Making the most of your next 6 months of training

Everyone who is a top fighter has gotten there by hard work and consistent practice. The good news is, if you are willing to put in the time, you will get there too. Here are some tips for how to make the best use of the next six months, particularly if you are new:

 Practice Consistently

1. Arrive early. This is especially important if you are borrowing equipment since it is “first come, first serve”. You can ‘fill your fighting slots’ early—i.e. get those fighters who you would like to work with to agree to work with you before someone else does.

2. Be active. You only have a certain amount of time at fighter practice. When you arrive, stretch and gear up quickly.

3. Communicate with your partner. Discuss what you would like to work on. Ask to drill instead of fight if desired. Don’t be afraid to ask them to show you how they did a certain shot—or how you could counter it. Talk after the fight to get insight on what you should focus on improving.

4. Keep in mind that everyone is volunteers and looking to get the same things out of fighting that you are. What you bring to the game is what you get out of it. Make your success a priority for you.

5. Spend some time during the week supplementing practices via training, drills, studying new techniques, asking questions, or getting your kit together.

I want you to be doing your drills

Drills

Solo form drills are necessary to build muscle memory and target areas that you can improve on your own for maximal use of your time. Learning habits of good form because it’s easier to do it right the first time than try to relearn later.

1. Check your stance in the mirror, adjust as necessary. Do this several times a day until you can ‘feel the right spot’ comfortably without adjustments.

2. Step forward, backwards and sideways. Again, check in a mirror or use video to make sure you arrive in the correct stance after the motion. Find the step distance that works for you and your stance. Using floor tiles as markers can really help with this.

3. Attack. Practice the combination of arm extension (with different guards), lean, and step. Do this slowly at first and add speed and a weapon after it becomes comfortable. Recover by pulling your head back and letting your body follow. Use a punching bag or wall to make sure your impact is solid and distance is consistent.

Partner drills.

This helps you learn to observe your opponent and react. Drills on different attack/parries help you fill your toolbox to be ready for different situations.

1. Match movements (shadow drills).

2. Parrying/attacking at slow speed. Focus on 1 ‘play’ (action and reaction) at a time and repeat until consistent, then increase speed and repeat. Vary this with different lines of attack (angles) and targets. You can find adaptations of period manual actions that you can drill on youtube, Academie Duello, or Guy Windsor’s online school.

Mentality

There are a number of mental hurdles everyone must overcome to maximize one’s fighting potential. Do not mistake this for weakness. They are unique to each person and are something you must learn to recognize and overcome. Chances are there are other people who have had similar experiences and may have useful insight. Don’t be afraid to ask about other people’s experiences. Here are some common ones to look for:

1. Fighting with intensity and focus. Get yourself mentally prepared for fighting and training. Leave the day's frustrations behind when you enter the field. Use routines/rituals to get yourself ready to fight if they work for you. Consider limiting conversations to fighting-related topics when you are getting ready to fight.

2. Hitting. We don’t want to hurt anyone; sometimes this can interfere with fighting effectiveness. The first step is usually recognizing that your fighting partner would not be there if they weren’t okay with being hit. The second step is learning safe ways of delivering shots. Spend additional time drilling to feel better prepared if you need it.

3. Getting hit. Sometimes it is difficult to keep going when you receive a hard or an unexpected blow, especially to sensitive areas such as the head. There are several ways to build up the feelings of trust and safety to work past this. Drilling is one option, being selective in training partners is another.

4. Leaving the safe zone. It is easy to fall into the same rhythm of fighting styles, instructors, and partners. Actively push yourself to always try new things and ask the people you work with for suggestions.

5. Competing. Tournament fighting has many unique challenges. Learn ways to bring your best game and realize that your opponents will be doing the same thing. Afterwards, analyze the fight. Figure out what each person did and how the blow landed.

Having someone in your corner can help you focus and analyze your fight after

6. There is no such thing as a dumb question. Even after years of experience, there are things you may never have learned. If you see someone do something that doesn’t make sense, you may have missed something fundamental. Ask.

7. Do you know how you learn? Are you setting goals? Are you figuring out the mistakes you are making? Do you know what exactly you are doing and why? Break down the techniques into the component parts. Explain what you are doing to someone else as a way of critically examination.

Strength and endurance training

The longer you are able to fight, the more you can practice. Additionally, your fighting does get sloppy when you are tired. Endurance and strength directly add to your game.

1. Endurance. 30 minutes of cardio activity 3 times a week will improve cardiovascular and respiratory function over time. Short bouts of activity every day adds to this. High intensity interval training is particularly good for sparring endurance.

2. Strength. Compound (or multiple muscle groups) movements of 3+ sets of 5-10 reps of moderate to heavy weight, ~3 times a week, builds functional strength. You may additionally want to use exercises that target areas that you find fatigued when you fight.  

3. Nutrition. Listen to your body. It needs water and fuel to keep it going before, during, and after fighting.

A good support structure will help you thrive (and not die from dehydration).

Networking

Most of the people in the SCA will tell you they are here for the people. Additionally, it is the best way to get your kit together, find out about events, and meet new instructors.

1. Go to practice and introduce yourself to people. Give your name and get theirs. Ask for suggestions for who to fight, who is a good teacher, and find out who is new.

2. Join the local facebook group and find the webpage. These are the best ways to find out about upcoming events, extra or canceled practices, and find resources for both fighting and the SCA in general.

3. Make sure you get to know the local marshal. They are usually the best person to ask about other fighters/instructors. Ask them about authorization: let them know that is your goal and so you both stay focused on getting you ready.

4. Work with different teachers. It is not uncommon for different instructors to have different specialties. Or, there might be some who are very good at teaching those with different background or learning style. The more people you work with, the more chances you have to learn.

5. Participate in workshops/ask someone for help to get your fighting kit together.

6. Attend events and do pick up fights. Contact someone you want to work with in advance and ask for some of their time.

7. Watch fights. Do your best to understand what each person is doing and why it works. Have a more experienced person narrate what is going on.

8. Find people who support and encourage your efforts. In turn, support and encourage others.

Realistic goal setting

Making goals that are realistic for your skill and timeframe are important. Goals keep you motivated, provide focus, and are a great source for personal sense of reward.

Here are some sample goals: 1. Get authorized. 2. Enter a tournament/get one kill in a tournament/pick up fights with every person after the tournament/successfully defend for one minute and make them work really hard for it/make it to finals. 3. Continue for 3 passes after you want to quit every time you take the field. (Note: learn the difference between injury and just being tired or hurting. 4. Travel to a non-local event or war and fight. 5. Pull of this really cool move you learned. 6. Have fun fighting (this is a good goal every time).

In six months, re-evaluate. Why didn’t you reach certain goals? What could you do differently? And the goals you blew out of the water? Make new, harder ones. Always raise that bar for yourself.