COmbat practice

[hesinraca]

SO there's always Pells and sparring dummies, forms and manuscripts, etc etc. But what are some other good sources of practice?

I personally like kung fu for athletics and strength as well as actual combat training. Aikido is good for relaxed movement work. Right now I am a participant in Belegarth, which is I beleive only in the USA right now, but its medieval combat club. Martial arts dont translate into belegarth directly, nor does it translate directly out, but my understanding of shield work, as well as long sword work has been VASTLY improved by hanging with these folks for a weekend of fighting. Padded fiberglass weapons are lighter then realistic, but it's fun and semi-related.

Any other idea?

[Gareth]

...

[hesinraca]

Everyone's so quiet.

Combat training oppertunity, west coast. Hailey, Idaho.

Chaos Wars is the biggest west coast Belegarth event. I know foam fighting isn't real fighting, but the basic mechanics are the same. You build the same calculation skills, field awareness, combat reasoning, and dexterity. There were 850 people last year, should be about 250 combatants this year.

August 3rd-10th.

I know none of you east coasters can come, but if in the future....

That and I am waking everyone up;)

[mcapanelli]

well the mechanics being the same really depends on how the shield is being used. In medieval Treatises the shield is not a passive defense by any means. Medieval fighting was far more sophisticated then people tend to give it credit for. Simply swinging a swordlike object at someone does not match the mechanics of a well executed strike. Timing, distance, placement, body positioning, footwork, feinting and much more all come in to play when fencing in the medieval tradition. It's was after all considered an art and science.

[hesinraca]

I've gone through my fair share of active sparring groups, and yes, most are not close enough for it to be worth it. But Belegarth, at least the people I fight with, and the better fighters, follow all of these ideals. The use of all those skills plus more is what seperated good Belegarth fighters from the rest.

The primary things that differ are impact mechanics, and weight distribution of most of the weapons, both of which can easily be learned with a real weapon.

And I use my shield as much as my sword, believe me;)



That being said, nothing substitutes for actual combat expierence, and using actual weapons in effective drills is second to that.

well the mechanics being the same really depends on how the shield is being used. In medieval Treatises the shield is not a passive defense by any means. Medieval fighting was far more sophisticated then people tend to give it credit for. Simply swinging a swordlike object at someone does not match the mechanics of a well executed strike. Timing, distance, placement, body positioning, footwork, feinting and much more all come in to play when fencing in the medieval tradition. It's was after all considered an art and science.

[mcapanelli]

Well then let's hope that a chapter opens up around my parts. Sounds like a blast. I've been interested in a group that would let me use in open sparring what I've been studying for some time now. Have fun and fight hard!!!

[hesinraca]

There are chapters everywhere, in fact, I think your area is decently populated. The big thing to keep track of is that because safety gear isnt required, head shots are not allowed, so you have to avoid that. But its a full contact sport unless the fighters in your area are being losers. The issue you run into is that the top fighters over here are leaders among many, but apparently I've heard the east coast has an ego problem... at the very very least, you'll gain good field awareness and its good excircise in a sport that your brain will connect with actual combat... yay

[Beornmann]

I mostly participate in SCA Heavy fighting. I favor the spear, polearm, Danish axe, & two-hand/great sword, but will readily pick up sword & shield when needed. I stopped doing combat archery. We used to practice every week, but in the past year or so, we’re down to only maybe one-three times a month. I fight at several weekend events in the summer.

I have studied historical fighting, from Clements (Medieval Swordsmanship), Tobler (German Longsword), & Windsor (Italian Longsword), and have just started with Wagner & Hand’s I.33/Medieval Sword & Shield.

I’ve dabble in sambo, BJJ, boxing, and I watch a lot of MMA, but rarely get in any training. I lurk on several WMA boards/lists, which may spin me off to trying some other areas, like Hungarian walking axes or Irish shillelagh.

I occasionally pull out the target block and get a few rounds shot off with the bow.