Breaks, they happen.

I should make sure to write something in here before it gets dusty, huh?

Sickle work is still slow - getting time with Doroga to work through them in pairs is hard lately; rapier practice has us working on our various areas there, with not much time left over for other things. (I encourage you to read his stuff for Spanish rapier thoughts, though!) Events have us squeezing in whatever we can get before Court, too. Weirdly, I'm looking forward to Pennsic for catching up here - hanging out in camp together means that we'll nerd around with sickles for sure. Also, I'm going to have a practice or two when I can't fence, but maybe super-slow sickle work will be okay, and I'll catch up then. I haven't forgotten! I want to finish working through those plates.

With Pennsic fast approaching, I'm focusing on practical application of good Italian rapier over nearly anything else, though I do still work some C&T work for warmups and occasional bouts. (I'd like to do more, but limited time and limited folks who do it. That said, I'm doing some gear shopping at Pennsic!) Transitioning through good lunge technique is still a major part of my daily practice, as is moving from steps to passes, cavazione, and voids. Why get fancy? I work on opposition and also Capo Ferro's hierarchy when I have a partner, for sure, but working basics is what's really going to keep me on track when it's just me, a sword, and my pell. (Also, it's good to keep working those for when I start teaching newer people.)

It's interesting seeing how different practices fall out, and how people at each of them work. My usual Monday practice has turned into mostly a combat practice, and Thursday is mostly a drill practice. (Though there's sometimes a little drilling on Monday and a little combat on Thursday, that's really how it seems to end up.) Watching the compositions of each practice and how various folks at them are approaching fencing and improving at it is really, really interesting to me.

Somewhere in the mail, I've got a copy of a new di Grassi translation coming my way, which I'm really excited to get a chance to add to my Italian Rapier Library Shelf and pore over. Additionally, I have a copy of the reprint of Tom Leoni's Fabris coming as well, which I'm looking forward to for a lot of reasons - having a copy of the book which I'm willing to let leave the house will be a good thing to have, but also a copy that I can mark up. Marginalia are love, and I'm planning on covering this with highlights, underlines, bookmarks, and marginalia and turn it into a solid and growing functional resource for me. Sitting around at Pennsic, taking notes, and being a swordnerd with people is going to be fun.

With the pause in sickle work, I'll take some time next week and go back to working through portions of Fabris. We've missed you Fabris, and your seemingly improbable body posture!