This is the Beta 1.0 version of the questionnaire. Input is welcome (Requested by and with input from Bastyaen Karrekijn de Leeu, and inspired by Dante di Pietro’s Self-Assessment class) First, your goal. Complete this sentence: On the melee field, I want to be ___________________________ Starting with safety and mechanics, do you: Call dead loudly […]
Archive for the ‘Wistric’s Weekly Warfare’ Category
Wistric’s Weekly Warfare 22: Self-Assessment 2 comments
Wistric’s Weekly Warfare 21: Woods Battles Leave a comment
There is, quite possibly, no greater rush on the melee field than the first clash in the woods. At ‘Lay on’, the enemy is invisible, unlike all other scenarios, and you charge forward towards your goal not knowing if you’ll make it before the enemy appears; not knowing if you’re running into the entire enemy […]
Wistric’s Weekly Warfare 20: Limited Fronts and Killing Cups 7 comments
For rapier fighting, there is exactly one approved method for defending a gate, door, fort, castle, or any other structure with an access point limited to 1-5 fighters wide: form a killing cup, stab anybody who tries to come through the door. A properly formed killing cup is a semicircle, centered on the doorway, with […]
Wistric’s Weekly Warfare 19: Period Warfare and You 4 comments
In 1503, 8,000 Spanish infantry were dug in on the heights of Cerignola, in Italy, near Naples. They were in southern Italy, so far from Spain, as part of an agreement between King Ferdinand I of Spain and King Louis XII of France, by which they would divide Naples between the two nations. Unfortunately, things […]
Wistric’s Weekly Warfare 18: Maneuvers and Commands worth Knowing 1 comment
(With input from Dante di Pietro and Celric d’Ravelle) A while back on the Atlantian Rapier Discussion Boards, we had a thread about which commands and maneuvers every Atlantian fencer should know. That, combined with my own thoughts, led to this list: Forming a Unit: Rally: Form as a unit on the person […]
Wistric’s Weekly Warfare 17: Group Initiative 5 comments
Having discussed the role played by personal initiative last month, and the calculus of costs and benefits, risks and rewards, we reached the conclusion that there’s no hard and fast rule for when to take personal initiative. You could say the same of group initiative. But you’d be wrong. As a unit, whenever possible, you take […]
Wistric’s Weekly Warfare 16: Why I Hate Line Fighting Leave a comment
I hate line fighting. Hate it. Like a rash. In a tender place.
Wistric’s Weekly Warfare 15: Courtesy 1 comment
One of the big things that doesn’t get talked about nearly enough at practice is the exercise of courtesy. While the armored fighter’s goal is chivalry, our goal as fencers is to embody courtesy in all our deeds.
Wistric’s Weekly Warfare 14: Drills Leave a comment
Drills for your melee practice Galen’s Line Drill: Split the practice in half, 2-3 on a side. When you get killed, take a large step back, take a deep breath, then step back in. That way, everyone gets time in a melee without lots of running or stopping ’cause you’re outnumbered 3 to 1. […]
Wistric’s Weekly Warfare 13: Personal Initiative Leave a comment
If you pick wrong, your whole team takes a beating, and you learn. And that’s all.