Awareness

This morning I was reminded of how easily it is to drop your awareness without even noticing. I was driving into work along some country lanes and was thinking about some meetings I'd had and some meetings I was going to have. It was quite a drab drizzly morning but I suddenly noticed that the valley (if you can call it that - I live in Norfolk) across from me was wreathed in mist that just left the tops of the trees showing. It was all very Japanese painting style and it was quite arresting. And I nearly missed it because I was worrying about stuff that happened in the past or that might happen in the future. Because I was indulging in an activity that I can almost do automatically (i.e. driving the same route I drive every morning) my awareness was almost at a basic level; e.g. just enough to allow me to get the car where I wanted it to go. It was pointing inward and not outward. I was looking but not seeing. In general I think it is very difficult to be intensely aware all the time and those people who can do this must be very special individuals indeed. However it is also correspondingly easy to miss a lot of stuff along the way. In fencing it is especially important to remain aware not only of what you are doing but what the other person is doing; not an easy thing to do but one to aim at anyway?

Walking a straight line

I gave some more individual lessons today and it never ceases to amaze me how many of my students make the basic error of not getting their feet right in the lunge. Either the front foot is not straight or the back foot is lifted from the floor. Either way you're not going to get it right doing that. Let's look at why....
If your front foot is not straight (either pointing in or out) simple body mechanics will make the knee bend in the direction the foot is pointing. This will twist the knee and also cause you to move laterally across your opponent. The net result of this will be your foil point either missing or hitting flat. This will happen virtually every time; I guarantee it.
If your back foot isn't flat on the floor your lunge will be weak and your balance will be wrong, probably resulting in you leaning forward to make the distance rather than thrusting forward from the back foot. Again, you are very likely to hit flat or miss completely.
As a coach it's my job to figure out what's going wrong when a fencer is not hitting and these two factors are usually the main causes, the other main culprit being not extending the arm properly or at all. I'll save that for another post....
So when you're out on the piste keep an eye on what your feet are doing; in some way they are an extra weapon out there because if you can't move them or place them properly you cannot place your point properly. Perhaps this is an aspect of 'the sword of no sword'....?

Lightness of Touch

I gave four individual lessons last night and the one thing that struck me was the complete difference in the way my four students held their foils and shifted their weight when lunging. I suppose this shouldn't be a total surprise really; everybody is physically different after all. But the thing I noticed was how much of a difference the way they held their blade made to their lessons.
For me, the blade is best held firmly yet lightly. It is no good holding it like a club and at the same time don't cradle it like an egg. I suppose they way you'd hold a paint brush is about right; after all the foil is a device for artistry not vandalism. It's important to get your grip right otherwise you will not get the sentiment de fer or feel of the blade (one of my favourite fencing terms). If you are holding your foil correctly you will sense the opponents movements much quicker and be able to react more appropriately. If you hold the blade too tightly there will be too much resistance and you won't sense anything short of a chainsaw. If you hold it too lightly your opponents will do pretty much what they like with your foil. It's all a question of balance and it's an important one to get right otherwise your techniques will fail. Beating/engaging an opponent's blade with something akin to a wet lettuce is unlikely to get you far! And conversely, if you are gripping your foil like a vice you won't have the accuracy to hit. Like most things in foil it's something to ponder and practice well.

Still Learning

In one of the numerous translations of The Book Of Five Rings there is this little throw away sentence. "Oral Tradition: 'Teach your body strategy'."
It's a very simple sentence isn't it? But I'm still learning what it means. It's very easy to intellectualise about some concepts and in fact this can be a good thing as the brain needs to absorb things deeply before understanding appears, then understanding can be thrown away and true understanding appears. But too much intellection does not make instinct. I have been fencing now for twenty odd years and I still can't get it right. I'm ok (sometimes good); but I ain't that good. I have been studying Zen and martial philosophy for many years too and I still can't get that right either. I like to keep this blog secular as I have no right or business to foist my philosophical beliefs on anyone but you'd probably be a bit obtuse if you haven't spotted my leanings by now! My point is that it is actually incredibly difficult to condition your self/mind/body to act so instinctively that it responds correctly to any situation. When I am fencing I occasionally find myself in a mental state that facilitates this but this is quite rare. Most of the time I am actively plotting a strategy, rather than let it manifest itself spontaneously. I have absorbed the words and the intellectual principles behind Musashi's words but I am a long long way from physically and spiritually integrating it into my fencing. When I really consider the reality of what he is saying, the fact that he no doubt did emanate these principles in combat, I realise what a formidable presence he must have been. This presence does not appear overnight; Musashi wrote his book when he was 59. I have a long path to travel yet but this blog is a start....

Every blade tells a story..

On our way back from holiday in Yorkshire we popped into the Royal Armouries at Leeds, which is somewhere I've wanted to visit for quite a while. For those with an interest in military history it is a fantastic place to visit. And it's free! Basically the whole place is crammed full of militaria from all over the world, with extensive collections of swords, armour, muskets etc. As I wandered round some thoughts crossed my mind.
a) It seemed a bit weird being so interested in a 16th century rapier from Toledo etc (as my Dear Lady Wife pointed out)
b) It seemed more weird that the most popular exhibition was the "Weapons from the Movies" display which showed many of the props and replicas built by Weta Workshop for "Lord of the Rings", "The Last Samurai", "Hellboy II" etc.
c) Every weapon in the place had a story to tell.
I have to admit I was reduced to exclamations of appreciation at some of the swords in the collection (I hesitate to call them works of art but some of them were close). 16th century Katanas were matched in their craftsmanship by 17th century gentlemens swords, or 46 inch blade duelling rapiers (46 inches - that's cheating!). I was also very impressed by the realism of the prop swords from the films, each one having a different character to it to match the person it belonged to. There was even a small section devoted to modern fencing which was very interesting. Some of the old style masks looked very dodgy!
Then I was at the club yesterday morning and it dawned on me that every foil tells a story as well. Most of the club ones look a bit old and worn and rough at the edges (not literally) after years of use but it was also interesting to observe the foils owned by club members that they had been using for a while.
Some of the foils had an extreme downward bend about half way down. This is a tell tale symptom of someone who is too close when attacking and therefore lunges too deep. This eventually causes such a bend in the blade and eventually this will go "twang" and break, probably just as the person is lungeing.
Other foils had an upward bend; a classic indication of someone who drops their head and hand whilst lungeing, therefore causing the blade to be pushed down against the opponent causing the upward bend over time. This is also not a good look for a foil and it will hasten it's demise as a useful weapon. It is also very poor technique. I have also seen this come about because people have set the blade in the handle wrong - a rare but not unknown mistake.
The hardest bend to achieve is a sideways bend and I've never really been sure how people do this - suffice it to say it does not assist with accurate point placement!
If you must have one, the ideal bend for a foil is about three degree downwards starting about two thirds of the length of the foil from the guard. i.e. where the foible really begins. This usually comes about because of consistent good technique (or obsessional re-bending of the blade after the hit - not usually a good thing for blade longevity). The foil should naturally bend downwards a little and years of correct use will accentuate this.
So the next time you are at the salle have a look at other fencer's blades and see if it tells you anything; equally have a look at your own and see what that says!