The timing of one attack is related to distance. This relationbship between timing and distance and the psychological sensations that go along with distance are what we call Ma-ai or "The Measure".

This last week we were practicing one attack with daggers, this time using the stabbing grip. This practice is the most similar to one attack that I used to do in karate. The attacks come in fast and directly and as we faced each other we all started getting some pretty solid cases of the flinchies. It reminded me of an important nuance to one attack that I want to describe here.

In one attack the rules are simple. One person attacks the other defends. The attack is designated but it is uncontrolled in the sense that you are really trying to hit your opponent. The defenders job is to not get hit anddeliver a counter attack. …

After several rounds of editing I have finished the Code of Conduct. As our group evolves, grows, changes, matures more people than yours truly will be in charge of things. Having a Code of Conduct has not been necessary until now because I have always known what conduct I wanted from the people I immediately teach. Now that other Instructors and Captains are teaching things when I am not necessarily there I want to be very clear about these expectations.

Swordfighters is based on Character values that I believe are universal. These values are very old and transcend cultures. Even people with vastly opposing ideologies can and do support similar character values. Honesty, Integrity, Benevolence, Courage Tenacity and so on define what we universally think of as nobility. The martial arts that I have studied derived from the old ways. My Karate teacher Mr. Ohshima was from a Samurai fa…

The Swordfighters Basic Program is the system through which I have introduced Swordfighting to my students. While this is something that continually evolves, at this point my continual efforts to make this program the best that it can be have congealed down into the what you might call the "Swordfighters Approach"

This material is what I introduce to beginners in the Basic Program. It is also the body of information that I use during yearly gradings and it is actually what I expect people to know for their first level grading of Free Scholar.

For Beginners, the emphasis is on teaching them the protocols of how we do things, introducing them to the longsword, and introducng them to the subtle fundamentals that mastery depends on. If you keep at martial arts, you will spend your entire life trying to understand the Fundamentals and the difference between beginners and advanced …