Collection of Sir Kenneth's Blogs

[Bortas]

Common Mistakes of New Fighters:



I have noticed that many new fighters tend to make the same mistakes repeatedly. Worse yet, they practice these mistakes in the hope that practice makes perfect. Practice does not make perfect, it just makes permanent. Thatmeans many people are training themselves in a fundamentally unsound manner, not realizing it, and training themselves in mistakes that they will have to unlearn before they are to progress in skill.



In order to correct that, I am writing a fighter blog on common mistakes I've seen new people make. It is not designed to be an all encompassing list, nor is it designed to be a completely inflexible system of rules that never changes. It is designed to be a set of helpful guidelines and a few main reasons for why each guideline exists.



Since the majority of fighters use a sword and a shield, I have divided the mistakes into three broad categories: Footwork, Shield technique, and Sword technique. For the purposes of shield technique, it is assumed that the fighter is using a standard Edhellen round shield because many other shields compensate for the lack of footwork, and the purpose of this blog is to improve basic fighter technique, not to have equipment compensate for poor training.



******Footwork******


Crossing your legs while stepping:

Many fighters cross their legs in some fashion when they are stepping from side to side. At some point during their step, their legs become locked into a position that is extremely difficult to dodge leg shots from because both legs are tied up, and are essentially in the same location. You can't hop off either leg in order to dodge if you're caught in the legs crossed position. More advanced fighters will circle to either side, and wait for their opponent to cross their legs, then throw in a leg shot that can't be dodged, and can only be blocked. Instead of crossing your legs when you walk, try shuffling your feet. If you want to move to the right, move your right foot to the right, then move your left foot near to your right foot, but not further to the right. If you want to move to the left, move your left foot to the left, and then move your right foot to the left, but no further than your left foot. This way, you still retain a decent amount of mobility no matter which direction you decide to move in.



Too much weight on the front foot:

Fighters often put an extreme amount of weight on their front foot without realizing it. This makes it very difficult to dodge backwards or to the side, because all of your weight needs to be shifted before your front foot can move. Instead, keep your feet evenly balanced, or more weight on your back leg. This way, if a leg shot comes in, you can sweep your front foot backwards quickly, and without overbalancing.



Dancing in and out of range without a purpose:

Many fighters get too close to their opponent without realizing it. Worse yet, they attempt to leg their opponent without realizing that the swing entails serious risk. Here is why-- Take a sword and hold it at an angle, as if you were swinging at somebody's leg. Look at how far your reach is. Now, staying in the same position, go down on a knee, and look at how far your reach is again. The reach should be considerably longer. This is because your first swing is the hypotenuse of a triangle, and your second swing is the leg of the triangle. In other words, if you can leg your opponent, assuming you have equal arm length and sword lengths, he can almost always leg you right back when he goes down on his knee. If you have shorter arms and a shorter sword, do not try to play the range game and dance in and out of somebody's range. Advance, and stay close. The range game only works if you have the longer arms, longer sword, or have considerably better footwork.



*****Shield technique*****



Using your shield too much to guard your legs:

If you are using a round shield, look at how far you have to dip your shield to guard your legs. When you dip your shield down that far, your entire body, shield arm, and sword arm are exposed, which is going to get you killed far faster than if you get legged. Unless you are certain a shot is going to come for your leg AND you need to block it with your shield, use your footwork to dodge leg shots, and your shield to guard your upper body.



Overreacting with their shield:

If your shield has to move at all, it only has to move a few inches to block any top shot, either by rolling your shoulder/waist, moving a few inches up or to the side, or moving a few inches forward to cut the other fighter's swinging angle off. Anything more than that, and you're just overreacting and opening yourself up. Try to avoid making large motions in any direction with your shield unless you understand why you're doing it.



