On Teaching

 Greetings,

I have discussed teaching from different perspectives, mostly the student-teacher relationship, and the differences between an instructor and a teacher, however it is a big step to go from student to teacher and there are many who stop at this precipice and look out and wonder if they have the wings to fly. I am going to tell you that you do. 

There are some simple things you will need to learn that will make you a better teacher. Just because you are a great combatant, and know your actions, doesn't mean that you will make a great teacher. The more interesting thing is that, if you've been fencing for a while, it's likely that you've actually taught before, maybe without knowing it. Newer students will learn from older students, this is how the culture of a school or organisation is built, implicitly. There are rules and regulations, but people learn more from the things that you do and don't do, more than from what you say. More directly, from the explicit aspect; if you've corrected, you've taught; if you've shown someone a trick, you've taught. 

Here are some simple instructions to follow to help with your teaching as you progress. Oh, one last thing, the best way to get more, and better, opponents is to teach them. This is how I started.

1. Everyone is Different

• We have different bodies; this counts double when the student is of a different gender, and triple when they have a disability
• We have different learning methods, because we have different brains

2. Preach what you practice

• You know this method the best; teach how you fence, the only exception is when you are teaching a particular method, and don't do this your first outing

3. Say it, Demonstrate it, Get them to do it

• This covers 3 out of 4 methods of learning
• Encourage people to take notes to cover the 4th method

4. Don’t be Afraid to say “I Don’t Know."

• Be honest about your knowledge; better to be honest than a found a fool
• Go find the answer yourself – it makes you a better teacher; don't expect the student to find the answer alone

5. Enjoy it.

• People want to learn; people who come to the classes come voluntarily
• Critics are minimal annoyances; use them, take their criticism on board where it is applicable
• You can have fun, and teach properly; there is no need to "act the drill sergeant"

6. Plan it.

• Write a lesson plan; objectives, methods, and drills
• Writing a plan is the best way to ensure you don’t miss anything
• Take the plan with you; it's not much use if it sits on your desk

7. Update it.

• Review your knowledge, keep learning; knowledge improves, the stagnant fencing mind is doomed to failure

8. Things will go wrong.

• Sometimes this will lead to new avenues of research
• Sometimes this will be something you missed
• Sometimes you will get back to the plan, or not; depends on the way it goes

9. Practice it.

• It takes practice to become a good teacher, always learn to become better

10. Encourage, and challenge, them to be better

• Part of it is holding their hand, part of it is pointing the way and expecting to meet them there

These are my 10 points for teaching. They are a set of summarised aspects for the beginning teacher to get you started. The more experienced teacher will likely find some familiarity in the statements which have been made, and hopefully will find some use in what has been presented as well. Most important in all of this, always keep learning and improving your knowledge.

Cheers,

Henry.

Update:

Some additions to the list from a good friend James Wran:

• Keep learning.
• Learn how to teach. Constantly seek out teaching and learning methodologies.
• Teaching isn't the finish line.

The best teachers are also students, because they keep learning. They learn their art, but they also learn more about teaching and better ways to teach students. There should not be an end to your learning, your teaching should only be an able assistant to your learning process, now you can better understand what you do, and why you do it. One of the greatest advances to my learning and becoming a better fencer was becoming a teacher. Just keep learning.

Cheers,

Henry.

The Story of Fencing from a Chair

 Greetings,

Some of my readers know me in person, quite a few do not. This means that you do not know where my information comes from, whether or not I have done any experimentation or research, or if I actually hold any sort of even pseudo-qualifications to be telling you about fencing. To shed a little light on at least one part of this, I present my story of fencing from a chair. This is intended to give a little history, to show where it all came from, and that I did not develop the techniques and ideas that I propose for using this technique overnight.

The two primary articles for fencing from a chair, if you are interested in the concept, are:
No Footwork Fencing Or Fencing From a Chair and Etiquette for Facing a Seated Opponent. I will refer to these articles throughout this article, and if you want an idea of what I am talking about, these are your go-to articles. I have written a couple of other articles on the subject, one which proposed the use of the techniques of Fabris from a chair, and others. This subject is really one of my specialties, and you will see why shortly. 

