Behold, my Magnificent Octopus*

I've been spending quite a lot of time recently trying to put together a compendium of all my lessons. This is for a number of reasons:


1. I really ought to get organised so that I have something to refer to

2. I want to see if I make sense

3. I thought it might be interesting as an exercise



In my work life I am a Business Analyst and one thing I do is construct pictures of problems to help understand them. So it comes as no surprise that I have drawn a picture as a start point. So here, in all it's glory is my current world view of lessons that I teach. It seems to have become a mesh of technical and the esoteric and I have borrowed some of Musashi's terms as an aide memoire as these lessons are based on my interpretation of his words. Now all I have to do is write them down........

* "You mean 'Magnum opus' Baldrick......"

Tsune

I have recently been re-reading one of the inestimable Dave Lowry's books on martial arts entitled 'Clouds in the West'. I tend to settle down with a book by Mr Lowry when I need a reminder of why I coach and enjoy my sport and that there are other people out there who feel the same way about their art. As I've been out of action for a bit a Lowry book is just the thing to get my mental processes turning over*.
Immediately on re-opening this book I came across a new Japanese term that had eluded me in previous readings, "Tsune" which Mr Lowry translates as 'the ordinary or the everyday'. He was using this term to describe his connection with his martial art and some people may wonder why he wasn't describing it as 'special' or 'extraordinary'. Well he went on to explain that his art has now become a regular part of his life and one that he wouldn't be without as it has become an integral part of him. I feel the same about fencing, it's something I can't imagine not doing in some way or form, hence this blog, these ramblings and my occasional tetchiness about some aspects of it. Is fencing a matter of tsune for you yet?

* I was also doing some weeding this morning; a bit detrimental to my elbow injury but excellent for thinking!     

Kung Fu & Fencing

So, what has Kung Fu got to do with fencing you may ask? Well, a few weeks ago I was able to go to the theatre and see the Shao Lin monks from China demonstrate their expertise in their art. One of the things that struck me was the total control of their movement and this resonated with something that I have been ruminating over. My regular students know that I have my own fencing alphabet; the three D's of fencing are "distance, distance, distance", the three f's are "footwork, footwork, footwork" etc and so it goes on. However I have now come up with the three m's of fencing "MoMentuM". I've come to realise that at the end of the day one of the most important things a fencer must be able to do is control their momentum on the piste. If they cannot do this they are liable to throw themselves on the end of the opponent's point or not get their distance right in order to deliver attacks. Momentum can be controlled through being aware of the centre of balance and it's relation to the hips; once your centre of balance is beyond the width of your hips you are in trouble in terms of balance and watching the monks in action it was obvious how well they controlled this aspect of their art. As a fencer you can control your momentum by not straightening your legs, keeping your center of balance through your hips and sinking your weight between your hips by keeping a good bend in your legs. So many fencers make the mistake of 'going penguin' i.e. straightening their legs and waddling along the piste, therefore their balance is completely disrupted. I have attempted to add one of my informal sketches that I use in lessons to illustrate what I mean; it's the first time I've tried it so hopefully it works! 

Hopefully this illustration gives you an idea of what I'm talking about. If this turns out to be legible I might use a few more in my files. 
Once you're got good control of your momentum all things flow from there......        

How to be a good guest

Occasionally at fencing clubs people drop in for a night as a 'guest' fencer, pay a one-off fee, do some fencing and then disappear again. Last night we had such a visitor at our club. He was obviously a well intentioned gentleman; he had all the kit and took part in the group lesson, which wouldn't normally be expected of a guest. Within a few minutes I had him pegged as a particular type of fencer that most coaches will recognise... "the over-enthusiastic participant". Why did I notice this? Well, here's a few give-aways....


During Coach Andy's group lesson he paired up with a regular club fencer and then immediately started to coach him instead of practising what the lesson was about. This was not really his job and was compounded by the fact that he was coaching him incorrectly.

When Coach Andy asked the group whether any of their attacks had been working the mystery guest jumped at the chance to point out his "short lunge with cut-over riposte" worked nearly every time. I'm still not sure what this technique is, as it doesn't seem to make any sense to me.

Once practise was over he challenged as many fencers as he could, taking great pleasure in telling them in his opinion exactly what they were doing wrong. Interestingly enough he didn't seem to notice the fact that his own on guard position was wrong and that he didn't seem to know how to lunge. He also fenced a lot in quarte and regular readers may know my views on that.

Finally, at one point I was talking to my group and our guest was setting up a piste. He wandered over, butted into the conversation and asked us to move our "helmets" * A brief pause ensued as my pupils waited for me to explode but as they could see I was frozen into shocked immobility the offending masks were moved.

My points may seem churlish but there is a reason for my ire. If as a fencer you visit another club it is, in my opinion, your duty to act respectfully towards the fencers and coaches of that club. If they do things slightly differently to your club you should respect the differences and comply with any reasonable requests. It is the height of poor manners to coach where you are not a recognised coach, provide opinions when not asked and generally try to impose your view on someone else. Also, if you can say nothing that improves the silence, then please say nothing. And if you do say something make sure it is in the correct terminology! **
Anyway, this was not intended as a rant more as an opinion on the correct way to behave when acting as a guest..... in my humble opinion!!



* For reference helmets are worn by motor-cyclists, masks are worn by fencers. I have never seen in any reference book masks referred to as helmets...... it would be like asking a Karateka to move his 'coat'.....


** I appreciate that this gentleman was probably acting with the best of intentions but my concerns were amplified when I subsequently found out that he was a coach who looked after junior fencers at another UK club which in my book compounds the problem and also passes a whole load of "enthusiastic" behaviours to another generation.

A Breath of Fresh Air

Due to various circumstances the Academy ended up fencing outside on the school tennis courts on Saturday morning. Luckily it was a bright sunny day and one thing that it did make me realise was that it is a whole different ball game (well, sword game) fencing in the great outdoors. If you want to look at one facet of sport fencing that distinguishes it from combat then try fencing outside a few times, it's a whole lot different from the sterile environment of a sports hall. Light, shade, sunshine, noise, ground surface all make it completely different. It makes you realise how much more there was to think about during combat in the elements; particularly with sharp weapons! I noticed some of my smarter pupils were always quick to make sure they had the light to their backs; very clever...... But it also got me thinking, even though the environment in a standard sports hall is pretty uniform, are there any factors that you can use to your advantage? Lighting, background etc.... every little helps.
Anyway, I'm still labouring with my tweaked elbow injury and trapped nerve in my back so typing is getting painful again, will be back soon Dear Readers, honest!