Basic Sword and Shield Stuff

Going to start transcribing some of my fighting notes from my big notebook of doom. Starting with the sword and shield section. Basic sword and shield -- your arm is not swinging a sword; you are using body movement to swing the sword (Lucan) -- you balance should be shoulders over thighs over feet (Lucan) -- a right leg lead gives a right handed fighter better range; off side (Lucan) -- your back foot drives your movement (Lucan) -- balance is most important, stops you from telegraphing (Lucan) Slots (Thorin)3 types -- Step to opponents sword side (across center line) to open up target and then hand follows curve of shield and at last moment, grip with lower fingers and project tip into nipple area (body slot) -- the basket hilt follows the face of the shield, tip projects over top edge; footwork: sword foot forward, shield foot behind, keep shield in front, sword foot back (face slot - heater) -- can also cut across the face of the shield and take a step in and project your tip into your opponent's head (face slot round top shield) -- to defeat the slots -- follow your sword hand with whole body, not just your shield -- block with your feet and stay in original alignment Shield work is all about position - make your blocks look easy and you can break your opponent's confidence (Brannos) Your movement should be all about where you want to go for range. You want to be in the range that is best for you. Your ideal range is determined by the sweet spot of your stick -- where can you access the best targets with the sweet spot of your stick? physically closing range is easy - just step in. Psychologically closing range is much harder -- when you step in, you need to be prepared to fight. me = kill use footwork to deliberately manipulate the range you want to be in and not get into a range you are not ready to be in or do not want to be in. true range is where your (or your opponent's) feet are -- not where their shield is. shifting to sword leg forward puts you 4 inches closer into range with no movement. use footwork to deliberately manipulate the reange you want to be in and not get into a range you are not ready to be in y