Hunching too far forwards:

This is partially a matter of footwork, partially a matter of where you put your shield. The more you hunch forwards, the easier it is to hit you in the shoulder because your shoulder is closer to your opponent. Your shoulder is also lower to your opponent, which gives them a better angle to hit your shoulder. Try to avoid hunching over, because you're opening up your upper body, AND putting too much weight on your front leg (See the same mistake in footwork…)



Dropping your shield while falling:

Hold your shield up. Now go down on a knee. Most people **in combat** drop their shield as they go down, or at least, keep it steady. This is dangerous because as you are going down on a knee, your opponent gets "taller" relative to you. That means his shoulder shots are going to be more dangerous. Instead, keep your shield level, or best yet, raise your shield slightly as you are falling in order to compensate for becoming "shorter".



*****Sword technique*****



Sword too far back:

Many people start with their swords way behind their head. This presents several problems. The first problem is that your sword is ineffective as a blocking weapon if it is behind your body. The second problem is that the sheer distance your sword has to cover is considerably greater. That means your swing is slower, relatively speaking, compared to any other person's swing. It is also "telegraphed" to your opponent, giving him more time to block, dodge, or counter your swing. Keeping your sword closer to your opponent provides a huge increase in speed compared to trying to become physically faster. It also provides sword-side blocking as a bonus. Don't give these advantages up for no reason.



Not pulling sword back after you swing:

Many people take one (or two or three…) swings…and then just leave their arm hanging out there. They are so not used to being blocked, or late swings, that they assume their arm is invulnerable. Mistake. If you are not making an extra swing, your sword and arm should snap back into some form of guard position. Even if you think you've killed the guy, snap your sword back into a guard position. This prevents you from being killed by the last few swings, or swings from another opponent.


Swinging from too far away:

I've seen a lot of fighters swing from distances when they have no chance of hitting their opponent, even if their opponent doesn't move.



-Let's start with shots aimed at above the waist. Your sword should at the very least, be able to REACH your opponent. Better yet, your sword should be able to reach your opponent without you twisting your entire body to try and get closer. Memorize that distance, because that is basically the maximum distance away you should ever be swinging at somebody unless you have a specific other reason for doing so. Maximum distance means exactly that. *Maximum* distance. Most shots from maximum distance will not land because your opponent will move backwards, which means most of your shots have to be from closer than maximum distance.



-What about shots below the waist? Well, hold your sword out…now angle it down as if you were swinging for their leg. Your sword should be further away. This happens for roughly the same reason I described earlier...holding your sword straight out is the "leg" of a triangle, and holding your sword down and at an angle is the "hypotenuse". Hence, your sword has more distance to cover. Therefore, you actually have to be closer to your opponent to swing at their leg than if you wanted to swing at their body. Most fighters don't realize this. Now you do.



*****

Once again, this is not designed to be an all-inclusive or rigid set of rules for fighting. Instead, it is designed as a set of mistakes newer fighters make. Actually, I'm a little uncertain if new people will understand what I have written, but I think veterans will understand, and hopefully they will be willing to teach new people in person.



Best of luck!



-Kenneth

[Bortas]

Mindset

There are some people who focus more on the social aspects of Belegarth. If they fight at all, their participation is relatively limited. Most of this post is not for those people. Instead, this post is for those who aspire to become better fighters in some way, either as a newbie aspiring to be mediocre, a mediocre aspiring to be a veteran, or a veteran aspiring to be an elite.



I believe it is possible for almost every fighter to become veteran fighters, if not one of the lower elite. Now before you laugh, please hear me out. The key is your mindset.



When I first started, I was one of the most unhealthy, uncoordinated, clumsy, non-athletic and useless fighters on the field. An abundance of one thing, and a lack of another thing lead me to become at least one of the veteran fighters. I had an abundance of enthusiasm, and a complete lack of shame. It didn't matter who they were, if they were good, I wanted to fight them. I would get completely humiliated over and over, but I would always ask what I was doing wrong, and what I could do better. I was sparring people I theoretically had no business fighting. There were some fighters who could beat me ten, twenty, even thirty times in a row. From them, I slowly learned how to fight until I stood where I am at today. I have had many teachers who have given up much of their time and energy to train me, and I would like to return some of the kindness that was shown to me when I was new.



