At the end of a workshop delivered by Guy Windsor recently, Guy asked all of his students "Did you have every opportunity to get what you wanted from today's session?" This was a subtle shift from a question I had heard him ask two year's prior "Did you get what you wanted from today's workshop?"…
The weather was perfect, the horses were mellow, and the students all left with smiles on their faces after our day of Horseback Archery with Robert Borsos of Borsos Torzs Horse Archery. The beginners started the day by learning Hungarian archery from foot, before we mounted them up on friendly school horses with handlers for some shooting…
Three times in the last week I have advised other coaches seeking help working on weight loss with clients to get them to do less, eat more, and be patient. The common belief for weight loss is to eat less, train more, but more often than not when talking to other nutrition coaches their clients flounder…
Read More... from Are You Doing Too Much and Eating Too Little?
Understanding your strongest and weakest learning styles can be a useful and illuminating tool for becoming a more engaged and effective student. This week we examine effective strategies for maximizing visual learning and retention. Check out the DTV Livestream on Effective Learning to hear a discussion on this same subject. Visual learning is the process…
Riding Level 4: Dropping the Reins There are many times dropping the reins is useful or necessary in mounted combat. Historical manuals show pommel strikes, grappling, cross-bow, off-hand, and half-sword plays at walk and canter. And, of course, horseback archery is always done without a hand on the reins. Some images show the reins looped through the…
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So, let’s get this down on paper first. I hate the word functional. It’s not a problem with the word itself, it’s that like the words “natural”, “healthy” and “fitness” it has become virtually meaningless. Every time someone uses the word functional, ask them the question “functional for what?”. Most of the time they won’t…
Most sports require a novice to spend a lot of money to equip themselves with those pieces of kit necessary to start learning the basics of the game. (European football and ultimate Frisbee perhaps being the exceptions here). Ice hockey, lacrosse and American football require significant equipment commitment before the first timer can safely set…
Read More... from Spring Season Sword Press: News for April 2017
We're delighted to welcome back Robert Borsos of Borsos Torsz Horse Archery for another day of workshops on Sunday May 7th! The Beginner workshop is suitable for riders and archers of all levels from those who've never held a bow or sat upon a horse on up. The Intermediate workshop is for those who have…
Read More... from Shooting from the Saddle: Horseback Archery Returns May 7th
Your learning is only based partly on the effectiveness of your teacher. It is largely based on your own personal effectiveness as a learner. Good teachers should certainly help you on this journey, but the more you can help yourself, the more you stand to gain in each of the learning situations of your life.…
Read More... from Being an Empowered Learner: Know Your Learning Style
It's that time of year again! As the furry coats are shedding out, we shift our class times to take advantage of lingering daylight. This means Riding & Horsemanship classes move to Saturdays from 4pm onward, starting this Saturday, April 22nd. Mounted Combat mastery classes and Mounted Combat Fundamentals remain on Sundays starting at noon. …
We often do too much from a fear of doing nothing. We don’t give ourselves enough time to think about what we do because that’s when doubt can creep in. The problem with never really embracing this zero state is that often we do too much and never do anything well. If we constantly need to…
Read More... from Zero: How Starting From Nothing Builds Success
This recent inclusion to the HEMA body of common knowledge is very much a 'beer and peer' book. That is to say, you can open the book into most any chapter, and find a statement or assessment that should lead to intelligent debate among your knowledgeable sparring partners. In ‘Cut & Thrust’ Martin Dougherty describes…
Read More... from Book Review: “Cut & Thrust – European Swords and Swordsmanship” by Dougherty
I have fought in a lot of tournaments, and for a while that was what really lit my fire when it came to Western Martial Arts. There was a certain attraction to the intensity of the environment, the training program beforehand, and then winning a prize or a medal was pretty exciting too. However, as…