The Beginning

D.A. Girard Actors On Guard, 1996

The first time I had seen fencers with rapiers sitting down was this picture from Actors On Guard by D.A. Girard, about 1997, a theatrical fencing manual which I had used for research purposes, because it had some quite relevant information about the use of the rapier and dagger. This drill concerns ensures that the two fencers remain out of range but can practise their blade engagement and other blade skills. I did not pay it particularly much attention until something happened.

Life has its little twists and turns, as it would have it, I stepped in a hole and injured my ankle. The doctor's prognosis a badly twisted and sprained ankle. Treatment: strapping and as little pressure on the foot as possible, for six weeks. At the time I was in a small group as the primary trainer and this would mean six weeks of no training, because I could not stand... well, only if I had to stand. My thoughts went back to the image above. 

The next week at training, I turned up hobbled out to the middle of the field with a chair. I parked my butt, in much the same way as in the picture and invited my students to have a go. The learning curve was very sharp...

There was no quick retreat step to get you out of trouble; there was a lot more reliance on your hands and accuracy in your parries. On the other hand, your opponent could easily take a step back or even simply lean back; your timing and Distance with your attacks had to be on point. These were two simple things that I learnt from the first training session. My handwork improved over the period, as did my sense of Distance, at least in regard to my sword- and arm-length, with a little body lean. My parries were also a lot more accurate, but there had to be more. This adventure sparked more interest in the subject...

Research Begins

After I recovered from my injury, I noticed that my hand-work i.e. parries, thrusts and other elements focused on the use of the hand had improved, as had my stationary sense of Distance. I had a very rudimentary idea about how seated fencing could work. I figured there had to be more available about fencing from a chair.

I first turned to sport fencing to see if there were any clues there, any answers to be found. While standard sport fencing held no answers, the Paralympics did. Here I found wheelchair fencing, which is essentially fencing from wheelchairs. If you've never seen this, I recommend that you do; it's a real eye-opener. There are some impressive videos on YouTube.

I examined the rules for wheelchair fencing as possible future alternative for myself. Something that I could use later on should one of my chronic illnesses cause me to be confined to a wheelchair, or similar situation in the future. One of the big things that I noticed was that the wheelchairs were angled. In my initial foray into fencing from a chair my body was placed in the chair in its usual manner, much like the picture above. The angulation of the body on the chair at least would change things, and I would get the opportunity to try it out.

Rowany 2006 (AS XL)

Rowany Festival is the biggest get together for the SCA (Society for Creative Anachronism) in Australia. In 2006 it was held at the Cross-Roads Campsite which is near Yass, New South Wales. The event is held on the Easter weekend, and is a camping event. I went along to the event and camped, like most of the attendees.

Sleeping in a tent, in the cold (it got down to - 6 degrees Celsius overnight one night), resulted in my fibromyalgia playing up quite severely. The result being that my leg froze up; hip, knee and ankle. I had promised that I would play some Prizes (examinations) the same day, so I suggested I could do them from a chair. This allowed me to put some of my new-found research into practice.

Duncan Bailey and Myself

You will note, while the chair is still mostly facing square to the opponent, my body is somewhat angled to him. The chair is slightly angled but not significantly. There were quite a few revelations made during these Prizes. First, that rapier and dagger is the superior form when fighting from a chair as it gives you both offensive and defensive options at distance and close, while defensive forms are useful, but are hampered a little in close. Second, that fighting with an extended guard while intimidating leaves you exposed should the opponent clear the blade. Third, the Low Line is mostly insignificant and needs little effort to defend. The experience confirmed some previous ideas and gave me more.

The Four Foot Model

Much later on, I went to a seminar about Fiore dei Liberi with Bob Charron. How does this concern fighting from a chair? Just wait and you will find out. In this discussion he discussed "open" feet and "closed" feet, along with "lines of power" in a person's stance. In wrestling, a person was strong where they had two "closed" feet lined up, this made a "line of power"; they were weak where their two "open" feet lined up along the other "line of power". This described a person having four feet. A person was manipulated so the fencer would put their opponent over their "open" foot to destabilise them.

