Sacramento Open 2014 Highlights

Here is a nice video of the tournament we had in town a couple of months ago.

A terrific video about "time" and movement in martial arts.

All the sword treatises tell us to move the foot after the blade. Here is a great demonstration of why, and it has action figures and people getting slapped.

Footwork for following after

According to Ringeck:

 Another following-after.

When he cuts against you from above and he continues downwards towards the ground with his sword, follow after him with an Oberhau to the head, before he comes up with the sword. ...

You need to control distance so that your opponent misses their cut, but then return in time to perform your own cut. This might require you to switch your stance from a left lead to a right lead as you cut. Here is some footwork to help you do that.

Good fencing!

Some of the masters have quite the sense of humor.

In Lecküchner's messer treatise, two plate caught my eye: 

 ... grab him as it is stated before, and as you have grabbed him, fall “simultaneously” close to him on your arse, and as you fall, turn your back on his right side and hold him firmly. You can also play board games, eat and drink, so that he cannot stand up unless you let him cordially up, otherwise he has to rot under you.

And another:

Then, if you want to throw him into a bag with the element announced before, so secretly appoint some men who have a hidden bag with them at the swordsmanship competitions and stand behind the people. Then, grab him as it is depicted before, and as you have brought him in the scale, tell the two to raise the bag and lead him with force to these who stand with the bag and press him firmly and make him crawl to it. If he does not want to do it voluntarily, when they hold the bag open, grab with your right hand at his right leg...and throw him into the bag in the name of God...

Not only do you get a workout, you get a chuckle. 

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