Hi all,

Here's a video of some of the highlights from our presentation at Swordfest 2011. I apologize for the poor audio quality, but my little Samsung HD camcorder wasn't made for this kind of thing.

For those who don't know what Swordfest is, it's an annual demonstration and seminar event that features both Eastern and Western martial artists doing 20-30 minute demos and teaching hour long seminars.

I hope you enjoy it.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JDCmBUOWJIs

Hi Michael,

Nice video, glad to see events like this are being organised...

It's funny how the first solo form in the video screams "Japanese" to me. I can't quite nail why; must be some combination of the two-handed weapon and the rhythm of the movements... Not that I think it's inherently good or bad, mind you, I'm just surprised because I've never felt that watching other HEMA videos. Has Tristan been studying another art too or just German longsword?

Regards,

Great job guys! I really enjoy all of the NYHFA videos.

Thanks! We really enjoy when people enjoy them. :)

Oh I know (well I ought to since most of my training is in a Japanese art ;) ), but I'm not sure how much what I recognize as a Japanese side is stylistic and how much is due to the inner quality, so to speak... For example I don't get the same feeling while watching this video which I also consider to be a solo form displaying high underlying qualities (not intending to actually compare the techniques, just an example of something with a different overall feel). So I don't think it's simply the close attention paid to every factor that you mention that trigger my feeling... Anyway, if that's what you're striving for then I'd say you're on the right track.

Regards,

Ah, Ilkka. Yes, I've seen that before. Very nice.

It's a completely different animal, however, at least by my definition. I would call this an exercise (my lingo and not really relevant to anything outside of our school, but can be helpful for discussing these things). Very fluid and repetative...we do things like that too, against a pell, though I suppose they could be done without the pell and still be great exercises. I was very happy when I saw Ilkka's video for the first time. Here is a man who understands and puts into practice the concept of solo training. To me, that's the whole point of these forms.

The forms that we define as such are different and have to meet several criteria. Some of these may apply to what I call an exercise, but some don't and can't.

1. Every cut has to really cut. That is, pass cleanly through a clothed human body without getting stuck and/or bent. So if I blind fold Tristan, set up a bunch of mats and tell him to do the form, he should have no problems executing every single move as a cut (unless it's an absetzen or thrust, etc.).

2. The practicioner has to see the moves of his adversary and respond to them, not just repeat memorized steps.

3. Great attention is paid to the different types of movements...advances, retreats, transitions. Each has to be distinguishable from the others, as each is a different kind of movement. Transitions have to be strong, pressure must be applied throughout, etc. It cannot be all fluid, because you cannot cut your way to every postition, that level of intensity will wear you out very quickly and would be suicidal in a fight. Cuts are cuts, transitions are transitions, etc. You will note the lack of fludity in our form as compared to Ilkka's exercise, and this is why.

4. These are all two man forms and can be executed as such at varying speeds. I show that briefly in the vid, or at least parts of it.

This is all a lot of fancy talk. The truth is that we suck at most of it, at least by my standards. This is very much a work in progress. But, at least that gives you the idea.

Congratulations as usual on a very interesting video I just wish the audio was easier to understand your explanations of what you where doing and why and how.

I always learn something watching you move or explain/demonstrate something. :D :cool:

Off-Topic: I just joined a new local training group and ironies of ironies, their training hall is even closer than the one of my defunct group and is an easy 15 minute walk ! So, the 8 month drouth of not training should be over when I start training with this group next week. :)

Observed a training session before joining and they seem to know their stuff even if their approach is a little more eclectic than my previous group which was almost only Liechtenauer based. They seem to use steel blunts almost exclusively and not much use of wooden wasters, at least for the class I observed. ( Which suits me just fine as I can use my Albion blunt and my OlliN blunt training swords, they also use a bit more protective equipment as they do light hits as opposed to the no-touch training my old group prefered doing ).

Anyway, very nice people who gave me a nice welcome.

http://www.compagniemedievale.com/
http://www.compagniemedievale.com/page.asp?section_id=1

Thanks Jean. Sorry about the audio, but if you want me to clarify anything, I'd be happy to. I can actually hear/remember everything I said. :)

I'm glad you're back to practicing! More so that your new group believes in whacking people with swords.

Well the moving pictures sort of tell the story and what is frustrating is the 1 word out of 3 that seems to get lost in the echoes: One can almost make it " out out out oooouuuuut ....... :lol: ".

Yeah, being able to hit or touch will probably help a great deal refining distance and measure because with a no-touch system it becomes impossible to make the difference between a true miss and stopping short deliberately for safety reasons.

One good thing though is that my level of control is very high and precise and I guess it's easier to relax control a bit rather than trying to gain control if the situation was reversed i.e. going from a group that does controlled hit to a group that stops short.

I find that to hit, when I have experimented with it, that I have to over compensate by focusing where I want my point or edge to be by a few inches into the target. ( In the last few months of operation when we only had students with multi year experience we did start including light hits that where pulled on contact. Note, that we where only still using only fencing masks and gloves as protective equipment ).

Anyway, should be fun and educational and a nice change of training " artifacts " . ( There always are distortions due to safety issues, but this should be closer to actual fighting ! ).

From what I understand of your video and other discussions I think you want to train so that any cut or stab with a training blunt would have caused a good cut if used using a sharp and that you alternate training with the blunts and sharps in a way that you verify your cutting technique with the sharps and try to duplicate the same form when using the blunts ! This takes a great deal of focus to prevent your use of the blunts being subtly and unconsciously different than your use of the sharps.

In reverse if your form with the blunts wasn't effective and you used the same wrong technique with the sharps your sharps would not cut into the mats in a cutting exercise and in a period fight would not have cut into the thick clothing then in use or cut so lightly as to not have been effective to stop an opponent ! ( Well, I could be wrong, but just checking if I understand or have interpreted the reasons why you consider cutting using the way one would cut in a real fight as opposed to cutting techniques optimized for cutting competitions with over arming/telegraphing of blades and excessive follow through ? ).

Great vid, thankyou for sharing it. Makes me wish there were schools like yours in my area.

Quick question, what sword were you using for the cuting demonstrations? from a comment you made I assume it is an Albion, but couldn't make out the exact model. Whichever one it is it is a beaut, and obviously a good cutter (without taking anything away from your form, which is also obviously top notch).

Thanks Nat!

I am using an Albion Brescia Spadona, Tristan is using an Albion Crecy. Both are great cutting swords.

Jean,

You're right about using blunts and sharps in exactly the same way. The object is never to just cut the target...the object is to cut the target using the exact form/technique you would when fighting, something I don't always manage to do in the video, but hey, I'm wokring on it.

There is more to cutting than just cutting into the target. You have to come out of the target too. If you've ever cut a tatami mat or a side of beef of other "heavy" target, then odds are you have lost control of your sword at least once and seen how it turns in the target. If your cut is not straight through with perfet edge alignment and you cut into a person, your sword will turn and get stuck in that person's body. If you're fighting more than one person, you're dead. Even if it's just the one, you won't be able to withdraw your sword and ward off anything he might throw at you before he dies. Either way, it's very bad.

This is an aspect of cutting practice that is not often understood. For example, the reason the Toyama gakko batto jutsu started cutting as part of its curriculum is not because people were failing to kill with their swords, but because they were getting them stuck/bent in the bodies of their opponents.