Pics of Albion swords in DBK Scabbards

[mikronn]

Hi John

I'll dig out the reference - he had a couple of posts.

One I remember vividly was about cutting safety and about always cutting over the lead leg - either by stepping or standing that way. There was a description by someone else in the same thread IIRC about not doing that and either hitting themself in the leg or having a near miss. (Shudder)

In that same vein, I think you would struggle to get good alignment or power with full cut with a crossed stance (reversed leg to hands). My katana instructor considered it a major no-no.

One of the things I have learned (I consider my self NO expert in Western tradition and still with a lot to learn in Eastern) is that the postures and stances in armed and unarmed are basically the same.

With that in mind my finishing position with a katana is usually half front stance (han-zenkutsudachi) with the the rear leg straight and foot at about 45 and front leg bent and foot at about 15-20 degrees. At the point of contact the hips are fairly square to the target and finish in line with the feet as noted about. This means that the cut is largely generated by the hip turn as you pull through. Same posture to throw strong punches or blocks.

I am still learning how to get the right alignment with a longsword (straight longer double edge vs shorter curved single edge). My experience with single hand cutters is very limited indeed but we can both pick Colin McKinstry's brain.

Thanks for fixing the photos they were really helpful. I went out and practiced some draws based on what you had posted and would be interested in your comments. I found that in a draw my lead arm is massively exposed to a counter- seems to be the same in your photo - if you step forward. I need to think about that some more. The step back not so much and the sword comes very naturally to a high ward - just as you showed.

I also did not feel I could cut well from a draw using a single handed stright sword as compared to the katana. Will have to test it with sharps.

cheers

mike

[JohnF]

[JohnF]

Draw 1 & 2


Draw 3
5 & 6 are a snapshot of partway through the draw. They are not a lying!


The swords I'm using is different from Didier's. Heavier, and designed more
for cutting. Whether this devalues his techniques for my purposes I'm
unsure. Experimenting is interesting.

[JohnF]

Here are diagrams of the footwork that I'm trying to use for fencing and cutting. They are from Volta, Key, and Scale.





I don't always apply them, under pressure I tend to freeze, or charge.
Especially, it's taking a while to make use of the reverse stances, and
crossed steps. When I do use them, I find I have great leverage and
balance.

[JohnF]

The Albion Sherriff does a good job of thrusting. I suspended a milk bottle
from a tree at head height. I thrusted 5 times at it before it fell apart. I
placed the tip on the bottle to judge the distance, placed a hole in the bottle.
Whoops. First thrust went through, embedded point in tree, dropped sword
in surprise. Three from a high lying, and one from a low, went through both
sides of the bottle cleanly. I felt like i was thrusting air, the bottle was so
insubstantial. The tip of the Sherriff is very easy to direct onto target, and
thrusts straight through. It's easy to imagine how a thrust can defeat textile
armours that a cut won't.

My first cut of the session felt good. Again a bottle at head height. I was
talking with a friend, discussing what I'd observed during prior cuts. In the
middle of the conversation I raised my sword high and did a down right cut,
on the pass. I cut with great speed and ended in a nice underarm guard. A
clean and straight cut. Mike's suggestion about being relaxed paid off.

[mikronn]

Hi John

Thanks for taking the trouble to post those foot positions - very useful. What is particularly interesting is where your hips will be if you keep you hips aligned with your feet.

In positions 1 - 3 your hips turn away with the feet. You should feel quite a bit of tension in the hips and if you then reverse and pass with your right foot as you cut, you will be able to unload all that energy into your target. As long as you do it relaxed your target will cut cleanly thru and you will feel nothing!

Steps 1 - 3 are also a major unarmed move. As a test, get someone to grab your lapels and hold on. One hand or two doesn't matter. Now do the move. DON'T think about them hanging on - ignore them and just turn away smoothly. Watch what happens to their balance.

I agree with you about needing to practice - it has to become second nature so that you never freeze. I can usually do that unarmed but not so much armed yet. The founder of Kokyushinkai, Mas Oyama, said that you needed to practice something 10,000 times before it was 'yours'. Needless to say, if its practiced incorrectly there is an awful lot of unlearning (been there).

happy new year

mike