SPEAR TRAINING CURRICULA FOR SCHOLUM ARTIS BELLUM

Max Von Halstern – maxntropy@att.net

 

I.               Introduction

a.     The application of Five Techniques (Bio-Mechanics, Offense, Defense, Maneuver, Teamwork) through Three Tactics (Fencing, Finding & Making Holes, Taking Advantage of Chaos) for Three Contexts (Single Combat, Melee Unit Formation, Melee Spear Fencing)

 

II.             The Five Techniques

a.     Fundamental Virtuous Bio-Mechanical Techniques for force generation are the same Seven Deadly Virtues as those taught for Weapon and Shield, Polearm, Greatsword, etc…

                                               i.     Virtuous Stance – Enables steps; ensures ball-of-foot turns, hip rotation, balance & lock

                                             ii.     Virtuous Turns – Transfers body momentum; changes offense/defense angle; maintains balance; enables weight shift; brings shoulder/sword into striking position

                                            iii.     Virtuous Steps – Maintain balance; maintain stance; maintain angle of defense; causes hip rotation, angle-change; crosses dead-zone into the inner-baseline or maintains range across the outer-baseline

                                            iv.     Virtuous Rotation – Explosively tranfers momentum of body along horizontal axis; maintains angle of defense; brings shoulder/sword into striking position

                                             v.     Virtuous Lock – Transfers momentum of body through the shoulder; locked at elbow/trices for zero-stem/rotation block; locked at armpit for short-stem/flat-block; corner-block; locked at the deltoid for long-stem/offside/buckler

1.     There are two types of Spear Lock, depending on whether you are throwing a Fixed-Grip Shot or a Sliding-Grip Shot.  Given the length of spear shots, blows often begin with Lock but enter an unlocked ballistic phase after they let the shot fly with extension.  It is critical to ensure one regains lock at the end of the ballistic phase if it is not maintained throughout the entire shot.

a.     With a Fixed-Grip Shot, the front-facing arm starts-out rotated down and forward approximately 20-to-45-degrees while the backward-facing arm starts-out rotated down and backward 10-to-45-degrees.  Virtuous Lock in the backward-facing arm is maintained in the armpit, as its extension is equivalent to that of a Short-Stem blow.  Virtuous Lock in the forward-facing arm is maintained in the shoulder, as its extension is equivalent to that of a Long-Stem Blow.

b.     With a Sliding-Grip Shot, the backward-facing hand grips the spear shaft tight while the spear shaft slides through the grip of the forward-facing hand which helps guide the spear towards the target.  Virtuous Lock on the forward-facing arm is maintained where the tricep meets the pectoralis or the external obliques (ribcage), as its extension is equivalent to that of a Short-Stem blow.  Virtuous Lock on the backward-facing arm is maintained in the shoulder, as its extension is equivalent to that of a Long-Stem Blow.

                                            vi.     Virtuous Extension – Follows a Virtuous Turn and/or a Virtous Rotation to ensure transfer of momentum of body into shot; no exertion of biceps or triceps, guides sword to target, flat across angle of shield (cup of soup), follows-through across helm of opponent, unlocked elbows, arms rotate with extension for angle-change deep-wraparound

1.     There are two types of Virtuous Extension for spear, depending on whether you are throwing a Fixed-Grip Shot or a Sliding-Grip Shot.

a.     With a Fixed-Grip Shot, Virtuous Extension is the explosive Short-Stem extension and rotation of the backward elbow accompanied with the explosive Long-Stem Extension of the forward-facing elbow.

b.     With a Sliding-Grip Shot, Virtuous Extension is the explosive extension of the elbow pushing the back arm forward across the hips sliding the spear through the grip of the forward hand (which remains locked in place) rotating the back shoulder forward with the hip rotation and foot turn.

2.     Beware of Over-extension where the shoulder crosses the center-line or where there is a loss of stance from the shift of balance from the Turn and/or Rotation.