Now that I am on the other side of the fence, so to speak, I understand the perspective of those dominating fighters a little bit better. It is difficult to constantly go up to new people and ask to fight them when you have no idea whether they will stay in the game, or whether they will leave shortly. You can't easily identify those who want to improve from those who want to hang out. You don't know whether whoever you fight will appreciate what you have to teach, or if they will think you are patronizing them or merely showing off by beating on the newbies. Having somebody come up to you and ask for help solves most of those problems, and lets the veteran fighter know this is somebody who is interested, and has a better than normal chance of sticking around.



That is why the mindset of the newer fighter is so important. Go up to every good fighter you can, and ask to fight. Ask them to teach you, not just beat you. Don't spar the same people at events that you spar in your own practices, because you can spar them at any other time. Ask to spar the fighters who look like they are slaughtering everybody else who stands in front of them. In return for you initiating, the veteran fighter passes on what tips and tricks he may know. Better yet, many veterans are like the dispensers who keep dispensing. Every time you see them, you can ask to fight them and for them to help you out in any way they can. That's not a bad trade at all.



In my time, I have assisted in the training of many veteran fighters. By the standards of most people, they never had any business becoming more than mediocre fighters. Instead, many of them are now veterans simply by their effort to improve. The gap between mediocre and veteran is really not that large. It consists mostly of basic tips and tricks for improvement.



The difference between many mediocre and veteran fighters is mindset, not athleticism. Sitting on the sidelines and sparring your friends, or just fooling around with them is fine. However, I've got to say, you can take an awful lot of satisfaction in watching your own steady improvement in skills. The earlier you start trying to learn from other people, the fewer bad habits you have to unlearn from self-training.



There is a saying that goes something like this--"He who teaches himself has a fool for a teacher, but I must tell you that he who does not teach himself has no teachers at all."



Go out. Leave your pride and fears at the door. Learn. There is a good chance you will have more fun. It is not just about beating people. You can watch yourself improve. Heck, you can even meet more people this way because you are sharing an activity more personal than you dying in the middle of a mass melee. It is about your mindset.

When you're a veteran...maybe...just maybe...remember what an awkward clumsy newbie you were, and return the favor to the next generation of awkward clumsy newbies.

--Kenneth

[Bortas]

Range

I have noticed that many fighters, especially newer fighters, have no real concept of range. They assume that if their opponent can hit them, they can hit their opponent.



Range is perhaps one of the most important elements of fighting.

Roughly speaking, there are perhaps four types of range.



1. Nobody can hit each other.

2. You can hit him.

3. He can hit you.

4. You can hit him, and he can hit you.



The difference between 1-2-3-4 and 1-3-2-4 is often the difference between winning and losing. If the order is 1-2-3-4, and you kill him at 2, the fight is over. Similarly, if the order is 1-3-2-4, and he kills you at 3, the fight is over.



Yet, unaware fighters frequently like to fight at 1, 3, and 4.

Fighting when nobody can hit each other (1), and when you can hit him and he can hit you (4), while not ideal, is not that bad. Fighting when he can hit you and you can't hit him (3) is a killer.



In the simplest terms possible, if he has a longer reach than you, you have to fight where both of you can hit each other. If you have a longer reach than him, you have the option of fighting outside of his reach, but you can also fight where both of you can hit each other. You should never fight when he can hit you, and you can't hit him.



The first step is to figure out your own reach. Many fighters use weapons of roughly the same length. It is a fairly simple process to determine how long your reach is. Reach out and touch something at "shoulder", "waist", and "leg" height. That's your maximum reach. Odds are, your opponent will dodge out of that reach. You should almost never take real swings when you're outside of that reach unless you have a darn good reason to. Memorize that distance!!!



The second step is to figure out how long the other guy's reach is. There are a couple main things to look at, and I'll list them in roughly their order of importance.



1. How long his weapon is.

2. How long his arms are.

3. How close his feet are together.

4. How long his legs are.



As you fight, you will slowly learn to approximate how long a opponent's reach is. After that, figure out who has the longer reach. If you have the longer reach, you have the option of fighting inside or outside of his reach. If you have the shorter reach, your only real option is to fight inside of his reach.



