NEWS
The idea of “double defense” says that you have several ways to avoid an attack: stop it with your blade, and to not be there when the attack arrives. You can also do both at the same time. This is the most conservative approach to defense and really helps to ensure your survival, especially against an opponent that is faster than you.
In this class we will focus on keeping our hands moving and out of the way. We’ll also use alternative guards, as opposed to the Forward Guard.
10x saber-burpee
10x alternating walking lunge
10x squats
Start from the inside high chamber.
Diving sweep
Opposite dive
Rising sweep
Opposite rise
Flat sweep
Opposite flat
Lunge
“Rallying” is the idea of attacking and defending back and forth in a rhythm. While this makes very unrealistic gameplay, it is useful for developing your sense of tempo and developing a good practice of switching between attack and defense, especially for fencers who are too focused on one or the other. We’ll use this as a chance to also work on Deflectors 1 and 9.
Shields 5 and 6 are the most common shield-based ripostes in Lightspeed-saber. Let's practice using them today. No auxiliary because we're playing sabercise! Practice module to follow.
Turn your hips with each cut. Note the pivots of the feet. During the spin, only one foot moves. The back foot stays in place and pivots.
Most of the time we lunge straight forward. But you can also lunge backwards and you can lunge to the sides. These alternative lunges are most often used as part of an evasive counterhit. We will learn about these flashy moves today!
We're going to hit the footwork hard and fast today, and finish early so we can do some organized sparring, since we have a practice tournament this Thursday! Tag o' War, Foot-hunter, and a new warmup exercise I'm calling Crab Parade you're going to love it! Lesson review to follow.
One of the best ways to learn advanced footwork and mobility is practice leg attacks and defense. So we will learn how to defend the legs using the slipcut and the float, and we'll learn how draw attacks using leg targets.
Even though spin moves are somewhat advanced, they are a good opportunity, even for beginners, to learn to use both their hands, and get used to the ambidexterity that is afforded in Lightspeed-saber.
