Musashi and the Peony

There have been many stories written about Miyamoto Musashi but I recently found another, probably apocryphal but still interesting. Musashi was staying at an inn where another duellist was also residing. This duellist went by the name of Denshichiro Yoshioka (someone Musashi was to later face in combat - but that's another tale). Yoshioka was at the inn to challenge the famous master Sekishusai as was the way of things in those days but Sekishusai simply sent a polite refusal and a single peony flower as a token of respect. Yoshioka contemptuously threw the flower out of his room into the courtyard and dismissed Sekishusai as a coward. Musashi overheard this and retrieved the flower and as he examined it he realised it had been cut from the rest of the plant by a single sword cut, something that only a master swordsman could do. It was a clear demonstration of excellent technique that Yoshioka had failed to notice but Musashi fully appreciated.  In a sign of respect he cut another section from the stem and sent it back to Sekishusai.
The message for me in this story is that observation is hugely important.  You must really look at things if you want to understand them, particularly relevant to your fencing but a good maxim nonetheless......

Date Masamune and the Tea Bowl

Date Masamune was a famous samurai of the sengoku period known as 'The One Eyed Dragon of the North' due to the fact he had lost an eye to smallpox as a child. He gained a fearsome reputation as a calm stoic General and in his wealth developed a passion for collecting tea bowls to use in the tea ceremony. One day a retainer passed him a particularly valuable example and Masamune nearly dropped it, flinching visibly in surprise. The normally stoic warlord was annoyed at this loss of composure and threw the bowl to the floor, shattering it completely.  He glared  at the shards and growled that a true warrior should not become so attached to anything to the extent of losing his composure.
We all develop attachments for people, places or objects and in fencing this can manifest in techniques we get habituated with. This makes you predictable after a while so my question to you as we approach the new year is, what is your tea bowl of attachment?

Still here folks!

This blog isn't dead dear readers and I intend to start posting again soon. That is if there's anyone still out there!

Making footwork fun.....?

I have been pondering a few exercises that may promote better footwork amongst youngsters (and possibly adults). The following are my results so far. I haven't tested all these yet but the first one works well and has been modified from feedback from the participants. Any forfeit should be seen as an opportunity to practice footwork methods well......
Footwork Games


1. Competition tactic practice

Two fencers, Coach picks which is which by coin toss etc. Fencer A starts on zero points, Fencer B starts on five points. Bout is timed for three minutes.

Fencer A wins if:

They reach ten points

They are ahead or equal on points at time

Fencer B wins if:

They reach ten points

They are ahead on points at time

Losing fencer performs a forfeit such as laps, 50 lunges etc

2. Footwork on the piste

The piste is divided into zones as above. Fencers score points in accordance with where they were

on the piste when the point was scored. The referee may need assistance from a coach with

observing.

3. Chasm of doom


The piste is divided as shown. Fencers use fencing steps to travel back and forth (they can turn around at the end). One coach observes to make sure this is complied with. Another coach stands with back to piste and randomly calls “halt!” Any fencer in middle zone is eliminated and must do footwork or lunges on another piste until all fencers are eliminated. Calling coach must leave at least ten seconds between halts. This exercise encourages fast footwork and a smart fencer may start cross stepping or fleching. All footwork must be done properly or fencer is eliminated

Coaching Aphorisms

Over my years of coaching I have pillaged many different historical sources for little expressions I can throw into lessons/classes. In the interests of sharing, here’s a few for all you coaches out there to borrow should you wish to!

•  “Bend your Legs; it’s why gave you knees”
• “In general, when your lips are moving, you’re not learning anything” (used to quiet chatterers)
• “Do you know why gave you two ears and one mouth? So you can listen twice as much as you talk” (ditto)
• “Look at the tree, not the leaves” (Derived from Yagyu Munenori)
• “The foil is a thrusting weapon….” (Repeat ad infinitum)
• “Hold the foil like a paintbrush, not a club” (Useful for French grips)
• “We are not at home to Conan the Barbarian”
• “Keep your head up while lungeing… If your head goes forward your body goes forward. It can’t help it – it’s due to this thing called a spine….”
• “Straight legs equals ‘Hello Mr Penguin’” (An attempt to paint a verbal picture of the consequences of bad stance)
• “The point of the foil is to hit and not BE hit” (Borrowed from numerous sources)
• “Everything you do should be about getting the point on target. Any time your point is not in line with your opponent’s target area is wasted time” (Adapted from Musashi)
• “Hit them on the F of their forward step” (on the art of the stop hit)
• “Prevent the opponent from doing anything useful” (Adapted from Musashi)
• “The piste is a weapon” and “The clock is a weapon”. On tactics
• “The three D’s of fencing are…… Distance, distance and distance….”
• “The three B’s of fencing are ….. Balance, balance and balance….”
• “The three F’s of fencing are ….. Footwork, footwork, footwork….”

And finally
“Defeat is only a failure if we take nothing from it….”

 

The Speed of Youth

In keeping with my previous post on the 'theory of relativity' I recently encountered another physical fencing law that seemed unbreakable; the speed of youth. This seems to be a cosmological constant that is somewhere between 'ambling' and 'dawdling' and appears to be the default speed of young fencers between the ages of thirteen and fifteen who are moving between warm up exercises. I wish I knew how to increase the speed but I fear it may be a permanent feature of the universe! There is an opposing force however, the 'strong under twelve force' which suggests you can never predict the speed of a fencer aged between eight and twelve, except to say it will be somewhere between 'rapid' and 'lightning' particularly if they are carrying a foil over their shoulder...... Ah, the joys of coaching youngsters! 

In Memoriam

I’m going to take time out here to pay tribute to two great characters who passed away recently; Bob Anderson and Angelo Dundee.


If you’ve seen any of the first three (original) Star Wars films, Highlander, The Princess Bride or Die Another Day you will have seen some of the work of Bob Anderson. Anderson was possibly the greatest sword masters in cinema history. An Olympic and World Championships level sabreur he found a niche in the movie industry, working with stars like Errol Flynn and directors such as George Lucas and Stanley Kubrick. His most recent work was seen in the Pirates of the Caribbean and Lord of the Rings trilogies. Whilst he rarely appeared in front of the camera (apart from a stint as Darth Vader) his skills and teaching no doubt influenced several generations of kids playing ‘swords’ in the garden with sticks, some of which no doubt went on to enjoy the sport of fencing. He passed away early this year aged 89.
Angelo Dundee is most famous for being the trainer of Muhammad Ali and latterly Sugar Ray Leonard and George Foreman. He was an inspirational trainer and coach, instinctively knowing the right way to handle his charges. For instance, he encouraged Ali to create his flamboyant and unconventional persona, aware that stifling it would have a detrimental effect. He could see that Ali’s self-promotion was a vital psychological tactic in terms of winning the fights but also on a pragmatic level guaranteed bigger gates and resulting purses. In fact he christened Ali with the nick-name ‘The Louisville Lip’ and even helped finish off Ali’s poems if he got stuck. It was a testimony to the bond between the fighter and trainer that Ali refused to let the Nation of Islam come between him and Dundee. After Ali, Dundee went on to manage Sugar Ray Leonard through his tenure as World Champion and also several other world champions in a long and successful career. He passed away this month aged 90.

Two great characters of coaching that are perhaps now trading experiences in the great sports gym in the sky…..