Gear

Here is a list of gear and links to them:

Nylon longsword trainer.

Padded jacket for men.

Padded jacket for women.

Basic mask.

Better mask.

Cover for basic mask that makes it like the better mask.

Gloves (be sure to look at the different sizes).

Throat protection.

SoCal Swordfight.

I think I will try and go to this huge HEMA event this year in November.

Basic footwork

This is a part of what will eventually be in my syllabus book.

Basic footwork

Footwork is of utmost importance, because controlling distance and position in relation to your opponent is 90% of the fight. If you only know one sword play, but have solid footwork, you can be a very dangerous fencer.

Passing step

The most basic step when using a longsword is the passing step. This is little more than a normal step made during walking where one foot passes the other, just like when you are taking a stroll.

Start in a balance fighting stance with your left foot forward. Your legs should be flexed enough to give you good balance and mobility. Step forward with your right foot and end in a right fighting stance.

Shuffle step

The shuffle step is performed when you need to move forward without changing which foot is in the lead. Start in a fighting stance with your left foot forward. Lift your left foot and move it forward as you push with your right foot. Set the left foot down and bring the right foot forward to regain the same fighting stance.

Adjustment step

Sometimes, such as right after a passing step, you need to shuffle forward some extra distance, but your weight is on the front foot. In this case, bring the rear foot forward and then move the front foot. This is a special case and should not be used unless a shuffle step is awkward.

Double step

A double step is either a passing step or a shuffle step where you also move to the side. If you perform a passing step and place your right foot forward, you would do the same, except your right foot would land to the right as well. You would then move your left foot to the right to return to a fighting stance.

All footwork should be done with the weight on the balls of your feet and lightly. Do not get in the habit of planting your feet in the earth or stomping. You should be able to move any direction quickly and with no preparation at any time. All footwork can be also done to the rear by simply moving the other foot first.

The importance of sparring

Sparring teaches "open skills" that require quick decision making in a static environment. Technique drills, what some martial arts call kata, teach "closed skills", which means you know just what will happen, what you must do, and when.

Open skill practice may improve the brain in important ways that closed skill practice does not.

One article mentions a study on how older fencers (who would have sparred a lot), had perceptual and reaction abilities that did not degrade with age like people who did not practice an open skill. Another found a similar difference between tennis (open) and swimming (closed). Excellent reading.

This is your brain on fencing: How certain sports may aid the aging brain 

Science may be able to explain what’s going on in Michael’s aging brain when he’s on the fencing strip. A small but growing body of research suggests that fencing and other sports that require quick decision-making may improve cognition in both young and old people, and help stave off certain mental declines associated with aging.
In addition to fencing, sports that use what are called “open motor skills” include basketball, hockey, football and table tennis. “Closed motor skills” are those used in a stable, predictable setting in which the performer typically chooses when to start using the skill and knows exactly what to do. Closed-skill sports, which include biking, bowling, golf and gymnastics, involve self-paced movements.

http://www.washingtonpost.com/national/health-science/this-is-your-brain-on-fencing-how-certain-sports-may-aid-the-aging-brain/2015/04/06/92b70970-c98c-11e4-b2a1-bed1aaea2816_story.html?postshare=81428430695138

Neural Correlates of Attentional and Executive Processing in Middle-Age Fencers

http://journals.lww.com/acsm-msse/Fulltext/2012/06000/Neural_Correlates_of_Attentional_and_Executive.11.aspx

Open vs. Closed Skill Sports and the Modulation of Inhibitory Control

Here we compared inhibitory control across tennis players, swimmers and sedentary non-athletic controls using a stop-signal task without a sport-specific design. Our primary finding showed that tennis players had shorter stop-signal reaction times (SSRTs) when compared to swimmers and sedentary controls, whereas no difference was found between swimmers and sedentary controls.  

 In general, sports may be categorized into two types: open skill and closed skill sports. Open skill sports are defined as those in which players are required to react in a dynamically changing, unpredictable and externally-paced environment (e.g., basketball, tennis, fencing and etc.) [20]. By contrast, closed skill sports are defined as those in which the sporting environment it is relatively highly consistent, predictable, and self-paced for players (e.g., running, swimming) [4], [20]. Athletes from open skill sports may develop more flexibility in visual attention, decision making and action execution [21], relative to athletes from closed skill sports. 

(emphasis mine AH)

http://journals.plos.org/plosone/article?id=10.1371/journal.pone.0055773

PC Gamer gives HEMA a little love

I hope people find out that we are real and freaking cool. Here is the link. If you like Skyrim, you'll also like...

A little Meyer

This is from an older, no so great, translation of a Meyer play.

The katana is the perfect sword.

I have realized something recently, the katana is the perfect sword and, therefor, SactoHema will now shift its entire focus to the arts of kendo, kenjutsu, iaijutsu, and battojutsu, so as to absorb the lessons of Japanese swordsmanship and focus on the pursuit of perfection.

Bullet cutting classes begin next week.