Our culture demands so much of us as producers. We demand such a rhythm of achievement. The best of us are seen to be relentless, constantly uniformly driving forward, unceasing in our progress. Yet all land must lie fallow. This message gives us such cause to be hard on ourselves when we falter; When we allow ourselves to be caught Read More …
“Alright, the next drill is even more difficult!” I said to a chorus of groans. It’s accuracy night in line drills and I have been progressively making each drill more challenging. Each target is that much smaller, requiring that much more precision. The drills have essentially moved into a realm where even the most experienced students are having a challenge Read More …
There is an interesting phrase pair I have been hearing from a lot of instructors recently. I hear: “Practice makes perfect.” Then an admonishment: “No. Practice makes permanent. So make sure you don’t practice poorly!” The first is a message of hope and resilience. If you practice and stay the course, you can find mastery. If things are going wrong, Read More …
There are two primary types of martial learning environment you must spend time in over your life of acquiring an art. A symmetrical environment, where your training and sparring partners are doing (or trying to do) the same thing as you. And an asymmetrical environment, where your training partners are specifically applying a different system or come from a completely Read More …
I struck the 7 ball on the spot I had marked, completely incredulous that it would go anywhere near the pocket I had called. I watched my cue ball slide toward it, the sharp crack and the 7 shot in a straight line, directly to the corner pocket and in. A part of me felt completely disbelieving as the whole Read More …
I was talking with a student of mine the other night, encouraging them to start pushing themselves toward their next rank at my school. They commented to me that they felt like they were getting worse in their skills, not better. They felt that they were flailing, imprecise, and out of control. I personally had the opposite experience with their Read More …
It’s me. This may seem a bit conceited, narcissistic, or narrow: When I write, I write for me. When I teach, I teach for me. I started a sword fighting school because I was passionate about swordplay. I began this blog because I wanted to challenge myself to write and share myself. I dance because I love creating dynamic art. Read More …
I have done many things in my life that didn’t work out. I have found myself on adventures of which I had imagined fantastic and romantic ends that never came to be. Many of these adventures had their fair share of pain and hardship. Yet I don’t regret these adventures, in that I don’t regret who I am now. I Read More …
This is one of our biggest barriers to growth. Who doesn’t fear looking like a failure in front of judging eyes? Who doesn’t see all eyes as potential judges? Even brand new students who have never held a sword before share experiences of feeling like they look stupid during their first class. Many resist ever having a first class for Read More …
I revisit the question “Why do swordplay?” on a regular basis. Many people ask me what my reason is for practising something that is arguably esoteric and a few centuries past its true usefulness. The answer may not be what people are expecting. At the end of the day, I feel that hundreds of years past its applied art of Read More …