Sparring video, ARMA Denton

[Greg Coffman]

I had the privileged of meeting with the ARMA Denton Study Group this summer and getting in some sparring. Parker took some nice video and here is the result. More video clips of this practice and others of ARMA Denton can be found on their website, http://www.armadenton.com/.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=quSRn6OvFgo

Parker and Matt are both skilled fighters and always very fun in sparring. This was my first time to meet and cross swords with Ben and Curtis and found them to be coming along quite nicely. I'm happy with my sparring in some of these exchanges. In some of these exchanges, my opponent pulled off something very nice. And in some of these exchanges, I just messed up and got killed. But that's how sparring goes for now. I still have a lot to work on. If you notice, almost every time I get hit is on my right side.

[Sripol Asanasavest]

That's very good! But I think you should get the feel for it (what your opponent is trying to do) and get right in there and finish the fight. Don't be afraid and hesitate! That's intimidating to your opponent in a real fight. Have confidence in your training, make it part of you (like instinct so it becomes a second nature to you), and most of all believe in yourself. That's the difference between people who have experiences killing someone and people who don't. People who has experience wouldn't hesitate to do what is necessary (they just get right in there) because they have confident in their abilities and themselves, and so they can react faster in time of crisis. Be brave and have courage! [chuckle] There is a saying. If you think you're gonna loose, then you're gonna loose. If you think you're gonna die, then you're gonna die.

[Sripol Asanasavest]

There is a lot of exercise you can do to improve your reflexes. I know a lot of athletes like Muay Thai fighters and other athletes will runs for hours. They wake up early and run long distances. It get you use to moving all the time like when you are fighting with a weapon so you wouldn't easily exhaust yourself. You should do boxing, also! Boxers are probably the greatest athletes ever. When practicing punching a 200 lbs sand bags and other exercise, it makes you work your body out so much that it makes you stronger, move faster, and improve your reflexes. Boxing is a great work out and a great way to improve your sword-fighting skills.

[Joshua Welsh]

Nice work all of you! I really enjoyed working with you, Greg, when you made it to the Quad Cities this summer. You have a lot going for you, and I'm certain you'll be an even more formidable fighter when we next cross blades. I hope to see you at the IG!

My suggestions for improvement, based off of this video would be:

Learn to not hesitate. Take the Vor and keep in motion. Working a pell with speed and intent helps me.

Close more! I saw very little close range work. Now don't get me wrong, the middle range has it's place, but closing in would have saved you in a lot of those situations. It's tougher for someone your build, trust me, I know. But, there are times when it's advantageous, even if you then retreat with a strike. Just try to work it in a bit more, and I think you'll be pleasantly surprised with the results.

But, I really did like a lot of what I saw. Great footwork, and some really nifty exchanges from the bind. Keep it up!

Josh Welsh
Scholar Adept
ARMA Quad Cities
Iowa/Illinois

[Hayden Lapiska]

That was a pleasure to watch. Good work!
What type of waster are you using... out of curiosity.

[Joshua Welsh]

I saw very little close range work.

I re-watched the video, and in the interest of not being overly critical I must say there was more closing than I initially noticed. Good work! And the times when you ended up strong to strong usually preceded something awesome happening!

[Sripol Asanasavest]

If you're gonna fight, you can't be a wuss! Otherwise...don't fight! If you stand there, scared, you'll get killed, so why not muster up courage and be brave...go down fighting. Or, stay out of fights! [chuckle]

[Sripol Asanasavest]

A warrior is never at the mercy of his emotions...! He dominates them....

Stand up to him! Make him feel vulnerable! He's probably just as afraid as you are if you stand up to him. Never let your emotions dominate you...!

[Greg Coffman]

Hayden, those are New Stirling Arms wasters, http://www.newstirlingarms.com/shop/, and I highly recommend them. I personally prefer (and am using in this video) their "claymore" variant, although I think it should be called a "greatsword."

Josh, I enjoyed meeting and working with you too. Thank you for your feedback here. I do need to better incorporate closing, pressing, and pursuing the bind. The middle range in the bind is my preference, and I struggle with continuing to step forward after my initial cut or contact to either stay in the bind, pursue my opponent when he or she tries to flee, or close to a closer distance. As you see in the video, sometimes I do well in the bind and sometimes not. I don't often initiate a close bind, but I felt comfortable when my opponents did here.

