Hugh

So, this challenge kinda fell by the wayside over xmas. It's been somewhat of a fail all across the board this past couple of weeks (various illnesses, emergencies and let downs fro m friends and family). It wasn't going too bad for the first couple of weeks. My main idea of making exercise in the gym a regular occurrence has been mostly successful, so there's that I'm going to sign off this thread now and consider my next move. It will be a 4wC but I'm not certain how it will manifest...

So, did kettlebell class and swam on tuesday 20th. Failed to do anything else since then due to xmas. Everything closed til tuesday. Gym again then. Merry (midwinter festival of your choice) everyone

So, missed friday's planned session due to a veterinary emergency (my friend's guide/assistance-dog was in need of attention and I'm the only one with a car. He's doing well now). Made up for it today though. Good session. Still keeping the intensity low while I get into the swing of it. 20 mins cardio warm up bodyweight squats 3x15 incline push ups 3x15 assisted pull ups (made my weight just 50kg) 3x15 two handed bicep curls (12kg KB) 2x12 two handed tricep extensions (12kg KB) 2x12 one arm shoulder press (12kg KB) 2x12 each side straight leg dead lifts (16kg KB) 3x12 two handed upright row (16kg KB) 3x12 one handed bent over row (16kg KB) 3x12 each side crunches 2x20 supermans 2x20 20 mins cardio cool down quick swim and 5 mins in hot tub to wind down ;-) Feeling good.

Thanks. Pretty much ok now It does indeed. Not so great on the free weights (only one olympic bar, no squat rack, etc) but good for my needs at the moment.

good session this evening. Did cardio as planned but just as I was about to do my resistance work, I noticed a kettlebell class was about to start and they had space for one more, so I thought "why not?" and joined in. It was a good full body workout with a good bit of extra cardio, so I feel I've done my bit today (I just hope my legs don't ache too much for tomorrow's karate)

good first week kept it gentle thus far - just getting over a cold / chest infection has forced me to keep it that way, which is good. I could have easily over done it in my enthusiasm and gone too heavy or too hard and left myself very sore or injured. Monday, tuesday anf friday last week. Mixed steady cardio and light weight training and finished with swimming. Today: same again, sans swimming. I should plan things a bit more formally though, so as to avoid irregularities or imballance in resistance training. So... still keeping it gentle for now as these first couple of weeks are as much about rebuilding the habit or regular exercise as anything else. Tuesday: Warmup on cross trainer: 10 mins Dynamic stretching Cardio - treadmill: 15 mins: walking (90 secs) interspersed with running (30 secs) Resistance: - Chest: 3 x 15 incline push ups - Back: 3 x 12 40kg lat pull down (wide overhand grip) & 3 x 12 40kg lat pull down (narrow underhand grip) - Shoulders: 2 x 12 16kg kettlebell clean and press each side - Arms: 2 x 12 6kg dumb bell bicep curls (both arms) & 2 x 12 12kg kettlebell to handed tricep extensions - Legs: 3 x 15 squats & 2 x 15 16kg kettlebell straight leg deadlifts - Core: 3 x 15 supermans & 3 x 15 crunches Finish with a half hour or so of gentle swimming

Thanks IAmInfinite Good first day today. kept it gentle. some cardio, some light weight training, good cool down/stretching and a quick swim.

