A Few Quick Drills

A few nights each week are devoted specifically to different aspect of my training.  Mondays and Thursdays are sparing practices, and Wednesday nights are one-on-one with my Knight.  This week we armored up and ran through a couple of drills.  Some initial movement and blocking ensued, where one person was solely offensive and the other only defended.  Being able to read body motion is important otherwise there are gaps in defense.  This drill forces you to adjust your sword and shield positioning as well as teaches you that stepping toward or away from your opponent can be just as effective as blocking with your shield.

The second drill was learning a basic pump fake.  By drawing your hand forward without committing your body to a blow, you can fool your opponent into moving there defense in anticipation of the shot.  Thus creating an opportunity to kill you opponent in a very energy conserving manor.

The third drill focused on something referred to as "sheathing the sword".  Throwing the on-side snap to the head and the recovery bringing your hand down in a tear drop toward your left hip, known as "sheathing the sword",  to throw an offside body/leg/head depending on the openings available.  Of course one must bring the shield up to protect the head otherwise you've tangled yourself up something fierce.