Research and Discussion Forums

Jared and Phil, You did a super job of leading us through the paces. It was very helpful to see the footwork, guards, and cuts in living color. (I've been trying to work that schielhau all week!) I especially appreciated the scholarly commentary that accompanied the training. It really brought thing...

Thanks for the feedback. Olgierd, I do have a hanging pell and I believe it has helped quite a bit in keeping me moving and aiming all over the place. Ryan and Tim, great ideas both. I love the idea of the unarmed person securing the wrist/hand etc of the armed. What a great footwork exercise! Thank...

I've only had the chance to actually spar recently. Up until now my imaginary opponent in the driveway has been the best I could do...he never hit back at speed. I've learned the basic cuts and guards, but find that with no sparring experience under my belt my parrying skills are wimpy at best. I ca...

There are 100 sites out there selling swords. One site that is worth a visit is http://www.swordsofhonor.com/swords1.html . They have various sword makers such as Cas Iberia, Albion, Windlass all in one place. Many are lablelled as battle ready. I would always question this to make sure that you are...

Ditto to all those sites Ashley passed along. Also, one of the companies that sell law enforcement protective gear is helpful. www.galls.com is one I've used. A regular riot gear vest is padded horizontally, so it will sort of mold over any size chest area. Those also come with removable hard should...

More than one book have been writen about Cataline De Erauso. See a brief synopsis below. Very interesting. Erauso, Catalina de (La monja alférez) Doña Catalina de Erauso, as she is known, can be classified as a writer, as an historical figure, and as a literary character. Some critics have question...

I'm not super versed in this, but I will pass along the little bit that I have learned. I am learning that Fiore used the tail guard (coda longa) effectively. It is very useful when dealing with more than one opponent as with a quick pivot you are in the very strong full iron door, or even the iron ...

Thanks for the input guys. Hopefully this won't be something I'm having to do on a real regular basis! I do want to explore all the variables.....and also keep from breaking a wrist or collar bone because I may trip over my own feet <img src="/forum/images/icons/crazy.gif" alt=""...

I've been conducting a not so scientific experiement with what to do with your body when you are tripped/thrown in a grappling situation...or just plain lose your footing and go down. It has to happen and I wanted to investigate it a bit. I couldn't find any researched material, so I just used mysel...

Thanks again for all the input. I've had a few weeks to play with finestra and ochs. I'm still a bit at a loss for the arm postioning in finestra.....Fiore shows the elbows pointing almost straight to the ground. Lichtenhaur shows the forearm almost parallel to the ground. Ochs seems to have a more ...

I recently began getting some judo instruction. Grappling is new to me and as I began looking at some of the plates from the various manuals I could see that I could be in trouble without some form of training. My fundamental reason for getting some instruction was so that I would learn to fall with...

Let me make a quick clarification. My only reason for posting this brief article from USA Today was to show that sword work is indeed a super hard workout, undertaken only through dedication and stick-to-it-iveness...no matter who you are. I mean no disrespect to our forums, which are generally for ...

Note how he spent about half of his workout day to get all beefy for his new flick. From USA Today interview: 'Physically, Pitt prepared for the role with a year of intense training. "The first three months were daunting and not fun at all." It included two to three hours in the gym, two a...

Thanks everyone for some excellent responses. I didn't realize that taking two small steps was as 'economical' as one larger one. I had the sense that I'd get caught in the middle of small steps. I do feel better that Dobringer said two small steps is better than one big one. I also like the idea of...

Yet another footwork query. I'm having more than a little difficulty trying to find that size step that will work for me (sloping/gathering/traversing...doesn't matter) in most situations. Frankly, I have fairly short legs and arms attached to a longer torso. I find that my steps during a strike mus...