Personally, I move as little as possible to stay outside of somebody's reach. A minimal amount of movement is all you often need to stay outside of somebody's reach. A garb or light hit is still a garb or light hit. Sweeping your leg back, tucking in your tummy, or swaying your chest just a tiny bit often is enough to remove most of the force, changing a killing blow to a light hit. The closer you can make it look to them being able to hit you, the more likely they will make an error by swinging when you are truly out of their reach, or are able to move out of their reach. You are faking them into making an error just by standing where they think they can hit you. After that, you can step in and capitalize on their error.



*******



On a more advanced note, there are actually 3 more ranges that come easily to my mind.



5. You're so close he can't hit you.

6. You're so close you can't hit him.

7. You're so close neither of you can hit each other.



A fighter who has developed close ranged shots has an extra option available to him…fighting so close to their opponent that their opponent can't swing, but they can. Actually, many fighters absolutely hate somebody who can stand right in front of them. If you are significantly shorter than your opponent, I highly recommend learning how to fight at extremely close ranges unless you are using a very long weapon.

[Bortas]

Stance

Stance



*As a reminder, these are written with the right handed fighter sword + shield user who is fighting another right handed fighter sword + shield user in mind.



**This is more of a working post than a carefully thought out article. It is extremely difficult for me to describe stance in wording that is even remotely comprehensible.



At its most basic level, there are really three places you can put your feet. I don't see many people who stand with their feet side by side naturally, so really, there are two ways you can put your feet. Either you put your right foot forwards, or your left foot forwards. Each placement has its set of natural advantages and disadvantages. Beginning fighters often pick one or the other, and as they become more advanced, flow back and forth between them as the situation requires.



As a general idea of where this post is coming from, stand with your sword and shield, and have your left foot in front of your right foot in some fashion. Odds are, you are in a variant of a left foot forward stance. Now, put your right foot exactly where your left foot was, and your left foot exactly where your right foot was. Odds are, you are in a variant of a right foot forward stance. Notice how your body, sword, and shield shift when you change between a right foot forward and a left foot forward stance. If you naturally stand left foot forward, chances are, standing right foot forward will feel awkward. The same is true in reverse. Left foot forward is by far more common on the Belegarth field.





Left foot forward:

Standing with your left foot forward usually provides you with a lot of protection on your right side because your shield is more towards the right. Not only does your shield naturally block your right side better, it is better at intercepting cross shots. It is also relatively fast at dodging leg shots.



However, standing with left leg forward does leave you slightly more open to wide shield side attacks compared to right foot forwards.



Right foot forwards:

Standing with your right foot forwards is naturally more offensive. First, your sword is slightly closer to your opponent, because it no longer has to cross the length of your body. In other words, you have more reach. It is also better at throwing shots at an opponent's arm or sword-side because the distance between the two is slightly shorter. Finally, it has a tremendous advantage in blocking shots aimed at your shield side, because your entire shield is naturally tilted to block those shots.



These advantages come at a cost…defense. Those who stand right foot forward usually expose a tremendous amount of the right side of their bodies. Everywhere from their right foot up to their right arm and shoulder is more vulnerable compared to if they had stood left foot forwards. Fighters who stand right foot forwards are more prone to overextending on the offense, and opening up vulnerabilities. In line fighting, they are also more likely to be hit in their side by an opponent who is standing diagonal and to their right.



To partially compensate, fighters who stand with their right foot forward may use their sword to block shots aimed at the upper right side of their body.

[Bortas]

Angles

Many fighters fight like they are standing on a straight line with their opponent. They only move forwards and backwards, and never side to side. They ignore one of the most important elements of fighting--Angles.

**(Assuming everybody is right handed)**

Here is a little experiment. Grab your swordand a buddy with a shield. Stand straight in front of him. Have him hold up his shield so that it barely covers his shoulder. Hold out your sword so that the tip of your sword rests on the shoulder that his shield is covering. You should not be able to hit his shoulder.

Now, take a tiny step (about three inches) forwards and to the right. You should be able to see more of his shoulder. Return to your starting position, and then take a full step in the same direction. What you are seeing right now is the offensive power of angles. A slight shift to the right (or left) opens up a rather large target area on the side you shift towards. Try reversing the step and stepping forwards and to the left and see what opens up.

