No real WWW this week. I’ve got one on my jump drive, but as I see the end of my list of ideas approach, I think weeks where I post three times I may hold off on the WWW. Nonetheless, I’ve been having a thought, and figured I’d share…
Dante’s teaching a Self Analysis class at Academie. In his experience, and mine, it’s a skill that’s not nearly developed enough in the average fencer. I think I’m at least somewhat an exception, though if you’re at a Thursday practice and looking for an example, look at Galen.
After making Dreya write up her List of Things to Work On (which, whenever I do it, makes me slightly nervous and edgy and overwhelmed), I figured I could not make my students do something I was not prepared to do myself.
For the past six months, I’ve been working on two main goals:
1) Fight the fighter, not the reputation. Part of this has been recognizing certain fundamental limits on all fighters. Vyv may jump into his green tights both legs at once, but his sword tip still is weaker than my forte. There is no perfect form, openings are openings (Hint on Vyv: rising shot to the thumb). Some of this is confidence: I am a sexy shoeless god of war. I think people who have been around me lately my have figured out that building my confidence has been a success.
2) Cutting the fat out of my fight. Not the fat off my lovehandles, though that needs to go, too. But I was over-reliant on my “lazy fencer” style, and my “classic” style was sucking. So I’ve been knocking my fight back to basics, focusing on stance and footwork, in-line bladework, closing lines, and measure. I think this is going pretty well, too, and am ready to move on.
Here’s the problem: I have no idea what to work on next. I’m definitely working on fitness, but that’s a constant thing (I think my blade work is better than eight months ago, but my fitness is ass, so Last Pennsic Wistric could beat April 24 2009 Wistric). So I’ve got a couple ideas…
1) Mindset. Fencing is fun, but I need to do more practice in “fighting” mode. I’m thinking five passes at a time, rather than stand out there and poke at each other till we’re tired. For those fighters who don’t respond well to fighting mode, I may use them to train specific skills (last night fighting Jauma I threw a scanso della vita three passes in a row, good training).
2) Um… I lied. I have one idea. Damn. If only Isobel’s class wasn’t opposite Dante’s at Academie, I’d be there.
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