Pell Work
When doing pell work, I am a fan of the "1-6" drill. The pell is divided into 6 targets, being the onside and offside of head, ribs and legs. Onsides are odd, offsides are even. Practice striking 1-1-1-2-1-3-1-4-1-5-1-6. Repeat the sequence starting with 2: 2-1-2-2-2-3-2-4-2-5-2-6. Repeat the sequence starting with each number, this will encourage fluidity in striking and the ability to strike any target from any position. Hit the targets from various angles, use back edge strikes and MOVE YOUR FEET! Get in the habit of stepping with each strike.
DRILLS
Footwork
Practice gathering, and passing forwards and backwards without a sword
Practice stepping offline and pivoting without a sword
Practice combination footwork without a sword. Combo's I use:
1) gather forward, step offline and pivot to clear the body
2) gather forward, pass forward/ same backwards
3) pass forward, gather forward/ same backwards
4) gather backward then quickly forward
5) pass backward then quickly forward
6) practice stepping and pivoting around your pell/opponent to the various angles on the footwork diagram
Drills with the sword
In addition to the 1-6 pell drill and moulinet drill above...
Modify the 1-6 drill so that you are thrusting between each strike i.e. 1-th-2-th-1-th-3-th-1-th-4-th-1-th-5-th-1-th-6-th
It is very important that you practice moving your feet with every strike. A planted bastard sword fighter is a dead bastard sword fighter! Don't develop bad habits on the pell, it will translate to your fighting.
Hanging guard return drill- throw onside strike, pull up into right hanging guard. From guard, throw offside, pull into left hanging guard. Throw onside, keep flowing between strikes and guards. When that gets comfortable, alternate between leg, body and head for the strikes.
Offline step drill- starting in middle guard left foot forward, step offline to your right while pulling into a left hanging guard. (Your guard should be there as your right foot touches down.) Allow your left foot to pivot around until you are facing your opponent 45 degrees from where you started. As your pivot completes, you throw a return from the hanging guard (onside). You should now be right foot forward, having just smacked your opponent a mighty blow. Now reverse: step offline to the left while pulling up into a right H.G. Pivot as you throw a return to the offside.
Practice until you can move fluidly back and forth with no real breaks in movement.
Tennis ball- hang a tennis at face level and start thrusting it. Don't let it settle between thrusts, you're trying to develop fast and accurate thrusts. Change levels and practice body thrusts the same way.
Disengage thrust drill- can be done just using the centerline of your pell, even better with a partner holding a sword in guard for you to practice against. Thrust to right side of center (or sword) then allow the point to dip slightly and make a "U" to the left side of center (or sword) and continue your thrust to target. Reverse the practice. Don't forget you can make double and triple disengages.
Paired Drills
Shadow drill- this is for footwork. person "A" is the leader, person "B" the follower. assume a medium distance
"A" moves using basic footwork. go forward, backward, offline etc.. go slow and smooth. "B" maintains distance by follong, retreating, stepping with "A". the goal is to have the distance and orientation between the fighters remain constant throughout the movement. switch roles and do it again
One for One's- Slow work where you take turns throwing blows. This is not static, so move, use range to avoid blows. This drill uses variations with the numbers of blows. Do two for two's and three for three's. These help with combinations and defending. Go slow, exagerate your movements. If a block is missed, fix it, then move on. Keep the speed between the two fighters at the same level. Avoid speeding up to catch a block. If you are in a bad position to defend yourself (say, after strike two in a three for three) stop and figure out why. It's not about winning. Keep your moves realistic, don't throw funky blows or angles you could never generate power on at speed.
Slow Work- Slow motion free play. Most in the SCA are probably familiar with slow work already. Again, don't spped up, and exagerate your movements, since moves get shortened up at speed naturally. Make sure your feet are also moving slow, I often see fighters swinging the sword slowly but moving much to fast, especially with non matched forms. Be aware that slow work with bastard swords can have a tendency towards artificial ranges. Almost everyone I see (me included) can end up doing much of their slow work form the inside range