Return to your starting position. This time, have him take a step forward and to his left. His shield side should be more difficult to hit. This demonstrates the defensive power of angles. By shifting to the left, your left side becomes more protected. By shifting to the right, your right side becomes more protected.

Be aware that the direction you shift in may open up a better target zone for your opponent. If you go to your right and he goes to his right, your left shoulder is going to be awfully exposed. As an extra warning, be aware that stepping closer tends to make your shoulders more vulnerable to certain types of shots.

By playing around with angles, you can enhance the protection of certain locations, and gain enlarged opportunities to strike your opponent. For example, if you take a step forwards and to the right while swinging at your opponent's leg, your opponent has a more difficult time hitting your own right shoulder compared to if you had just stood still and swung.

Many fighters step to their right to take a leg or shoulder shot. They step to their left to take the high crossover shot at their opponent's sword arm.

Basic footwork opens up an entire realm of offensive and defensive opportunities.



Best of luck!



-Kenneth

[Bortas]

The high cross

This blog discusses the advantages and disadvantages of one of the most common shots in Belegarth, the high cross.

What is the High Cross?
The high cross is a shot thrown at your opponent's sword side. The target is typically their upper right shoulder, upraised arm, or mid-right flank. During this shot, your elbow is roughly on level or higher than your wrist.<span>



Advantages of the High Cross:

The high cross is one of the only beginner level shots to target an opponent's right side, particularly their right arm or right shoulder. The shot's target area is usually more vulnerable because it is not guarded by a shield. It is simple, easy to learn, and effective against most fighters. Used in a proper manner, it can bait opponents into swinging, or pin their sword in place temporarily.

Finally, the High Cross is a pretty decent counter to one other frequently thrown shot…the High Cross. What that tends to lead to is "High Cross battles" where both sides throw as many high crosses as fast as possible at each other.



Disadvantages of the High Cross:

Performed poorly (Fairly frequent), the high cross is one of the worst opening moves possible because it exposes a significant portion of your arm and shoulder. Further, it is a slower shot than a shield side shot because there is more distance to cover, both on the way in and on the way out.

Also, one of the only ways to protect yourself while throwing a high cross is to move your shield over to your sword side. However, that opens up your shield side significantly. In other words, the high cross is an offensive attack that sacrifices a tremendous amount of defensive ability, and tends to leave you in a poor position to defend once it has been thrown.



Summary:

In many respects, this is similar to the newbie duck-and-swipe-at-the-leg shot. It is simple and effective against both newbies and veterans. However it often leads to inconsistent results and high cross battles where both fighters move to their left and swing as fast as possible. Against fighters who are expecting or baiting the high cross, it frequently leads to loss of an arm or death.

[Thomas MacFinn]

bump

This is one of two posts that I really think should be stickied.

[Alunsun]

Good call! This is good stuff.

[Atiliano]

Really Good stuff I hope to use some of it soon.

[Kyrian]

bump

This is one of two posts that I really think should be stickied.

Done.

[Phelan]

Impressive, probably the most concise and informative post i've read on this fourum. I would love to see what Sir Kenneth has to say about florentine.

[bo1]

mr kenneth might say to use your left hand single blue for a while to make sure you use it offencively when you fight. don't think of your left hand as a blocking weapon, it has the biggest openings against righties.

[p_quick]

agreed. and it also has the most limited variations on shots against a right hander, there for it's more predictable, and in turn it has a better kill ratio (but you gotta learn to use it thus)

[MagnusofDregoth]

I feel that I need to respond to one thing. Sir Kenneth advises against holding your sword behind your head; to the contrary, I have found this to be, in fact, a viable strategy. He submits that one reason to avoid this is that it leads to "telegraphed" shots, but I feel the opposite. If your sword is back, over your shoulder and/or behind your head, your opponent cannot see it. In particular, he cannot be sure of how long your sword is, and moreover, he has no more of a sense of the side you are most likely to attack than if you were holding it in the "A-frame" or "triangle defense" position. Moreover, your sword is roughly the same distance from your opponent's shield side as it is from his sword side. Since your opponent essentially cannot see your sword in its resting position, you can much more easily throw a feint, because your sword's sudden appearance from its hiding place will naturally draw your opponent's eye. With a simple swivel of the hips, you can make your sword appear on one side, only to make your attack just as quickly to the opposite side. Lastly, you are more easily able to generate power, since you will at least be using your arm to throw the shot, if not in fact your entire body. That is, this sword position promotes good form and good body mechanics.

