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


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