Everyone,
Squire Fox from Wolfpack came up with this idea of implementing a standard training plan for our new fighters. Training would be divided into six different sessions starting with the basics and then building on that to include some tactics and melee training. He sees this training much as some of the beginning sessions you have when you're first learning a martial art. As it stands, each session will be probably about an hour and our regular practices are normally about 4 hours long.
One of the things that we've been discussing is whether we should have a standard style, i.e., sword and board, for training. We are for the idea since it allows us to cover certain topics you wouldn't be able to cover if a person is using a single sword or florentine, namely shield work. Also, we like the idea of having everyone "on the same sheet of music". If we had everyone pick out whatever style they wanted to use for training, then we would inevitably have fighters to either pick up a flail, two weapons, or the biggest red they could find. I'm sure that most people have seen how this can be an issue due to lack of control. Also, this would require us to adjust the training to each specific weapon style. His goal is to have a standard training plan that can be consistent and repeatable.
Some people have expressed concern that using sword and board would "lock" a person into only that style and that the person would not want to try any others. As it stands, we would only require the standard style during the training. A person would be allowed to try and experiment with any other weapon styles outside of the training sessions. We will also be discussing other weapon styles as a part of one of the training sessions.
What are your thoughts about using sword and board for training?
P.S. If anyone is interested on how this is being set up, I'll be happy to post the information.