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.

What does failure mean?

Greetings, 

The following article is about failure, a subject that some would like to avoid completely and deny its existence. These people do not learn from their mistakes and failures, they truncate their learning. Failure is important, it is an important chance to learn from the incident rather than some place to end. Depending on how we approach failure will determine the length of our fencing career, how much we learn, and the limits of our skill lists.

What is Failure?

Is a failure the end of the road or a chance to learn? This is an important question each fencer must ask themselves. If it is the end of the road, then they are not going to get very far because the process of learning fencing is all about learning from your mistakes and failures. This aspect of fencing does not change regardless of how experienced you are or how long you have been fencing, mistakes will be made and failures will still occur.  The truly lucky thing we have is that the weapons are blunt, so we have the opportunity to live and learn. How fencers approach failure is different to many different types of people and this is important.

The following is from a study by Koncul and Slatman concerning fencing for the blind, “for fencers this failure represents an opportunity rather than a dead end. And, as Halberstam writes, fencers ‘work with rather than against failure’ (Halberstam 2011: 96)." I wrote about fencing for the blind in a previous POST, and it is a topic all fencers should be aware of, especially if they are concerned about inclusivity. However in regard to our current topic, the important part that is present is the idea of working with failure rather than against it. We should learn from the failure, and move onward, don't close the door on the incident, or the idea, or technique, until it has been completely evaluated for the reason that it failed; further training might be required, always look forward.

There are those for whom failure is the end. If they fail, then there is no point going any further, they close the book on that thing and move on to the next thing. This shows a very narrow view of the world and these people will learn and experience very little of the world. Think what would've happened if some of the great inventors had stopped at the first failure, we would not have man of the simple things we take for granted. James Dyson, the inventor of the famous Dyson system for vacuum cleaners said, "Enjoy failure and learn from it. You'll never learn from success." Edison, the inventor of the light bulb had a similar approach to failure, he felt that he just took a long time to invent the light bulb, rather than 1,000 failures. 

Critical Evaluation

A fencer must look at their situation critically and without emotion, they must be able to evaluate their situation and find where things are working, and where they are not. They must also be able to critically evaluate their opponent and see where their opponent has things which are working and where they are not. This is the process of reading the opponent. The result of a bout is the opponent performing something and the fencer performing something, the two coming together for a result. The winner is usually the result of one performing better than the other. Lessons can be learned from the experience if they are examined analytically. Again, training may be required for correction.

A fencer only truly fails if they do not learn from the situation. A fencer only truly fails if they refuse to look at the situation an analyse the situation analytically and critically, with no emotion. Where the fencer simply throws up their hands and gives up, responding emotionally to the situation, the lesson is lost.  

Losing

Losing is important, because we have the opportunity to learn from the loss. We have the opportunity to learn about our skills and the opportunity to learn about ourselves. Both of these aspects are important. How we bear the loss is important, how we respond to the loss is important; excuses can be made, but the truth will remain. 

"I was not ready." Then why were you on the field facing the opponent? "This was not my sword." Why did you not have your sword, it is your responsibility to have your kit. The same goes for any excuse relating to equipment or weapons. "The field was unstable, rocky, too small, too large..." Clearly you need more experience fencing on different ground. The excuses simply do not stand. The fault lies with the fencer in all instances. Even in these instances, there are lessons to be learned in the failures, things to be taken away that can improve the fencer.

Learn from it...

Learn from your failures and your losses. Don't just relegate them to a the back of your mind, or even just remove them from your memories. Think about how you could've done things differently; learn from the experience; enact a plan to learn something from the experience; train more so the same will not repeat itself again. De-briefing after fencing is always a good idea, best done with a teacher, or even another fencer who was present at the tournament for an external perspective. This way you can learn even more from the experience.

The learning process for the fencer should never end, and every opportunity to learn should be seized. Failures are especially useful as they highlight areas where the individual needs improvement. Use these opportunities, don't throw them away because they are sometimes unpleasant. For the fencer who wants to excel, failure must mean an opportunity to learn, not the end of the road. 

Cheers,

Henry

Reference

Halberstam, J. 2011. “The Queer Art of Failure”, Duke University Press, 2011, DOI: https://doi.org/10.1215/9780822394358, https://www.bookdepository.com/The-Queer-Art-of-Failure-Jack-Halberstam/9780822350453

Koncul, A. and Slatman, J. “Rehab/ituation from a Phenomenological Perspective: The Case of Fencing for the Blind and Visually Impaired”, Scandinavian Journal of Disability Research, 21(1), 2019, pp. 67–77. DOI: https://doi.org/10.16993/sjdr.559

Learn Your Lessons Well

 Greetings,

The idea for this post was sparked by a student of mine, Helen Gilbert. I am writing the post, but the idea and the foundation is all hers. It is something that we should all consider, especially in approaching those parts of lessons, and techniques which we may not enjoy or prefer. The well-rounded fencer always has the advantage.

There are fencers who fight with a quick pace, fast thrusts, moving quickly all of the time.
There are fencers who fight with a slow pace, slow thrusts, moving slowly all of the time.
There are fencers who fight with variable pace, who vary the speed of their thrusts and the speed of their movement.

There are fencers who prefer to fight at distance, preferring to use long thrusts and lunges.
There are fencers who prefer to fight up close, preferring to close with the opponent and cut.
There are fencers who can fight both at distance and up close depending on what the situation requires and what is to their advantage.

In both of the cases which have been described above, the fencer who can vary their speed has the advantage because they can out-pace the slower fencer, and use Time and slowness to defeat the faster fencer. This concerns using Time, and Timing, against the opponent to put them where they are uncomfortable, likewise it does not matter what speed the opponent fences at the same fencer is comfortable at the variable speeds demonstrated. The same can be said for the use of Distance. A fencer who can just as easily fight at distance and close has the advantage over the fencer who prefers one, as they can close on the one who prefers distance and remain at distance from the one who prefers to close.

The same situation can be found with blade engagement where there are those who do not like to use blade engagement, thus prefer Absence of Blade, likewise there are those who rely on the contact of blades in blade engagement. The true advantage lies with the fencer who can use both sets of techniques and can use them to their advantage in the situation that they find themselves in.

Everyone has favourite and favoured techniques and they will use them more often than other techniques. This does not mean they should not be conversant with the other techniques which they do not prefer. The fencer should always learn all of their lessons to the same degree so they can pick and choose, using the technique which is most suitable to the situation at hand, and where they can find an advantage.

There is a rather hefty quote that you can find in Thibault's Academy of the Sword at the beginning of "Chapter Eighteen: On Cuts to the Right Arm" that I will paraphrase, in which he discusses a garden and the diversity of herbs, flowers and other plants in it. He eventually comes to the point, how one must enjoy all the different techniques that fencing has to offer and not focus on particular techniques.

The true fencer is the one who has studied all parts of their art and practised them, so they are familiar with all of their techniques. This way they can use whatever technique is required at the time. A fencer who achieves this can deal with whatever problem the opponent presents to them, and especially whatever preference the opponent presents. This fencer is marked as the most difficult and challenging fencer to face.

Cheers,

Henry.