At this week’s practice, we had a larger turn-out than usual. Galen, Verena, and Finn are the usual crowd, but Ayisha was visiting from out of town and we have a new person named Clark who recently started school at the University. This meant that the drills for the evening needed to be divided into […]
Archive for the ‘Teaching and Training’ Category
Drills of the Week #2: November 1, 2018 Leave a comment
Core Italian Rapier Drills: Drills of the Week #1 1 comment
The popularity of historic martial arts has exploded over the last few years, but learning how to fence from historical fencing treatises can be difficult. One of the most common errors I’ve seen people make is to fail to become proficient with the core actions and drills of a historic fencing system before plowing ahead […]
Drills, Sparring, and the Happy Path Leave a comment
The other day I became engaged in a conversation about why there seems to be a reasonably large population of fencers who study the manuals diligently, but later struggle to perform against opponents who are actively resisting them. I recall some years back being told that I “shouldn’t exist” because that person’s experience with historical […]
Skillfully Teaching Skill 11 comments
Teaching is a profession that a lot of people think they understand because they went to school and saw teachers do their jobs every day for years. Maybe they showed a young relative how to tie their shoes, or finger paint, or make a sandwich. Those people are wrong. Very wrong, to the degree that […]
Concussions in Fencing 5: Armoring Up 22 comments
(Ed. This is part 5 of a multi-part series. Comments that indicate a failure to read previous entries shall be mocked and, possibly, moderated with extreme prejudice. The author took the time to do the research, you can take the time to read it) (Part 1 Part 2 Part 3 Part 4) What Causes Concussions: As we […]
Concussions in Fencing Part 4: Techniques for Avoiding Concussions 14 comments
(Ed. This is part 4 of a multi-part series. Comments that indicate a failure to read previous entries shall be mocked and, possibly, moderated with extreme prejudice. The author took the time to do the research, you can take the time to read it) (Part 1 Part 2 Part 3) In the previous articles, I […]
Wistric’s Drill Class, Meridian Fighter’s Collegium, 25 Sept 2016 10 comments
This past Saturday I taught a class on drills (and other ways to improve) on your own and with a partner. My notes are below, and the drills covered are linked here. One day I should get video of these. First, GOOD DRILL PRACTICE: Don’t try to win the drill (ffs!). If your job is […]
Concussions in Fencing Part 3: Other Factors 4 comments
(Ed. This is part 3 of a 5 part series. Comments that indicate a failure to read previous entries shall be mocked and, possibly, moderated with extreme prejudice. The author took the time to do the research, you can take the time to read it) (See Part 1, Part 2, Part 4) In the previous two […]
Concussions in Fencing part 2: The Typical Blow 8 comments
(Ed. This is part of a 5 part series. Comments that indicate a failure to read previous entries shall be mocked and, possible, moderated with extreme prejudice. The author took the time to do the research, you can take the time to read it) (See Part 1, Part 3, Part 4) Knowing how much force […]
Concussions in Fencing: Part 1 8 comments
(See Part 2, Part 3, Part 4) What is a Concussion? Until somewhat recently, concussions were seen as a relatively mild injury. However, in the last few years, a growing body of evidence has demonstrated the long-term consequences of these injuries to medical professionals and the public at large. Simply put, a concussion is a […]