Lessons learned

Thursday's practice was both helpful and humbling. I was having a hard time with my footwork and it left me frustrated again. So a few foot work and slow work drills later I fought a bit, still without much success but thus is the price of sparring with crown caliber fighters. Was in poor spirits.

Come the end of practice was a bear pit. I managed to survive my opponent by dancing in and out of their range and attempting to find an opening. success! Around again and matched up with the same opponent to whom I again fought for a while and then managed to kill a second time. Unfortunetly since I was tired, my second fight was terrible and a bit full of BS but despite the beating I was satisfied with my fights.

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CDV Practice

Once a month I try and make it down to a southern practice, on the first Wednesday: Mid-Willamette and the third Tuesday: CDV. The Tuesday practice was added into rotation to give me more helmet time, but also allows my room-mate to spend some quality time with his knight; Who tries to come up our way on the second and fourth Thursdays of the month. I'm sorry to say my presses are progressing slowly nonwithstanding although I've reached the heart of the matter at last.....instead of just throwing shots maybey locating targets and trying to hit thoses would be more productive. While fighting one fight for five minutes can be considered a wonderful thing, when it looks like two middle school boys flaying about it is certianly not. I need to work on incorporating footwork with shot combinations and switching my mentality from halting practice fights to a more serious tourney mode if I want to keep up my game. On an up note it was good to have actually spent some time dominating another fighter, with the caliber as high as it is at the monday and thursday practices I have a tendancy to get frusterated.

also...metal plates on my arm armor = awsome.

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Another Practice.

The combination of footwork, shield work, and sword work. Last nights practice I was able to slowly combine these aspects into a more manageable style and grace. However a continual press on my opponent is something I desperately need to improve upon. It is partially development toward a mindset to change the fight to my advantage through attacking and over coming the desire to disengage early, allowing my opponent to reset and close any advantages gained. I need more helmet time.

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Last night was the first practice where I realized that I need to make a serious effort to upgrade my gear. while slapping a few pieces of leather and metal together can get you started, once you begin to stratagize the mistakes start to show in lue of the bruises you gain when your gear isn't quite what it should be. My arm armor may look nice with leather bracers rivited to metal cops but wtihout interior padding and metal plates it really doesn't protect the way one would hope. Half-gauntlets with good thumb protection, in the form of metal plates, I've decided are also essential seeing as I tend to get hit on the hand more that once in a practice. I've narrowed this down to poor returns and bad timing on my shots. My solution to this particular problem is to crosstrain, strenghten core and upper body, as well as pell work to work on body form and combinations. I'm tired much to quickly and I know it is due to poor fitness and endurance.

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