                                          vii.     Virtuous Wrist – Rapid half-rotation wrist for thumb-turn wraparound; rapid wrist-shift for flat-snap; flowing full-rotation writst for Moulinet; lacks exertion by biceps or triceps

 

b.     Offense (Pointwork) Techniques

                                               i.     Targeting (Selecting and Prioritizing Offensive Objectives)

1.     Familiarity with the size of the spear head and openings required

2.     Concentration and Focus

a.     Narrow, Broad and Global

b.     Internal and External

c.     Intense, Short, and Sustained

d.     Switching between Narrow, Broad, Global and Intense, Short, Sustained

3.     Battlefield Situational Awareness (melee sense)

a.     Perception, Monitoring and Cue Detection

                                                                                                     i.     Active Listening

                                                                                                   ii.     Central (foveal) Vision

                                                                                                  iii.     Peripheral Vision

b.     Synthesis, Comprehension & Pattern Recognition

                                                                                                     i.     Integrating attributes, characteristics, properties, and qualities of sensed objects and situations and comparing them to or classifying them based on a priori knowledge (experience-based) or information extracted from the sensed patterns.

c.     Extrapolation, Forecasting and Projection

                                                                                                     i.     Understanding the fundamental dynamics of the situation to predict future actions of elements of the environment gained through perception of those elements and comprehension of the context.

                                             ii.     Accuracy (conformity to expected value/target)

1.     Ability to find and land blows on corners and minimal openings

                                            iii.     Precision (reliable reproducibility/repeatability of results)

1.     Ability to maintain Accuracy over time

                                            iv.     Thrust – The basic offensive spear technique, extending the spear point forward to an offensive target zone using the Seven Deadly Virtues and immediately returning to stance or following through with another technique (offense, defense, or maneuver).

 

EXERCISE 1: TARGETING, ACCURACY, AND PRECISION DRILL

 

PLACE 3” TAPE CIRCLES ON WALL CORRESPONDING TO HEAD, LEG, AND TWO ARMS.  THROW 20 SHOTS TO THE HEAD CIRCLE TRYING TO HIT DEAD-CENTER OF THE CIRCLE.  THROW 20-SHTOS TO THE LEG CIRCLE.  THROW TEN COMBINATIONS OF HEAD-LEG-LEFT-ARM-RIGHT-ARM.  THROW TEN COMBINATIONS OF HEAD-LEG-RIGHT-ARM-LEFT-ARM.  FOCUS ON RARGETING, ACCURACY, PRECISION AND PROPER TECHNIQUE (STANCE, TURN, ROTATION, LOCK, EXTENSION, WRIST) TO ENSURE POWER GENERATION.

 

                                             v.     Grab – An alternative offensive pointwork technique in which the tip, side or back-end of the tip of the spear is used to grab the opponent’s weapon or defense to open their defense and create surprise.

                                            vi.     Jam – An alternative offensive pointwork technique in which the tip, side or back-end of the tip of the spear is used to jam the opponent’s weapon or defense (often against the opponent’s body, weapon, or another’s defense, weapon, or body) to immobilize their defense and maneuver and create surprise.

EXERCISE 2: SHIELD GRABBING AND JAMMING DRILL

 

FACE AN OPPONENT WHO HOLDS A SHIELD WITH YOUR SPEAR.  PRACTICE GRABBING THE INSIDE HELM AND INSIDE LEG AND OUTSIDE HELM AND OUTSIDE LEG CORNERS.  THEN PRACTICE JAMMING THE INSIDE HELM AND INSIDE LEG AND OUTSIDE HELM AND OUTSIDE LEG CORNERS.  SWITCH WITH YOUR OPPONENT AND ALLOW THEM TO TRY GRABBING AND JAMMING WHILE YOU HOLD THE SHIELD.

 

c.     Defense Techniques

                                               i.     Parry – A block of an attack made with the strong of the weapon

1.     Lateral parries move the weapon in a straight line

2.     Semicircular parries describe an arc with the tip of the weapon

3.     Counterparries describe a circle with the tip of the weapon

4.     Ceding parries yield to the force of incoming attacks gliding from one guard to another along the attack of the weapon (sticky weapon)

                                             ii.     Riposte – An offensive counterattack made immediately after a parry of the opponent’s attack

                                            iii.     Beat – Knock the offender’s weapon off it’s intended line to target as a distraction or as a precursor to another technique

                                            iv.     Envelopment – Moving the tip of the weapon tightly around the opponent’s weapon in a small circle to trap their weapon and enable a thrust.

