[Craig Shackleton]

I've finally started posting videos of my sword and buckler material for I.33 on youtube. The videos are barely edited with no frills, but a few of them are up and more will be posted almost every week.

http://www.youtube.com/user/OttawaSwordplay#p/a

I hope they are useful.

In my first video, I mention some of my favorite manufacturers, some of whom post on these boards.

[Hugh Knight]

Hi Craig,

Well done, these are interesting videos. Of course, this is a very different interpretation from some others I have seen, but that's the nature of the work.

One suggestion I have is to include documentation for the specific book reference for each technique. I have a great deal of difficulty matching some peoples' interpretations to the source documents when they fail to do this, especially when the interpretation is new or unusual.

[Craig Shackleton]

Thanks for your comments Hugh,

Your suggestion is a good one. It was mainly my intent to do the references specifically in the interpretive stream, rather than the lesson stream, but I can do both, if I remember.

I'll try to add that to the newer videos, and I can put it in the video descriptions retroactively for those that I've filmed.

[Jean Thibodeau]

Had a quick look and it seems like very good stuff and I already " bookmarked ' it so I can find it easily again.

I like the way the wards are linked together as a series of blows with the end of each blow being the next ward/guard: This makes memorizing the wards easier and makes the thinking of an attack as finishing in a logical position and ready for a following attack.

Also, a quick way to memorize and warm up practising the wards.

The only criticism I have is just from a technical recording the audio where the environmental background " noise " is a little too present.

Some filtering or choosing a microphone might be able to minimize this ambient noise if you can't turn off the ventilation in the room which I'm guessing is the culprit.

One alternate way is to record the action visually only using a read script and then re-tape the descriptive audio in a quiet room or studio setting ..... this would need to be both scripted visually and for audio but one could also add close-up, where useful, slowmo, different angles etc .... But this would be more for a professional and formal presentation that would be worth putting on DVD(s) or as Podcasts. ( I would certainly buy the DVD(s) by the way ).

Oh, I can see at least a lot of what you showed at the seminar last November and it brings back some nice memories as well as refreshes my memory of the techniques.

As I've said before what I liked very much in your approach is the emphasis on the principle shown in a technique leaving a lot of possibilities to use the techniques in original ways that often happen in a real bout, in that things never follow an exact script or one rarely ends up in the ideal exact position shown in a technique, but if one has understood the underlying principle one will perceive opportunities to put into action a learned technique from a variety of positions and at times even execute them in a reverse or mirror fashion like in your example of binding the arms from below instead of from above should that possibility present itself as the faster choice using the underlying principles.

One ends up fluid and spontaneous rather that rigidly trying to apply a series of memorized moves that only work from set positions under the ideal conditions of a partnered patient/agent drill i.e. instead one can improvise and not end up indecisive when things don't go as planned. ( In a sword fight as in war the plan rarely survives contact with the enemy ).

[A. Heidalen Skog]

I like what I see ^^

You have a new subscriber.

[Sam Gordon Campbell]

Subbed

I'm eager to get some sword and buckler going down here.
I do enjoy watching well produced vids.
The Tossetoke/Hammborg guys do it well too.
Actualy, while we're on the subject, I've heard of, but never seen, a few moves that are supposedly designed to counter longbastardswords, is there any truth to this?

[Craig Shackleton]

Thanks everyone! I'll keep putting hem out.

Eventually, I'd like to do some better quality video, but I've been wanting to start doing this for years, and finally decided to just film and post so that I have a point of reference for discussions.

I.33 itself does not include anything on fighting longsword, and I don't know of any other S+B material that does. I'd like to give it a try though!

[Jean Thibodeau]