Sripol, I have no idea where you are coming from, what you are talking about, or what you are referring to. Are you saying that I am afraid, hesitating, and letting my emotions dominate me or something? I feel you are quite far off from what actually is happening in the video.

[Hayden Lapiska]

Thanks Greg, i have a nsa longsword but it looks like you were able to get more leverage with the longer hilt and really whip that around. thanks for the info. once again, thanks for posting the vid. it was interesting to see what i could learn from watching the vid and then reading the comments posted. very insightful, gentlemen.

[william_cain_iii]

The Tinker Pearce blunt training longsword (available on Kult of Athena) is only slightly more pricey per blade than an NSA, as is the Hanwei "Federschwert" foil (I am aware of the lack of historicity of the term federschwert, but it';s what they call the sword).

Practicing and sparring with steel really changed the way I spar and fight, so I hope you will consider getting some of these great weapons. If you like the Claymore style NSAs, I commend the Hanwei Feder because of the very large grip and cross.

On the sparring itself - Some nice technique being displayed, but there was a lot of tendency to reset even after hits my group would consider incidental. Stick it in! Go for the ringen, and get into the winden. The krieg is a great place to fight, and will be very rewarding for you, I promise.

[Sripol Asanasavest]

Sripol, I have no idea where you are coming from, what you are talking about, or what you are referring to. Are you saying that I am afraid, hesitating, and letting my emotions dominate me or something? I feel you are quite far off from what actually is happening in the video.

That's normal for a lot of people. That's why you got to have the right mind set. This is an art of fighting, so you got show some initiative and tap into your killer instinct. You got to act like you want to hurt someone. That's why when you train in Muay Thai, Krabi Krabong, boxing or the MMA, the coach will actually scream at you trying to piss you off and push you, so you would get in there no matter what happens. I didn't mean say that you are scared. Sorry about that! A lot of good Muay Thai fighters started out that way, but the trainers push them and bring out that killer instinct until they become legend.

[Greg Coffman]

Sripol, I have no idea where you are coming from, what you are talking about, or what you are referring to. Are you saying that I am afraid, hesitating, and letting my emotions dominate me or something? I feel you are quite far off from what actually is happening in the video.

That's normal for a lot of people. That's why you got to have the right mind set. This is an art of fighting, so you got show some initiative and tap into your killer instinct. You got to act like you want to hurt someone. That's why when you train in Muay Thai, Krabi Krabong, boxing or the MMA, the coach will actually scream at you trying to piss you off and push you, so you would get in there no matter what happens. I didn't mean say that you are scared. Sorry about that! A lot of good Muay Thai fighters started out that way, but the trainers push them and bring out that killer instinct until they become legend.

WHAT is normal Sripol? That most people don't understand you? You have repeatedly posted ambiguous responses which I have no idea how they relate to anything I have said or demonstrated in this video. What in the world are you talking about?

[Randall Pleasant]

That's normal for a lot of people. That's why you got to have the right mind set. This is an art of fighting, so you got show some initiative and tap into your killer instinct. You got to act like you want to hurt someone. That's why when you train in Muay Thai, Krabi Krabong, boxing or the MMA, the coach will actually scream at you trying to piss you off and push you, so you would get in there no matter what happens. I didn't mean say that you are scared. Sorry about that! A lot of good Muay Thai fighters started out that way, but the trainers push them and bring out that killer instinct until they become legend.

Sripol

The ARMA Forum is focus exclusively on the Martial Arts of Renaissance Europe (MARE). Discussions of Easter Martial Arts (EMA) or MAA are not allowed unless it has direct implecations to a discussion of the Martial Arts of Renaissance Europe. In this thread your discusions of EMA has little implecations to the video. You are welcome to discuss the video and its content, but NO more talk about EMA.

[Sripol Asanasavest]

Hmm.... Forgive me! I'm not sure how you guys go about fencing in the RMA, but I was just trying to offer a few pointers so he could improve his fencing skills. That's why I mentioned examples from other martial arts and sports like boxing. I didn't mean to offend anyone!