                                             v.     Glide – Using timing, speed and distance to quickly and lightly run your weapon along the weapon of the opponent to force their weapon off line and enable a thrust in the same line of the glide.

                                            vi.     Press – An attempt to push the opponent’s blade aside or out of line, which can then be followed by a direct or indirect offensive technique.

 

EXERCISE 3: FENCING TECHNIQUE DRILL

 

FACE OFF AGAINST ANOTHER SPEAR FIGHTER.  AS THEY THRUST AT YOU (OR YOU AT THEM, DEPENDING ON THE NEED OF THE TECHNIQUE) PRACTICE EACH AT LEAST FOUR TIMES AND THEN SWITCH ROLES WITH YOUR PARTNER:

1.     LATERAL PARRIES (LINE)

2.     SEMI-CIRCULAR PARRIES (SEMI-CIRCLE)

3.     COUNTER-PARRIERS (CIRCLE)

4.     CEDING PARRIES (GLIDING)

5.     RIPOSTE (PARRY AND COUNTER-THRUST)

6.     BEAT (KNOCKING THEIR WEAPON ASIDE FOR THRUST)

7.     ENVELOPMENT (CIRCLING AROUND THEIR WEAPON)

8.     GLIDE (RUNNINING UP THEIR WEAPON)

9.     PRESS (PUSHING THEIR BLADE OUT OF LINE)

 

d.     Maneuver Techniques

                                               i.     Advance – A movement forward by half-pass, gather, full-pass, traverse, compass-step, or lunge.

                                             ii.     Withdraw – A movement backward by half-pass, gather, full-pass, traverse, compass-step, or lunge.

                                            iii.     Fade – A timing maneuver from a position within the dead-zone to a position outside the Outer Baseline (or at least outside the range of the shot) where one fades out of range as the shot comes into range using Footwork, Positioning, or Virtuous Lean (maintaining Virtuous Stance shifting weight and balance by bending over the knees)

                                            iv.     Follow – A timing and positioning maneuver from a position within the dead-zone to a position outside the Outer Baseline (or at least outside the range of the shot) where one actually moves further along the Inner Baseline or Dead-Zone as a shot is thrown to move into a position out of the range of the blow enabling one to then follow the blow closer in to the opponent, or where one only slightly moves or leans slightly out of the range of the shot at the dead-zone or Outer Baseline and then follows the shot further into the opponent in the Inner Baseline.

                                             v.     Lunge – An extended attack made by pushing off the back leg to land on the bent front leg

                                            vi.     Dodge – To evade or avoid a blow by moving or shifting quickly aside in a given direction or by shifting or twisting suddenly

                                          vii.     Weave – To move from side to side while going forward

                                         viii.     Duck – To quickly lower the head or body

EXERCISE 4: MANEUVER TECHNIQUE DRILL

 

FACE OFF AGAINST ANOTHER SPEAR FIGHTER.  AS THEY THRUST AT YOU (OR YOU AT THEM, DEPENDING ON THE NEED OF THE TECHNIQUE) PRACTICE EACH AT LEAST FOUR TIMES AND THEN SWITCH ROLES WITH YOUR PARTNER:

1.     HALF-PASS/GATHER ADVANCE AND WITHDRAWAL

2.     FULL-PASS ADVANCE AND WITHDRAWAL

3.     COMPASS-STEP ADVANCE AND WITHDRAWAL

4.     FADE FROM A THRUST

5.     FOLLOW A THRUST

6.     LUNGE

7.     DODGE

8.     WEAVE

9.     DUCK

 