In order to fight in this fashion, you will of course need to develop your footwork and shieldwork to a high degree. This is due to the lack of the sword as a defensive instrument, particularly in blocking the high cross attack (which is really not a good attack at all). Naturally, switching to this style will be a challenge if you are used to the more common A-frame stance, but I believe that the best fighter is the one who can switch fluidly between stances and styles depending not just on the opponent, but indeed on the situation as it changes with any given opponent.

[p_quick]

yeah i'm gunna disagree with you there...i hear what you are saying for power generation, but what you are saying about your opponent not knowing where you sword is... i don't agree with, because i think it's invalid. the idea that you are going to make an opponent jumpy because they don't know where your sword is gunna come from is crazy, the attack is always going to come from the same arm, and vet fighters generally watch core movements, shoulder movement, and footwork, not sword movements unless you are reading what their defense is doing between your attacks and anylising blocking stratagies.

You always need your weapon block, you need a weapon block for more then just the highcross, you need it for the short cross (which is not a bad shot) and along with that you are removing your pocket stab defense (the most dangerous attack in our game) and with your sword behind your head you make the distance between your attack and your opponent greater, giving them more time to react.

furthermore without a weapon block you will never be able to kill a left handed boarder or a florentiner that is worth half a *.

Your tactic may not be a bad one when you are fighting new and untrained fighters but on vets...I don't think it will work

[MagnusofDregoth]

No, it does work on vets, trust me. Mostly because they just aren't expecting it.

I will say, though, that I would never suggest you use this stance exclusively. At the same time, you shouldn't never use it, because it can be valuable against many fighters. The best way to fight, in my experience, is to have several different "ready" stances that you can use, with one, "neutral" stance (generally acknowledged to be the A-frame/triangle stance) as your primary stance.

Generally speaking, one should be able to throw essentially any shot from any stance, so on one level you don't need to have a wide array of stances. But, if you can throw any shot from any stance, why not develop several different stances? Each stance has several obvious shots that are easier to throw from that stance than from others; instead of switching stances to make those shots easier, you can switch stances to make that shot harder. If your opponent is a good fighter, and he sees you switch into a stance that favors (for example) a low hip wrap, throw a high slot attack instead. If you take a stance that makes an on-side shoulder pop a safe bet, go for an off-side leg sweep.

This is not something you can just pick up, unless you happen to be very talented. But it is a good thing to work towards. I have had a lot of success in my sword/shield fighting using this kind of variegated approach, and I think that it can work for most people. Keep in mind, though, that it is only one way to do things, and there are plenty of other ways to fight well.

[p_quick]

I agree you should be able to fluidly shift and adapt from stance to stance while fighting, It is a valid idea.

However i don't think this hand back stanse would work on true vets. I'm not talking 3-6 year fighters i'm talking true third level vets. Gimics and tricks will win fights here and there but you want to teach things that hold consistant results and I don't forsee consistant results in what you are talking about.

In my opinion this hand back stance is too limiting in the options of attacks you have to offer, you've completely removed your ablility to stab, and short cross...These are the two best shots to throw in start the fight and set the tempo to your drum. You leave youself with a high cross, shield side wrap, scorpion wrap, shield side hip and leg wrap. You still have all these options with an A-frame or a hanging guard but you still have your short cross and your stab (not to mention your weapon block).

keep trying it (along with anything else you can think of) and prove me wrong but at this point I hold to the opinion that the stance is too limiting (offense and deffense) and i don't believe in gimics (hiden swords)

But at this point for new fighters trying to learn how to fight from reading web boards (not advised) i would no put my seal on this hand back stance.

Keep in mind i'm not trying to say that you are stupid for being inovative or trying to discourage you from experimenting I'm just pointing out the flaws i see in your philosophy. You are right every fighter is different and some one's trash is anothers treasure.

