July 8
Had a fun practice time on Thursday. Lions Gate practice has been moved to two hours, so it now runs from 8-10pm. I still have to head home at about 9 in order to be home and functional the next day, this created a problem in that I would only get an hour of practice. So I went over to Blood and Iron on Front Street in New West (not that far from Saperton Hall where Lions Gate Practice is). I hung out with Lee, the head instructor there and talked rapier and research, then did some warm-up and drills. I did cutting drills for about an hour, and worked on accuracy and control.
After that I went over to Lions Gate practice and did sparing for about 45 minutes total, against Godfrey and a gentleman I hadn’t fought before. I had a blast, working on integrating cutting, and trying different things.
When I started this fencing journal I had a few goals:
- To learn to use the advantages of a shorter blade against the disadvantages of a longer blade
- To learn better use of the dagger in both defence and offence
- To increase my aggression
Since then I’ve added a few goals:
- Knowing my thrusting range better
- Controlling my cuts better