Well, it's been a while... 6 months or so I guess. I don't even have a clue. And the last few challenges I did here had pretty poor results. For the past few months I've just existed. Nothing has really sat well with me and I've yearned for times past or future. I recognize the patterns and can feel the slow spiral into a fugue state of depression from which recovery will be so much more difficult. So I'm back. Starting fresh, hence being in the REBELS thread Last time I felt truely good about myself I was working out and eating healthy(ish). A big catalyst was access to a gym - the psychological devision between "workout time/space" and everything else was a great benefit to me. I enjoyed the workouts and the sense of achievement when I hit a progress goal. So... One step at a time. I prepaid 6 months of gym membership the other day and that removes 90% of my excuses. Goals: Will be updated and given more detail over the next few days. Gym 3 times per week at a minimum. - starting gently, I'll be looking at some steady state cardio. Not my favourite thing but It'll help get back into the swing of things. - I'll restart my strength training with bodyweight exercises and the machines for few weeks, before moving on to free weights again. Keeping weights low for now, high reps to develop ligament strength and endurance. - I'll add in some kettlebells as "functional" training too. Limit of 16kg KBs for now. Study: Started a digital project management degree recently, which has helped give me a bit of a shove towards getting my head out of my ass (and demonstrated a need to do something to immprove my energy levels). - keep on top of my units and workshops. - set up a weekly google hangout with my team AND STICK TO IT. Karate / HEMA: My course might end up preventing me from attending my usual wednesday evening karate class so I need to keep up practice in my own time or possibly go to one of the "sister clubs" from time to time. My twice a week HEMA class needs to become once a week. - Karate: keep practicing and investigate alternate training night. I've found that working through my katas is a good warmup for exercise, so might be able to kill two birds etc... - HEMA: Limit it to just Sundays but work on quality training. I have been going through the motions somewhat lately. That'll do for now. Will edit / update soon.

Been somewhat remiss in posting updates since my OP. Apologies - been surprisingly busy. martial arts: HEMA - all good. plenty of practice and sparring. Karate/kobudo: Less karate practice done than I'd like. and no kobudo at all - been so focused on the HEMA. :-( cardio: Did the frequency as intended but had to keep the intensity down to mostly walking as my Achilles tendon is still tender and i REALLY don't want to aggravate the old injury (again). workouts: Hmm. not so good - again I'm worried about my Achilles so have been taking it easier than intended but I've made my HEMA warm ups / sparring a bit more intense to try to compensate. Still... not good. injuries: This has ended up being one of my two main focuses this 4WC, along with HEMA. Keeping the joint mobile and stretching the calf muscles. I think I'm at the age where injury prevention is becoming more and more a priority as it takes longer to bounce back these days. tournament: Wow. What an event! Took part and fought with enthusiasm and aplomb. Won some, lost some. Didn't make the quarter finals but I don't mind as the quality of the fencing was excellent and there's no shame losing to a superior opponent. Also, I sparred with, or met in tourney, all three medalists. I didn't beat them by any stretch but did OK and learned a lot from them (especially as one of them also taught workshops at the event). Also learned a lot form the workshops - longsword (bio-mechanics of the zwerchhau), messer (basics of Leckuchner), sidesword & dagger (basics of Marozzo and another master who's name I can't remember). If anyone's interested, here are videos of the longsword tournament final bouts for the medals: Bronze. Silver and Gold. There's a few days left in this 4WC and I'm still keeping it going. more "cardio" in a few mins (i.e. walking - Achilles still a bit weak). Karate tomorrow. HEMA Thursday. etc...

