[Devon]

Week 4

Focus: Keeping a daily practice going during a difficult and busy week.

Schedule: Everyday mornings. Misc other times.

Plan: Morning martial meditation. When I pass through the front room get a sword in hand. When I’m talking on the phone get a sword in hand.

Contingency: Read a bit from Fiore.

[Devon]

Day 4

My morning practice is the only thing keeping me alive this week. Back to staff doing a combination of spinning, partisan, and jogo do pau. Definitely got me moving and grounded.

Then two great classes in longsword and rapier. Both exploring the deceptive fight for an additional couple of hours. I got to do lots of practice in the rapier one as well with Erik leading the warm-up, drills, and review.

[Devon]

Day 3

Sad day with David’s parting so recently discovered. I wasn’t certain what I would be up for first thing but found myself filming my meditation and the accompanying practice session. Both were good, nourishing to do and to share with a future audience.

The meditation and practice focused on structural alignment and relaxed alertness. The training session ended with a cutting exercise that increased in intensity while maintaining structural strength. Got myself pretty winded in a short space of time.

It was good to get some stuff out while getting some practice in.

[Devon]

Day 1 – 2

Have managed to do both of my objectives. Got my martial meditation going in the morning both days and then spent time picking up my sword for probably another 30 mins each day when moments presented themselves during meetings and such.

Also did some staff work with a paddle after a canoe trip on Monday.

[Devon]

Week 3

Well this is my mega catch up post for Week 3.

I’ve been dealing with a series of breakins at Academie Duello so it has had me up really early on many days and having my work schedule pushed around.

That being said I have kept up my practice. This week I have spent a bit of time on staff spinning. Not as much a martial skill but soothing in my sometimes exhausted state at 5am when I’m responding to alarm calls and still trying to start my day right.

Overall I hit all my training days, even when I didn’t want to. And got in a few extra training sessions beyond my classes which I very much enjoyed. Primarily working on multi-intention actions with Longsword.

Good week in spite of it all!

[Devon]

@daniel.kline & @karen.meijer-kline this is a great form and nice work on those deep and beautiful postures!

[Devon]

Nice work on the form. Signed off. Now some details

• Your order is very good nearly throughout (your thrusts from breve could complete your extension before you step)
• Nice angles in the thrust particularly from the low guards (they angle up from the right and left well)
• Your order as you move backward is very good. Good rotation of hips while extending the weapon.
• The two part finestra thrust is spot on.

Improvements

• Order from breve (as mentioned above)
• Main thing is keeping your hands a little lower while maintaining your point at face level in the thrusts in longa. Generally we want to use the forte of the sword to defend the centreline while thrusting. If you make the sword parallel with the ground only the quillons are protecting your body. Additionally it reduces the heel of hand connection with your grip.
• The heel of hand connection with the grip is also lost to a degree in breve which I’d say is a bit too high.

[Devon]

Hi Stela, nice work on this interpretation. Your demo is crisp and really well ordered, both your cut and your pommel strike lead your footwork which is safer and structurally more powerful. I like your interpretive use of the quillons to push the sword aside for your safety as you enter (this is like a “tearing down” in the Leichtenauer tradition).

I’m signing off this assessment. Now a couple questions:

1. I notice that your sword rotation is horizontal as you move from the bind to the pommel strike. How did you come to choosing this directly of rotation?

2. How do you imagine the strike hitting the teeth. Are you seeing this as a turn, then forward push of the pommel into the face? Or do you see it as swinging in and hitting the teeth as a blow as it swings in from the side?

[Devon]

Nice submission Steve. Here are a few questions relating to the interpretation and the text:

1. The text mentions an offline pass. I’m not seeing that here — any thoughts on this?

2. Your first version of this is shown from a parry from posta di donna. From where do you base this interpretation of the entry?

3. It doesn’t appear that you’ve created a crossing over the opponent’s weapon, why not?

[Devon]

Reflections

Victoria Laps: Renewing some additional strength training practice back into my routine.

Aha Moments: Focusing for an extended period on a simple form.

Course Corrections: I want to make some time for some more significant physical practice focused on range of motion. This week I’m going to enrol in an online course with a focus in this area. One I’ve been eyeing for quite some time from GMB fitness.

[Devon]

Day 6 and 7

I’ve been in Colorado these past two days visiting my partner’s Grandmother. She is a fiery 95 year old woman who is still living on her own, super active, and inspiringly strong (for a woman of her age).

I’ve been doing my martial meditations in her garden each morning. A nice way to carve out some space for me at the start of each day. This morning I focused on the 4 poste unarmed progression. There is something lovely about a practice of four postures repeated over and over.

This morning my focus internally was on alertness in each posture. Being deeply present to each movement. I ended with holding each posture for five breaths and deeply sank into the postures physically and again mentally.

It was nice to return to a practice I have not done in a while.

—

My only regret in this trip is not getting a chance to spend some time working sword to sword with Steve. Though I did have a lovely visit with him and his wife — who it turns out I already knew!

[Devon]

Day 5

Martial Meditation in the morning for 30 minutes. Didn’t have any idea what I was going to do or share today but it all came together. The focus was on breathing in the first part and then structural strength in thrusting for the movement part. I look forward to sharing these sessions soon.

Then had a 60 minute sidesword class on feints. Carey came out and helped me out which was super and we spent another 30 minutes afterward working together.

Good day. now to bed early and flying to Colorado on an eeaaarrlly flight tomorrow. See you soon @steve.frey !

[Devon]

Day 4

Started my day with a shorter sitting meditation and a bit of time sword in hand. This week I’ve been feeling like I need a bit more time resting in the morning so I’ve been honouring that.

Was still happy to get my sword in hand first thing, even for just a few moments. Then I dove in to a longsword class for an hour and a rapier class later on for an hour.

One thing I really enjoy about teaching online is that I still get a lot of opportunity to practice along with my students. I enjoy being both a student of the art and a teacher of it. I far prefer being on the journey than somehow above it and this continual practice with my students helps reinforce and remind me of that.

[Devon]

Day 3

Spent 40 minutes this morning shooting vids for the martial meditation and enjoying the practice of it. The focus today in both the meditation and the sword work was on embodying certain feelings while meditating and moving. I was able to bring those feelings into my day. Interestingly though fierceness was one of the feelings I explored in the morning I felt a much greater sense of calm and peace through the day.

I got out into the late afternoon sun to do 30 minutes of sidesword exdercises. 10 Minutes of crisp stopping exercise, 10 minutes of accuracy exercises focused on thrusting, 10 minutes of cutting accuracy exercises and moving between cuts and thrusts.

[Devon]

Day 1

Martial meditation in the morning with longsword.

Day 2

Martial meditation, plus filming, plus 45 minute run.