What do you watch for if a fighter asks you critique him.

[paulb]

Gaston,

I did Shotokan. Thanks for the tip on the book.

Paulb

[Payn]

I will tend to watch the fighter to see the conclusion (this is when I have the luxury of watching them fight for a few) of the bout. When the bout ends, I replay in my head what led to the conclusion. Then watch to see if there is anything trending in the next bout.

Overall my focus areas are movement based. Footwork is key in my world.

[wbf]

Well this is kinda a "From the other side of the fence" thing but.. I had my first event this weekend and have my first ,of many, lessons..

First thing I was show was the movement aspect of fighting.. The X's and O's they called it.. I was show how to offside and onside.. That was it ..

They showed me the mechanics of throwing a basic blow, but no shots were taught...


Just my input, sorry if off topic...

[carlyle]

"They showed me the mechanics of throwing a basic blow, but no shots were taught..."

There are no "shots", only variations and permutations of the "basic blow", doncha know

AoC

[Kevin]

The X's and O's they called it...

X's and O's? Not familiar with that notation. In my fighting world, there's one X and ranges A-D.

Care to expand on what you were taught?

[wbf]

Well I will give it shot...

The X's

Okay most folks move in four different directions.. Forward, left, back and right. If I am fighting you and I start to back pedal away from you , you will catch up to me.. Since you can run faster forward than I can run backwards..

With me so far ??

So to alleviate that problem if I step back and to the left, I have made room for myself and possibly set myself up for a shot at your back legs or even head..

Make any sense ??

You move in angles, as opposed to a more linear forward, back, side to side...

The O's

Basicly just how to circle without exposing yourself to a shot.. If I am in my stance with my shield (left hand) up and sword back (right hand) ..

If I want to circle right I step with my left foot then follow with the right..

If I want to circle left I step with my right foot then follow with the left...

We havent gone over the ranges or any actual blows just the dynamics of throwing them...

[Gaston de Vieuxchamps]

Well I will give it shot...

Interesting.
I do the opposite in terms of feet for circling.



Gaston

[wbf]

To be honest I havent tried any of this stuff out yet... Not in a real match anyways..

I am going to be at the Anstoerra Regional Fighter Pratice next weekend so I will be able to test everything there...

If anyone has any tips I would be happy to hear them.. Off list of course, so this thread doesnt get derailed..

[raito]

If I want to circle right I step with my left foot then follow with the right..

If I want to circle left I step with my right foot then follow with the left...

You might want to rethink that mode of locomotion. There's 2 disadvantages to stepping behind yourself. The first is that you make it harder to throw a blow while moving. The second is that your stance is less stable.

[wbf]

If I want to circle right I step with my left foot then follow with the right..

If I want to circle left I step with my right foot then follow with the left...

You might want to rethink that mode of locomotion. There's 2 disadvantages to stepping behind yourself. The first is that you make it harder to throw a blow while moving. The second is that your stance is less stable.

Any suggestions on how to move differently ??

[Gaston de Vieuxchamps]

Any suggestions on how to move differently ??

When you want to go left, move the left foot first. When you want to go right, move the right foot first.

[carlyle]

GdV: When you want to go left, move the left foot first. When you want to go right, move the right foot first.

When I want to move forward, I start with the back foot. When I want to move back, I begin with the forefoot. To move left, the most balanced motion for me is to begin with my right; to move right, I initiate with my left. This presumes that the intent is to fully change my position, rather than quickly shift my weight or "slip" to momentarily alter the angle of attack or defense.

Raito: There's 2 disadvantages to stepping behind yourself. The first is that you make it harder to throw a blow while moving.

There is primary power for blow generation in every step, forward or backward, derived from the rotating push of the stationary leg. There is less secondary power in the backward step, because you cannot as easily draw on the "falling" weight of gravity as the moving foot plants, or the directional energy of the moving body (both are vectored away from the target). Lacking the latter, the execution of the former must be more precise, but it is sufficient to our sport, and no slower in blade speed than a blow thrown on the fore step.

Raito: The second is that your stance is less stable.

All stances have a weak and strong orientation in relation to the opponent. Rarely, however, is a fighter able to maintain the strongest face all of the time, since any transition implies that facing must change in order to create a second, more desirable line -- and it is in transition that we are at our most exposed.

Tradition SCA fight theory recognizes the first truth, but rarely learns to compensate for the second. This, I believe is where much of the "same side step" approach comes from, since leading a step with the same side foot more closely approximates the already strong stance the fighter is abandoning -- usually by simply "deepening" the stance with what is, in effect, a short lunge.

The above works well when the fighters are already engaged toe-to-toe, but it is less effective when there are more than two steps required to engage or maintain the fight. The disadvantage is in the execution of the trailing-leg second step -- now even longer than if it had been the first foot to move, with a greater associated weight shift (and exposure to attack during transition). As noted before, since transition is the weakest link, a more aware opponent would allow the first, short step with the strategy of drawing the fighter into the more exposed second step, and planning a strong counter in that time.

To prevent this, one objective should be to avoid a pattern of "short transition, long transition" steps. I would instead advise that the fighter strive for a balanced approach, where each transition is integrated into a complete system that recognizes it's own weakness without over-compensating and limiting the second-, third-, and fourth- successive movements. As a long-time two-sword fighter, I can attest that this is more easily accomplished with a style allowing offense and defense to be shared equally left-to-right. But I feel the tactic is even more important in those "handed" styles like weapon-and-shield and great weapon. In these last examples, the strong orientation of the defensive shield or dominance of the high hand in a two-handed grip wrongly encourage an exaggeration of the already inherent imbalance, so it is key to resist this tendency and maintain the most “balancedâ€Â

[wbf]

Any suggestions on how to move differently ??

When you want to go left, move the left foot first. When you want to go right, move the right foot first.

Ta mate !!

[broinnfinn]

Well I will give it shot...

Interesting.
I do the opposite in terms of feet for circling.



Gaston

Ditto here. Puts you in a much more stable stance, both to allow you to be ready for reactionary movement (hard to evade a charge when your legs are crossed over), and for shot placement. Again, it is hard to get the proper full-body mechanics in a shot when your feet are crossed. It twists your hips in such a position that you are getting mainly upper body.

Broinnfinn