Speed drill

[Augustine]

My biggest problem area seems to be the speed of my swings. I've found that my swing is EXTREMELY slow-- I can get maybe swing for every three that most people seem able to put out. I don't have weak arms, by any means, either-- I used to swim competitively and did a hell of a lot of fly. I fight with a strap shield and long (48'') blue sword. I am willing to change to a shorter-length sword, since I wear steel armor and have absolutely no problem going toe-to-toe with someone, but all my practice to date has been with a longsword. What can I do to speed up my strikes?

-SPQR-

[Arrakis]

The 47.99" blue is really quite slow in most peoples' hands, especially if it's not either min-weight or crazily counterweighted.

I'd say to step down to a 40-incher and let yourself adjust to the range difference. At 47.something, you really shouldn't need speed because all your kills should be max-range shoulder shots. If you find speed is an issue, shorten up and fight closer.

I find that for most fights against another sword-and-board fighter, a 30" sword is enough and a 38-inch sword is more than plenty. I can get all of my shoulders, arm-hunting shots, and fakes in, though I rarely leg-hunt.

Otherwise, practice throwing shots that blend smoothly into one another. If you're having to stop your momentum and reverse it, it slows you down. Or bounce your blade off of your opponent's shield and use that energy to fire another shot somewhere else.

[Big King Jimmy]

take a sword that fails.

Find a post.

Swing. probably about 100 swings / day. First 25 practice form, go about half speed. Next 50 just normal shots, about a 2 second delay between each shot. Maybe a little slower. Last 25 as fast as you can, safetly.

[Thomas MacFinn]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VGPU25ij6KY

[varadin]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VGPU25ij6KY

QFT this guy has some nice tips, i suggest starting with the first one and watching all of them.

Also check out http://www.bellatrix.org/school/
its an SCA training site but has a lot of good tips.

The Other thing to understand is there are two types of speed, Physical speed(actual speed) and Perceived Speed. Its really hard to increase your actual speed. But understanding timing, aiming, the proper muscle control behind a shot will make you seem a lot faster then you are.

A shot shouldn't come just from your arm or your wrist. You are likely to blow out your shoulder or develop major problems if you do something like this. Understanding that a shot comes from your hips, your back, your shoulders, your forearm, and your wrist Even clasping your fingers at the right time will make your shots faster and put some oomph behind it.

The sword your using does matter shorter weapons will always move faster as well lighter/counterbalanced. They aren't the only thing to it though so if you can get down the basics with your huge * sword (and thats being nice 48 inches seriously * is the point) when you pick up a proper weapon you'll find your doing a lot better. Best tip i can give on weapon length is hold a sword in your hand in your proper stance, swing it straight down, it should be able to do a full circle with your arm down and not hit the ground.