Measure, or range

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Measure, or range

Postby druminmychest » Mon May 21, 2007 9:44 am

It occured to me that my previous post on footwork referenced material on Measure that wouldn't make sense without more information. I took the liberty of posting this so measure and range may be discussed. Thanks for your patience.....

Unit: The Four Foundations
Chapter: The Foundation of Measure
Lesson: The Four primary measures

Master Johannes Leichtenauer, the shadowy, legendary father of German swordsmanship once wrote the words “All arts have length and measure”. These simple words allude to a whole world of insight into our art. His ideas were further refined in the 14th century by the great Master Fiore de’ Liberi. Master Fiore created a simple and elegant diagram known as the “Signo” (literally, the Signpost) which contains the totality of principles in his Martial art. Later we will discuss this in great detail, but for now, suffice it to say that the ability to “measure” and “perceive” are expressed in the attributes of an animal, the “lynx”. Fiore tells us that to be master swordsmen, we must have the attributes of the lynx. (Among other things) So let’s get to it!

Measure of Distance: The ability to estimate distance is a paramount skill in our art. Specifically, the ability to swiftly recognize the first target that comes into range is the greatest application of that skill. If you can recognize the MOMENT a target is in range, and act upon it, you are effectively measuring distance and range. But that’s not really the only distance we have to deal with… Master Leichtenauer would tell us there were only two kinds or ranges; “outside”, and “war work”, but frankly, our art is a little different in that we have limited grappling, and have certain rules of engagement that alter the situation. Many years ago Duke Gyrth Oldcastle (God rest his noble soul) devised a method for expressing the different kind of ranges in our art. It is an expressive and useful tool. There are essentially four ranges, they are;
A Range: Your opponent and you are very close, generally there will be some physical contact in this range; shields touching, pressing, etc.
B Range: You are able to strike your opponent with your weapon.
C Range: It is required you take a step to strike your opponent with your weapon.
D Range: It is required you take more than one step to strike your opponent with your weapon.

Now, it should be noted that YOUR range is different than your OPPONENT’S range.. this is due to several factors which will be discussed later. For now, I want you to focus on internalizing the axiom below. It is a key which unlocks many doors.

Axiom: NEVER begin an engagement inside your opponent’s range. If you do, the one who twitches first usually wins, and there will ALWAYS be people faster than you!

Now, each of these four ranges have specific tactics and techniques that allow one to excel when in that position. In future lessons we discuss each in length, but we need to speak briefly on manipulation of range. It doesn’t really matter what range you are in, there are two methods of manipulation. They are;

Manipulate your opponent to manage distance: Manipulating your opponent to do what you wish him to do will be a recurring theme. The technique relies on principles not introduced yet, but the first key to this is cause and effect. Later in this lesson we will discuss this. At this point, suffice it to say manipulating your opponent to step where you want when you want is an extremely valuable skill.

Deceptive movement to manipulate your distance: Changing which foot is forward, Inching forward slowly, deceptively shifting your center so range changes, changing the length of your weapon by what grip you employ, these are all examples of this. There are many specific techniques to do this, and no doubt you will come up with your own. Later we will have a lesson on just these techniques, but what is important now is introducing you to the tactic.

Measuring ourselves: Obviously, the ability to measure range, distance, and ultimately their manipulation requires that we understand our own measure. This is affected by several different facets:
Body Type: Understanding how your body moves in relation to itself is important to understanding these principles of measure. Do you have long arms? Is your chest so broad you cannot rotate your arms past a certain point? Are you short with proportionately long legs? All these things have a factor on your measure, how far you can effectively use a weapon, your power generation, etc. Some of these things are gender specific, and we will not delve too much into this now, but it is vital you begin to understand yourself and your physical “sphere” (a key concept we will talk about in a second)
Technique: Specific techniques change range. For instance, the “thumb leader” can, for some, “create” an extra three or four inches of range on their swords. This is due to geometry, and your specific biomechanics. Also, Techniques which attack your opponent’s upper body have more range than those that attack the lower body. This, again, is a function of your stature, length of arms, etc. This is also why a “backhand” attack has less range than a “forehand” attack.
Proper rotation of center: If you properly rotate your center, your shoulder line will move toward your opponent’s center line, thus increasing your range. Along that same line, there are also some harmful techniques which artificially increase this effect, but we will never use them, as they are damaging to our bodies.

Measuring our Opponents: This skill is, of course, vital to our measuring of the different ranges, and is dictated by the same kind of things as our own measure.
Body Type: The same things apply. How tall is your opponent? How will that change the distance necessary to hit your body? Long arms? Long legs? Broad shoulders? Sum up your opponent’s physical attributes BEFORE the fight, and use this as a baseline for measuring his range.
Technique: Again, is he using good technique? Do the markings on his sword tell you he throws a lot of thumb leaders? Are his weapons very long? What weapon is he using?
Proper rotation of center: Is he not properly centering? Is he leaning his shoulders into the shot? Is he doing foolish things like hyper extending his joints, or throwing his shoulder out to get that extra inch or so? If he is, note it, and don’t be caught with such tricks. Rather, use the inherent problems of your opponent’s compromised balance, etc, to exploit the situation.