A bit late to this party due to needing some extra recovery time for an injury. Feeling grand now though Last time I might have bitten off a little more than I could chew so I'll be carrying some of the goals forwards to continue exploring them. Other things were ideas and experiments that perhaps didn't go as planned. A truncated version of my last goals and how I did: Kobudo - not too bad... though not as good as I'd like. HEMA - Got the longsword syllabus done. Katana - not good. Only did a couple of practice sessions. Spear - Pretty good. Conditioning - Did a few sessions but not as many as I should have.... Definitely a good workout for my next 4WC. I have a few things going on this next month... I've got a HEMA seminar / tournament coming up in a couple of weeks. Gotta train for this. Prepare for Battle! I have been failing to properly implement frequent moderate exercise so have decided to make a small, simple commitment to go for a 20 minute walk/jog/run each day time I am sitting about at my friend's house while my wife is working (PA for said friend). I can even take my friend's dog for a run about while I'm at it My cardiovascular system and blood pressure will thank me. Specifics: Martial Arts Training: HEMA: Twice a week, sparring at least once a week. Karate / Kobudo: practice my karate katas twice a week and my kobudo katas once a week. My usual training isn't making me a better fighter... Cardio: 20 minutes of walk/jog/run fartlek exercise each day I'm waiting about for my wife at work (three days a week - typically Monday, Tuesday and Friday) Workouts... for the sake of workouts: Once a week - bodyweight (and maybe kettlebell) workout including a conditioning section, HEMA-Style like last 4WC. DON'T INJURE MYSELF: For the last couple of weeks I've been hobbling about with either a damaged achilles tendon or a pulled lumbar muscle... need to take it easy and not damage myself again for a while (especially not before the tournament - I want to represent my club without limping too much...). I'm sick of lurching about like Igor... Compete in the Longsword Tornament at Féile na Gaiscígh. Not a training goal so much as a milestone / club outing. (Mustn't drink too much on the Saturday night ... ) Want to do better than last time when I was knocked out in my first fight.