Some years later I was thinking about fencing from a chair and its use, when I realised the blindingly obvious... a chair has four feet. Therefore the chair has four "closed" feet. If the chair can be angled correctly to the opponent, and the fencer sits in the chair correctly, the fencer can also have four "closed" feet and will remain stable in their movement.

The angling of the chair came from the position of the chairs placed for wheelchair fencing. They are bolted in place so they do not move about. I had previously just been angling my body. If the chair was angled too, then there would be more stability, and the possibility of movement of the body. 

So, I sat down on the chair, lined my legs up with the chair legs, then turned my body until I was in profile, relatively to my opponent. More to the point I sat on the chair so I would sit in my guard position with my front toe pointed toward my opponent. If I stood up and the chair was taken away there would be no difference. This is where the true essence of my system of fencing from a chair evolved. 

Angle the chair to the opponent so the front leg lines up with your natural front leg of your stance. Make sure the chair that you are using doesn't have arms, so they won't get in the way. Make sure the chair is stable so you can bend at your middle, should you desire, and remain balanced. Get a chair suitable for your height, so your feet can be flat on the floor. All of these things came with this model.

Revelations

My most recent explorations into fencing from a chair which have appeared in articles on this blog have been the result of experiences, both good and bad of fencing from a chair. There will be time, in the future, where I will, no doubt, write another article about the subject of fencing from a chair explaining my method and how it works, by then I will hope to have some more revelations about fencing from a chair.

I looked at doing Fabris from a chair, because I cannot perform his method standing up. I even wrote a good long article about the subject which appears in my book Un-Blogged: A Fencer's Ramblings. This was more a theoretical exploration rather than a practical one. I have played with it a bit while fencing from a chair, and the on guard position looks intimidating as hell, but I really need to play with it a lot more to get it working properly.

One thing I must put in here, fighting case of rapier from a chair is a little crazy, because once your opponent gets past your points you have a lot of trouble. Fighting case of rapier against another person who is also in a chair with case of rapier, is a little insane, but a hell of a lot of fun. Rotella give you a lot of coverage, but once again, once the opponent gets close you are in trouble, they are also a nuisance to fight around.

The biggest revelations when it comes to fencing from a chair were: the angling of the body and the chair; the use of the body as "footwork" and for voiding; the use of various off-hands, rapier and dagger being the superior form; and finally, the Low Line is minimal, be careful not to hit yourself when you cover it.

What's Next?

Quite frankly, I don't like fencing from a chair. I only do it when I have to, or when I teach it, or when my opponent invites me, because they are fencing from a chair because they have to, or because I have been legged and I don't want to sit on the ground (I don't kneel, it hurts too much). This is a method that I devised so I could continue fencing when my legs decided to pack it in and not work.

The most important thing about fencing from a chair is that it is not a gimmick. It is a real option for those with mobility issues of a permanent or temporary kind. Indeed, when I originally wrote this, one of my students was fencing from a chair; he was a couple of weeks out of hip replacement surgery.

 

Fencing from a chair is also good for training. Concerned that the actions of your hands are not what they used to be? Want to check them out? Fence from a chair and find out. It is also a good way of utilising limited space to a premium. Think of how many fencers you could have fencing from chairs in the same space you have standing. Push that idea further, an indoor tournament, all the fencers fence from chairs in the middle of the hall while people sit around watching. That's a small list field.

I have fenced from a chair in some form or another for about 15 maybe 20 years now, and I have experienced some good and bad from fencing from a chair. I have also seen good and bad as a result of others fencing from chairs, and it is not always a person who is standing who is in the wrong. Everyone can have their effect om the situation for good or for ill.

I have seen standing fencers snipe at their maximum range while the seated fencer cannot reach them; and close to where the seated fencer has no chance of withdrawal. I have also seen seated fencers move from their chairs to gain a little extra Distance, close to launching themselves from their seated position. I have seen standing fencers turn a seated fencer around in their chair to gain advantage over them. I have seen shots land that were claimed to hit the chair, where it actually hit the seated fencer. Both standing and seated fencers can do ill for the game that is played, but they can also do a lot of good as well.

Always consider your opponent, and consider the fencers who will come after you. The trick that you pull today may look cool, but it might ruin things for people after you. Consider whether the act that you perform will earn you renown or notoriety in its performance.

