Always Learning

Notes from working with Duke Marc d’Arundel
 Soft Skills
 Distance
 Timing
Range
Angles
Reading Centerline
manipulation

 Attribute Training
Strength – weight training
Power – plyometrics; bands; efficient movement
Speed – patterns
Balance – static, movement patterns, footwork integration
Mobility – static vs. dynamic; active vs. passive
Flexibility – range of motion
Reaction time – ball, drills, hot hands

 Mechanical Skills
 Shot
 Defense
Footwork
Position’
Stance
Good weight shifts – balls of feet

 Application Skills
 Engagement control
‘cut around” concept
“wedge” concept – defensive concept; the further range you have, the bigger defensive wedge you have and the less you need to move your tools to intercept bad guys’ attack Clearing lines
Unpriming
Tool exchange – if you go low with sword, go high with shield – area blocks
 Maximizing solo training – pell, movement Partner drills – ghost and blind man
Fighting Scenario Training & problem solving

 Pell Drills
• Drag Race – pell work with a partner – one is the driver and the other is the follower – follower pays attention to driver’s cues and mirror what driver throws. Looking for tells. You want to hit the pell at the same time w/ the same shot. No tell flat snap; offside; leg – 1. Know; 2. Guess; 3. All three • What’s Next? – have 2 shots, set up with first shot the opening for where your next shot will be.
 • What Guard? -- Pretend the pell is set up in a guard and try to hit the openings in the guard – makes a more three dimensional fight (1-6 drill, the numbers would change locations depending on what your opponent is presenting)
• Now – anticipating what your opponent will throw, make the block and then moving to where you need to be to hit the opening
 • 1-6 drill – should practice the footwork, gather, pass, pivot, offline between blows – always moving • 1-6 drill/ thrust – add a thrust between each number 1 – thrust -1; 1 thrust 2, etc.
 • Undercut lead – lead in with point threat, leave sword out in front, use wrist circles and feet/ core to drive power and direct sword; footwork weight shifts are in ankles, not quads or body
• Double thrust snap – pump, pump, snap, hand in front
 • Double thrust leg – pump, pump, leg – hand in front
• Sword Redirection/ Floats – work redirection of sword w/ sword “float” points – feel them w/ two fingers on sword and then work on redirecting the sword in the opposite direction at the “float”. Example – backhand head – float over to snap, don’t complete the snap blow, but when you feel the float, redirect the blow into a backhand
• Squat throws – as you step in, squat down with sword tip forward into opponent, feel the float and then throw an offside leg shot or stand up into a short stick face shot (footwork/pell) Work on hitting the pell with the sweet spot of the sword always, all about timing, line and position. Staying in the range to hit with the sweet spot will help keep a better defensive wedge as well. Partner Drills
 • Blind Man – partner throws blow, defender uses sword and shield to block where the blow is going, partner keeps pressure on sword/shield, as pressure is released, defender closes eyes and moves into position to block what the defender thinks the bad guy will likely throw next; catch the next blow and repeat. If you miss the block, open eyes, set to where you catch the blow and then close eyes and keep moving. Use defensive wedge concept and tool exchange.
 • Ghost – partner throws a slow blow and you use footwork to dodge the blow/ move out of your partner’s range (no ducking or leaning – pivots to move into where the sword in coming from and off the “bubble” of the sword arc), into a position where you still have range on your partner – as they miss blow, you show you are still in range by “tapping” your opponent at the opening that is accessible to you.Work the footwork and stack your sword/ shield with your head body so you are defensively offensive.

 Footwork
 Gather step – illusion of being further out of range than you are
Pass through step – changes lead leg
Pivot step – pivots are important not only for power generation but also to keep stacked, maintain the defensive wedge and stay protected defensively while executing offense.
Offline step – use to manipulate centerline

 Stay on ball of feet, when you step, do not commit weight to front foot right away – check yourself (tapping) and moving back to original position, so that you can change direction at any point to react to what is open or what the bad guy does. Practice the steps forward and backward. Practice steps together – gather/pass, pass/gather, pass/ pivot/ offline – etc.

