Burns night Burn Night.

Excellent work by those that attended Burn Night last night, a very good effort all round, the routine was simple, attacking 1st ward with half shield (sword and buckler) then on each second entry falling under and countering that with the trap and strike.
Messer was attack from the high guard and cover/counter from the low, with the turn back counter to that finished with the wrist cut.
Both of these routines were then repeated on the H.I.R.T.S ropes. between each rotation we worked the Bulgarian bag with swings and snatches, and to finish light sparring, a little clip of which you can see at in the video at the top of the blog. Enjoy.



Tonight is going to be messer and rapier vs Longsword. See you there.

Forum

Due to popular demand the forum is back, it's located here. It is open to members of the school only. To request membership please email me at londonlongsword@gmail.com and write forum membership in the subject line.

Upgrades and improvements

Angles from rapier applied to longsword.

A superb week this week, from an increased attendance to the much greater effort by the students.
On Monday getting hit off the bat with a feinted zwerch, it's been nice to see great improvement and commitment all round.
All the lessons this week have been multi system, longsword vs longsword, rapier vs longsword and sword and buckler vs sword and buckler. Again focusing on the approach against wards and guards held on the right shoulder. This week has been (just as last week was) very mentally exacting, the methods of approach very precise and I'm pleased with the patience that most of you have shown in practising.

Tuesday nights Burn night as well saw an exceptional amount of willpower, not only was there the usual bugee H.I.R.T.S training, there was hi rep drills of the ropes, bulgarian bags and once people reached the point of virtual collapse, SPARRING. One student coming out with the line on collapsing "I have nothing left to give" he was wrong, he was back on his feet in a moment, and back to earning stripes (the colourful term we give to the marks from sparring). Really well done guys, it will get harder next week.

And Wednesday, much the same as Mondays class, several beginners in the class showing great patience and commitment. The sparring at the end was great fun, very forceful and great confidence on entering. However, all of us were (in my opinion) shocking on dealing with the after-blow, great and spirited and a lot of fun, but little regard for what came after. Aside from that critique, very well done.

getting ready for more of the same tonight, keep it up...Dave

Thursday update: I've just returned from training, and as a result of the attitude at training tonight thought I'd update now rather than wait...
You stood out tonight chaps, you trained excellently together, there was a palpable air of cooperation between each pairing. No one rushed or tried to disguise their mistakes, and when it came to the sparring... again the same feeling, enthusiastic and energetic assaults, yet cautious and mindful (says the man who got hit with the most excellent spinal blow while posing after a gutter cut). It was a pleasure to watch you all developing not only your individual skills, but also working hard to help your partners develop theirs.

News…Class changes, T’s, rapiers vs longsword and chest protection.

For those who need it Thibaults circle with easy to read letters.

A few bits of important news.
Plain swords VS longswords.
Last night saw the introduction of Thibault's rapier against longsword technique. I think all the students saw the benefit of this form not only in isolation but also in the application of it's principles in both Longsword and sword and buckler.
This will become a regular piece of the training schedule.

Class changes:

From the 1st of  Feb the Bromley class (at the moment Thursdays 7-9) Will move to Beckenham Spa on Tuesday nights 8-10pm.
Burn Night in Hither Green will change from Tuesdays to Thursday Evenings, still at 8 and still at the OLF gym.

This is due to the rather excellent Bromley hall being turned into a bowling alley.
All the other classes will remain the same.

T shirts.
I have ordered a new shipment of LLA T's anyone wanting to add to the order please let me know asap.
There are some... not for class "alternate" T shirts coming too, contact me for details.

Chest protectors.
I will be putting an order in for these next week if you want one.
Sizes are...
Male:
Small: 44 (chest 87 cm) Med: 46 (chest 92cm) large: 48 (chest 97 cm).
Female:
Small: 40 (chest 92 cm) Med: 42 (chest 96cm) large: 44 (chest 100 cm).

Training update...

Well it's midway through our second full week back at training, so well due an update.

Moving in against dead (a lack of) pressure

This year we are slowly introducing rapier into most of the classes, so you will get to see a lot more cross weapon training wherever you attend , Thibault's rapier treatise is (in my opinion) the most helpful and insightful resource for any long blade training from sword and buckler right through to long sword, I think the school as a whole will reap a lot of benefit working with it.
This week we worked the entry and response to a lack of pressure against the subjection.

Longsword:, this week was mainly a reminder for people making sure they were familiar with the terminology of the basic guards and strikes (and the reasoning behind our choosing the older-pre 1389 terms for the guard postures).

Entering in to grapple, Talhoffer's messer.

 
Messer.
A perfect way to see in the new year is a good run through Talhoffer's messer technique, it has great distance manipulation and is very, very simple, we worked this with the Rawlings Range single swords, which though they lack the knuckle nail stood up well to the beating we gave them.

Entering in against 2nd ward, and preparing to grapple.

sword and buckler.
To compliment the work we did with Talhoffer's messer work, we worked with the alternate counter to second ward (right shoulder ward) identifying the difference in approach to two entry techniques that at first glance look very similar.

Sparring.

Burn night was a little different this week, no bungees due to one of the students having a knee injury (not training related) so instead we worked non co-operative drills from Talhoffer's messer with both steel and synthetics. Then for the last thirty minutes, free play with sword and buckler (again with both steel and synthetic swords).
Nice to see the regulars back, and great to see some new faces for the new year, train hard, see you at the next session.

New Year New Courses

Kicking of the new year we have a new set of starter courses.
Starting Monday 17th of January each six week course* will give you the perfect introduction, a solid, practical foundation in the western sword arts.
And once you are hooked, your completing the six week course guarantees you a place one in our regular classes.
Weapons covered are:
Longsword (available Monday-Friday)

Rapier (course available Wednesday night only)
Sword & Buckler (available Monday-Friday)

Short staff ( available Monday-Friday)



These will run alongside the regular class so you'll have the benefit of a training partner who's been there before and knows how best to help you.
for prices and any further information contact us at londonlongsword@gmail.com or call 0770 9639881
*course offers one night per week.