Introduction

Second class back for Term 1 in 2016 at Stoccata Drummoyne, and I started introducing some new staples into the lessons. One of the biggest difficiencies I think we've had for the classes so far is lack of consistent practice of the basic foot work for each system. So for each system I've started to introduce a footwork form that we'll be practicing each week to cement this skill. I'm really happy with how the footwork forms were received, and after a couple of walk throughs I could see people becoming cleaner and more confident in their footwork. We'll keep doing these over the next couple of weeks, and hopefully people will learn them and we'll move through them at a much faster rate.

Bolognese Swordsmanship (Sword & Buckler)

We started with the Basic Bolognese Footwork Form, which I posted earlier today in all it's glory.

The rest of the class was then taken up with the introduction of the  Guardia di Faccia Clock Drill.

We worked through the specific attacks and defences for the attack by thrust and attack into the low inside line. We'll work through the rest over the coming weeks.

Italian Rapier (Single Rapier)

We started with the rapier footwork form developed by Guy Windsor's School or European Swordsmanship. The full details can be found on their curriculum wiki, which includes a video of Guy working through the form. We only did the first 3 steps of the form, but a lot of repetitions. We'll be building the rest of this form over the coming weeks.

We then worked through some basic lunging drills, laying the foundation for rapier and dagger work later this term with the introduction of offhand hand checks.

1. Direct thrust in response to partners invitation, working the high inside and high outside lines.
2. Thrust by gain and glide in response to partner's point in line, working the high inside and high outside lines.
3. Thrust with hand check in response to partner's point in line.

The last drill is the new one, and unfortunately we only got to do the drill in the high inside line. The drill is as follows:

1. Beginning in perfect measure, patient agent presents the point in line to the active agent's high inside line.
2. The active agent first finds the sword in the back weighted stance, engaging the patient agent's sword by crossing debole over debole. (Point at the parrot on the patient agent's shoulder.)
3. Once the sword is found, the active agent then translates the torso forward to gain the sword. As they do this the offhand is extended forward near the sword hand turning the off hand into 1st (palm to outside). This places the offhand palm onto the debole of the patient agent's sword, creating the hand check.
4. The active agent then makes a direct thrust with a lunge, gliding down the flat of the patient agent's sword with their offhand maintaining the handcheck preventing the patient agent's cavazione. The patient agent takes the hit, after which the active agent recovers back to perfect measure.