Fiore advanced syllabus

Advanced training:

Advanced students are expected to have assimilated enough of the system that they can find the material they are most interested in from the treatise. advanced training is about acquiring a firm grasp of the source, and understanding the process of developing working skills from them. Note that in the more advanced levels the organisation of new material is essentially arbitrary: study of Liechtenauer is in no way more advanced than the use of the pollax. Students are expected to be actively involved in planning their own training, and are able to choose parts of the levels requirements. At level five students choose one, and at levels six and seven, two, of the following modules: Spear, Pollax,Vadi, and Liechtenauer. Note also that for students wishing to follow the teacher-training track, level four must be completed before any teaching exams can be taken.

Level Five, Square

Mechanics and Conditioning *The Crane

Dagger

*Ability to do all the Dagger plays

*Defences of the Dagger against the Sword

*Defences of the sword in the scabbard against the Dagger

Longsword *Cutting with Sharps

* How to drill: choreography, coaching, competition

*20 plays zogho largo in order, from memory

*11 plays sword in one hand, in order, from memory

Freeplay

• Freeplay Preparation

This has several components, which are:

• Competitive drilling, where in a set drill, the players try to make their action work. If the drill has an attack and a parry, the attacker tries to beat the parry with speed or power, the defender has to deal with it or get hit.
• Degrees of Freedom, where choices are added at various stages ina set drill. A simple degree of freedom would perhaps allow the attacker to strike differently- say either mandritto fendente or a thrust. The defender has to deal with the unscripted changes.
• Pressure drilling, in which sufficient speed, power, fatigue and risk are employed to challenge the player to act well under pressure. The three man drill is a good example: defender in the middle, attackers take turns with no let-up or pause to attack the defender, who has to deal with it, turning to face each new attack as it comes.
• Freeplay, with limited degrees of freedom, e.g.: taking turns to attack.
• Memory drills: eg:

This drill works best with three fencers, an attacker, a defender and an observer. Switch roles after each phrase, to develop your ability to remember phrases from the inside and the outside.

• designate an attacker and a defender. • allow free choice of attack and defence, but no continuations (attacker can’t counter). • Attacker attacks as he likes, defender tries to defend. Notice who gets hit. • First one, then the other, describes in clear fencing language, in detail exactly what occurred. • Allow progressively more steps until fencers can easily recall at least 6 actions in a row.

• The Freeplay Cycle:

Set drill, to establish a specific action or principle- Degree of Freedom, to recognise the context for that action or principle- Competitive drilling, to establish the action under pressure- freeplay, to test the action or principle in a freer context. Freeplay should highlight an error, for which we have a corrective set drill, and so the cycle repeats. Select the drill, and repeat.

one of these modules:

Spear

Pollax

Sword in Armour (see below for content)

Level Six, Triangle

Mechanics and Conditioning

*Breathing form

Longsword

• Training with sharp swords

*Basic 4 drills with Sharps

*23 plays of zogho stretto in order

Viggiani

*7 guards

*Theory of Tempo

*Lo Schermo, with sharps

One of:

• Vadi or Lichtenauer module

And one more of:

• Spear, Pollax or Sword in Armour

Theory: 800 word essay (or equivalent) on agreed topic; in any of the school’s teaching languages, currently English, Finnish, Swedish and German

Level Seven, Circle

Longsword

• All set Drills with Sharps

• The remaining module, Vadi or Lichtenauer

• The remaining module from Spear, Pollax or Sword in Armour

B

1500 word essay (or equivalent) on agreed topic; in any of the school’s teaching languages, currently English, Finnish, Swedish and German

Modules


Spear * Spear Guards

*Striking from each guard

* Spear Remedies

* Spear Counter-remedies

• Counter-counter-remedies

*Henrik Wadell's spear form

Pollax *6 guards

*Striking from each guard

• Axe handling drill.

*Defence from each guard

• The 8 plays of the pollax

*Counter-remedies

*(Recommended additional reading: Jeu de la Hache)

Sword in Armour

*6 Guards

*Striking from each Guard

*All 16 Plays of the Sword in Armour

Vadi *“Size matters”: the impact of weapon length on tactics

*Vadi’s 12 guards of the Longsword

*Mezo Tempo Mechanics Drill

*Feint at Meza Spada Drill

*25 plays of the longsword (not from memory)

*How to use Vadi’s style, and counter it, in freeplay

Lichtenauer

*“Size matters”: the impact of weapon length on tactics

*4 Guards: Vom Tag, Ochs (both sides), Pflug (both sides), Alber

*Mechanics drills (TBD)

*5 Meisterhau, in set drills

*Primary Techniques and Concepts

*How to use the Liechtenauer style, and counter it, in freeplay

Intermediate Syllabus 2011-2013, for reference [[Category:Fiore Advanced]