Happy New Year! Despite everything I’m still here & I hope you will stick around, too!
Fuck it; I’m buying more medieval arms & armor.
Money can’t buy me happiness but it can purchase a new arming sword & heater shield!
The blade is nice and nimble but the edge is pretty rough; it’s gonna need some major grinding & honing before we can do proper tatami mat cutting.
The shield is heavy & barebones…but both of those were expected features & caveats of this defensive platform. Both of which will be fixed by strength training & some custom metal and/or leatherwork, respectively!
Playing with Swords | VLOG #4
Passing a boring weekend with ATTEMPTED TAMESHIGIRI! I think I may have stumbled upon a new form of anger management. BAMBOO MATS AND PLASTIC BOTTLES BEWARE!
If you’d like to watch someone else doing this exercise competently in order to wash the taste of cringe from your mouth, check out this video.
A Very Unprofessional VLOG About Swords or Something
While you people were being well-adjusted and contributing members of society, I studied the blade.
LOL No I didn't, I just watched anime. But lately I've been getting into HEMA and other weapons-based martial arts, so I have taken steps to learn how to use and maintain swords and other bladed combat implements.
My Worksharp Knife sharpener recently arrived in the mail, so I figured I'd first test its capabilities and my "technique" with a simple and cheap sword that I wouldn't mind damaging.
The reason I chose this item was because a favorite Youtuber, Skallagrim, recommended that it would be a noob-friendly and idiot-proof way to give your equipment an edge. But you know what they say: "Make something idiot proof, and the world will produce a bigger idiot." Let’s hope I’m an exception to this.
The actual sword I’ll be testing in-depth is a bastard sword that I have engraved for my wedding. Expect it up on the channel soon! ;)
Adventures in Swordplay #3 - RELAX!
Today, after an extended hiatus of 3-4 weeks, I returned to HEMA class. Thankfully, I’ve been doing flowing cutting drills (Meyer’s Square) on my off-time, so I wasn’t nearly as rusty as I could’ve been when we jumped into some light swordplay against an opponent. Today’s drill was focused on: SWORD BINDS! It’s that thing that happens when a pair of master swordsmen cross blades, draw up close to one another’s faces, and begin an extended dialogue about the weather or something.
[^ Check out Lindybeige’s channel for more neat-o sword stuff.]
During the lesson, we briefly discussed the 3 advantages once can acquire when engaged in a bind.
- T - True Edge
- L - Leverage
- C - Crossing
Devon Boorman wrote some good material on these topics here. I won’t be going into too much details about the technique, since that was not today’s most important lesson. Check the links below, if it interests you.
http://www.academieduello.com/news-blog/finding-advantage/ http://www.academieduello.com/news-blog/gaining-advantage/
The most important lesson today was: RELAX.
Take a moment to think of just flexibility, cut, and thrust (sorry). Anyways, when we were doing binding drills, around the midway point our instructor noticed that I was tensing up over time, favoring brute force over technique with each extended play. For some reason, this issue kept surfacing, much to my mounting frustration.
At the end of the class, after some much-needed reflection, I realized that I have a difficulty relaxing, not just in martial arts, but with life in general. Lately I’ve been so damn tense due to work, life, and million other stressors that it feels like I’m in a constant state of panic. If I don’t do something to change my current lifestyle, I fear it will be detrimental to my mental and physical health in the long run. But what to do? The stressors will be there tomorrow, whether I want it to or not. Thankfully, the solution may be more simple than I initially thought.
I’ll be honest: I never believed in meditation and I’ve always thought it was B.S. mysticism. But perhaps I have been too quick to judge. So, moving forward, I’ll try my hardest to find some time to sit down, breath deeply, and relax. This will be a complimentary exercise, along with eating better and sleeping more. Let’s see if this helps me regain my center (pardon the cliché).
Adventures in Swordplay #2: The Powerful Potential of Pummeling People with Pommels
Level Up!
I’ve being going to HEMA class more frequently lately; about twice a week, and practicing on my own whenever I can find the time. Thus, our instructor decided it was time to teach us how to use all parts of our swords, and not just the sharp bits.
When “Stick Them With the Pointy End” Isn’t Enough
When training with a longsword, one quickly learns to take advantage of the point, the true-edge, and the false edge in order to end an opponent. But did you also know that your quillons, grip, and pommel can also be used to effectively defeat your foes?