Keep working, keep fighting, keep learning, Keep training, keep excelling

[MagnusofDregoth]

I like your use of the term "third-level vets," mostly because it's exactly the term I use. I would tentatively place myself at the lower end of the "third-level vets" category, in that I think I have recently started becoming an "advanced" fighter (as opposed to beginning or intermediate).

I've missed the last two fighter practices because of illness, I need to make sure I get out to practice next week. Then I can try this out.

[Kenneth]

I believe this provides an advantageous situation for Petey-Q to bump and grind.

[bo1]

that is his style, peter that is, to grind on opponents and make them really unhappy with the spacing issues he creates. Much like you Sir Kenneth he controls the range game, although he is at the extreme close range, and you tend to be at the extreme long range. But either way range control leads to consistency, and also that leads to success.

I can see what Magnus is trying to do, mask the shot for as long as possible, to a point that i cannot i.d. the shot in time to effectively block it. I dont think i have not fought Magnus of Dregoth at all, i have seen him at rag briefly, he has tallent, no doubt. I just worry about giving this advice to newer fighters. I had to learn from nothing. Madison had the worst fighters, the worst. Then I came along, started squireing and working hard to improve. I stunk out loud for at least 2 years, i argue i still stink. I spent so much time learning substandard techniques and shots from random fighters i would see. I would take advise from anyone, and that causes lots of delays because there are many "experts", and few qualified teachers. Newer fighters shoudl be learning basic sword and shield blocks, good wraps to the hip and shoulders, good short cross and stabs to the 6 pockets of the body. these will lead to lots fo success, and a short trip to that success.

Magnus i would like to work with you on this technique, it seems to go against some of the things i have learned but perhaps i am not seeing the positive as well as i am seeing the negative. are you going to SW, or opener? what is your next event east of indy?

[MagnusofDregoth]

My next event east of Indianapolis is likely to be the next local battle I go to, as I live in Philadelphia.

Not sure if I will be at Spring War, it depends on the date of that event and also the date of Gates of Fire. Moreover, as I am a teacher, I don't really have discretionary vacation time (but I have a ton of vacation at pre-determined times) so it's harder to make it to an event that is more than 6 hours away.

I will practice this on Tuesday and write a report on how effective it is. As far as the basics that new fighters should learn, check out my videos on YouTube, I think you will find that they are in line with what you would want new guys to be practicing.

[Brennon EH]

Speaking from my point of view, I would agree that Magnus suggestion is limiting against a highly analytical fighter. Basically combat targets break into six quadrants (seven is arguable, but six is generally accepted) for foam fighting. This stance limits you to the top right and middle right quadrants as viable targets. There is one shot you can throw at the top left quadrant, but I personally feel the start-from-behind-the-head cross is pretty dodgy at best.

An analytical fighter is going to be inclined to press the top left quadrant of Magnus' and trap that arm in high and behind his head, leaving him with no options left. Further, it is possible to have a lot of success with using feints and openings when you only have to worry about two quadrants being the target of a viable attack.

Does this work? I'm sure it does work on a lot of people. I find that a lot of things work on the bottom 90% of the sport(s) that don't work on the top 10%. But who are you really targeting? I'm trying to be the best, so I polish my skills and techniques accordingly.

[MagnusofDregoth]

Again, that isn't really the way I usually fight. But I was fighting with this stance against a unit-mate last night, who could be considered to be in the top 10 percent (he's about as good as I am, anyway), and I was finding that I was able to win a good share of matches; not the usual 50-70% I win against him, but not much lower.

The thing is, there are more attacks available from that stance than are apparent. I was able to land the sword-side (off-side) leg attack, the on/near-side leg attack, the outside and inside wrap to the hips-ribs area, as well as the more predictable high-line attacks on either side. Obviously, since I have only used this stance occasionally, I am not going to be very good at fighting from it as compared to my regular, more-or-less A-frame stance, but I think that someone could legitimately be an effective fighter using this position. It's not the best stance, but it could prove very useful.

Also, I think I have discovered my latent two-sword abilities. More news to follow.

[Brennon EH]

Why don't you post some video of it in action rather than us trying to imagine what you're talking about?

