Basic Sword Skills [Thursday, Period Three]
The large collection of weapons was gone this week. Instead there was a rack of oddly-shaped practice weapons. There were a few variations in size and length and shape, but all of them were too thick and oddly rounded. Not all that blade shaped, really. Max stood in a stance of relaxed attention, his hands grasped loosely behind his back and his eye critical as his students began to arrive.
"This week," he announced loudly, "we will be examining the skills involved in footwork. I talked about this with some of you," he shot Serena a quick glance, "last week, but today it will be our primary focus. Sword work, like most forms of fighting, is heavily dependent upon your ability to move in the direction you need to whenever you want. Of course most effective attacks require you to push most of your weight in one direction or another to either provide power or reach or both."
He looked around to make sure everyone was listening. "For today, however, we're going to focus on simply staying centered and mobile. Which is why we have these." Max's grin as he waved at the odd practice weapons was the sort of darkly amused expression that tended to be found on people who were dearly anticipating getting a good laugh at everyone else's expense. "The reason each of these blades looks odd is that they're designed to shift their balance points unexpectedly. As you move the blade you'll find that it is highly unpredictable and you'll have to both pay close attention and maintain a centered stance in order to keep it under control. Extend yourself too far on a strike and the blade may very well pull you over."
"So everyone grab a blade and find some space. I'm going to go over a few standard movements and you're going to practice them, remembering to focus on the way you move your feet and commit your weight."
Once everyone had a blade Max ran through a half dozen or so very general attacks. The sort that would be at least somewhat useful with any weapon. "Now practice those," he ordered as he began wandering among the students correcting their mistakes.
"This week," he announced loudly, "we will be examining the skills involved in footwork. I talked about this with some of you," he shot Serena a quick glance, "last week, but today it will be our primary focus. Sword work, like most forms of fighting, is heavily dependent upon your ability to move in the direction you need to whenever you want. Of course most effective attacks require you to push most of your weight in one direction or another to either provide power or reach or both."
He looked around to make sure everyone was listening. "For today, however, we're going to focus on simply staying centered and mobile. Which is why we have these." Max's grin as he waved at the odd practice weapons was the sort of darkly amused expression that tended to be found on people who were dearly anticipating getting a good laugh at everyone else's expense. "The reason each of these blades looks odd is that they're designed to shift their balance points unexpectedly. As you move the blade you'll find that it is highly unpredictable and you'll have to both pay close attention and maintain a centered stance in order to keep it under control. Extend yourself too far on a strike and the blade may very well pull you over."
"So everyone grab a blade and find some space. I'm going to go over a few standard movements and you're going to practice them, remembering to focus on the way you move your feet and commit your weight."
Once everyone had a blade Max ran through a half dozen or so very general attacks. The sort that would be at least somewhat useful with any weapon. "Now practice those," he ordered as he began wandering among the students correcting their mistakes.