Here's our initial Longsword syllabus, for anyone who's interested (some terminology will be unfamiliar and/or "wtf" to non members as we, like most of HMEA clubs, tend to develop our own terminology as we find the need to label techniques)These are basic principles and concepts which students will learn, develop and advance as practice progresses... Longsword Syllabus: The following lists are requirements to be considered to be at a certain level. Beginner: Nothing. Welcome to the club J Novice: Footwork: Basic stance. Forwards, backwards, advance, retreat Guard positions: Four principle guards: Vom Tag, Pflug, Alber, Ochs – on both sides. Basic familiarity with different ways to grip the sword. Techniques: Basic parry on each side, point up and point down – on both sides Oberhau, Unterhau, Mittelhau – from both sides Stabbing with the point from ochs or pflug. Terminology and principles: “Sword before body” principle, in most cases. Every club’s style or terminology will be slightly different. Intermediate: Footwork: Basic stance. Forwards, backwards, advance, retreat. “Volte”, “Volte-Grand”, reverse, switch, shuffle, “truffle”, Lunge, Thrust, Guard positions: Four principle guards: Vom Tag (high and low), Pflug, Alber, Ochs – on both sides Langort, Schrankhut, Nebenhut. Techniques: Basic parry on each side, point up and point down – on both sides Oberhau, Unterhau, Mittelhau – from both sides. Stabbing with the point from ochs or pflug. Zornhau, Krumphau, Zwerchhau, Scheitelhau, Schielhau. Transitions from normal grip, to thumb grip / handshake grip / v-grip. Basic 8-move flourish. Terminology and principles: “Sword before body” principle, in most cases. Every club’s style or terminology will be slightly different. Long and short edge, Strong and weak, Halfswording for attack and defence. Advanced: Footwork: Basic stance. Forwards, backwards, advance, retreat. “Volte”, “Volte-Grand”, reverse, switch, shuffle, “truffle”, Lunge, Thrust, Double step, clock step, Guard positions: Four principle guards: Vom Tag (high and low), Pflug, Alber, Ochs – on both sides Langort, Schrankhut, Nebenhut, zornhut, Schlussel, Techniques: Basic parry on each side, point up and point down – on both sides Oberhau, Unterhau, Mittelhau – from both sides. Stabbing with the point from ochs or pflug. Zornhau, Krumphau, Zwerchhau, Scheitelhau, Schielhau. Sturzhau, wechselhau, absetzen, absetzen, nachreissen Transitions from normal grip, to thumb grip / handshake grip / v-grip. Basic 8-move flourish. Keith Farrel’s Meyer Flourysh of the basic guards. Keith Farrel’s “cutting on the side of the leading leg” flourish. At least two takedowns. Terminology and principles: “Sword before body” principle, in most cases. Every club’s style or terminology will be slightly different. Long and short edge, Strong and weak, Überlaufen, Duplieren, mutieren. Terminology list (borrowed from a website) – some terms might be slighty different to thoe used by Leitrim Longswords: Term Translation Explanation A —————– ——————— Ansetzen bring pressure [on sb] This technique can not accomplished without bringing physically pressure on somebody. The wording “set on” in other translations does not transport this elemental part. auswendig out-sidewise Special translation to distinguish it from “outside”. Usually this means you come from the outside of the opponent but it could as well and then again mean that you come from your outside. B —————– ——————— Blindhau Blinding Strike Bogen Fiddlestick The fiddlestick got his name from the position of the sword in relation to the left arm. It resembles the fiddlestick over the violin that is held by the left arm. C —————– ——————— D —————– ——————— Duplieren double see Doubled Strike Duplierter Hau Doubled Strike If you double a strike you do another strike that uses the power of the first one without any backswing. You use the bouncing or the backslash of the contact to produce a fast strike at the opponents face or arm (or any other opening) and cut. Durchlaufen Running through “Durchlaufen” has the meaning of traversing an opponent. But it is not simple a bypassing. It includes a smoothly evading of the opponents weapon (mostly under it) with merely touching the other’s blade in a securing parry. So it is indeed like a liquid running through. E —————– ——————— Einfachen Versatzung simple displacement see Schlechte Versatzung Einflechten Braiding-In In Braiding you try to keep the contact to the blade of the opponent while you aim is to block his path to your body and find a path to wound him. Not like the War and the Winding, the Braiding is active. Einhorn Unicorn A position where the point is very high and the handle is usually over shoulder height. Einlaufen [jmd] running-in [someone] Getting close enough to start wrestling in a frontal movement. Einschießen Shooting-In Shooting in is the easiest way to score with a thrust by a direct fast movement in a opening. Eisenport Iron Gate see Eisene Pforte Eiserne Pforte Iron Gate A guarding and displacement position with the handle below breast height and the point usually showing upwards. F —————– ——————— Fahre auf rise up Usually this describes a upward movement not only of the weapon but of the whole body. fall ihm über (etwas) fall (on him) over (something) If you fall on somebody (or parts of his body) than you do it with a small and hard strike and keep the pressure after the contact. Fehler Miss Missing the blade or the target on purpose with the aim to get a better hit. G —————– ——————— gehe auf (see Fahre auf) Nearly the same as “fahre auf” but there may be a small falling step involved. Gewappneter Hand