Messer: working from a provoking cut, I’m beginning to see this working out a lot more in sparring for many of you, the main feature that is causing some problems is a lack of willingness to pause briefly between slip and follow on. Those of you who have got it though are looking much better, well done. keep working at this as we are going to be putting it practice with longsword after the interclass dussack competition at the end of February .

Dagger: More unarmed vs knife, the pass off left and right with arm breaks and a knife return. The manner of returning the knife is not pretty, but it is efficient.

Sunday: new time and location.

The  Sunday class is moving to the Ladywell Leisure center in Lewisham the class starts at 3.30pm.

I’d like to thank the people from Fitness First for letting us hold a temporary class there, great helpful staff, sadly the studio there was a little small for our need, so we have a new regular home, transport is pretty easy with trains stopping at Ladywell station and only a short (5 minute walk from there to the hall). Hope to see you there.

Class Update: No Excuses. A fantastic few days of training, the messer work is getting better and better, moving from the slip cut to a follow on counter against various attacks, very street applicable work not just for medieval tools but for modern machete and long knife too. The dagger work has been expanding out too, again working through some basic arm and weapon arm destructions and locks. moving gradually into free counter against varied attacks, the latter very important to show how hard it is to not get stabbed, and to show how important the control and limb destruction is. Why no excuses? This is for when we come to the free form applications, it’s too easy to give way to the “well no one would really do that” they just did, “well really I’d have” you didn’t. If you get hit you learn, do not be frustrated with yourself or your partner, do not conceal or avoid your weaknesses, explore them and lose them in the safe environment of the class.