I was standing firm in Longsword focus the other day, with my sword in posta longa. My partner was doing rising cuts to me through my sword. I realized after a few moments that I had a good opportunity to get some practice in. So while my partner reset I performed cuts to the air,…
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Check out this article from Time. It's a pretty short read. Think on its meaning and how it can best aide your practice. Thanks to Heather for sharing it.
Today I wanted to write about what is arguably the most important reason for practice. Think back to your very first class. What was your reaction to the first thrust or cut that you received. Having taught what must be hundreds of novices I have a pretty good idea of what those initial reactions are:…
Every now and then I like to return to my books. As a part of the Mastery program there is required reading for each cord rank, so, we all read it at least once. It can be rather confusing at first, and, after that first reading I thought I was done with it. Then,…
Last week I looked at the benefit of being happy when you're training or as one commenter expressed it: "Always train with a feeling of pleasurable exhilaration." Now lets take a look at a few reasons that get in the way of people enjoying their training: Disconnect from Training or Training Environment I figured…
Take a look at this video.Now take a few moments to get over how bizarre it is... ... ... ... All right, let's move on. As bizarre as it is, the chicken demonstrates an important principle: we can move parts of our body while leaving other parts stationary. The implications of this are pretty big…
What emotion do you experience when you're training or taking a class? Are you aware of it? What's the expression that you have on your face while you're struggling to implement a new technique or honing the precise movements of a cut with a longsword or lunge with a rapier? This may seem like an…
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You've taken a break from class for a little while. There's a few things you can expect. One, you may find that things get easier. A little break every now and then can relax your fencing muscles. But, if you've taken an extended break from classes you may find your perceived abilities are not…
Yesterday while teaching a private session one of my students brought in an old book of stretches and stretching routines and asked which ones were best for swordplay. The book she brought is an excellent resource and I snapped a couple pics of one routine to pass along on the blog (the book itself is unfortunately…
A sometimes-heard phrase around the Academie is "doing things wrong will help you figure out when something's right." This is an often-understood but rarely appreciated concept. Truly understanding when things are most-definitely wrong will provide a deep understanding about when things are right. Think of all the things that you're doing right. Now…
Last week I posted about the 10,000 hours it takes to master an activity and how you must savour the journey and not the destination. One of the biggest challenges that people face in putting in their 10,000 hours of mastery is the feeling of the plateau in learning. Where you don't feel like you're…
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Today's topic: where to make adjustments. This is one of my big secrets; you're in for a treat. One of the novice fencer's greatest challenges is getting used to the posture. Toes and knees tend to point every which way other than the way they're supposed to face. I chalk this up to the…
Malcolm Gladwell in his book Blink states that it takes approximately 10,000 hours at an activity to master it. So if you commit one hour a day to practicing an activity, it's going to take you 10,000 days to find mastery, or about 27 years. Woah, that's a lot of years. Fortunately we can probably…
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Over the winter holiday I have been reading a book on the subject of personal mastery called The Slight Edge by Jeff Olson. It is a good and relevant read for those interested in mastering fencing (and not just because of the title!) or really any type of new year's resolution or goal you might…
Read More... from New Year's Resolutions for Fencing - A Review of the Slight Edge