Belegarth

And I'd disagree with Dane. Not working leg shots into your sparring routine, unless you're focusing on learning a specific shot, takes about 40% of your opponents body out of play. Especially if you're coming back to fighting you need to work on all shots. ALL shots, not just the ones you don't feel you throw well. You haven't used your leg shots in how long? How do you know you can hit them with ease? You should work on getting all your shots back up and crisp. Often times you can use a leg shot, or a feinted one to open your opponent up. But like I said earlier, nobody buys a feint unless they're afraid of the real shot.

And if you get your leg shots back up to speed its really easy to transition those into the hit shots Dane is recommending.

Wrap

MeleeMoses wrote:Wrap

That's your answer to everything Moses. That and power shoulder drop.

Don't fix what ain't broke?

mosses meant RAP. like rhyme, only chumps and short people throw wraps.

bo1 wrote:mosses meant RAP. like rhyme, only chumps and short people throw wraps.

WORD YO!!!!
hahahahahaha

Whaddup gangstas.

I just had an intense sparring weekend, first with Alric at midnight in FL (fighting after rugby game = awesome), and then today with Arrakis up in MA. It's a good feeling, and I feel like I'm finally starting to shake off some of the rust; fighting other experienced fighters, obviously, helps a lot.

No vids from Florida sparring, but here are four from today:

Magnus vs Arrakis - single sword: http://youtu.be/Emo6uv92z70

Magnus vs Arrakis - sword and shield: http://youtu.be/0-DRoiTnfjo

Magnus vs Arrakis - two-sword vs sword and shield: http://youtu.be/HsR3MUvE714

Magnus vs Arrakis - two-sword: http://youtu.be/ITfYraJvBwo

These are a little sloppy, which is partly because we'd already been fighting about 3 hours and the ground was very slippery mud. It's probably hard to tell who won some of the fights, but I'd guess Arrakis won about 60-70 percent of the sword & board fights, with the other ones being pretty even as far as I can remember. I'm using his weapons and shield, and it's my first time fighting with MMA gloves (which make two-sword suck a lot less), so there's some unfamiliarity there, but I don't think too many deficiencies in my fighting should be attributed to that. We're also probably on the upper end of hit calibration, which is a little different from what I'm used to fighting in an Eryndor-founded realm, but I think it's helped a bit with my mechanics.

I'm high-crossing a good deal more than I wanted to, probably because I was a little tired and lazy. One thing I also notice is that I am hunching up too much. I need to remain more vertical, straighter knees. As I said, footwork was a little hard to do right with the slippery mud, but still, I'm too long and too low.

With two-sword, I go outside a lot and kind of flail sometimes, but I think I'm finally getting to the point where I feel I'm a serious threat in that weapon combo. And in general, it looks like the left hand is developing reasonably well.

Arrakis mentioned I stabbed him more times in our afternoon of sparring than he's been stabbed in the last year, which is a good thing I guess. But I don't want to rely on stabs too much, because a) lots of people at Ragnarok, especially the ones I most want to kill, wear armor, and b) I don't want to become a one-trick fighter like I used to be with leg shots.

I love the fact that both of you stab. It's something that people don't do enough. There's enough unarmored people out there to make it worth it.

How come you keep your right sword behind your left when you go flo in the third video?

Lack of ability to use our feet properly was definitely hurting us. You can actually see me slip in the mud in several of the videos.

Work your right hand into your flo fighting (shoulder shops/flat wraps to the shield shoulder); work on not letting your sword guard drift up too much; remember to keep one hand home for defense when fighting flo, especially against a boardman.

I was able to lift my own guard up to make yours float up then hip chop you in several handmatched styles. Unfortunately that was one of the only feints you were falling for. I didn't appreciate how much more of your hips my round shield covers than it does of mine hah hah hah.

I wish we'd had about 6 feet of extra diameter to really work on your ranging and closing more. You've got a pretty ferocious tight game and it kept me from exploiting certain holes in your defense, but you need to learn to fight flo from medium range, at least. And, again, footwork would have been nice to use, but, hey. It's weather in New England. We'll see what's up re: footwork come May.

Awesome fighting you. You're way way more athletic than I am and it sure showed. You were able to fight at a much more active level a lot longer than I was. Hell, in some of the videos I can see you throwing three shots to my one: pure laziness on my part.

I'm sore lol.

I think you're gonna lay waste at Ides. Just resist the temptation to high cross/high slot everyone you meet.

I'm high-crossing a good deal more than I wanted to, probably because I was a little tired and lazy.

Yes.

One thing I also notice is that I am hunching up too much. I need to remain more vertical, straighter knees.

Yes. Think about a boxer or an MMA fighter. Stand up, then adjust based on opponent and what you're trying to do.

As I said, footwork was a little hard to do right with the slippery mud, but still, I'm too long and too low.

Yes, and yeah, mud is rough.

With two-sword, I go outside a lot and kind of flail sometimes

Yes.

but I think I'm finally getting to the point where I feel I'm a serious threat in that weapon combo.

No. Not to anyone with experience fighting good two-sword fighters, anyway. The mud really helped you out, here. If Arrakis had had decent footing, you would have gotten shanked mercilessly. As you said, you have a tendency to go outside and flail, and that's going to make you the opposite of a threat with that style. Work that inside lane, and stop throwing throw-away shots to his shield. Put that baiting shot in on his hand (if he's wearing gloves) or to the forte of his blade. That's how you coax out favorable returns.