I will keep researching and finding new ways to improve the techniques for fencing from a chair, and hopefully more people will begin to understand this method of fighting. It has taken quite a while to figure things out, and is still a work in progress. I will continue to share my findings as well.

Cheers,

Henry.

Nietzsche and the Art of Fence

Greetings,

There is much discussion about the philosophical approach to fencing, mostly from the perspective of how a person should train and approach their "game". Questions are asked about whether fencing is a series of touches against an opponent or a series of questions and answers between two fencers having a conversation, and such like questions. What follows does not discuss these philosophical approaches, it discusses what happens when the fencer becomes broken, or old, and how and why the old and/or broken fencer can and should continue on with a long-term injury or injuries, or chronic illness.

Of Nietzsche

For the Nazi implications in regard to Nietzsche and Nietzsche's work, which are sometimes made, I will simply say that, a person writes, or creates a thing, it is often up to others how they use the thing. This is the same case with Nietzsche's ideas and what the Nazis did with them. The Nazis took Nietzsche's ideas, and like they did with many ideas at the time, perverted them to suit their own ideals. Nietzsche was not even alive at the time of the foundation of the Nazi Party, he had been dead for 20 years. 

With that distasteful piece of discussion out of the way we can talk more about the man and how he could relate to being broken. He suffered through bouts of physical and mental illness throughout his life and it was during these times that he wrote some of his most significant works. He managed himself around these times of illness, something we can learn from.

Nietzchean Philosophy is more common than you might think, “Out of life's school of war: What does not destroy me, makes me stronger.”[1] Yes, that oft-used quote comes from Nietzsche, and forms the foundation of much of the philosophy which I have found most useful, especially in this discussion of its relation to fencing. For the Stoics in the audience, it was Nietzsche who arrived at the concept of "Amor Fati" - love your fate. By this, he meant if you truly embrace the life that you have and you will find power in it. This is a concept which the modern Stoics have embraced.

Of Fencing and Philosophy

On the one hand, while readers of these articles are likely relatively familiar with fencing and fencing terms, because this is their area of interest, there are distinctively fewer who are familiar with philosophers and philosophy. So when it comes to philosophical terms and individuals concerned with philosophy, somewhat of an introduction is required. Assumptions, especially those broadcast in the main by media or rumour, like the Nazi connections, mentioned above, need to be exposed and removed.

Of all the important concepts which are found within Nietzsche's work, for the fencer with an injury, especially a long-term one, or a chronic illness, the most important one is the "will to power" a concept in which the power is found within the individual so long as they have the will to find it. This concerns not only living life but living life well. Nietzsche states that life gives will, but not just to live, but to power, thus to live well. He extols the reader to live well not just live. This living well is found through defeating the challenges which are put before them. Further, then surmounting the greater challenges that are put before them after those.

Merely the Beginning

This discussion is merely the beginning; a bare scraping of the surface of my thoughts on the subject and the research I have performed on the subject. If you are interested and feel that you have a need to read the document in its complete form, and it is quite long and in-depth, it can be found attached to this Dropbox link, or by contacting the author, the same as this blog, i.e. me.

Cheers,

Henry.

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You will notice a lot of Wikipedia links in my posts. This is a great resource of free information which is now reliably researched, as you will note by the references which appear at the bottom of each page. I donate to the Wikimedia Foundation every year to keep this non-profit group operational, and I recommend that everyone do the same, you can do this HERE. Please give, and keep this free source of information alive, there are few of them these days.

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[1] Nietzsche, F (1895) Twilight of the Idols, http://www.handprint.com/SC/NIE/GotDamer.html, para. 8

Disability Aspects in Fencing

Greetings,

Disability is a subject which comes up with regard to fencing on a semi-infrequent basis. This is mainly due to the highly physical nature of fencing that it is often assumed that the participants are in a high degree of health. However, it is an important aspect which must be considered. This blog will address various aspects with regard to fencing and disability and some of how the less able fencer is able to compete in fencing and also enjoy the experience of fencing itself despite a physical infirmity.

One of the most trying things for a fencer is becoming somehow less able than before. This can occur due to a great deal of reasons, injury, sickness and operations being the most common reasons. What can happen here is that a fencer may be reduced in capacity to operate. The most important thing is that this is not the end. In a lot of cases it is possible to get back to where you were.