armed hand A hand that is armed with a weapon. Usually this describes the grip in the blade by the second hand to support the weapon or to reduce reach. Where the grip is placed depends on the technique. H —————– ——————— Hals neck, throat The manuals do not always differ between the throat and the back of the neck, the translation is getting interpretive here. Hauen hit, strike A strike is not cut, the stike is a simple movement in a direct line from the start to the target. Haw, Hau strike see Hauen hin auswärts outwards A step outside of the line. hinder sich, zurück backwards, back Literally “behind itself” means a backward movement of the part mentioned. hinten nach behind towards The leg, that is behind follows the movement of the leading leg to get a good and stabilized stand. I —————– ——————— inwendig in-sidewise Special translation to distinguish it from “outside”. Usually this means you come from the inside of the opponent but it could as well and then again mean that you come from your inside. J —————– ——————— K —————– ——————— Knopff pommel The end of the swords handle. Krieg War In the War you try to get close to the opponent while you stay in contact with his blade. Everytime he tries to push you and your blade away you Krumphau Crook Strike The Krumphau is placed askew the walking direction, if you walk to the right you strike krump to the left and vice versa. Kurze Schneide Short Edge see Rücken (Weapon) L —————– ——————— Lange Schneide Long Edge see Schneide Langes Messer see Messer (not translated) A name of a kind of weapon. Langort Long Point The long point is not an exact position but the longest reach that a fencer has where he is still safe (protected by his sword or by distance). This position is traversed in every strike. lauf [jmd] ein run [somebody] in see Einlaufen M —————– ——————— Messer not translated A weapon that is edged from point to crossbar on one side (long edge) and edged on the backside to the first third of the blade in maximum (short edge). It has a crossbar, a very long handle with a hooked pommel, and features a protection for the back of the hand that is called a nail and in fact was a nail in the cheaper versions. Mittelhau strike from he middle The Mittelhau is usually a strike that is done from one side starting below the headline. In some cases it describes a sidewise position of the weapon. N —————– ——————— Nachreisen Thereafter Riding Following the strike of the opponent in it’s shadow. Notstand emergency stand A unexpected situation where the opponent plays four aces. O —————– ——————— Oberhau strike from above The strike uses a fast downward movement and usually starts above shoulder height. Ort point The point is not only the pointed foremost part of the weapon, there is a point at the other end of the weapon too if it is a staff weapon. Orthau Point Strike This is an other wording of the Zornhau-Ort. P —————– ——————— Parieren parry Parrying something meanst to stop it from continuing, to block it. This is what is called the “einfache Versatzung” or “schlechte Versatzung”. Plinthau see Blindhau – explanation missing – Popgen Fiddlestick see Bogen Q —————– ——————— Quer Cross see Zwerch R —————– ——————— Reiß Ort Tearing Point Tearing is not connected with the Point usually but as the meaning is unclear, the translation is still feasible Reiß Ort Riding Point Riding Point could be the simple extracting of the arms in which you can Durchwechsel, Einschießen etc. You can provoke or feint with the Point riding from one opening to the other. Rücken (Weapon) back, short edge This is the short edge (see Messer or Schneide for more information) S —————– ——————— Scheitelhau Crest Strike Parting Strike This is a Oberhau where the handle is lifted high in the air and the arms reach long for the top of the head. The meaning of the term changed in time, getting more dedicated to the parting of the hair than to the angle of the sword and arms. Scheitler Crest Strike Parting Strike see Scheitelhau Schielhau Sqint Strike Slant Strike A strong Oberhau where the weapon is turned in the edge axis very fast at or just shortly before contact. There is a different meaning of that strike in the manuscripts. Schildhau Shield Strike Also this is probably the Schielhau with a small change in the name I translated it with the protective Shield. Schillerhau Shoulder Strike Often translated as a Scheitelhau, but this is wrong. Both strikes are found separately in the MI29. “Schiller” is found in local dialects for Schulter. So this Strikes aims for the shoulder and not for the parting. In the context of Martin Sibers fencing, this is a form of Duplieren. Schilthau Shield Strike see Schildhau schlagen, mit strike with Striking in the same direction following the strike of the opponent and displacing it that way. Schlechten Versatzung simple displacement The simple displacement is not bad, it is a parry a full block. In most of the cases this is an something like a mixture between the Prime and Quint in modern fencing terms or the “umbrella block” or “roof block” in FMA. Schneide edge This is the long edge of the weapon. The terms “long” and “short” edge results from the Knife, where only a short part of the backside was sharpened. Schnellen spring There is no perfect translation for this old verb. It is a bit like striking in a fast flashing movement. Schneller Spring Strike Like a any strip of metal the sword reacts like a spring if in a pressure the blade flips from the opponent’s blade and springs forward to the target. Schnitt cut The cuts are delivered out of a binding and are part of the so called Wounder. Schrank Ort Barrier