And in general, it looks like the left hand is developing reasonably well.

You're definitely using it more. Needs more left-handed single blue.

Per the usual, no side-to-side action, poor setups to the closing, but given the mud, that's forgivable this go around.

The following is critique of the two-sword v. board:

Looks like you understand the idea of covering the left with your right, but the form is all wrong. Your right is too tight to your body, and no need to float that elbow up. Project your right like you're singling it, and angle the tip to your left; keep the right hand on the right side of your body, and don't clutch or flare that elbow.

Your left sword isn't closing off the outside lane. There are a number of different guards you can use in two-sword, but the most reliable I've seen is the one you're attempting to emulate: the right covers the inside lane to the left, the left closes off the outside left. When Arrakis goes for that deep wrap to your left, you should be able to turn those hips out and murder the hell out of him. You're not doing a good job of making him fight to get inside because he's having too much success going outside. Really take away the left side of your body as a viable target; make him want to cross. That's why it's so important to keep your right projected: if he crosses, you cut it off with a small movement, instead of the right having to race across your body to beat the shot there.

You're doing this weird thing where your back foot is coming off the ground while you're throwing shots; don't do that.

I like that you're stepping with your stabs. Good improvement.

Your guard keeps drifting up. There are times when your guard needs to come up, but generally, it won't. Stay home, live longer.

I can tell that some of the theory is sinking in. Execution isn't there, but effort is. Good stuff.

Dane wrote:Needs more left-handed single blue.

Couldn't help it.
Having to relearn everything the right way with you off-hand can be frustrating in how long it takes, but be paitient and you'll see leaps and bounds in return. When I pick up S&B right handed, I do a lot better.

Dane wrote:

but I think I'm finally getting to the point where I feel I'm a serious threat in that weapon combo.

No. Not to anyone with experience fighting good two-sword fighters, anyway.

Well, in my defense, there is literally no one with experience fighting good two-sword fighters whom I fight on a regular basis, unless Deakon's experience fighting Arc from three years ago counts.

Dane wrote:

And in general, it looks like the left hand is developing reasonably well.

You're definitely using it more. Needs more left-handed single blue.

Any comments for the single-sword video? I felt pretty good doing handmatched lefty against Arrakis, though as he points out, my left-side guard still needs a lot of work. I have not one but TWO different big, purple bruises on my left hip right now.

With luck, I will be able to get footage soon of myself, fighting a skilled fighter, using my own weapons, on firm ground, when I'm not tired from three hours' fighting already.

I am seriously glad I had the MMA gloves, otherwise my hands would be unusable today. Never going back.

Lot's of pell-work, block-strike and constantly try to develope gross-motor control. I am constantly using my Prohands Heavy Tension tensile tool.
Don't go on the outside lane unless you're surely gonna get the kill. Most of my lefty-single blue kills are pocket stabs, short-crosses at hip level(block the high/right cross then open 'em up from kidney to kidney), chops are good if you've got them to throw on the outside lane, have stepped in, blocking their shot. Mostly pocket stabs and kidney punishment.

Any comments for the single-sword video?

A lot of people approach single blue with the mindset that they're going to get hit; their goal is to win the fight and get hit somewhere nonlethal. Your mindset should be killing the guy without getting wounded. In single blue (and most fighting), you're probably open after one shot. You're definitely open after two. With that in mind, watch yourself and see what you're doing wrong.

You're flailing a lot when you're moving from shots to blocks to shots. This is because you're not ranging properly, so your follow through is taking you past the point of no return, forcing you to arm your block, which makes your return after the block a predictable chop, which is poorly ranged, meaning your next block is armed and goes too high, which makes your return a predictable chop, and so on, until you look like a kid with rage problems painting a fence.

Arm, arm, arm, arm, arm. Need some hip. Pell helps, as does any workout involving punches and kicks. Even short chops to the inside lane should have subtle body movement. When I'm tired or having a lazy day, I'll really struggle with this on my left hand. Put your hips into your blocks, too. If Arrakis throws to your outside left, turning your hips left to block gets you good and torqued up for your return (in addition to making the block more solid and keeping your shape, which gives you better return options than if your arm is doing the work).

If Arrakis's left hand didn't suck, he'd stutter you high and lace that right hip until it matched your left. Your guard starts level and keeps drifting high.

Arrakis is asking you to hit him in the side, from his ribs down to his hips. You should oblige him. Your offense consistently trends too high, a product of your ever-rising guard.

Work that left hand, and incorporate block-strike. Find someone in your area who wants to be good at fighting, and there's your partner. If you don't have the info on block-strike, let me know, and I'll pm you the particulars.

check my FB message.

Thanks, PtQ and others, for your valuable insights.

I'll see what I can incorporate from the above into fighting this weekend at Ides, but as with anything worthwhile it's going to take time and effort. As I've said, foam sword fighting is really a secondary activity to rugby right now, but it's a great community to be a part of and I hope to be able to give back to the game[s] as well.

I'm extremely grateful to Arrakis (and also Alric) for taking the time to fight this weekend.