e.     Setup Techniques

                                               i.     Offensive Fakes – An uncompleted attack

                                             ii.     Offensive Feints – A deceptive offensive movement or expression

1.     False Offensive Movement

2.     Offensive Misdirection

3.     Offensive Change of Pace/Sequence/Timing

4.     Psychological

a.     Overestimation of Offense

b.     Underestimation of Offense

c.     Shock/Awe/Surprise

                                            iii.     Offensive Combinations/Disruptive Blocks

                                            iv.     Defensive Fakes – An uncompleted defense

                                             v.     Defensive Feints – A deceptive defensive movement or expression

1.     False Defensive Movement

2.     Defensive Misdirection

3.     Defensive Change of Pace/Sequence/Timing

4.     Psychological

a.     Overestimation of Defense

b.     Underestimation of Defense

c.     Shock/Awe/Surprise

                                            vi.     Defensive Combinations/Disruptive Shots

                                          vii.     Maneuver Fakes – An uncompleted maneuver

                                         viii.     Maneuver Feints – A deceptive maneuver movement or expression

1.     False Footwork/Positioning Movement

2.     Footwork/Positioning Misdirection

3.     Footwork/Positioning Change of Pace/Sequence/Timing

4.     Psychological

a.     Overestimation of Footwork/Positioning

b.     Underestimation of Footwork/Positioning

c.     Shock/Awe/Surprise

                                            ix.     Maneuver Combinations/Disruptive Steps

EXERCISE 5: SETUP TECHNIQUE DRILL

 

FACE OFF AGAINST ANOTHER SPEAR FIGHTER.  AS THEY THRUST AT YOU (OR YOU AT THEM, DEPENDING ON THE NEED OF THE TECHNIQUE) PRACTICE EACH AT LEAST FOUR TIMES AND THEN SWITCH ROLES WITH YOUR PARTNER:

1.     OFFENSIVE FAKES: FAKE AN ONSIDE HEADTHRUST AND FOLLOW-THROUGH TO AN OFFSIDE LEG THRUST

2.     OFFENSIVE FEINTS: FEINT AN OFFSIDE LEG THRUST WITH A HIP AND SHOULDER ROTATION AND FOLLOW-THROUGH TO AN ONSIDE HEAD THRUST

3.     OFFENSIVE COMBINATIONS: THROW AN ONSIDE HEAD/OFFSIDE LEG/ONSIDE HEAD COMBINATION

4.     DEFENSIVE COMBINATIONS: DUCK DOWN, DODGE LEFT, LUNGE THRUST FORWARD.

5.     MANEUVER FAKES – ADVANCE HALF-PASS CROSS-RIGHT AND THRUST TO THE OFFSIDE LEG

 

f.      Teamwork Techniques

                                               i.     Communication

1.     Communicating Target Selection (Opponents, High/Low)

                                             ii.     Assists

1.     Weapon Suppression

2.     Shield Grabs/Jams

3.     Assistive Combination

                                            iii.     Positioning

1.     W/S, Polearm

a.     Back Flank

2.     Combat Archery (Long-Spear)

a.     Front Suppression

3.     Triad

a.     W/S & Polearm – Typically Left Back Flank

                                            iv.     Traffic Control

1.     Room to maneuver, offend, and defend

EXERCISE 6: TEAMWORK ASSISTS DRILL

 

FORM TEAMS OF TWO SPEARS FACING A SINGLE SPEAR.  THE TEAM OF TWO WILL COMMUNICATE BETWEEN THEMSELVES THEIR OBJECTIVES AND WHOM WILL BE RESPONSIBLE FOR WHAT.  PRACTICE EACH FOUR TIMES, SWITCHING ROLES WITHIN THE TEAM AND THEN ROTATE TEAM-MATES SO THAT EACH HAS AN OPPORTUNITY TO BE THE LONE SPEAR.

1.     WEAPON SUPRESSION: ONE SPEAR WILL BEAT, ENVELOPE, GLIDE, OR PRESS THE OPPONENT SPEAR WHILE THE OTHER THRUSTS THE OPPONENT.

2.     SHIELD GRAB/JAM: THE LONE SPEAR REPLACES THEIR SPEAR WITH A SHIELD.  ONE OF THE SPEAR TEAM THEN DOES A GRAB WHILE THE OTHER THRUSTS.  THEN THEY DO A JAM WHILE THE OTHER THRUSTS.

3.     ASSISTIVE COMBINATION.  ONE OF THE SPEAR TEAM THRUSTS HIGH/LOW LEADING THE OPPONENT TO BLOCK/PARRY WHILE THE OTHER SPEAR THRUSTS TO AN OPEN AREA.