Point The Barrier Point is usually a result from a Zwerch Hau (Cross Strike) to the left side of the opponent. It ends in crossed arms that are very stable against pressure from above or the side. Schwäche feeble / weak The front part of the weapon, which is by the lever rule easily displaced if not accelated by a strike. Schwech feeble / weak see Schwäche Spitze point No explanation needed. Stärke strong The part of the weapon transporting the force of pressure near a hand holding and stabilizing it. stehe mit dem Fuß vor stand with foot forward This describes not a situation where you wait of your opponent to walk to you and you stand in a guarding position, but it describes a situation where you are in and came to by actions of your own (preferred) or actions of your opponent. stehe still stand still This does not mean that you do not move, it means that you do not jump or do big steps. The intention of this expression is, that you do not attack and do not try to evase anything. You hold your stand. Sterk strong see Stärke Streitaxt Poleaxe A staff weapon with at least one iron point and two applications on the top for cutting, hammering, or stabbing in a right angle from the staff. Sturzhau Overthrow Strike The strike is a strong Oberhau where the point is thrown heavily down and the handle is raised, usually the weapon is turned in that movement, so that the other edge hits. T —————– ——————— Tag roof The 1:1 translation on “Tag” would be “day”. In this word is the meaning of the old time calculation included. “Day” was “High noon”. But as the same position is called in several treatises as “dach” “roof” I generally used “roof” as the translation. In fencing there is no difference between “roof” and “day”. It is a position where the point of the swords traverses an upright position. Treffen hits (contacts) They are used in the plural form. A contact is made with the own weapon to any part or weapon of the opponent. Treffer hit (special Hitting Strike) See Treffen for the common meaning of Treffer. The special meaning is found in some treatises. It is translated as “Hitting Strike”. But the strike is nothing special at all. It just means that you strike to the openings above and below. If you do it often and fast enough, with a lot of variations you will hit. U —————– ——————— Überlaufen running over (pass over) Running Over is based on the principle that the blade lying over the other has the longer reach because it has the smaller angle to the horizontal longest range. Überschießen Shooting-Over This implies that if you are able to create an engagement of the blades where your blade lies over his (in the strong of his blade), always try to shoot the point at his face. Unterhau strike from below The strike uses a fast upward movement and usually starts below shoulder height. V —————– ——————— verkehr reverse / turn see Verkehrter Hand. If this is in relation to a weapon it means to turn the weapon 180° from the current position by turning your arm and wrist. Verkehrter Hand reversed hand In most of the cases this means a hand where the palm looks upwards. But literally this is just a turning of the hand at the wrist. Versatzung displacement Displacing something means to get the thing away from the place it wants to be, to bring it in an other direction or consume the energy of the motion. W —————– ——————— Wechsel, Wexel changeover The changeover is not a position or a guard, it is the moment where you turn your wrist and change from an inside hand position (thumb up) to an outside hand position (thumb down). This is needed to use the long edge in a combination of strikes from below and above. Wechselhau Changing Strike There are two meanings of this expression: 1st the combination of strikes from above and below with changing of the hand position (see Wechsel) and 2nd the same combination but without turning the hand so that the edge changes from short to long edge that is directed against the opponent. Both meanings are valid for interpretations. Wecker Waking Strike A very strong Oberhau that is designed for defense. The name was probably derived from the fact that this strike hits the other weapon very loud. Winden Winding In Winden the point and handle does a circular movement around the opponent’s blade with the contact point as the center of rotation. In combination with a forward movement of the body this changes into a spiral. Wunder Wounder Cut, Stab, Strike are the three ways to wound someone. X —————– ——————— Y —————– ——————— Ysenport Iron Gate see Eisene Pforte Z —————– ——————— Zedel Markverses Verses to remember, to mark. Zorn Ort Wrath Point The Zorn Ort is the short term for Zorhnau Ort, a combination of strike and thrust that is produced from the right shoulder. Zornhau Wrath Strike The Wrath Strike is a powerful strike that is done without any displacement or thought on protectim yourself. Zucken [with]drawing, twitch (shrug) jerk This is a small movement of the weapon without any given direction in the aim to disengage a binding (withdrawing), or to provoke a reaction like a parry (short striking or stabbing movement as a threat). The translation of “Zucken” to “twitching”, “withdrawing”, “redrawing”, or “jerk” is not exactly matching. It is a small backward or forward movement with the blade. There is no perfect translation to that word. On one hand it means “withdrawing” the blade a bit, on the other hand it means to threaten with the weapon. Zwerch cross This means from one side to the other more horizontal than vertical. In later mathematical or drawing manuals this was a horizontal line. Zwerchhau Cross Strike see Zwerch.

