Last night our Ssudents from Swindon were busy practising their best Matrix moves, as we played on the edge of measure with feints of the body. Some excellent voiding by all, and it was great seeing some students able to use the drills to unlock massive level ups that they were able to take into sparring.
In Godalming tonight we continued our Sword and dagger block with an evening of defence at the stage drills. The longsword class looked at Meyers square and the beginner’s group looked into body mechanics with the aid of spadone.
Gradings galore at Reading tonight as Josh, Chris and Simon prepared to level up. At SOTS we have gradings at 30, 200 and 400 hours of study, the last two involving multiple fights and written pieces. Our senior students put in a huge effort, with Simon and Josh continuing their assessments this weekend at our anniversary event. Great work all!
Our Oxford student met up again today for their regular outdoor freeplay session. These sparring get-togethers provide the perfect opportunity to practise techniques learned in class as well as get experience of fighting against opponents they might otherwise not get regular practise against.
Tonight at our Oxford Chapter, Emilia was teaching sword in armour – half swording or ‘mezza mella’ according to Fiore dei Liberi. Sword in armour is fun to teach but can be quite challenging to get right since we don’t use real armour in our training, so students needed to rely on their imagination a little. Either way, everybody did very well and they had fun looking at few interesting guards and drills.
Tonight at our Swindon Chapter, students got to look at feints with the sword. Despite some very complex blade work required in the various drills we went through, students picked it up and were then able to utilise it in their boffer sparring at the end of the night.
Another busy night in Godalming tonight as students learned a play from Marozzo as part of our sword and dagger block. Lots of good focus across an enjoyable evening
Students from our Oxford chapter met up this weekend for some extra sparring. Sparring sessions give students the chance to practise techniques they have learnt in class and work on incorporating them into their personal arsenal of moves, tricks and tactics.
Tonight at our Swindon Chapter, students continued looking at the various attacks and counters from Guardia di testa as per Manciolino. Despite some complex counters, students showed a good degree of insight and analysis. Brilliant work by all.