Measure of Cause and Effect: Once we know our own measure, and that of our opponent’s, we can begin understanding Cause and Effect. We, like our opponent, use our bodies in certain ways to achieve our martial goals. There are certain things we can measure that allows us to predict effect. If me move our foot in a certain way, we are forced to move our center. If our sword cuts down, our arm must move through that arc to bring our weapon to bear again. If we shift our center on our back foot, we must shift it forward again to move forward. If we go up, we must go down, if we go right, we must go left, etc. We can use this measure to identify where our opponent (or target) will be at specific times. If we know this, we can act upon that information accordingly. The ability to measure the cause and effect of our opponent’s actions give us insight into where and when to attack. It can also give us valuable clues on how to effectively evade or deflect an attack that results from our own movement. If done right, it is almost like we are “telling the future”. Knowing what part of our opponent’s body will come in range of our weapon, where it will be at that time, and exactly what time it will be there gives us a tremendous advantage. We can tell this by measuring the effects their actions have on their bodies.

Measure of our sphere of control: Welcome to the Esoteric! You will soon discover that, as we go on, we will use mental techniques such as the “sphere” to speak on and study the four realms of our martial art. (Remember them? Physical, emotional, intellectual, and spiritual) These are merely tools to allow us to understand and explore these principles, nothing more. However, as you explore them, you may find personal insights that mean much to you. This is normal, and happens in all martial arts.
Sphere of control: Imagine a sphere emanating from your center. (remember, all things rotate around and come from our center) Grow this sphere around you until it encompasses the area you have control in. If it helps you, imagine your sphere is a transparent color. For starters, grow your sphere to the range of your weapon. (regardless of what that weapon is… sword, polearm, hands… it’s all the same) Inside this sphere, you have control. As you move your center, the sphere moves around you. If anything comes in contact with your sphere, say, your opponent’s weapon, (or another opponent in a melee) you do not need to see it, you can feel it. As you fight, concentrate on controlling and identifying everything inside your sphere. You know where an opponent’s strike is coming from, because you can feel it brush into your sphere before it hits your body, thus giving you time to react. There is no question you can control your opponent’s weapon if it is inside your sphere, you just do it. (Remember, this is a mental technique that helps us understand. As with all techniques it needs to be practiced to be effective) Now comes the fun stuff….

Increasing our sphere of control: Days-weeks-months-years have gone by, and we have practiced our sphere of control.. Now, let’s expand it. Expand your sphere out past your physical weapon range. Push your sphere to encompass your opponent, who stands just outside your weapon range. Now he is in your sphere of control. Now you feel what he is doing, the arc of his weapon, the tensing of muscles before an attack, the nervous shifting of his center. Now his center is inside your sphere, and you can manipulate it, control it, move it where you wish, with physical, mental, emotional, or spiritual pressure. (remember, spiritual does not mean religious) What I am describing here is the ultimate in manipulation of measure. It is documented that great fighters begin counters before their opponents begin the physical aspects of an attack. This is because their opponents are in their sphere of control. Again, this is only a mental tool for us to understand these principles.

yours
Rob
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Postby Cib » Mon May 21, 2007 3:40 pm

Don't have chance to readi t now, but cant wait to get a chance! Rob, you rock!
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Postby Freswinn » Mon May 21, 2007 10:21 pm

There should be a stipulation for D range applying to projectiles (especially arrows), and an E range. Something like:

D Range: It is required you take more than one step to strike your opponent with your weapon; projectiles will reach you typically before you can react.
E Range: It is required you take many more than one step to strike your opponent with your weapon; you have a higher chance to react to projectiles.

That way you can further fill out the axiom of never starting in your opponent's range, insofar as to say that the archer's range is a D range, though they can strike at an E range as well with less effectiveness; thus, it is advantageous to move quickly through the D range to engage an archer.

Good stuff!
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Postby druminmychest » Tue May 22, 2007 7:40 am

A very good point, and a good refinement based on the landscape of your fighting. I tend to forget about archery, as my personal focus is very much tournament fighting. Good catch.

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Rob
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Postby Thomas MacFinn » Sun Dec 30, 2007 8:08 pm

I think this article should be stickied.

I am a short man, but still I live and die by the borders of my B-C and C-D ranges. Also, for most weapons, the center of the sphere is closer to the swordside hip than the true center of our bodies - a matter of inches but many a blow has missed by inches.
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Postby Arrakis » Sun Dec 30, 2007 10:04 pm

Excellent post.

I find that ideal location for easy fighting is where your B and your opponents C ranges overlap. This is a difficult place to be, especially for certain sizes/body types.

I like being in A. Wraps, shield work, footwork... the more there is for one's mind to grapple with, the more likely it is that someone will miss something.
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Postby Mongoose » Wed Jan 02, 2008 3:21 pm

This stuff is wonderful! keep it comming!

Thomas- yes, but only in line fighting while facing forward. with spins its a sphere again.
still, thats cool to think about how facings and the placement of opponents can limit/ expand things.
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