Research and Discussion Forums

A moderator is going to post in this thread & tell you to use your real name. Your opera project sounds interesting. I’m not musical myself, but my little sister is a vocal performance major at the Boston conservatory. She’s a coloratura & she’s blonde. She might be a good fit for Eilonwy. I...

And wait 'till you grapple with it! Please expand on this, or even start a new thread in the unarmed section about this. I like this stance for fencing but haven't found it particularly comfortable to grapple from, partially because I'm more familiar with a rather square stance when grappling. I'd ...

About number 4: I think low weight + high reps will give you more lean muscle but it won't necessarily be more functional. Think about what it is you're trying to do. Fighting isn't a slow jog & it's not a single big exertion it's a series of connected sprints (incidentally, wind sprints are gre...

Same advice I give everyone: You're at college. Before you leave, see if your school has a wrestling program. If it does, beg the wrestlers to throw you around & try to pick up anything you can about grappling on your feet. It will get you in good shape & help you to understand & apply t...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=b0AJnnYUh4A&feature=channel_page You can also practice shooting without a partner. I'd recommend doing it on a mat or with knee pads to start. Bridging & shrimping exersices are always good, but all these things are really just exersices. The only way to get go...

Just because historical European ground fighting may not have looked like BJJ doesn't make it a lesser form of groundfighting. Actually, yes it does. The “separate but equal” argument just doesn’t hold water in this case. It is difficult to hold someone down who is trying to get away. It is several...

The thing is, for small joint manipulation to work, the body has to be relatively still in relation to that joint so that the person being attacked cannot move & compensate for the pressure. As a result, most small joint manipulation requires some degree large joint control first. If you can con...

I've never read a fight scene that I found wholly satisfying. Honestly, superficial knowledge of any subject will rarely be enough to appease those who specialize in that area of study. If you really want to write good fights then first make sure you can write well, then actually train in a fighting...

I'd be interested. I think the technology of the gambeson has a significant effect on the art. In terms of Ringen: the gambesons I've seen are snug enough around the arms & body to allow the sort of pummelling & gripping typical of unjacketted wrestling but they still have enough material to...

Hi, I'm a great proponent of Ringen & I'm happy to see that you're including it as a significant part of your studies. In fact, I'm so pleased that I'll not take offense at your blatant plagiarism of my name. :) Please stop by the unarmed forum as you're working through the codex. That place nee...

A quick youtube search shows these, For the traditional wrestlers double leg: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ClG2VGOt60c For the high crotch: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EZggaJFnY5U I was taught to elevate the leg & drive before switching grips but that doesn't mean the video is wrong (or my ...

Thank you very much! As for the high crotch, I'll try to expalin: a high crotch is a takedown where you enter as you would for a head outside double but grab your opponents leg with your inside arm. your arm drives down the leg with your shoulder fitting into their groin. Then you turn the corner &a...

I was going to start a new thread about the double leg but then I remembered this old one. I'm trying to drill shoot & sprawl more in my own grappling training (both in ARMA & otherwise). I'm also trying to limit my ARMA grappling to mostly historical techniques. I see the single leg, or at ...

How to fall is a matter of basic biomechanics. I don't think it makes sense to worry about doing an "authentically medieval breakfall". My guess is that wrestlers in the 15th century knew how to fall, so if you do a good breakfall I believe it's likely to be historical. Wrestling was an ex...

With my eastern influences, it is especial important for me to keep it clear and utilize strictly western techniques. We will always fall back on the way we were trained. A tae kwon doist will kick, a jujitsu expert will take it to the ground, a boxer will box. By using the books, and gaining the i...