Class review: 11th of November

Wow, what a class last night. I've taught some pretty good classes in the last two years, but last night's class definitely was near the very top of that list. For the first time in a long time, I covered everything I wanted to in the allotted time, and even managed to build on the already complex sequences we were going through at the end of the class.

Because we always warm up with the same drills (cavazione di tempo, the perfect and inperfect spirals, etc.), I'll only mention what was new about last night: more cutting, and their follow-on.

1) Throw a mezzo mandritto (i.e. from quarta) or mezzo riverso (i.e. from seconda) to the opponent's sword to create motion from stillness. As the opponent performs a cavazione to come back on line, exchange guards to either seconda or quarta, depending on which side you started, and thrust in opposition.
2) If the opponent decides to step back with while performing the cavazione, strike with a passing lunge.
3) If as the defender the aggressor passes in seconda, this is an opportunity to peform a scanso della vita, or a scanso del piede dritto if he lunges with a firm foot.
4) If however the aggressor passes in quarta, we'll be looking at a counter-beat followed by a pass in quarta.

Tonight I'll be going through the plates with a smaller group tonight, to figure out the context for each; more on this later!