip, though, i need to be a little better about my feet, they are frequently too flat. Enjoy, feel free to comment, as always. 

This is after our warm up of striking with hammer strikes and knees, just the thrown portion of the lesson.

https://youtu.be/5SDujR02b7U

J

Pressing the point and Double kills.

The point of the sword is arguably the most lethal part of the weapon. It penetrates clothing more easily and enters deep into the body. In the case of the dagger, it hits harder than a cut, and is in many ways more reliable.

Often, however, the thrust leads to a double kill. It does not close lines the same way that cuts do and worse, it can be hard to sell your intention. In other words, some foes do not react defensively to them.  Let's take a look at this for a moment and see if we can learn a little bit about where this beast lets us down, and how we can make it work a little better for us. 

Now, before you read on, bear in mind that we are looking at some specific issues here; we are not getting into a technique pairing clinic. So before you think to yourself, "Well, if Jesse does this, then I'd just do that and kill him," stop and look at the bigger picture for a second.  That is not the discussion here. If you want that, ask me some specifics, and we can play 'what if' in a later blog.

So, in no particular order, here are my observations on the topic of double kills that occur when the first mover is throwing a thrust to begin an encounter.

1. Weak prosecution does not garner respect. (Battle ain't no fishin' trip)

I see a lot of new to mid-level students "go fishing" for a response from their foe from out of effective measure. They throw a half-assed attack that is not fully formed. It's hard enough for a foe to see you launch a thrust, but if it is weak or you move with no confidence, good luck getting a reaction from a seasoned fighter.

Worst still is fishing: making a thrust that is out of measure, yet still carries the agent forward in vain hopes that the foe will waste a tempo in response to the non-threat. Good foes will not; they will instead capitalize on the new, closer range you have offered them and kill you directly.

Now, it is very dangerous to use a thrust as a probe in general, as thrusts do not close lines very well. Add in weak prosecution, or probe out of measure, and you are handing your foe your life on a silver platter.

So if you are gonna feel out your opponent do it like you mean it; no one likes a weak probe. You must use a genuine, in measure action. 

2. Stop thrusts don't (stop the target most of the time.)  

   
The stop thrust is an awesome move. To arrest the target at distance is good, but does not always go as planned. To insure only one party bleeds, make sure you do three things while trying to stop the target.

First, don't miss. Put your point on their face or their sternum. The hips work OK if you have a lance, but I would not risk it at long sword range without good cause.

Secondly, MOVE YOUR ASS. The cut you were trying to arrest? There's a good chance it's still coming. With training swords the target may not notice you put in your point and abort their cut, or they may not care. They'll notice the hit if you put in a genuine thrust, but often too late.

With a sharp blade it'll just sink in and keep on going. A thrust penetrates soft tissue without slowing down the sword, or said tissue. So unless you plug their skull or sternum, the enemy's cut is still coming your way.

So please, move your ass out of harm's way. Plan on it every time.

Lastly, remove your sword from the target right away. Pull your sword free, shifting your weight and slicing a big ol' exit wound. If at all possible, try to cover any lines the enemy might use against you in the process. If the target ain't dead, the next attack is coming, so get your weapon up to deal with it.

3. Close the door against the rain. 

Speaking of closing the line, whenever possible do that. Even as secondary actions, many of us will press in the point, but not worry about closing the line. Remember, while thrusts are mortal in the long run, they lack stopping power unless you hit the face or sternum. So, keep the line closed and be sure to move your ass the moment your thrust is done.

I have here a few videoed examples that may help you see what I am talking about. I know we all love our visual aids.

https://youtu.be/xP81bz_v3h4

I hope this is useful for your training. Feel free to comment or ask me for topics.
Look forward to more,

Jesse Kulla

Striking Mechanics, of Keeping your elbows young.

So, after re-labeling and cleaning out my old blog, I was thinking of what to put here first.

Then, my ol' buddy Jess Finley posted a great article on shoulder health and I figured I'd chime in on the subject, from a slightly different point of view. I am a fitness trainer by profession, and so I like to take a time out occasionally and look at the bio mechanics from a point of view other than that of a martial artist.

Over the 17 years I've been swinging steel I have noticed a lot of "sword elbow" in the HEMA/WMA community, and I realized that the injuries stem from similar sources: the mechanics of how folks stop their sword when they are at practice.

So, some time ago I took it upon myself to think of ways to prevent these injuries, both by specific strength building exercises and by taking a hard look at the mechanics of cutting. I found the exercise side to be pretty important (no surprise that a fitness trainer would prescribe exercise!). I'll cover that in the first part of the video below. Written descriptions of exercise can be excruciatingly technical.

Now, the deceleration problem was of more interest to me. I have never experienced these stress injuries in my elbows or shoulders. I thought I would have, as I have suffered some pretty nasty elbow injuries in my youth, and I still feel the effects of those mishaps to this day.

But those injuries inadvertently helped me avoid the stress of stopping the sword. My analysis: we don't collect our shoulders, which in turn prevents the energy of stopping the sword from moving beyond our shoulders and elbows. The energy instead is absorbed by larger, more durable muscles like the lats, and the erector spinae.

So in the attached video, I will show some exercises you can do at home by yourself to help out with strength, but also to encourage your body to have better posture and to keep the shoulders more collected and engaged at all times.

Staying focused on the upper body for a moment, the muscles I want to use to power the cut are my lat muscles, rather than the shoulders or the triceps/biceps. They are the biggest individual muscles on the upper body, and can absorb a lot of damage if your cut does not work out as planned (gets parried, hits armor, or misses entirely).

The entire core is also engaging, especially the front abs area. This offers more support to the spine, more power to the cut, and better transmission of energy to or from the legs.

Finally, it's important to remember that the end stage of a cut, right as contact is about to be made, is using my pulling muscles more than my pushing muscles. In part because if I hit meat, I want to shear through it in one smooth stroke. Also because if I hit steel or skull, it will let me strike harder and more cleanly exit the action.

Now for context, a little more about the cutting I do in this video.

My school teaches "traditional" martial arts, specifically the Armizare of Fiore di Libre, He was man who served a good part of his life as a mercenary. He had seen war, and so that idea must influence how I cut.

Every hit must matter.
Every hit must close a line.
Every fight ends with a thrust.

So, there are some things I do or don't do because that is in my head. Also, I mainly train to use a type XV sword, which are not as optimal for cutting as some other blade shapes. These swords were pretty common in Fiore's day and while they are not the best at cutting, they are great for striking both armored and unarmored targets.

Also, they are very good at creating IMPACT, which can change a fight in your favor whether the steel bites the target or not.
 
Picture the type XV on the right of the chart. Note they are very stabby, but not as optimized for cutting.

Here is a little video to explain. Enjoy.

(Sorry, I had to use voice over; the room was too loud to narrate)

https://youtu.be/krkDkZ1q63I