The first question that will be asked by the reader of this blog is what sort of authority is the author speaking from and how would they know what is going on in this situation. From my own point of view, I have a medical condition called Fibromyalgia (FM), which is closely related to both arthritis and Chronic Fatigue Syndrome (CFS). I suffer from joint pain and immobility as part of my condition and I would be lying if I said that this does not affect my fencing. From this point of view it is of interest to me to give people some ideas about how I deal with a lack of mobility. What is also important about this article is that I am not a qualified Occupational Therapist or other heath care professional, though some of the ideas that I will present do come from people with such qualifications. Hopefully this may give you some ideas about how you can get back to fencing or in some cases start fencing in the first place.

With regards to fencing literature which has been published and the great advances made towards the various aspects of disability with regard to fencing, there has been a great deal of focus on the lack of mobility on the part of some fencers and how they can still compete. To this end wheelchair fencing was developed for use in sport fencing and this appears in the Paralympics (http://www.paralympic.org/release/Summer_Sports/Wheelchair_Fencing/). There has been, however somewhat of a lack of any sort of address with regard to other aspects which may affect fencers, or potential fencers. These particular aspects need to be taken into account as there are many different ways to assist an individual with a physical infirmity of various kinds in order to get them fencing. In all cases, this will work on the same sorts of principles. It is important to realise that there are many disability aspects that can be worked around with the right approach.

The first part of the process of getting back to fencing, or starting fencing, is deciding to do it in the first place. This needs to be a firm decision on the part of the person as it will require effort on their part, in much the same way as the first, and following lessons, took effort, or will take effort. What you must understand, is that it is not necessary to have a sword in your hand from the start, there are much more gentle ways to start. One of the easiest ways is to watch others fence and see what you can see. This establishes the mind-game of fencing in its initial phase. See what comes back to you as you are watching. You may be surprised what you can see and actually remember. This is especially the case for those who have not fenced in a while.

The next part of the process is to actually think about fencing. From the movement of the sword, to the movement of the feet, all are important. This is all about reading the opponent, something that all fencers should do anyway. The actual thought processes of going through this are just as important as doing the actions. Find a notebook and write your thoughts down. Think of ways to practice and improve without requiring actual practice. It is the next part of the process, which takes the real effort.

The most important part of the physical part of fencing is looking at it from an Occupational Therapy point of view. It is important to focus on those things that you can do with regard to fencing rather than focusing on those things that you cannont do. This requires you to focus on the positive aspects with regard to the process. This mental aspect of the process is of a great deal of importance as it is this sort of motivation that will assist you to get past hurdles that will be placed in your path. Examine the physical parts of fencing and see what you can and cannot do, and also ways that you can assist yourself to attempt those things that you may not be able to do. Find out about how you can help yourself through the use of various aids and also exercises. One example of an aid for those with problems with weak wrists is the wrist strap, or martingale (http://fencing.net/about/rules/using-the-wrist-strap-or-martingale.html). All of these things will help you increase your capacity to fence.

The first part of the physical element of fencing and returning to it is to understand your own limits. It is important that you are able to start within these limits, but also to stay active within your own capacity. You must increase this capacity to do things steadily but slowly. Rushing the process will only hurt more and get you less. In the beginning it is best to rest frequently and to stop before you are too tired and/or sore. This sounds like a bit of a cop out but this is not the case. If you keep going until you are unable to move you will have a harder time getting back into it later.

With regard to work and rest, both are important. Work increases your capacity, but rest is essential to give your body time to recover to be able to do more. This is especially the case during the times of activity. You must rest before becoming exhausted, short breaks are important during activity. Short breaks during the activity will actually enable you to do more than attempting to push through.

With regard to your capacity it is important to be able to both test your limits and also increase them, but not at the expense of doing damage to yourself. Pain is the best indicator in the world about when you should stop. Ignoring this cue will lead to your detriment, but having a fear of pain will also limit you. In this you need to have a balance in your regard for pain. Somewhere between fear and disregard, there is respect and this is where the balance is found. If you become afraid of pain you will stagnate and will not improve, but also if you disregard pain you will cause yourself damage.

