Beginning Training

[JoshCooley]

So... Where do I start <img src="/forum/images/icons/smile.gif" alt="" />

I've got a couple of friends who are interested in trying out some WMA so where do we start? what exercises/drills should we start with.. are there any guides for like "beginners routine" or anything like that?

[Jaron Bernstein]

Ye might want to get in touch with Aaron Pynenberg. He is in Wisconsin (although I don't know if he is your immediate area or not).

[Randall Pleasant]

Josh

The best place to start is reading about the subject and there is no place better than right here on the ARMA site.
See: ARMA's ARTICLES &amp; ESSAYS

I would suggest that you start by reading The Basic Guards of Medieval Longsword. Practice these guards and moving from one guard to another in no set pattern and working in a full 360 degrees.

Good luck,

[ElizabethPangerl]

We're in the same boat here; I had no idea how to begin a couple of months ago. I second the advice from the other replies that the ARMA web site and Aaron Pynenberg are a huge help. I met Aaron at the gathering in Appleton in October - seminars teach so much and I couldn't recommend attending one enough. It is worth the travel to get to one.
On the ARMA web site, as previously mentioned, a good place to begin is with the essays on the ARMA methods, training tips, and the basic longsword guards. The most useful books I read were John Clements' book on Medieval Swordsmanship and the Lindholm book "Sigmund Ringeck's Knightly Art of the Longsword." I got a waster from New Stirling Arms.
I've only got one training partner right now. My husband and I try out the illustrations from Ringeck and do touch and press drills to develop a feel for the strength of a bind. That's where your swords stay together without losing contact and you get a feel for the movements between strong and weak portions of the sword.
I'm one of the newest ARMA members as of just this week, so all this is still fresh in my head. Hope this helps.

[Brian Hunt]

After you have learned the basic guards, and how to move through them, You need to learn your 8 basic cuts.

These consist of 3 basic upper strikes or oberhaus (an upper cut is a cut that descends from above and strikes down), 1. straight down the the middle. (scheitelhau) 2. down at an angle from right to left (zornhau) 3. down at an angle from left to right.

Then there are 3 under strikes or unterhau's (an under strike is a rising strike that starts in a low guard and finishs in a high gaurd). 1. straight up the middle. 2. up from left to right. 3. up from right to left.

finally two middle strikes or mittlehau's. (these are horizontal strikes) 1. from right to left 2. from left to right.

In generall your upper strikes will be done with the true edge, or the edge that faces the knuckles of your hand. The under strikes will be done with the false edge, or the edge the faces towards your body. The middle strikes vary depending upon what type of a strike you are using for a middle strike, I tend to use a zwerchau for my middle strikes, but a basic horizontal strike from right to left will be with the true edge, and one from left to right will be done with the false edge.

After you have an understanding for your basic cuts or strikes, then you can move onto the master strikes http://www.thearma.org/essays/mastercuts.html

Also, you will want to spend a lot of time perfecting your footwork.

At some point you will also want to get a pell for solo work, see this article http://www.thearma.org/essays/pells.htm

hope this helps.

Brian Hunt
GFS

[david welch]

Work on The Basic Guards of Medieval Longsword. Work on your primary strikes, the oberhaw and unterhaw. Work on your stepping and footwork. Spend at least as much time on voiding as on everything else... when they cut at you, just get out of the way.

If you can make padded weapons, spend time just aggressively fighting with them.

Most of this, and everything else you will learn on your own, you will chuck after you attend your first seminar.

[William Savage]

If you want just the basics than im the perfect guy to tell you i guess since i know so little <img src="/forum/images/icons/grin.gif" alt="" />

Id start by learning how to do the eight strikes from vam tag and alber and the four thrusts from pflung and ochs. do this in conjunction with steps and half-steps and you will have learned cutting thrusting the basic gards and footwork.

When your ready or anxious for more you should probubly start with Master Lichenours 5 master strokes, and wringes three wrestling(at the sword of coarse) supplimented with some foolen drills.

