William, thanks for the feedback. I am sold on the benefits of using a steel blunt. In ARMA we prefer the Albion feders, but we are looking into those produced by a few other vendors. I own and love my Albion Meyer. But during this particular sparring session we were using wasters. During the session that Josh mentioned, when I got to go up and train with them, they all had blunts and in the practice we didn't pick up wasters at all. So it varies from group to group.
We reset on hits we consider consequential, sufficiently debilitating, incapacitating, etc. There is certainly differing opinions on what constitutes a serious fight-stopping hit from group to group, person to person, and even within ARMA. I like to know what other people consider serious hits to help inform me on the subject. Which particular hits (at what times in the video) did you see inconsequential hits? Also, I'm fighting in krieg quite a lot in the video. Every time I cross swords, every time I cross and then disengage to make a cut at my opponent, I'm in krieg. And I'm in krieg in not all but most of the fights in the video.
In contrast, there were a few times where one of you attempted a strike and virtually froze in your tracks as if to check the success of the strike. Although you said you struggle sometimes to continue closing, do you think those hesitations were more about demonstrating control with an unfamiliar sparring partner?
Great observation, Doug, and good questions. On my part, they were not about demonstrating control. At several points in the video I flat out hesitated. At other points I got to a bind but did not continue to press forward with my sword
at my opponent in such a way that if he took his sword away from the bind mine would hit him automatically. Does that make sense? It's like with tug-o-war, if one team lets go suddenly then the other team falls down. Except in reverse. If he lets go of the bind, my sword snaps forward onto his head or something. That's what I
should be doing. I'm working on it...
Also, can you comment on the benefits of constantly moving while controlling the vor as Josh indicated? Do you feel you guys had greater success in those instances when you continued moving?
Constant moving allows you to be fluid and to "flow" from opening to opening in your attack and in what openings you allow and close off. I want my opponent to cut to where I
was, not where I
am. I want my opponent to cover to where my sword was, not where it now is. I want to keep my opponent guessing; guessing at where the real attack is coming from, guessing at where he or she can attack me safely. All of that gives you the advantage, gives you the initiative, and keeps your opponent on his or her heels and off balance, literally or figuratively.
For example, the exchange at 3:24 in the video, Ben tries to close with me by aggressively coming forward with the kron position, hoping to draw my cut out to gain the bind and work from there, which he does. I cut right at his sword, and he covers with a good bind in kron and keeps coming forward to try to get to ringen. However, he keeps coming forward right at where I was before the bind. I'm not there anymore. I'm quite a bit to his left on my second step which allows me to make a successful cut behind his sword. I'm moving my feet, I'm moving my sword, together, fluidly. And that's just one example.
