Stand Up Straight and Relax

Greetings, Most of the time when we are told to stand up straight relaxing is not going through our heads. This is usually someone telling us to improve our posture or stand at attention. In these particular situations the body goes rigid and upright. For fencing the two need to be accomodated in order to achieve the most effective on guard, or ward position. Being rigid in the on guard position is detrimental to your fencing. When you are rigid, your muscles are already burning energy and are already tensed. This means that they are not ready for movement which leads you to slower movement, which can decide whether you are struck or not. In order to fight this you need to relax your body, so only those muscles that need to be working are actually working. Standing up straight means that you are standing tall. Your chest is expanded and you have an air of confidence about your stance. Both of these elements are important in the on guard stance. With the chest expanded it is much easier to breathe, this means you have more energy due to the increase in breath. Your muscles are also not tensed as much if you were slouching, this goes especially for those which are over the shoulders. So, the trick is to combine the relaxed but upright position into the on guard position. This may sound like a contradiction, but it is not. First of all, spread your feet to shoulder width, remember to keep the front foot pointed at the opponent. Bend your knees somewhat, but not so much that they become tensed. You ....

The rest of this article can be found in Un-Blogged: A Fencer's Ramblings by Henry Walker, which is available in paperback from:

Amazon: https://www.amazon.com/Blogged-Ramblings-Henry-Leigh-Walker/dp/098764470X
Booktopia: https://www.booktopia.com.au/un-blogged-henry-leigh-walker/book/9780987644701.html
Among other places...

It is also available in electronic format (pdf) from: https://buy.stripe.com/fZecP419c7CB9VKeUV

... or direct from the author.

Fabris From a Chair?

Greetings, Many in the Western Martial Arts (WMA) community examine manuals from their own points of view and in order to understand what the author is saying about fencing. For the most part it is purely so that the individual can understand what the author is on about and possibly put some of what the author has said into practice. The question happens to come to mind about what happens when such information is examined and then attempted only to find out that there is some physical impediment to completing the action, what now? Performing most of the actions of Fabris is a simple impossibility for me due to my physical condition. My body simply will not allow me to bend in the ways that Fabris would have me do so. For the most part, I will admit, I bought the manual in order to extract as much information out of it about his blade engagement and counter positions (contra-postura) as possible, and this has been most useful. This is somewhat limited as it does not take into account much that could be used from this most informative manual. So in order to lower my the position of my body without having to damage myself, I thought, what about a chair? One of the prime principles of Fabris is that the lower position of the body is safer than the taller. Sitting in a chair sure lowers the position of the body, and it also allows for the bending of the body as well to make it even smaller. Of course sitting in a chair and fencing, while possible, as I have already discussed previously, does remove certain aspects from being possible. Any form of major footwork is removed, but it can be compensated for in part by the movement of the body. Approaching the opponent is also not possible due to the seated position. However, even with these limitations, there is a great deal that can be done. The most interesting discovery that I made while experimenting with the actions of Fabris is that a form of his girata (a turning void) is actually possible from a seated position. This is so long as the movement is based on the movement of the body rather than the feet. The ability to do this particular technique opened much ....

The rest of this article can be found in Un-Blogged: A Fencer's Ramblings by Henry Walker, which is available in paperback from:

Amazon: https://www.amazon.com/Blogged-Ramblings-Henry-Leigh-Walker/dp/098764470X
Booktopia: https://www.booktopia.com.au/un-blogged-henry-leigh-walker/book/9780987644701.html
Among other places...

It is also available in electronic format (pdf) from: https://buy.stripe.com/fZecP419c7CB9VKeUV

... or direct from the author.