 Notes to self: • initial thrust too hard, too committed, too often, use more secondary attacks; try to work the thrust off the backhand more • get my feet under my body; my shoulders are getting ahead of my hips • work on sword blocking – this will help me lose my leg less if I can use my shield to cover my leg and sword block my head

Criticism and Judgment

It seems like I cannot escape people telling me how to do things better or finding fault in the way I teach or communicate (I am not talking technique feedback by the way, I wholeheartedly welcome all of that). On the one hand, it is a good thing because it means I am approachable and a certain amount of criticism and feedback is worthwhile as it aids in giving me direction in which to evolve. On the other hand, it can feel overwhelming. Even when I am trying hard to do my best, I am giving of myself to others both in time and information, I am cognizant not just of what is going on in the fight, but how the fight may be perceived; there is still fault, judgment, criticism, and accusation. I am not perfect; I will never be perfect. I do my best. I strive always to encourage, to raise others up and not put them down, to be impeccable in my behavior and judgment on the field, to respect my opponent and the fight in general, to bring honor to my consort and my mentors and on the whole, I feel pretty good about the job I am doing. But then someone tells me their perception and it makes me question everything. It makes me wonder if striving for my goal is worth it; whether my self-assessment is not sound, whether some of this "feedback" is really mental machinations or mind games from people I am competing with. Even going there sucks. I was raised to be honest, to do my best, to encourage and lead by example and not to tear others down to lift myself up. But today I am tired. Today I feel like the standard I am being held to is unfair. Today fighting is not fun.

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

Inlands practice

It was much smaller than the last one, but the sun was out, it was not too hot, it was relaxed and I got fight, so a pretty good day all around. I worked on capitalizing on pauses in my controlled aggression and throwing the wrap with my hand in front of me. I had some good snaps, some good slots, some good thrusts, and a couple of good leg wraps. I missed having some really high level fighters there to push me, but Rodrekr handed me my ass a bunch so that was good. Rodrekr also told me that he really likes fighting me because I fight hard and aggressive but without ego. Fighting without ego is something I have been focused on for awhile and it is great that my opponent can feel that. It makes me feel like I am on my way to really living the only person I can control is me mantra and not chasing it. If that makes any sense. All around a good day, I just wish there had been some more top level fighters there.

I am my own worst enemy

I think too much. I care too much about whether other people are having fun or learning or whatever. I put other people first, even when putting myself first would get me closer to my goals. I need to stop. My window for meeting my goals is closing -- my body is not going to support fighting 2 to 3 times a week forever. Reaching my goals and realizing my dreams is important to me. I need to start acting that way. I have nobody to blame but myself when I don't use my voice and make my needs important. I need to tell the people who want to support me what I need and then I need to let them do it. I am worthy of people's time and instruction and I need to ask for it and then make sure I get it. No more putting myself last. Lesson learned.

One Day at a Time

Yesterday made 50 days in a row of cardio, pell work, shield drills and body weight exercises. I am finding that now that I have made doing these things everyday a priority, that they are very easy to fit in to my lifestyle. Also, my last two fight practices have reinforced that doing the daily pell work and fitness and shield drills is translating in some very good ways into my fight at speed. Still struggling with actually losing weight, so I will need to refocus my efforts on the food front. My armor at practice last night did feel looser, so even if the actual weight is not coming off, it could be that my body is reshaping. Next fight practice I will get video and try to compare it to what I was doing a year ago to see what I have improved, what has deteriorated and where I need to refocus my efforts to eliminate deficiencies.

Trust

I have to figure out this trust thing. Not trusting certain opponents is sucking the fun out of fighting. Such a hard place to be.

