Focused Longsword Sparring - Sept 2023

While sparring without any particular objectives can be a fun way to unwind after a class, there is ample value to targeted work and I'd strongly recommend incorporating it into your own training if you do not already.

In this video, I was specifically targeting approaching the fight with Meyer's advice regarding the Onset in mind. This entails masking my true intention behind a smokescreen of misleading postures on the approach. This minimizes the amount of time your opponent has to see, identify, and react to your play. These changes can also be used to create tempting bait to draw out your opponent as well.

Then, my next objective, and step, was to find opportunities to utilize off-line movement to improve my angles of attack and clearance from reprisal. By moving off-line, you can force a new center-line between you which makes it all the harder for them to defend and counter-offend.

Although I think the most valuable exchanges in this respect were earlier on, I wanted to include the entire span of the sparring. Towards the end, I'm able to catch a second wind and push those objectives again.

All in all, it was a very informative day, and one I'll be breaking down the highlights of in Shorts.

#sword #longsword #hema #sparring #martialarts #fencing