"Hot" Drills

Greetings,

The article which follows is about drills, more accurately it is about "Hot" drills and getting the most out of your drills. Most people do not like drills as they feel monotonous and unfulfilling, however they do fulfil and important part of the training process in order that skills are learnt properly in a practical manner. The problem is that most drills which are performed, while they are effective, they are not as effective as they could be.

Most drills are performed at slow speeds, and for beginning drills this is important. The slow drill allows the body to understand the movement in a slow and controlled fashion. The slow drill also allows the teacher to correct any issues in the performance of the action before it causes any issues for the fencer. Once a drill is learnt then the drill is sped up, not much but it is. These drills are done at a comfortable speed often without armour and with out intensity. These will teach the individuals participating in the drills the mechanics of the action but it lacks something in the execution.

"Hot" drills are about taking the essential drills and adding an element of intensity to them in order that the drill can be performed under conditions which are closer to the performance of the action in a combative situation. This is designed to discover what the students performing the drill have actually learnt and what actually rests in their muscle memory.

First point, armour is essential for these drills as there is too high a chance that the face or another part of the body may be struck with weapon moving at a high speed. Second point, these drills should only really be performed with those students who are in a condition where they are ready to face an opponent in full-speed bouting. Third point, the focus of these drills is what the student has actually learnt rather than the perfection of form demonstrated. Fourth point, the drills must be kept simple in order that the participants still have suitable control remaining in order to perform the actions associated. Fifth point, the drills must be performed at combat speed to be true "Hot" drills and to be effective.

The best drill to start with involves simple footwork movements and the retention of distance. One fencer advances while the other retreats. The idea here is that the fencer who is retreating must not allow the fencer who is advancing to catch them, but should be doing their best to maintain good ...

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.