Nutrition
Most of us have had food poisoning, or the stomach flu, yes? We have all experienced the fatigue of not being able to eat. Now, think about how amazing it feels when you can eat a good nutritious meal again! And I'm not talking about junk food, but nutritious simple...
Scenes for my classes
The intermediate longsword test fight will be choreographed to this scene. http://www.burningmountain.ca/connect/scene1 The advanced broadsword and shield fight will be choreographed to this scene. http://www.burningmountain.ca/connect/scene3 Get started on reading...
The Two-Week Workshop: or, Tech Week x2
Some people have never done an intensive certification workshop before, so here's a head's up: A two-week intensive is like Tech Week in a theatre, except two consecutive weeks of it. As such, it is an excellent "proving ground" for the professional working world. If...
Building Your Physical Foundation: spine flexibility
Just as a stable core is necessary for good structure, so is a flexible one integral to storytelling. As actor/combatants we need to be able to collapse forwards or backwards and left or right at any given place in our torsos in order to play attacks and wounds...
Injury Prevention: wrist alignment
An alignment error I see a lot is over-extension of the wrist. Your wrist alignment should be in a biomechanically-sound position. Remember that when you're using a sword, you are hoping to make contact with your adversary and therefore meet some resistance. If...
Building Your Physical Foundation: forearms
Video overload today. Forearms do a lot of work during hours and hours of swordplay. The most common complaint after fatigue (solution: do your cardio!), is sore and tired forearms. Not much time left, but get started on building that strength. Check out all the...
Building Your Physical Foundation: rotator cuff and shoulders
There's a tendency among actor/combatants to over-extend the shoulder joints. I know several people in this field with rotator cuff injuries, and I suspect that improper shoulder alignment has a lot to do with that. Here's a video of some of the standard rotator cuff...
Building Your Physical Foundation: feet
Your feet are your stability. They are your first line of communication with the floor, but so many of us spend all of our time in shoes that don't allow us to feel the floor. For this reason, I like to start many of my classes with a foot warm-up. After you've done...
Cool-Down/Warm-Down
I know they're not scheduled during the workshop, but be sure to do a cool-down or have a personal cool-down routine. It's two weeks of long days. Give your mind and body some cues that it's time to rest, recuperate and relax. Maybe it's a particular food you need to...
Warm-ups
We all have different bodies and so we have different needs (you'll hear me say this ad nauseum). You'll find that your body reacts to physical work differently than the people around you. There is a group warm-up scheduled every day of the workshop, but even so, it...
Adjusting To A New Location
Some like to arrive on the eve of the workshop, but I like to give it an extra day. It gives me time to get settled in my new "home". I can find the grocery store, scout out a massage therapist and a yoga studio, test out my route to the location, and get unpacked. It...
Hit Something!
Many people who come to stage combat have not studied martial arts and very often they have never been in a fight or in a sparring/fencing situation. So that you can play the force and structure of a hit -- on both the giving and receiving ends, you'll do yourself a...
Glossary
So you have in your hands the FDC Glossary. Yes, you will take a written test on the information therein. Especially if you have trouble with written tests, please remember that we want you to pass. The test is based on information that is in the glossary and is...
Preparing Your Mental Foundation: acting
Everyone's process is personal, and on top of that, not everyone who attends a stage combat workshop is a professional actor, so this post will outline a few different strategies that may help you prepare for your workshop. But first, what to expect. As mentioned in...
Building Your Physical Foundation: sword drills
As promised, here are some drills that you can do with a sword or "sword-like object", as Steaphen Fick says in his longsword book. First, here's a great handling exercise from Guy Windsor's blog: http://www.swordschool.com/wiki/index.php/Fiore_cutting_drills#basic....
Building Your Physical Foundation: Core
For many years, I didn't actually know what "Core" is. I knew it had something to do with torso and stability, and I knew it was was important -- people were always telling me that I needed to use it -- but I had no specifics. For years I would just squeeze everything...
Stuff You Need: Footwear
Let's take a quick break from workouts and technique, and talk equipment (just in case you need to order something before the start of the workshop). After gloves, one if the most important pieces of personal equipment is footwear. For training situations, simply wear...
Stuff to watch: fencing bouts and free play
Before I get to the videos, this must be said: (mounting upon Soapbox): The only way to learn martial arts is from an instructor. This way, you see the art in motion, you see movement as a response to an incoming stimulus. The instructor draws your attention to...