Fear -> Respect <- Disregard

It is important that you exercise to fatigue but before pain occurs. This is how the occupational therapists say it. You must consider the overall effect of what you are doing. Only by attempting more is it possible to increase your fitness, but this must be done through exercise and not pain. In my case I would say that you should be aiming to increase your capacity by a factor of about 5% and no more. Once the 5% has been achieved, stop. You should only push yourself to this point and not further. This way you will increase your ability bit by bit without the threat of doing damage to yourself.

Stress is important. Some things are more stressful than others and some things will stress your joints and other affect portions more than others. Do those, which exercise but do not stress your joints or other affected parts of the body. If something becomes too stressful stop, here it is important to know your own limits. It is necessary to stress the joint or other part of your body a little but not too much. Relaxation is also an important part of the process. This is vital for removing stress. What is also important is that you take as much time as you need to. There is no need to rush, it is better that you proceed slowly and steadily.

You need to consider what you can do that is within your capacity that will gradually increase your ability to fence. In the case of a person with a mobility issue this could include fencing from a chair. For a fencer with a problem with the ability to hold a weapon due to weight, it could be the use of a lighter weapon or using a wrist strap in order to reduce the stress and weight of the weapon. For a fencer with cardio-vascular issues this may be to slowly increase their ability to fence by increasing fitness over a period of time through an increase in fitness. These are just some suggestions that the fencer can think about. There are many others that can be used to deal with different problems. For those fencers with joint issues, you should do exercises that will build muscle around the affected joint. This increase in muscle will help to support the joint and enable you to do more. This is best achieved through the use of low impact exercises so that the muscles are being worked, but the joint is not being stressed

It is important that the fencer also discuss with their health care professional about their decision to go back to fencing. They ask about what things they can do in order to increase their capacity to fence. The fencer should heed this advice in order that they do not cause themselves more issues by going back and fencing too early. It is important that the fencer consider that their health to be the highest priority in all considerations. You should also discuss your decision to go back to fencing, or start fencing with your trainer. Talk with them and see what they can do to help you. They may be able to find some stretches or exercises that will assist you, or may be able to find some sort of aid for you that may assist your progression.

For trainers, if you have a student with a physical infirmity it is important that you examine what the problem is and see if you can figure out ways to get around it. You should sit down and have a long chat with the student about what they can and cannot do in order that you are able to tailor their training program around what they are and are not able to do. You need to be positive in this approach as your support will be vital in order to assist the student to continue or begin fencing. Focus on what the student can do and assist them in their capacity to do things that they cannot. You need to be open-minded in this approach.

The focus of this particular blog has been the increase in ability for those fencers with disability issues. Remember to start slowly and work on increasing your capacity, do not try to rush in and do too much at once. This whole process also applies to those who have been away from fencing for any longer period of time for any reason. Ease yourself back into the motions of fencing. It is better that you take time, than rush the process and do yourself an injury. No one can be expected to be back at their full form after months of “down-time” at their first practice back.

If you are having issues with joint pain or other forms of disability, I advise you to speak to a health care professional before it gets any worse. They can help you devise a program that will improve your quality of life and will also, in the long run, improve your fencing at a base level. Take their advice to heart. If you have a specific condition, especially with your joints, it is more than likely that some fencer has had similar issues. Share your concerns and ideas about dealing with the issues.

It is my hope that this article will help some, give some ideas to some, and increase everybody’s awareness of the importance of their joints. If you are having some sort of issue with your body, there is no doubt a trainer or another fencer who will be able to help you around it. Do not be afraid to ask for help. Remember, you only have one set of joints – look after them.

On a final note I must say that fencing is actually great for mobility, especially for those with joint and/or muscle issues. I have been fencing now for more than a decade and it has been remarked by several health care professionals that it is one of the things that has kept me so mobile. The most important thing to remember with regard to disability and fencing is that there are things that you can do, and you can fence. You need the courage and determination to strive through the obstacles placed in your path, and you need the willpower and motivation in order to do this. You need to want to fence. Have a look at your situation if you are interested in fencing, give it a go, you never know until you try.

Cheers,

Henry