The Weekly Warfare   Musings martial from across the SCA

Fabris Practice

Concepts and things to practice:

1. Lunging
2. Moving
3. Don’t fear the sword
4. Angled attacks off line
5. Passing attack, passing through the opponent
6. Changing intent mid plan
7. Cavazione with forward movement
8. Identify openings
9. Voids
10. Lunging through the tip
    1. Working angles
    2. Forte going where the tip started
    3. “Lead with the forte”

Drills and what they work:

1. Lunges
   • Make pretty lunges
   • Recovery
   • Passing step
   • Follow up
2. *Bowling Ball Drill
   • Faith in counter-guard/finding the blade
   • Attacks in tempo
   • Cavazione
   • Add concepts as necessary
3. Exploring Fabris’ Wounds
   • Look at the wounds for further insight into the theory
   • Gives knowledge of what to do in certain situations
4. Call people on slop/bad form
5. Slow fights, watching slow fights
   • Angled attacks
   • Foot work
   • Passing through attack
   • Changing intent at midplan
   • Identify openings
6. Create our own drill of 6 things

 

Practice plans

1/16/12-1/20/12

The focus of practice will be lunges and movement. In particular we will focus on making a nice Italian lunge from the Fabris guard. In addition, we will work on various aspects of footwork such as the passing step. The passing step is an important feature of Fabris but it works against our groups habitual way of attacking, the lunge or small advances with an extension.

After we have succeeded in making this footwork pretty we should continue to drill these concepts frequently on our own.

 

Other practices

All elements of the practice will be timed so as to best use our hour and a half.

Short footwork drills to ensure no bad habits are being picked up.

*Bowling ball drill, the details and complexity of the drill will increase week to week.

Fight for a set amount of time, try to utilize concepts from the bowling ball drill.

Briefly practice the Fabris wound worked the previous week. 5 passes each or until time is up.

Practice the weeks new Fabris wound.

Go through and practice (1 or 2 passes per wound) all or a select number of wounds from previous weeks.

Slow fighting with emphasis on certain goals or actions.

Fight for a set amount of time, try to utilize the concepts from the slowfighting.

 

*The Bowling Ball Drill

Retreating can be useful in a fight, but frequently it is better to attack or at least stand your ground if you are in a good counter guard. Since our group all have the habit of retreating as part of our defense we want a drill that will force us to defend with the sword. This drill has one fighter (A) attack the other fighter (B). Fighter B can do anything to defend themselves except retreat. What fighters A and B do may start as a simple attack and counter attack parry but will progress as knowledge increases.