Working on stuff

Last night's practice was mostly newish people, which meant, for me, working on on-side attacks, wraps and snaps and working the timing on the thrust and different shield manipulations with legged opponents. My head wrap sucks. I am thinking too much about what my target is instead of letting the stick do its work. I don't need to see the back of the head to know it is open and I think I need to just spend some time using the wrap and figuring out my timing on it for the head. I'm throwing the leg wrap just fine. Had good success with the diving wrap to the leg, just following the face of the shield down. I also really need to decide to work the side thrust and just do it -- on the pell it is so natural and then I get into the fight and I overthink it. If we do practice this weekend, I think the strategy will be to leg my opponents and then work the flourish with the side thrust. I am also doing this sort of sticky hands thing to control my opponents when we are both legged -- it feels supernatural and it is turning into an excellent way for me to control the fight in a way that allows me to be both offensive and defensive at the same time. I will need to try it some more with some more of the really kickass fighters to ensure it is a technique that will work with all sorts of styles. Kaz is officially going to make me a teardrop shield and I am going to give that a go for awhile. I am doing so with some trepidation as I love my heater and one of my big strengths, I think, is my offensive shield work -- and it will take some time to figure out how I am going to adapt to the centergrip and no corners. We'll see. Even if I don't stick with it longer than a year, it should make me a better fighter in the long run.

Stuff I am working on

I have been doing all my pell work with my shield and my left side lat, shoulder and tricep are screaming at me. But I think I am doing a little better at blocking the centerline, so the shield work will continue. My last couple of practices have been focused on blocking the center line, controlling the fight, and working the on side. Sometime I am getting too fixated on a target and my shield work is coming up slow. So I need to work on that. I also need to work on following the sword more and not buying body fakes so much. I was told by both Dave and Brendan that my power is really good, so working proper technique on the pell is really paying off. Even shots I did not feel I quite finished and told them not to take, they told me were hard, so I need to keep that drilling up so that that is what I am consistently doing all the time. My head has been in a really weird place the last couple of weeks. I am not sure what it is. I would like to talk to one of my mentors about it, but part of me is shying away from that because I feel like I rely on them too much and I don't want to be so needy. But I am feeling needy. Not sure what to do about that. I am not real excited about going down to AWW, but I am excited to spend time with Mari and fight pickups. I find AWW does not give me a lot of bang for my buck. It is a long drive and I am not a war fighter. I think also because we have not made plans for the dogs or the kid yet, I am feeling unprepared. I want Dave to take care of this stuff, but I honestly don't think he will. I should probably get on the phone today and see whether we can get Hayes to dog and house sit, or whether we need to schedule a kennel. Also need to either get Dave to call his mom re taking Lilly, or we need to just plan to take her with us and figure out the logistics of that. Usually, we would have dropped Lilly off at my mom's on the way down, but that is no longer an option.

Stupid brain stuff

I have been mulling a bunch of stuff in my brain for the last little while. I am trying to decide what is the right way to approach training. Where should I focus my time and resources seeing that they are limited? How am I going to feel accomplished at the end of the day? What can I do to instill and maintain my confidence level? What things do I need to excise from my life in order to make time for me and my fulfillment of my goals? How do I refocus my efforts on me when I have for so long been focusing on others? What do I really want? What am I willing to do? Who do I need, besides myself, for support? I think I have been overthinky because I have been feeling under the weather since fight practice last sunday. sigh.

Fight Practice 6/8

Did not get in as much fighting as I would have liked -- Dave and I switched off on the filming and it was hot, so people got gassed. Still too open on the centerline, so I think I may need to start doing my pell work with my shield again and making sure "I close the door" when I throw. Also, way too many backhands. I must break the habit where I throw 3+ backhands in a row and use my target selection skills. I am doing well with shield manipulation and attacking the centerline from my knees, but I am on my knees way too much -- usually getting chopped in the legs when I am chopping their legs, so I need to be more cognizant of my shield position when I am throwing the on side leg. Also my deep backhand is hitting people in the shoulder/body and is getting called as an arm too much. I need to tighten up the targeting on that if I am going to throw it. I had one really good fight against Davin where I stayed aggressive with my body and shield, but waited to throw until the timing was perfect. I need to do more of that, and of course it did not get filmed. I felt better about the smoothness of my footwork, I looked and felt less tentative. I think I was manipulating range better as well, but I still need to make more subtle misdirection body movements. I need to stop throwing a blow to block -- the shield is for blocking and the sword is for killing.

