Table of Contents
Seminar I - correct, quick and healthy footwork and posture
- stance
- posture
- principles of hand biomechanics - shoulder, elbow, forearm, wrist
- principles of leg biomechanics - hip joint, knee, ankle, alignment of the foot tip
- torso as a bridge between legs and hands
- different types of foot placement in guards
- types of steps
- fencing line
- roles of each foot in single step
Seminar II - basic hand and foot techniques
- hand/weapon guards - high, wide, low
- blow, cut, thrust
- handwork during thrust execution
- handwork during cut - shoulder, elbow, wrist
- linear wrist cut and trade (cavazione)
- linear and circular cuts
- role of tip and tip trajectories during cut and thrust
- performing blows and cuts with weapon in single hand
- footwork accompanying blow and cut
- cut from top to down
- diagonal cut - head
- diagonal cut - shoulder
- diagonal cut - hip
- diagonal cut - leg
- cutting from down up
- horizontal cuts
- fluent transition from cut to thrust and from thrust to cut
Seminar III - exercise drills and forms
- moulinet I
- moulinet II
- first form - movements 1-7 generated from 2 basic circular sword motions, based on Dr. Plch
- selected movement pairs from the First form.
Seminar IV - measure, initiative, body constructions
- supporting sword techniques with body and footwork
- measures
- contact/contactless initiation techniques
- how to initiate, how to move freely and fluently with sword
- secure entry to measures, secure exit from measures
Seminar V - contact of blades
- dialogue of blades, building of feeling through weapon and armed hand
- halving the weapon, offensive use of cross, pommel
- trading sides/cavazione
- pressure and withstanding pressure by correct body construction in proper time
- yielding
- redirecting the pressure
- batutta
- sliding against opponent's blade
- beating the blade
- second form (quarta)
- third form (quinta)
Seminar VI - using unarmed hand, wrestling
- deflecting and controlling opponent's blade or hand with the unarmed hand
- short distance work with weapon, half blade grip
- transition from armed fight to wrestling
- wrestling with weapon in one hand
Seminar VII - weapon and shield
- sword and circular shield / kite shield / rectangular targe
- 3 basic guards of shield - opened, closed, direct
- changing guards
- derived guards
- shield workout
- defensive use of umbo and edge
- offensive use of umbo and edge
- weapons synchronization
- feeling exercises for shield hand and shield
- different shield utilization ideas
Seminar VIII - spear
- safety at work
- different grip types, workout exercises
- two hand grip - one third, sword-like, from above
- high and low guard
- single hand grip
- under-arm single hand grip - knight grip
- extending or shortening the reach
- thrust at short, middle and long distance
- line changes - high, low
- slash with small and large circular tip motion
- trade, beat
- cut with spear tip
- exercises to build up feeling during changes between high and low guard
- tactics of single spearman
- spear against weapon combination (single handed weapon + shield)
- spear against spear
- tactics of spearman in battle formation
Seminar IX - battle formation fight
Mandatory equipment is head protection (iron helmet with padding or sabre fencing mask), and protection of hands and torso.
- march within the formation
- loose linear formation of shields - edge to edge
- tight linear formation of shields - edge to umbo
- diagonal line
- wedge
- circle
- changing first two fighter rows during fight (fighter rotation) in loose formation
- tactics of first row fight
- cooperation of first row fighters in linear formation
- cooperation between first and second row in linear formation
- usage of axes and spears to disband opposing formation
1 hour seminars
- Building functional estimate of tempo and measure - how to recognize good fighting swordplay
- Fist-held shields (viking shield, buckler)
- Shield held by 2 straps/enarmes to forearm & wrist (almond/kite shield, heater shield, rectangular targe)
- Sword and shield
- Axe and shield
- Spear and shield
- Spear
- Introduction to battle art of armed self defense by Giacomo di Grassi
- Introduction to the art of duels with rapier by Salvator Fabris