This is proprietary material and has been given permission to be reposted on SwordMaiden.com. © Copyright is retained by the author, Duke Sir Patrick Devilin of DarkWrath Keep (Jerry R. Chavez).
This article is only a digest of information from my book Trompe L’oeil. (www.spookyfx.com/book/tromp.html)
General practices guidelines include:
Get enough sleep!
Familiarize yourself with your equipment. You must learn how to make or at least repair your own gear. You need to understand why it weighs what it does, why the balance is where it is at, why is it as long as it is, why is it hinged here but not there, why is it made the color it is, why is it shaped the way it is, etc.
WARM UP your body before any practice or fight. THIS IS VERY IMPORTANT. Warm up by SLOWLY and for a long time, duplicating or slightly exaggerating your actual fighting moves. You want the muscles to reach a working temperature and to be flexible. Warming up helps to stimulate electrical/chemical systems in your body for the mind-to-muscle communication. Perhaps some of my radical combat movements could be made safer to execute by a doctor or physical therapist who has a better understanding of the joints than I did. Some of my joint injuries could well be as a result of using my own body as a laboratory for designing my system. Some were from not warming up properly. Warming up before a tournament fight will increase strength, agility, speed and even endurance. For practice, it will allow you to repeat your movements properly and decrease injuries. Injuries will haunt your body your entire life. Avoid them!
Now work on mastering the basics. This means before you practice new trick shots or combat tactics, you must practice stance, footwork, grips, grip exchanges, weapon handling for changes in speed, direction and position, etc. The process of transforming a conscious thought into reflexive action takes approximately 3,000-5,000 repetitions. Most people are in this reflexive or automatic mental state when driving their cars, allowing them to react to traffic hazards with disassociated calm because they are not worried about how to shift gears, turn the wheel or hit the brakes. You will not be able to improve your speed until you can perform basic maneuvers reflexively.
Wear your armor to work on new moves. At least wear your arm and shoulder protection and your helmet. Learning to throw a blow that will not work once you are suited up is pointless.
Learn how to perform an action perfectly at a slow speed. Try to spot weak points; study your moves in a mirror. After you have mastered the accuracy of the movement, then drill for power. If you do not first learn how to move properly, your brain will be trying to direct your motion using feedback from the nerves in your muscles to constantly re-orchestrate your action. This creates split second hesitations that will interfere with practicing the action properly.
Learn to master a small number of moves before attempting to master additional moves. It is better to perfect a few moves than to know a large number of sloppy ones.
Practice frequently but in small doses. Do not try to CRASH learn a subject. Scientists have discovered that it can take up to an hour to replenish some of the chemicals needed to build memory structures. So do not try to learn by cramming information into your head for hours on end without a break.
You need to step in and out of range while drilling against a pell or punching bag. Footwork should be an integral part of the sword work. This can be done by circling (in both directions) a stationary or swinging pell while throwing your sword blows.
Practice every attack and defense on both sides of your body. When you spar, switch your weapons from right to left for at least one fourth of your fighting practice.
Work out how you will link ALL your moves together to create one continuous flow of action that starts with the “LAY ON!” and only stops for safety reasons, a “hold” or until your opponent is defeated.
Do not drill fine motor skills when you are overtired. You will practice in a sloppy manner. Practicing something sloppy is worst than not practicing it at all. When you are too tired, it is better to then work on endurance with such exercises as stair-stepping.
Coordination can be lost easily when not used; keep practicing a “move” even when you feel you have “mastered” it.
Kempo instructor John LaTourrette says: “The more you sweat in training, the less you hurt in combat.”