This is what id do if I could do it over again (and have my footwork down).

and for exercises i think you should floyrish, do drills, and pell practice(any sturdy target).

Hope I helped.

[Jonathan Scott]

I also recently began training (and finally got into the group whoohoo!) and yeah, what has been said sounds pretty good. Hopefully I'll get a good deal of training done over my break (from college) as well as getting a waster For training (hey it beats wooden dowels I'm sure). But I think something that helped me a lot was finding someone willing to help teach me the basics (thank you Jay!), so I must stress finding fellow friends that are interested in WMA to practice with you as well as someone in ARMA to teach ya the basics. But yeah, transitioning through the guards is great (and I'll have to work on the four thrusts as well), and pell work is something I'm interested in as well, though I may not be able to get anything suitable for that for some time (I'll have to see about trying to make one).
Also, the 8 cut exercise is something that must be practiced (and has already been mentioned). (I think most people know this, but I guess I'll try to explain it step by step for the sake of actually adding some real advice in. And I think some things in it can be varied a little, I'll just give the way I usually do it)
You start from right Ochs, cut diagonally to your lower left (that's half iron door right? well that or boar's tooth...one of those), then cut back up with an unterhau (so in reality four double cuts where you just retrace the arc you just cut in the opposite direction for the second one). Then assume vom dach over your head, and cut straight down (to Alber). Then follow that with an unterhau straight up. Assume the right side vom tag, then mittelhau to the left side, and follow up with cutting a mittelhau to the right again. Then lower the sword a little to a right Tail guard, and unterhau (with the true or false edge, I usually do it with the true) up to left Ochs. Then do an oberhau left to right iron door, assume pflugh and thrust. And that's it. Practice that as much as possible, and always extend the arms all the way in cuts and thrusts for maximum reach and power

[Aaron Pynenberg]

Josh I sent you a PM, we are training every Sunday from 4:00-6:30pm at Original Martial Systems, on College Ave in Appleton...please feel free to join us and check it out, Aaron P

[Gene Tausk]

Josh:

Well, you have already been given good suggestions, but for what its worth, here is my dime:

1. Since you live in roughly the same area as Aaron, I would advise you to beg, borrow or steal transportation to work out with him. You will be in very good hands. (of course, you will also be bruised on a regular basis, but hey, can't have everything, right? <img src="/forum/images/icons/cool.gif" alt="" /> )

2. If it is too difficult to train with Aaron on a regular basis, then I advise (in the following order):

a. visit the ARMA website to look through the articles (which you apparently have already done);
b. buy a waster;
c. buy or download some fechtbuchen and read them thouroughly and then follow along;
d. get a study group going;
e. build a pell

Good luck.


-----------------&gt;&gt;&gt;&gt;&gt;&gt;&gt;&gt;gene tausk
SFS
Study Group Leader - Houston ARMA Southside

[Jared L. Cass]

Depending on where you are located in Wisconsin, I'm also available. Aaron and his amazing crew are in Appleton, I'm Just 15minutes west of Wasuau, we've got a new associate member located in Rhinelander, and then there's Chris and Zac down towards Lake Geniva. So...that covers pretty much all regions of Wisconsin except the west. For all I know there may even be an ARMA member out there too.

Tell us where you are...and you should be able to meet up with somebody <img src="/forum/images/icons/smile.gif" alt="" /> Also...take the time to get to Appleton...Aaron and that bunch are awesome!

Jared L. Cass, ARMA Associate, Wisconsin

[JoshCooley]

Hey Guys <img src="/forum/images/icons/smile.gif" alt="" /> thanks for all the info, and great suggestions!

To the guys in wisconsin, I'm in the Eau Claire area so I'm in range to come visit at least a few times and see how things are done <img src="/forum/images/icons/smile.gif" alt="" />.

P.S. some of you mentioned practicing footwork. I haven't as yet seen any essays or guides specificly dealing with footwork. Am I just not looking hard enough? Are there any specific footwork drills that you guys recomend?