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.