Fight Practice 6/4/2014

Went out to timm's to fight last night and everyone bailed except me and Timm. Which is okay since Timm is usually my toughest fight at practice anyway. We did 5 sets, maybe six. Both of us working on stuff and we had some intense fights. Timm let me know I need to block my centerline better, so that will go on the actively work on list for the next month or so. Things that were working well for me included the snap (yay!!!!), my thrusts, off side body and leg shots. I was also doing a pretty good job of blocking my head both on side and offside and really shutting that down. Timm helped me figure out what was going wrong with my offside leg shot and I was able to adapt his advice and fix it in the next set, so that was a success. Also, thinking about angles and mis-direction and working that more into the fight. Had some success at controlled aggression as well. Really need to think about keeping my hand close to my body when I am in tight, so that my shots hit on the sweet part of the stick. Also need to think about throwing the thrust palm to the side to better set up the transition to the offside. All in all a very productive practice. Hopefully I will get another fight practice in this weekend. This week has been very good for getting the pell work and cardio in every day as well. Training is going good.

I can do this

I have been having trouble actually getting this blog to take an entry. But I made some setting changes and here goes nothing. I don't know what has shifted, but in the last couple of months I have found my confidence. I am holding my own with my kingdom's elite fighters. I am laying stick consistently on the guys I consider the crown contenders. I am feeling less and less like a fraud. I still watch video of myself and cringe at times when i don't execute something as well as I had hoped or thought. But it is not paralyzing anymore. I note it, make a plan to train it better, and set to work. And I am prepared to work. I have drawn up a plan for the next three months, and Sir Mari has agreed to coach me from afar to make sure I am setting and meeting my goals and that I am focused on stuff that will bring gains. This effort will take time and I will probably have to resign myself to the fact that my ability to be creative in the arts will suffer and I will not be as prolific in that arena. And that is okay. I have also come to the conclusion that the goal is not really about winning a particular tournament, but being the best fighter I am capable of, which in turn will facilitate the winning part. In what we do, as Duke Sean says, body count is the quantifier for success, but it should not be the end all be all qualifier of success. Part of my path is embracing that I am a physical fighter. And not being so critical that I am not an elegant gun fighter. I will never be an elegant gun fighter, and I don't need to be an elegant gunfighter to be successful or to be a great fighter. I need to hone and present my best fight -- not someone else's. And that means being mentally confident in what I am presenting. It also means taking all the stuff I have learned from so many of the greats and really turning it into my own style and owning that style. It also means perhaps being a little more selfish with my time. Picking the issues to care about and knowing which ones are a time suck and are not going to help me get to where I want to go and/or are going to distract me from my goals and be willing to drop those. Mentally and emotionally I also need to let go of all concern for my opponents' calibration and blow calling in a fight. My focus needs to be entirely on my execution and I have not executed until my opponent tells me he is satisfied. I have to trust in that even with people I do not trust. Being able to let that go completely and honestly, might be the singularly most important step mentally and emotionally for me toward achieving success. Physically, I need to commit to eating clean and training. Losing body weight is going to help me move better. There is no escaping that. Getting stronger and having longer endurance can only enhance my physicality in the fight. Practicing my technique daily will be imperative to achieving good timing and consistent power generation. And I need to travel to fight the best. If my local practices are not offering enough challenge, it is up to me to go find the guys that are going to hand me my ass so that I will be pushed to get better and evolve. This is all achievable while still being a good mom. It is all about making better use of the hours in the day. I can do this.

Focus?

God, I have been bad about blogging.  I think about fighting all the time, I think about blogging, but often I feel like I do not really have anything of value to say.  So, maybe I should just say it anyway.

I have been having a very hard time focusing on fighting for the last five months.  My mom died in November and it wrecked me.  I lost my passion, not just for fighting, but for almost everything.  I kept trying to focus on fighting in an effort not to dwell on my sadness, but I just could not make myself have fun, be present in the fight, or really care.  I am still struggling with finding joy in my life -- my mom's death turned everything sort of colorless and it made me feel very alone.  But through it all, when I do make the effort to fight and train, I can feel the joy nibbling around the edges, and when I can turn off my brain and be in the moment, fighting gives me a much needed escape from everything else.  And I love it.  Still.

