Warm Up Drills
- Hand Weight Exercise
- Dynamic Lunge Stretch (5 times for the lunge & 5 times for the recovery)
- Translate & Turn
- Lunge with resistance
Review Lesson 3
The Rules
- The Prime Directive: Don’t be Stupid!
- Rule 1: Don’t get hit!
- Rule 2: Control the sword when you attack so that you don’t get hit!
The Drills
- Gain & Glide on the inside
- Gain & Glide on the outside
- Parry & Riposte on the inside
- Parry & Riposte on the outside
Recovering from the Lunge
Whilst thus far we have learnt to attack in safety, we have not yet learnt how to recover from our attack so that we don’t get hit. We are thus not obeying the Prime Directive, because we are in a situation that violates Rule 1.
A proper recovery starts with the head pulling backwards, which in turn pulls the torso backwards a touch, and then the rear leg pulls the body back, with the hand turning to ensure the line is covered. Once the feet are back in the on guard position, we settle / translate backwards into terza guardia, and the arm withdraws as the final action.
Thus we shall now modify Rule 2 to become…
Control the sword in the attack & the recovery, so that you don’t get hit.
Drill 1 – Lunge Recovery on the Inside Line Drill
This is a line drill, done without a partner.
- Gain on the inside, and then translate and lunge, with the hand turning into 4th.
- Pull the head back, which will also start the torso moving back.
- As the torso comes back, cover the inside line with your extended sword (hand in 4th in 3rd), and use the back leg to pull the torso and front leg to the guard stance feet width.
- As the body and foot moves back, allow the offhand to come forward to in line with the sword arm elbow.
- Translate the hips back into the back weighted stance, and then allow the sword arm to bend, finishing in Guardia Terza.
Drill 2 – Lunge Recovery on the Outside Line Drill
This is a line drill, done without a partner.
- Gain on the outside, and then translate and lunge, with the hand turning into 2nd.
- Pull the head back, which will also start the torso moving back.
- As the torso comes back, cover the outside line with your extended sword (hand in 2nd in 3rd), and use the back leg to pull the torso and front leg to the guard stance feet width.
- As the body and foot moves back, allow the offhand to come forward to in line with the sword arm elbow.
- Translate the hips back into the back weighted stance, and then allow the sword arm to bend, finishing in Guardia Terza.
Drill 3 – Antagonistic Lunge Recovery on the Inside Line Drill
This is a partner drill.
- Active partner will gain on the inside, and then translate and lunge, with the hand turning into 4th. They will then recover as per Drill 1, closing the inside line.
- The Receiving partner will either accept the hit, or void with a lean back of the body.
- During the recovery of the Active partner, the Receiving partner shall deliver a straight thrust to the chest or face, to test whether the inside line has been properly covered.
- Both partners shall return to Terza Guardia, and then repeat the drill for a total of 5 times. Once complete, the partners shall reverse their roles, and the new Active partner shall perform the drill 5 times.
Drill 4 – Antagonistic Lunge Recovery on the Outside Line Drill
This is a partner drill.
- Active partner will gain on the outside, and then translate and lunge, with the hand turning into 2nd. They will then recover as per Drill 2, closing the inside line.
- The Receiving partner will either accept the hit, or void with a lean back of the body.
- During the recovery of the Active partner, the Receiving partner shall deliver a straight thrust to the chest or face, to test whether the outside line has been properly covered.
- Both partners shall return to Terza Guardia, and then repeat the drill for a total of 5 times. Once complete, the partners shall reverse their roles, and the new Active partner shall perform the drill 5 times.