Normal pain levels Normal pain levels means "moderate" assorted discomforting issues - aches, pains, old injuries, worries, concerns, DOMS, bruises, strains, stress, general stiffness (from being a 41 year old fellow of... lets say "overweight proportions") and general soreness developed from four decades of bodily misuse, abuse or neglect

Bloody hell Kishi, that was a quick like! Don't you have a home to go to..?

Fair to middling, as the phrase goes... Kobudo - not too bad... though not as good as I'd like. I'll see about getting a video of me doing my next sai or bo kata... HEMA - Got the longsword syllabus done. (link to follow) W00T! :-) Katana - eehh... not so good. Only did a couple of practice sessions. Spear - Pretty good. got the gear, did the research, did some practice, did some more research. Got some ideas. Happy enough with this. Conditioning - Did a few sessions but not as many as I should have. That said, those I did were fun and effective. Definitely a good workout for my next 4WC. My Achilles tendon issue is going well. Been here before and I know the program: I can walk properly and, with careful warm up, exercise (good karate session this evening - the last for a good few weeks due to summer holidays of most students). Another month or so of limping and then I should be back to normal pain levels.

Still in Igor mode Good HEMA session on Sunday - I took it very easy due to achilles pain. Don't want to make that an worse! Got spears for everyone and did some good two handed spear drills and very light sparring (due to some creative and financial delays, they're just sticks for now but in a week or so, they should have custom designed, hand made safety tips on them). Everyone enjoyed that and wants more, so that's good.

Good HEMA class Monday. Intense karate class Wednesday but only a little bit of Bo practice. Might have overdone it though because I've now got a flare up of achilles tendonitis, which has me hobbling about like Igor :-( Last night's HEMA class was cancelled due to most of my lads having schedule issues. That's the problem with such a small group - if three of the five students can't make it, we can't pay for the hall rental. Just as well though because I went for a 2 - 3 hour kayak up the lake in beautiful sunshine and, while I did apply sunblock it apparently wasn't quite enough. Got uncomfortably burned on my shoulders. That, combined with sore achilles with which i must be careful, would have made HEMA class a bit miserable. Oh well. We live and learn. Taking it easy today.

Right, so... I didn't get home from the forest park in time to do sword practice yesterday but what I did do was push my not particularly svelte wheelchair using friend around said forest park for an hour or so. Hills and gravel paths made for quite a good workout! HEMA class this evening. I'm feeling a bit vindictive so they can expect a good warm up and some intensive drilling!

Nothing worse than pain in the head. Below the neck is so much easier to "disconnect" from constant nagging discomfort. But when it's in the head, be it tooth, ear, brain or whatever, it's just so much harder to ignore

Ah, motivation

Good active second half of the week. Wednesday did a good karate/kobudo class. Nice and intensive. bo katas and sai katas Thursday saw another good intense HEMA class. Longsword and spear! Yay! Also did 2 hours of kayaking including a "sprint tow" of two kids to get back before the weather got too bad Chilling (and gaming) today. Nice long walk and cutlass and katana practice planned for tomorrow.

