Matheus has been with the Academie for about a year now and has quickly risen through the ranks to become a senior Blue cord as well as an instructor in the Warrior Fundamentals program. During 2011 Matheus was at the studio usually more than I was and the hours that he put in combined with some innate abilities to produce a fine fencer on the path to mastery.
His post today is directed towards the novice fencer but is equally valid for us old fogeys. It's on intention... I'll say no more. The post!
----------------
Intention
In a sword fight, intent holds a lot of weight. Do you plan to cleave through your target with your longsword cut, or just scratch their face? Is your rapier lunge meant to skewer your opponent or is it a feint meant to draw out your opponent’s sword?
Graphic descriptions aside, when you start considering what your sword is meant to do it starts to change how you approach training. In solo practices if I’m delivering a cleaving cut I will not stop at my imaginary target’s head: I will go through them. If I practice a hard parry defense, a strong core alignment and proper blade position are paramount. And so on for all weapons.
Intent, if abstracted, is hard to understand. The best way to get intimate with it is by sparring. As soon as you are able, spar. Start with some slow work, a sword-fight at 50-75% speed, where you give your brain enough time to process all the little details you are not familiar with. You will notice the power of intent as soon as you apply it – whether you are delivering a blow or practicing a defense.
When you are done, bring that knowledge back to your practice. Did you notice than when you try a powerful defense (not fast, but with the intention of defending yourself) you are more likely to stop an attack? Did that rising cut go right through your opponent’s sword, even when they did the correct motions to stop it?
We practice a martial art, and to remain martial we have to remember: this was an art devised to kill without being killed. We practice it safely, but remembering that the intention of the art will make your practice that much more fruitful.
Devon Boorman is the Co-Founder and Director of Academie Duello Centre for Swordplay, which has been active in Vancouver, Canada since 2004. Devon’s expertise centres on the Italian swordplay tradition including the arts of the Renaissance Italian rapier, sidesword, and longsword, as well as knife and unarmed techniques. Read more from Devon Boorman.