Ostara: the other kind of first lesson

Visited a neighbouring shire's College's 10th anniversary celebrations yesterday. Two of my usual fighting buddies were going, so I fancied getting into armour and getting in some casual fun for the afternoon. I figured that there might be some potentially interested people present, and failing that, we could show good example at the very least and enrich the event.

I ended up somewhat distracted by the (to me) unexpected news that my Knight had won his fourth Crown, but counter-distraction was provided by the fact that there were no less that three people present who wanted to have a go at getting into armour.

Acquisition and retention of fighters are a big issue where we are. In a few years, we have evolved from having a number of fighters calculatable by the fingers of one hand, to a fairly healthy number, at least in our peripheral terms. So if any interest shows itself, I'm always going to prioritise that above my own armour time.

Gytha, Mícheál and I did a quick warm-up followed by a ten-minute bearpit between the three of us. I have an untested formed-before-going-to-sleep last night hypothesis is allowing three minutes per fighter and rounding up to a convenient number is a useful metric for a casual bearpit. (So, for four fighters, 12 minutes, round up to 15, for 5, ok, you get 15, but you can bring that up to 20 - so maybe it should be three and a half minutes... science to be done.)

Between the loaner gear that I had brought just in case (just as well), and pieces cannibalised from Mícheál and myself, we were able to get the three gents in full kit. Here, I took a different approach from teaching the newcomers in my own shire: they had approached us, were prepared to take things slowly, step by step, and understood the preference for a curriculum stretching over several weeks. In this case, I was mindful that, instead, we had, essentially, approached them, and had to provide a hook to get and keep them interested. That hook had to be the actual wearing of armour, keeping talking to the minimum (which was still quite a lot), and letting them have a go at Gytha: our moving pell, and each other.

One of the gents had done some training before, so after the introductory talk and instructions I paired him with Gytha for a beginners plus lesson. I pointed Mícheál to look after the other two, who were working on a very basic level. This arrangement had a few advantages: 1) We had the energy of two training pairs going on at all times; 2) all the newbies had the personal attention of someone more experienced; 3) Gytha and Mícheál had a chance to begin teaching.

We did two sessions with a break in between, and switched pairings so that the three had a chance to practice with everyone. It seemed to go well - when I had called time, two asked if they could keep going for a while longer.

We talked about the prospect of setting up a practice in their area, but it remains to be seen whether that would be actually viable or not. I suspect that a couple of weekend practices nearby to test the waters would be the way to go.






 

Curriculum: Class 1

In the SCA, we typically teach fighting in a fairly haphazard way: here are the three shots, here's your armour, go fight people, figure the rest of it out yourself. As far as I know - and would be very happy to be corrected in this - in Drachenwald, only Master Robert of Canterbury has put together a structured curriculum in order to teach complete newcomers. I am very keen to explore the curriculum approach, as I think a solid 6-8 week step-by-step curriculum would substantially help new fighters, improve retention rate, and avoid the development of many bad habits that will later have to be unlearned. 

In Dun In Mara, we have had the good fortune of two newcomers starting within a space of a week, so I'm using them as my guinea pigs, and recording the "class notes" here. 

Introduction to Heavy Fighting: Class One 

1. Concept - what are you getting yourself into? 

A form of full contact martial art c.50 years old, derived from boxing, American military and how people thought Medieval tournament fighting ought to be. Rigorous safety regulations in terms of protective gear, gear inspections and marshalling. 

No one true correct way to do things. 

Victories decided by honour system: you never win, your opponent always grants you victory. Conceptual difference between light and good blows. 

Gender - women and men train together and fight together, no segregation of genders in tournaments. My experiences as a gender minority fighter in Drachenwald have been 100% positive (but not necessarily the case everywhere). 

2. Fighting demo with commentary of what's happening from a third person - do you still want to stay after seeing what it's like? 

3. Introduction to footwork

Importance of body parts regarding effective fighting decreases as you move upwards on your body.
Feet - the most important
Hips - the second important
Arms - not really all that important 

Start by familiarisation with the fighting stance: feet roughly hip width apart, shield foot in front of the sword foot, both sets of toes pointing forward. Knees very gently bent to allow for maximum movement and reaction. Back and head straight. Core engaged.

Footwork exercises individually and in pairs, forward and backwards: tap-and-step to train testing the step before committing, never cross your legs. Retain the position of the feet - even as you step, keep the sword foot behind the shield foot.

Footwork tag: We played a game of tag in a group of unarmoured fighters, using the footwork, in order to train not only the footwork itself but how to employ it in a quick, dynamic situation involving many other people. 

4. Using the hip  

Assume the fighting stance and engage your core. Now pretend you're carrying a full tray in your hands and you need to close an open drawer in front of you. Close the imaginary drawer with your dominant side hip. That is the motion that you are looking for. Your heel may come up off the ground, that is fine. 

Ragdoll exercise: With your core engaged, move your hips back and forth, side to side, but completely relax your upper body. Pay attention to how your hips move your arms. Now repeat with a sword. The arms should be totally relaxed, and the sword movement powered by the movement alone. 

Demonstrate the differences between an arm-powered and a hip-powered shot. 

5. Introduction to flatsnap

There are three basic shots, but we will focus on each individually. Handily, they are all more or less the same shot, with the wrist movement at the end determining which shot the blow lands at. 

Flatsnap/on-side shot moves in a straight line from the starting point to the target. Hip moves forward, simultaneously bringing the hand holding the sword hilt with it. The tip of the sword follows behind the hand/hilt but remains on the same straight line. Using the power provided by the hip, extend your arm in a strong forward-moving motion as though throwing a tennis ball. When the sword connects with the target, your palm should be facing upwards.

Learners practice on the pell until it looks like their focus is suffering - and bear in mind they have had a lot of new things already to take in.   

Ideally, finish off with some very controlled slow work to combine the elements of the class.

Plan for next time: Revision of footwork and the snap, completing your shots through recovery, introduction to the off-side shot, introduction to transition from one shot to the next.