Today I learned that when one is in a bind, it is often more advantageous to strike with the blunt end of the sword rather than to disengage. Also, if one were to face an armored opponent, a blunt strike will cause much more damage with than a cut, since you can’t cut armor, no matter how many anime series tell you otherwise.
And did I mention that pommels make for a devastating long-ranged weapon as well? True story. ;D
Post-Carnage Report
Thus, we conducted the pommel-bashing drill several times. I, as always, was voluntold for the demonstration. And on the fourth repetition of eating a delicious pommel, the loaner helmet caved in, slamming parts of the grill and gorget against my forehead and throat respectively. OUCH.
My brain is somehow still intact, despite the blunt-force trauma. I certainly hope my new helmet (which I’m still waiting to get delivered) provides a better defense in future sessions.
I guess I’m a glutton for punishment, because you bet your ass I’m still going to the next class.
Adventures in Swordplay #1: Being Level 1 in HEMA Club
This blog is primarily gaming and fantasy themed, but I thought “What kind of a role-player doesn’t fantasize about swinging a sword or other medieval period weapon around like you’re the Dread Pirate Roberts?” So I figured I would start a journal about my progression through learning the sword-fighting arts. Perhaps this can motivate me to train more, as well as spark up some discussions with the rest of the community. So with that in mind, let’s get rolling.
In an earlier post, I’ve gave a first impressions of a local HEMA (Historical European Martial Arts) club that I joined, which was being offered at the company in which I work. Several weeks and half-remembered lessons later, here is my current noob status report.
So far, I’ve been learning the standard techniques, counters, drills as per the Joachim Meÿer school of fencing. We also went over concepts such as distance and timing, to tied it all together into a decent core. I was doing adequately, but upon reflection that may have been an overestimation of my level of martial talent.
The truth of my amateur status came crashing in like a revelatory Kool-Aid Man when I was called upon to assist in a public demonstration involving blade binds and how to counter them. With feder in hand, I arose to the instructor’s request and took the the stage, brimming with confidence, aaaaaand....
IT WAS A TOTAL DISASTER.
TLDR version: I missed a oberhaus (i.e. head cut) four fracking times in a row during a bloody DEMONSTRATION. What even.
I engaged in the cut, she blocked, and gave me a perfect bind and setup. All I literally needed to do was step forward and cut a STATIONARY GORRAM TARGET. Despite this, I somehow managed to consistently miss the mark. I essentially rolled four natural 1′s in a row.
So pretty much, deeply humbled, I’m back to the grind, and ready to take practice more seriously. Perhaps next time I can regain some of my lost honor, but for the meantime...
HEMA Class First Impressions
Today I attended my first Historic European Martial Arts class. Swordplay, along with general martial arts and weapons training, has always been a topic of great interesting to me, so once I found out they were offering local classes I leapt at the opportunity to acquire the proper instruction.
In regards to swordplay, I’m a complete novice. At best, I occasionally practiced Kendo intermixed with Iaido throughout college. And on some rare occasions I joined a casual larping session and wailed on strangers with foam swords. But when it comes to legitimate swordsmanship, I’m more poorly equipped than Monty Python’s Black Knight. I’ve also dabbled in weapons-based choreography for film, but it should be obvious that combat for show is entirely divorced from reality.
Our instructor drew primarily from the George Silver school of fencing, and taught us some commonly used terminology (distance, timing, place, etc.), basic footwork, attacks, and defenses. It was fairly standard, until I learned that you can also incorporate striking and grappling into your combinations. This is where HEMA truly shone for me.
By the end of the first class, I have to say that I enjoyed HEMA considerably more than any other sword combat style to date. Please note that this is not a slight against practitioners of other swords-based martial arts styles; I am merely stating my own personal opinion. With the previous styles I mentioned, you are often expected to use only the weapon in hand to execute a technique. There is nothing inherently wrong with that approach; there is a beautiful purity to those arts. But from my own personal philosophy, I strive to learn how to fight pragmatically. The goal is to defeat the opponent(s) as quickly and effectively as possible using real-life strategies and techniques. Plus, I have prior experience in both Kenpo and Judo, so incorporating hand-to-hand combat into the swordplay felt remarkably natural and intuitive. This style of fighting felt complete.
Overall, I had a lot of fun and got one hell of an arm workout, despite getting schooled repeatedly by someone whom I’m convinced is the reincarnation of Jeanne d’Arc. I’m definitely planning to make this a regular thing.