I'm a footwork and body mechanics obssessive. Relaxed, graceful, movement is what it's all about.
My body is 50x heavier than my sword. The sword is only a tiny proportion of the sword/swordsperson combination. It's the tip of the spear. So it makes sense to put a lot of work into getting the shaft of the spear (your body) working properly so it can put the blade where it needs to go.
This is why I emphasise footwork and body mechanics in my classes, and why I have a footwork course up on my courses platform. The course is on offer at the moment, at half price.
One of my students, Jonas Lunde, has kindly created an index of the course, which I was editing today. It's up on the course now, or you can download it from here: Fundamentals Footwork Course Index.
The course is divided into six sections: Safety, Grounding, Controlling Measure, Longsword module, Rapier module, and the Bonus section.
Yes, I ought to do a 1.33 sword and buckler module, and I ought to do a smallsword module too. Perhaps I will, if enough people who are on the course ask for it!
Here are the contents:
1. Safety
- Safety Module: Do this first!
- How to Increase your Range of Motion
- Knee Maintenance: Massage
- Weight Placement and Pole Squats
- Footwear for Footwork
2. Grounding
- Grounding: Solo Exercises
- Grounding: Pair Exercises
- Falling for Beginners
- The Stability Drill
- Tailbone Alignment
- Mechanics of Direction: crank, hyperextension, and throws
- Posture Visualisation exercise
3. Controlling Measure
- What moves first? Initiation
- Measure Class
- The Stick Exercise
- Line Drills
4. Longsword Module
- Longsword footwork class
- The Magic Finger (longsword)
5. Rapier Module
- Rapier footwork class
- The Magic Finger (rapier)
- The Rapier Footwork Form
6. Bonus Material
- Squats, pushups and plyometrics bonus material
- For teachers: some class exercises
- Basic Kicking
- Your Questions: Bouncy footwork, breathing, and different body types
I thought the Falling class might be especially useful as Winter is Coming (at least in the Northern hemisphere) and there may be ice on the streets, so here it is:
https://youtu.be/drqq4Y-Clag
If this seems like your sort of thing, go check out the course. I'm running a 50% discount for a short while, so best act quickly…
If you're short of cash, don't worry, I understand. Try the free knee maintenance course instead!