 

III.           Three Tactics for Three Contexts

a.     Spear Fencing (Single Combat)

                                               i.     Advantages and Disadvantages of Offensive Techniques in Spear Fencing (Targeting, Accuracy, Precision, Thrust, Grab, Jam)

                                             ii.     Advantages and Disadvantages of Defensive Techniques in Spear Fencing (Parry, Riposte, Beat, Envelopment, Glide, Press)

                                            iii.     Advantages and Disadvantages of Manuever Techniques in Spear Fencing (Advance, Withdraw, Fade, Follow, Lunch, Dodge, Weave, Duck)

 

b.     Finding & Making Holes (Melee Line Spear Fencing)

                                               i.     Shots of Opportunity

1.     Out-of-stance opponents

2.     Distracted opponents

3.     Timed Counterattacks

4.     Shots on the Diagonal

                                             ii.     Shots of Creation

1.     Fakes, Feints, Combinations

2.     Jams, Grabs, Suppressions

3.     Charges and Pulse-Charges

EXERCISE 7: MELEE LINE SPEAR FENCING DRILL

 

FORM A SMALL LINE OF SPEARS FACING-OFF AGAINST A LINE OF SHIELDS. 

1.     SHOTS OF OPPORTUNITY: SPEND FIVE MINUTES LOOKING FOR OUT-OF-STANCE OPPONENTS (SUFFICIENT OPPENINGS FOR A THRUST), DISTRACTED OPPONENTS, SHOTS ON THE DIAGONAL OR OPPORTUNITIES FOR TIMED COUNTERATTACKS

2.     SHOTS OF CREATION: SPEND 5 MINUTES WORKING FAKES, FEINTS, AND COMBINATIONS, JAMS, JABS AND SUPPRESSIONS (WITH TEAM-MATES).

 

c.     Taking Advantage of Chaos (Melee Unit Formation Charges)

                                               i.     Charges and Breakthroughs

1.     Closing

a.     Raised Shields, Open Legs

2.     Contact

a.     Compact units, Turned Frontage

3.     Break-Up

a.     Open formation, Out-of-Stance

4.     Reform

a.     Distracted opponents, thin lines

                                             ii.     Counter-Charges and Denial-of-Charge

1.     Closing

a.     Raised Shields, Open Legs

2.     Contact

a.     Reinforce the wall

3.     Break-Up

a.     Open formation, Out-of-Stance

4.     Reform

a.     Distracted opponents, thin lines

EXERCISE 8: MELEE UNIT FORMATION CHARGE DRILLS

 

FORM TWO SMALL MELEE UNITS EACH CONSISTING OF A SHIELD WALL AND SPEARS.  AS ONE UNIT PRACTICES CHARGES AND BREAKTHROUGHS, THE OTHER SHOULD PRACTICE COUNTER-CHARGES DENIAL-OF-CHARGE.  EACH UNIT SHOULD PRACTICE EACH TECHNIQUE THREE TIMES.

1.     CHARGES AND BREAKTHROUGHS: AS THE SHIELD WALLS CLOSE, CONTACT, BREAK-UP AND REFORM ON THE CHARGE AND BREAKTHROUGH, SPEARS SHOULD NOTE THE RAISED SHIELDS AND AIM FOR OPEN LEGS ON THE CLOSING, MANEUVER THROUGH THE CONTACT, NOTE THE OPEN FORMATIONS AND OUT-OF-STANCE POSITIONING ENABLING EASY KILLS ON THE BREAK-UP, AND THE DISTRACTED OPPONENTS AND THIN LINES ENABLING FORWARD MOVEMENT AND TARGETING OF BACK LINES ON THE REFORM

2.     COUNTER-CHARGES AND DENIAL OF CHARGE:  AS THE SHIELD WALLS CLOSE, CONTACT, BREAK-UP AND REFORM ON THE COUNTER-CHARGES AND DENIAL-OF-CHARGE, SPEARS SHOULD NOTE THE RAISED SHIELDS AND OPEN LEGS ON THE CLOSING, SHOULD REINFORCE THEIR SHEILD WALL ON THE CONTACT, SHOULD NOTE THE OPEN FORMATIONS AND OUT-OF-STANCE POSITIONING ENABLING EASY KILLS ON THE BREAK-UP, AND THE DISTRACTED OPPONENTS AND THIN LINES ENABLING FORWARD MOVEMENT AND TARGETING OF BACK LINES ON THE REFORM