Immediate Practice
5 minutes – Practice responding to a downward beat on your sword with stramazzone.
- Have your partner alternate between striking your sword downward from the right and left.
- Practice responding to the pressure of their strike with a stramazzone, circling your sword back to their arms or to cover over their weapon.
- Work the exercise at different speeds. Slower, but with pressure, is useful for exploring the mechanic. Faster is useful for practicing responding to the forces that you have to manage.
5 minutes – Practice responding to an upward deflection with ribbon cut.
- Have your partner deflect your sword from the right and left.
- Use the ribbon cut to respond to the deflection and then cut back to your partners arms or their sword.
- For more advanced practice, have your partner attempt to clear your sword and cut back to you immediately. This will help you understand how to move and strike to appropriately protect yourself in your response.
Responses