But the last several months have taken a toll on my confidence.  I have drifted from my goals.  I am openly questioning my capability.  I do not have faith in myself.

Last Saturday, I had the opportunity to fight byes at Artemisian Crown.  I could not find my focus and I was cold and achy.  I fought pretty horribly, I thought.  But then I got feedback from Sean.  He was blunt.  His critique was accurate.  And his words motivated me to get back on track, to make my fight better and to retrieve my focus.

I will do something every day to get better.  I will train mindfully.  I will reassess my short and long term goals.  I will focus.

Belief

So, sport of kings was a little weird for me this year -- we had the kid with us, so I knew i was going to have to balance parenting with fighting, i got my period the first day and felt like crap, it was hugelt humid on friday which enhanced the feeling crappy, both teachers that I had signed up for classes with had to cancel, and honestly I just was not feeling like i fit in.  My fighting was ass on friday, i could not find my feet and my movement was non-existant.  I helped Villius teach sean's recovery class, which was good, but I felt odd.  All my classes I was supposed to take on friday were cancelled, so I could not feed on energy from those either. 

I wanted to monopolize time with Octa, and Sven and Brand, but felt like my fighting was such shit, that I would be wasting their time.  The torchlight tourney was out because I cannot see at night, so I was left feeling very very unfulfilled and lost and like a fighter/poser.

Saturday we woke up and contemplated going home.  For reals.  Still feeling crappy and really a little menstrual induced depression probably.  Went to my class on the mental game and came out of it a bit disappointed really.  Its not that the teacher did not have anything to say, he just did not know how to say it I think, and he certainly did not know how to tell us to go practice what he was trying to tell us was important.  So, that was a bummer.  But then I heard the pickup fighting going on, and it called to me. 

I came to fight, so I put on my armor, did warmup drills with Villius, had an awesome set with Octa and then another awesome set with Sven, and then I felt like a killer and went out and fought a ton of pickups with a bunch of people.  I need to cultivate that fun, free-spirited, killer feeling on my own, I cannot continue to rely on fighting Octa or Sven to bring that out in me.  This will proabbly be my focus in practice for the foreseeabvle future.

Got out of armor before the tourney because I wanted to end having fun and because I promised the kid I would take her into town for dinner and it was already 4 oclock. 

Decided to enter Crown -- Crown this time will be all about finding thje killer mindset and bringing my own energy tot he fight and having fun no matter what.

Wednesday practice

Promised my squire I would meet him at practice last night, so he and I and his good friend Heinrich were the only ones in armor -- sir Paine and sir Villius were there watching and giving critique and filming.  The night for me was about the on-side (or more to the point not setting up or fixating on the offside) and being able to bring intensity when I needed it.  Also, working with Constantine to flesh out some of the stuff he has been working on.

Heinrich is a lefty, which was fortuitous because I have been wanting to practice my thrust more on traditional leftys, so Heinrich got it in the face a couple of times.  Also, good for me to concentrate on attacking the lefty power with the snaps and wraps.  I had some vicious shield control with constantine in one of our fights that I was super proud of as well.  All in all, a good night fighting because i kept on track with what I wanted to work on.

Mentally, the night was weird though.  I felt a little like I did not fit in -- which is dumb, but there you have it.  I don't know if it is a me thing, or a me combined with being the only woman there thing.  Part of it is that Villius likes to talk and sometimes I feel like I cannot get in a word edgewise, even with my own squire.  Guess I will have to talk to him about that. ;)

Finding My Rudder

We took a family vacation last week and went to Yellowstone and Montana and spent two days in Idaho at Uprising, primarily to fight with, and hang out with, Duke Sean and Count Ralf.   Fighting and talking with Sean and Ralf helped put my head into a better place and I no longer feel so rudderless.  Both of them gave me stuff to work on – the drop thrust from high guard, the thrust on the inside line, a new drill from Sean – the 30 second kill drill,  relaxing the snap, flowing better, and getting rid of the lean on the offside leg, and owning that I’m a killer.  But the real value was just how much fun we had fighting with them and hanging out and just being at Uprising.  Even my kid had fun. 