Excellent HEMA session yesterday. Good intensive exercise, all the basics of longsword and cutlass at a high speed while bouting / sparring :-D (several boxes ticked all at once) oh, and a killer intensive warm up. One of my lads asked if we could up the warm up intensity a bit. Happy to oblige. Asked him "on a scale of one to ten, how intense do you want it?". He said eight.... (must admit, I'm pretty sore from it today too)

Hi all Been busy to the extent of not posting here! I've admittedly got relatively little done this week apropos of my goals but it's been an otherwise productive week thus far and I'm feeling very positive. Managed to finish up all the assignments for the course I'm not technically on (but should still get credit for). I replaced my old crappy car with an equally old but significantly less crappy one. An ugly looking vehicle but very spacious and it should be easy enough to get through it's test in a couple of months... and most importantly, super cheap! I had to go to Dublin to get it, which added a few quid to the total what with train and tram fares etc, but €200 for a working, well maintained, road-legal car... I'm pleased! ...but it does look kinda peculiar... ... See..? So,had to push start the old car on Tuesday and Wednesday too. Less resistance training though, as I cleverly left it pointing down the driveway this time. At least that's sorted now. HEMA class was cancelled on Monday evening due to assorted family emergencies (not mine, several other members of the club) but I used the opportunity to research some spear stuff. Did a little bit of solo practice with bokken and bo. Wednesday karate was cancelled for me as I had to rush to Dublin to snatch up an excellent offer on a car (see above) but I did make sure I did a little kata practice during the morning. Good HEMA session this evening. Talked spear stuff. Everyone's very keen to get it going. Yes, I think I did... Now to officially clarify my goals: Kobudo and Katana practce - boken/katana, bo, sai (I'll leave the nunchaku for now. That'll be all it's own thing in a future 4WC.): Twice a week, I'll run through my current bo and sai katas and take up a boken or katana and run through the basics. I'll do this with a meditative focus on form, footwork, technique and breathing. Additionally, I'll learn bo sandan by the end of the 4WC. (I might even post a video if you're all very, very good.) Cardio Conditioning Longsword practice - simple enough: Twice a week, I'll run through footwork, cuts, parries, master strikes and solo flouryshes for at least 5 minutes at a pace sufficient to count as cardio / body conditioning. Cardio Conditioning Cutlass practice - Like longsword, and probably during the same workout sessions: Twice a week, I'll run through footwork, cuts, parries, moulinettes and solo flouryshes for at least 5 minutes at a pace sufficient to count as cardio / body conditioning. Ideally, these short practice sessions will be part of a more generalized workout which will include some bodyweight and kettlebell exercise as well as sprints up my driveway. (Also, I'll hopefully be picking up an unnecessarily huge tractor tyre for flipping and dragging before the 4WC is over - I'm sure it can be involved too!) Longsword syllabus - I've been putting this off too long. It's no that hard to write up a list of techniques that need to be learned to a certain degree of proficiency o attain a certain rank in the club. I'm not sure why I've been putting it off - possibly because it formalizes something I enjoy doing socially..? I don't know but if the club is to grow, then formalized it must be! By the end of the 4WC I will have a framework syllabus in place on the Leitrim Longswords facebook page which details which general and longsword-specific techniques should be known or mastered for novice, intermediate and advanced students. This should help everyone know exactly what is important to practice first. Spear Stuff - initial research is promising. One of my students is an expert in two handed spear re-enactment fighting and is happy to indoctrinate the club int the basics. I've been looking at single handed spear / spear and shield and will continue to do so. By the end of week 3, I'll be including at least minimal spear work in the regular HEMA classes, even if it's just drilling with rake handles.... But, by the end of the 4WC, I'll have at least two usable spears for competitive sparring / practice. (Videos might appear here too ) optional - cutlass syllabus - Like the longsword syllabus: For bonus points, by the end of the 4WC I will have a framework syllabus in place on the Leitrim Longswords facebook page which details which general techniques and cutlass specific techniques should be known or mastered for novice and intermediate students.

The more you study HEMA and Eastern Martial Arts, the more similarities you'll see and the less differences.

does the RPG have Wire-Fu?

Saturday: did a little bit of Bo work and longsword practice after kayaking - didn't do Sai though. Sunday: went for a walk in the park and did cutlass practice, bo katas and some basic spear stuff. Today: Had to push start the car this morning, so that was a bit of resistance training HEMA Class this evening.