We revised footwork and measure.
We learnt 6 guards:
- Coda lunga e stretta
- Coda lunga e larga
- Porta di ferro stretta
- Porta di ferro larga
- Guardia alta
- Guardia di faccia
We learnt 4 cuts, and one thrust:
- Mandritto squelembro
- Riverso squelembro
- Falso dritto
- Falso manco
- Stocatta (into Guardia di faccia)
We learnt steps 1-4 of the form
We practiced the figure-8 drill, and learnt the pretzel drill.
Revision
Please keep practicing footwork!
- Stand in the stance
- Make a couple of passing or gathering steps
- Stop and look at your feet – check you are in a good stance, with your feet shoulder width apart (not in a thin / linear stance)
Practice steps 1-4 of the form (a wooden spoon and saucepan lid are great substitutes for a sword and buckler!)
Revise the guards and cuts, and their Italian names.
Watch this short video which shows the effect of a proper cutting action (drawing through the cut) vs a percussive ‘hit’ with a sword, and the importance of good edge alignment.
Next week
Next week we will continue to practice our cuts with the figure-8 and pretzel drills, and start cutting to a target.
We will also learn the steps 4-6 of the form, which includes one new cut and one new guard.