Sean also listened to me whine a bunch about why my head has been in such a weird place, and gave me good advice on how to get out of the “no joy” hole I have been in – so that will be a major focus for the next couple of months.    He said a lot of things that Vik had said to me at Crown during squires tourney – I can only control me; be the killer that I am; don’t worry about other people, continue to emulate in deed those that I find heroic – i.e. Sven, Octa, Attaias, Vik, Sean, etc . . . , and keep working with my teachers, but let myself find my own style and own that.  I need to care less about whether I think my opponent is enjoying the fight – I am supposed to bring the fight that makes my opponent uncomfortable – if I am having fun, my opponent will be too.  I don’t need to not hook just because I know my opponent prefers an elegant fight, or not use my thrusty when I know my opponent does not like the thrust.

I also got a bunch of unsolicited feedback from a bunch of the people I was fighting that my power is really good, so working on that has paid off.  I need to continue to work it so that the power is top notch 100% of the time and not the 75% that it seems to be right now. 

Anyway, the trip was awesome and has given me focus for my training.  76 days until September Crown and I am gonna make each day count.  Be the killer.

Tacoma Practice May 7

The goal was to bring my own energy, not let other people's attitudes affect me and to really concentrate on volta-ing my shots.  I did a pretty good job and really felt like I was able to dictate the fight.  Mentally and emotionally a much better practice for me than sunday.  Still need to work the volta, but that is getting better as well.  All in all, my fighting is not in a bad place right now.  I think we are going to fight this weekend and my focus again will be on bringing my own energy and intensity to the fight. 

Crown is next weekend.  I have made the decision to fight and my focus will be bringing my best fight, bringing my own intensity and energy and just fighting one fight at a time and not worrying about results, but focusing on execution. 

Still here.

Had a super fun fight practice last week at Stromgard.  then went to Wyewood on sunday and not so much.  Dave and I did drills in the backyard last night, me working on making sure I incorporate the volta on my blows.  the plan is to go to BAO tonight -- goal will be to volta my shots and have my own energy and not let anyone's attitude make my practice unfun.

Been feeling like I am allowed to be a good fighter, but when I start winning fights it makes people uncomfortable.  That is not my problem and I need to let that go. 

Crown is in a week and a half and I have been debating whether to fight or not.  I likely am not going to publicly "game" crown for the first time in years.  In many ways I am at a point where I need to put my energy into me and making this fun and beneficial for me instead of always putting the group ahead of me.  That sounds awful when I put it in writing.

Something changed yesterday which makes me more interested in fighting Crown, but we'll see if that comes to fruition or not. 

April . . . .

It is April and I feel unsatisfied and like I am searching to find the joy in fight practice again.  I love fighting, I do not particularly like our local fight practices.  The practices are always hit or miss attendance wise and we have some challenging personalities.  I think if Davin or Thorin were showing up regularly, things would be different -- they tend to draw everyone out.  But, right now practice is not something I am looking forward to.  I'm hoping going to Sean's Ludus at the end of the month will help me find my inspiration again.  I am sort of at the point where I just want to fight in the backyard with villius, because I know I will have fun. 

Anyway, today starts the beginning of the century drill, which i will likely modify for my needs -- i need to do shield work and more that 100 blows a night, but the century drill will at least get me out on the pell every night to get work done.  It is also finally staying light late enough, without a ton of rain, that pell work is not daunting like it is in December.

Villius and I were planning on going to Artemisian Crown in Boise this weekend, but I think we are going to stay home instead.  We'll see.

Fight practice over the weekend was hard.  I think I had a touch of the flu and just felt like I was fighting in jell-o. The video does not look terrible, but it felt off.  And I only got to fight Sir Antonio once -- I need more than one pass with him!