BAT Practice training

So I have this habit. When I'm working with a new fighter, I mean brand new, first time in armor new, I like to borrow somebody's big shield and use that. It's not because I want to beat the guy. I don't swing much in that situation. It's mostly becuase I dont trust brand new fighters not to hit me in the knee, and because brand new fighters might not have much control. I did that on Sunday, and I also learned that I have no offense when I'm using a 36" heater, at least not one strapped with the hand way up in the corner.

BAT practice was good this weekend. It was mostly a teaching day for me, which is good and bad. It's good because concentrating on somebody else's fundamentals forces me to concentrate on my own. It's bad because if I start out an evening in training mode, lots of slow work, letting my student dictate the temp much of the time, etc., I am always a hlaf a beat slow the rest of the night.

There were at east ten people in armor at BAT this week: myself, Gui, Jarrod, Avran, Gil, Alexandre, Timur, Bill, Rav, Oscad. I think I'm forgetting a couple.

I started by working with Rav, doing slow work with him, and concentrating on his en garde position and returnign to it. He's got real potential. He has good mechanics and hits with power. Teaching mode. Lots of slow work. Just a few full speed fights.

Then I did slow work with Timur. He's more advanced than Rav, but it was the same thing. Did more full speed fights with him, which were good. He was moving his arm too far forward in his rest position. I was totally unable to get my thrusts going.

Then I fought Gil sword and buckler. Exactly what I needed for a good fun fight. But I found that I was reacting too much to him, not forcing him to react to me. I won most of the fights (though he did cream my ribs in one fight), but not like I should have.

Then I fought Oscad. This was the fight I really needed. He is doing about 30% better from what he was doing before Pennsic. It was pretty awesome. I was not able to control the fight at all. When fighting goofy foot, trying to use the Hauoc technique, he not only refused to make the attacks I wanted him to make but he had developed a really good leg shot for creaming my sword side leg, and it worked two or three times. As usual his defense is deceptively tight. I need to work more on face thrusts against him, as they seem to be more open, and they used to work well. I killed him three times, he killed me three times. Very good fights. Twice I hit myself in the shield arm with the flat of my blade. It still hurts. Ouch.

The I worked with Bill. He was crowding me a bit too much for his own safety. I did a lot of leg, kill trades, which won fights but put me in a lot of pain. Between that and the arm I quit after those fights.

After that I worked with Gui's nephew Josh, his first time in armor. Good aggression, decent power. He's got potential.

I find two things. One, I need to get back to my bread and butter, the hook thrust. I have been doing better and better with edge work, especially fakes, but my thrusts may be suffering.