Fencing
I tried fencing last night. Had fun, am a little sore this morning but not as bad as I thought I would be.
The good:
I did not hate learning. Fencing is just another martial art. Granted I will not get punched in the face while sparring (surprisingly I like getting punched in the face while sparring while wearing proper headgear/gloves etc ..) So the footwork learning curve is actually not too bad for me. Although the concept that my forward steps HAVE to be the same as my back steps is a bit of a pain the in ass. I am not sure if I should try to force the issue or just let it come naturally. Forcing it makes me lose quite a bit of balance. Oh wait.. yeah the good. Umm, the good was when I was fucking up, it felt wrong, when I was doing it correctly, it felt right. This is really important and will keep me out of bad habits.
The bad:
Big clumsy man fencing, with no awareness of my surroundings. Out of shape (a given).
Now people keep telling me I should try the heavy fighting. I wish they would stop. It took about 2 minutes of watching heavy fighting to realize that I would probably never be able to do it, I have a few habits that were pounded into me over the years that I don't WANT to go away. I like those habits, I was great at those habits. Those habits would have to be trained out of me and I like them. So no to SCA heavy fighting. If they ever allow shield bashing, well, that's another story, I will be the first in line ready to knock you on your ass.
However, I am trying fencing. Maybe it will work some of the clumsy out of me. Doubtful, but who knows.
The good:
I did not hate learning. Fencing is just another martial art. Granted I will not get punched in the face while sparring (surprisingly I like getting punched in the face while sparring while wearing proper headgear/gloves etc ..) So the footwork learning curve is actually not too bad for me. Although the concept that my forward steps HAVE to be the same as my back steps is a bit of a pain the in ass. I am not sure if I should try to force the issue or just let it come naturally. Forcing it makes me lose quite a bit of balance. Oh wait.. yeah the good. Umm, the good was when I was fucking up, it felt wrong, when I was doing it correctly, it felt right. This is really important and will keep me out of bad habits.
The bad:
Big clumsy man fencing, with no awareness of my surroundings. Out of shape (a given).
Now people keep telling me I should try the heavy fighting. I wish they would stop. It took about 2 minutes of watching heavy fighting to realize that I would probably never be able to do it, I have a few habits that were pounded into me over the years that I don't WANT to go away. I like those habits, I was great at those habits. Those habits would have to be trained out of me and I like them. So no to SCA heavy fighting. If they ever allow shield bashing, well, that's another story, I will be the first in line ready to knock you on your ass.
However, I am trying fencing. Maybe it will work some of the clumsy out of me. Doubtful, but who knows.