Lefty Combat

Category: General

  • SKBC 2017 Review

    SKBC 2017 has come and gone. I had a great experience and got in a ton of fighting and teaching time. The FWACK committee should get bonus points for securing us a gym to fight in on Friday when it rained all day. That’s a level of dedication you won’t find anywhere else. I taught…

  • Should You Be A Warlord?

    Whether or not someone is qualified to be a warlord is something I’ve given a lot of thought. When I was coming up, I was constantly assessing myself and trying to answer that question. Both before and after I became a warlord, I’ve had up-and-comers who felt they were close to that achievement ask me…

  • Drill Spotlight: First to Ten

    The first-to-ten drill is a fairly straight forward drill; two combatants fight a sequence of rounds, and the first person to win ten times (total) wins the drill. Simos are ignored. This sounds like regular sparring, but there is an important difference. In regular sparring, you should not be seeking to win; you should be…

  • Video: Ten Shots

    This is a longer video, about twenty minutes, so it’s embedded via Youtube. It shows ten different shots for striking your opponent in their sword arm. These shots are shown lefty on righty, but most of them work in any hand configuration. The filming is done with a digital camera, so, as always, the appearance…

  • Ask the Champion: Dealing with Tracers

    Dear Champion: How do I deal with tracers? With some fighters, as soon as I throw a shot, they throw a shot. So I end up with a lot of simos. Sometimes I kill them and just lose an arm, sometimes they kill me and I just wound them. If I don’t throw a shot,…

  • Ask the Champion: Overcoming Overthinking and Uncertainty

    Dear Champion: I often find myself not doing anything because everything I can think of will get me killed. I have been taught a number of different shots, but I avoid throwing them because I’m terrible at them. What should I do? Overthought and Outfought Dear Overthought: The answer is really simple: throw a shot.…

  • Ask The Champion: Training in Isolation

    Dear Champion: I am having trouble improving as a fighter. Many people at my park do not wish to fight against me anymore, as I have discouraged them. My goal is to ascend to Warlord, and eventually Sword Knight. I do not have access to veterans able to teach me the proper ways to improve,…

  • Ask the Champion: Choosing Something to Work On

    Dear Champion: I have a laundry list of things I need to improve; footwork, stance, guard, shot accuracy, shot selection, feints, baits, combos…. I’m overwhelmed. Where do I begin and how do I go about improving in a smart and logical fashion. Overwhelmed in the Wetlands Dear Overwhelmed: That is an excellent question. The answer…

  • Ask the Champion – Pell Work

    Dear Champion: I hear, very frequently, that in other activities similar to Amtgard pell training is highly encouraged. Does pell training have value in Amtgard, and if so how should I go about doing it? Fighter Practice Absentee   Dear Absentee: Pell training is an excellent addition to your Amtgard training regime. I use a…

  • Ask the Champion – Minimized Movement

    Dear Champion: I am a large fighter and I’m taller than average. Typically when fighting smaller fighters, I see them leaping and darting around. Even at my thinnest, I am just not build for such maneuvers.  Do you have any suggestions on resources, specific fighting styles, or advice for someone who doesn’t fit the average…