Comments on: How to win a sword fight

By: bigato

bigato — Mon, 07 Feb 2011 01:02:01 +0000

Introverts uses more their sense of vision. Extroverts use more their guts. So it’s good for us to train the other senses we don’t use so much. It makes us more complete persons.

By: Jacob

Jacob — Tue, 07 Sep 2010 05:46:31 +0000

@Steve Austin – I’ll have a look. I was an armchair pilot back when I was a gamer, Thrustmaster HOTAS and everything.

By: Steve Austin

Steve Austin — Mon, 06 Sep 2010 23:42:58 +0000

Reading this (after missing it in March 2010), I wonder whether your swordfighting study could be augmented by the study of dogfighting, as laid out by one of the best (Col John Boyd, USAF). You can find his 156-page Aerial Attack Study (1964) here:

http://www.mediafire.com/?3ujt2mw2uto

I’d like to hear if you find parallels between swordfighting and dogfighting (as described by Boyd).

By: First In, Last Out: Yakezie Weekly Round-up | Engineer Your Finances

First In, Last Out: Yakezie Weekly Round-up | Engineer Your Finances — Sat, 20 Mar 2010 15:56:32 +0000

[...] Did you win your last sword fight? Early Retirement Extreme writes an entertaining post on just that! While I have zero experience here, did it give me an urge to find a sparring partner! [...]

By: Jacob

Jacob — Thu, 18 Mar 2010 17:00:54 +0000

@George – 20 feet is three steps and a cut

By: Forest

Forest — Thu, 18 Mar 2010 05:41:52 +0000

Wow this took me back… I used to train in Katana swords when I was 11-12 years old. I often trained with a wooden bocan but would sometimes used a 3/4 sized blunt katana that was a job for me to lift, let alone use properly….. The memories seems very distant now but maybe i’ll pick it up again one day!

By: George Carlson

George Carlson — Tue, 16 Mar 2010 22:38:02 +0000

This is some really cool stuff. Its neat that you are learning sword fighting. I think that sword fighting (or quarter-staff fighting) is something that I could really get into too.

That being said, it is important to realize that the most assured way to not lose a sword fight is to cheat.

Also, since (experienced) knife fighters win more often than gun fighters when the fighters are within 20 feet I would also guess that a sword user might too. So, if you want to cheat by using a firearm make sure you stay at least 10 (or more) yards away. ie. Run and gun and hope you are the faster of the two.

On a side note, for quarter-staffs you can drill a hole in the top to mount the top of an arrow-shaft inside. Then you can carry broad-head arrows with you to tip your quarter-staff with (but you can still easily bring your quarter-staff with you un-tipped if you want to be less threatening in public places).

By: free at last

free at last — Tue, 16 Mar 2010 13:54:09 +0000

General comment: I have been on your blog Jacob since John Greaney referenced your site last month (http://www.retireearlyhomepage.com/extreme.html). I find your work here an inspiration at a time when I really needed some insight and motivation. So thanks Jacob, for your hard work here. I am grateful.

Regarding integration and the wei wu wei (doing without doing – acting without effort) of the sword fighter’s dance, I recommend a review of the Tao te Ching. I particularly like Stephen Mitchell’s translation of Lau Tzu’s work on the art of living. I know nothing about the sword. But in recent years I have studied mindfulness. I had studied the means of financial freedom for years and through much work and grace a measure of financial independence has come to me and my family. Yet, only with the integration of mindfulness did these ideas come alive. The past few years seem to have given me all my dreams at once when everything became the same thing. Good luck on your journey and please keep these posts coming.

By: James D

James D — Tue, 16 Mar 2010 13:41:17 +0000

Most high intensity physical activities require some form of this body awareness. While sword fighting is far more technical, in running track when a runner toes the line for a race their nerves and mind are racing already. However, as soon as the gun goes off everything goes blank and your body just bolts.

By: Simple in France

Simple in France — Tue, 16 Mar 2010 13:28:08 +0000

I enjoy anything that takes you out of your head for a while. Since I tend to naturally spend a lot of time writing, reading, and thinking, I consider such ‘out of head’ time to be an important vacation of sorts.

I agree that there is some indescribable point at which the body (or some other part of the senses/intellect) just *knows* something on a non-verbal level. It’s really enjoyable.

I’ve never trained to fight in any way (using swords or not!), but your description somewhat reminds me of doing yoga. When I’m standing on my head, it works better if I let my body take over and handle the issue of balance on its own.

Trying to intellectualize such a complex and fast-paced process while I’m already on my head (or in some other balance-intensive situation) usually just results in falling over.

On a completely random note:
I love the description of the power behind the sword being concentrated onto one, fine edge . . .

By: Ademac

Ademac — Tue, 16 Mar 2010 10:20:45 +0000

Having never trained in the way of the sword i can’t directly comment on it. I can however comment on the simulatites between my kung fu training and your sword training.

I think the biggest similarity is that you have to stop thinking. I know i repeat the exercises over and over again thousands of times until my mind & body just knows what comes next, to a point it becomes like breathing i don’t have to think, just do.

Also you learn to feel and sense where an oppent is moving before your eyes even see it and adjust acordingly.

Those are the two main similarites between our differant martial forms.

Enjoy
Ademac