[MagnusofDregoth]

Good thought, I will try to find an opportunity to do so.

[p_quick]

good idea brennon

[p_quick]

any luck magnus?

[MagnusofDregoth]

Sorry, I don't have a video camera available at present. Also, our practice field is too dimly lit to make for good filming at night.

I think it's going to be about a month before I can get footage of this style and start developing it further.

[Solusar]

Can I get a link for Kenneth's blog?

[Big King Jimmy]

He doesn't have one any more, it was part of the old version of the site.

[Solusar]

Mur

[illiak]

Fairly nice blog, and I agree with most of it. However, it's important to remember that there is an exception to most rules.
The only thing I really disagree with was his point on crossing the legs during sidestepping. It is probably a good rule for most people, but cross-stepping is highly regarded in aikido, tai-chi, kung-fu to name a few. There are times when it gives specific advantages in terms of possible shots, misdirection, turning/spinning, and momentum reversal.

[Roland Demox]

Fairly nice blog, and I agree with most of it. However, it's important to remember that there is an exception to most rules.
The only thing I really disagree with was his point on crossing the legs during sidestepping. It is probably a good rule for most people, but cross-stepping is highly regarded in aikido, tai-chi, kung-fu to name a few. There are times when it gives specific advantages in terms of possible shots, misdirection, turning/spinning, and momentum reversal.

In MMA, Jiu Jitsu, Judo, Wrestling, etc. crossing your feet is the worst possible idea. This is my logic. When you cross your feet your opponent has a second or maybe two where you do not have your full movement to dodge. It is a better athletic position to have knees bent feet shoulder width and your feet NEVER cross.

Aikido Tai-Chi and Kung Fu are what I like to call "flashy" martial arts, they figuire out the best way to whip your * and make it look "cool" the ones that I listed are pure competition martial arts, the best way to put you on your * pretty or not

[Chicken]

I was crossing my feet once so I could run full speed sideways when I got speared in the gut, fell over backwards, twisted my knee and now have a chronic injury. I avoid that **** like the plague, now that it's too late.

[Skorr]

I agree that in Hollywood those martial arts are flashier than they are effective. Not to sound so arrogant as to say they would trounce the ground combat arts we see on TV, but the reason you do not see many masters or even high level practitioners of these styles in professional competition is because they do not want their art to look "cool" or attract people to it for the wrong reasons like power and wealth and fame. Or hurt anyone for that matter, let alone risking hurting themselves. I think it would be really cool to see though, MMA champ versus internal master, but we're likely to never see it.

Back on topic, the backspin is one of my favorite moves. Often used incorrectly (myself included, I admit I overdo it) it can be a very effective surprise sword-side power shot when used quickly with the right range and probably some fakes. If set up right it is often as fast as a normal swing, especially with a heavier weapon. I tend to cross my legs to do it so that I generate more power and come out in a more solid position and I rarely get hit in them when I do. If I do get nailed mid-spin its usually in the back because I underestimated my opponents reach or speed, but never because I crossed my legs for a half a second.

So I do think it has its occasional benefits that way, but I think Kenny was talking about crossing during lateral sidestepping, which I agree with. Unless its part of a bait or fake for some reason, which of course is generally the exception to most rules.

[Brutus]

A word of caution to anyone giving advice as well as those reading it... Sometimes when a veteran says "Don't do X" what they really mean is "X has some disadvantages, so don't do X until you understand those disadvantages." There are very few techniques that literally never have a place in fighting.

Spinning/crossing your feet is something that is way overdone, but is also the only alternative sometimes when you're fighting multiple opponents or when something happens on one of your flanks that you weren't expecting. Turning your back to an opponent on your flank can also be a great bait. If you turn your back, stop, and then try to turn back, your opponent will have time to see that they've overcommitted and adjust. However, if you continue the turn and make it a spin, you can catch many over-aggressive fighters in mid stride. Of course, Skorr has pointed out the dangers in turning your back to an opponent, but isn't everything a calculated risk?

[Sir_Mel]

Looks like Argoth figured out Brian's login info. Especially since we all know Brutus doesn't actually fight anymore.