Let's Talk About Space
A Fencer's Ramblings
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5M ago
Greetings, I am going to apologise to all the astronomers and astrologers, that's not the sort of space that I am talking about. I am talking about the space in which a person fences with another. This can be the training area, or it can be a formalised arena such as a list field. There are considerations that need to be made concerning this concept of space, especially in regard to the concept of Distance as it relates to space in this context, as will be seen as this discussion progresses. This is because Distance occupies space. The Distance between two combatants occupies a certain amount ..read more
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Of Things Long and Pointed...
A Fencer's Ramblings
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9M ago
 Greetings, I have not been writing here for a little while. I have been focusing on some larger projects which are found on my Patreon page. I will no doubt be back again at some point, both to promote projects found here and also to present some shorter ideas that I have had, however, on to the meat of the conversation... Speaking of which I have just presented part of one of these for public viewing. It concerns a project concerning the subject of "spears." I say "spears" in that they come in different forms and this is demonstrated in parts of the investigation throughout. Have a re ..read more
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Response to Changes...
A Fencer's Ramblings
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1y ago
Greetings, I have noticed a distinct drop in readership of my articles, and I seriously am thinking whether it is time whether I have said all that I need to say on this blog. This is not a decision that I take lightly considering how long I have been writing the articles on this blog and the number of times that I have heard from people about how they have found this or that article useful.  My first article was posted on 9 April 2009, which means at the publication of this post, I have been writing A Fencer's Ramblings for 14 years. Overall, I am quite surprised about the number of peop ..read more
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A Response to: "Can you wear medieval armour to a longsword tournament?"
A Fencer's Ramblings
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1y ago
 Greetings, The following article is a response to an article posted by Keith Farrell, Can you wear medieval armour to a longsword tournament? The reason being that I have found quite a few assumptions regarding the wearing of armour, and the SCA... I have previously written about the difference between armour and PPE. So, I am not going to go over that old ground. I will summarise, the gear that people wear during HEMA is PPE it is not armour.  There is a distinct difference between the two sets of gear, and that is the point that Keith Farrell is making in his articl ..read more
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On Teaching
A Fencer's Ramblings
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1y ago
 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 t ..read more
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Most important trait in swordplay...
A Fencer's Ramblings
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1y ago
 Greetings, What is the most important trait in swordplay? Is it courage, honesty, skill, or sportsmanship? The latter of which comes in many different forms. Indeed, each of these attributes could be considered to come in different forms, and there are other attributes that could be named as vital to a fencer who wants to progress. Maybe it is being inquisitive, having a sharp mind, the ability to analyse and question? Again, attributes which contribute to a fencer which will progress mightily along their path. For our current discussion, I would like to look at the concept of honesty, a ..read more
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Is Your School a Cult?
A Fencer's Ramblings
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1y ago
 Greetings, The following is a discussion of cults, as the title suggests, it is intended both to be useful as an identifying mechanism for highlighting elements, or even groups, where there are similarities to cults. There is also the intent to show that there are both positive and negative attributes which need to be noted, the positive which should be embraced, the negative which should be removed. There is a lot which has been said in the media about cults, most of it is misleading, it is hoped that the reader will peruse the following with open eyes. Definition   “In modern Engl ..read more
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What does failure mean?
A Fencer's Ramblings
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1y ago
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 themselve ..read more
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The "Female" Guard (Part 1)
A Fencer's Ramblings
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1y ago
Greetings, Below is a discussion of what has been termed by students and myself as my "female" guard. This is a more in-depth discussion of the physiological basis of the guard, demonstrating the differences between males and females in the structure of their pelvises and how this affects their movement. Due to the breadth of this topic, it has been divided into two parts, this is the first part. Why? A while ago one of my readers (Curious Girl) wrote a comment asking for more information about the hip position in my “female” guard proposed in one of my earlier articles. I have finally manage ..read more
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Pavlov's Fencers
A Fencer's Ramblings
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1y ago
Greetings, Are you fencing for the points, or for the joy of swordsmanship? Is it more important that you struck your opponent, or how you struck your opponent? These are some important questions that we must ask ourselves as fencers, and as practitioners of swordplay. I would say that there are some fencers out there who are like Pavlov's dogs, who are only happy when they hear the sound of a buzzer, or the referee announcing that they have struck their opponent. These individuals have little care for how they struck their opponent, so long as they struck their opponent. They will also find a ..read more
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