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Main => The Courtyard => Topic started by: Thorsteinn on 2011-12-13, 19:58:06

Title: Combatting Double Kills.
Post by: Thorsteinn on 2011-12-13, 19:58:06
From my friend Richard Marsden from a HEMA discussion on how to teach folks how to avoid double kills. I think it would be very good as a cross-discipline tool to help folks of all skill levels.

"Hello, I teach lots of students, some quite young. Here are my experiences.

I set up a culture right away of discouraging double-kills. One way we do this is in slow drills at the start called robot-drills in longsword.

Each student picks a guard (Fiore has lots) then on the count of three they get to make one movement at the same rate of speed. We count down again and again till there is a victor. In this slow, methodical training method we rarely get double-kills. Students can see what's going on, they understand the 'game' and they don't consciously decide, "Yeah, hell with it- double kill time."

After we get students used to robot drills we speed up and eventually move into sparring. The robot drills pay off at this point as students have an understanding of how to play to survive- not just win.

Another technique is to really drill the moving off the line in longsword so attacks and defenses aren't directly at the opponent, but use a little movement here and there to be safe.

In rapier, longsword and other systems, we show plays and how they work. When we ask students to find counters, we discourage any counters that will get them hit.

These little techniques have paid off fairly well in our group so far."

Robot Drill - Longsword (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7d1Du_KYAfA#)
Title: Re: Combatting Double Kills.
Post by: Thorsteinn on 2011-12-13, 19:59:26
I brought this to my local SCA practice with a small modification for use with new folks. He liked and and we plan to use it in the future.

-Ivan
Title: Re: Combatting Double Kills.
Post by: Sir William on 2011-12-13, 22:07:54
What is wrong with double kills?
Title: Re: Combatting Double Kills.
Post by: Sir James A on 2011-12-14, 03:37:06
What is wrong with double kills?

I might be off on this, but I think double kill in this case means when you "kill" your opponent at the same time they "kill" you, making it a draw. Which, in period life-or-death context, means you kill your opponent, at the cost of your own life too.
Title: Re: Combatting Double Kills.
Post by: Thorsteinn on 2011-12-14, 04:15:31
Double kills are where you both lose.

In a life-or-death fight it means both of you die. Which is foreseeably good in the right circumstances like if your already dying, or their death is just that more important than your life.

In the tournament it means that you must refight the fight adding extra time and effort to the endeavor (unless they are counting a double kills as a loss, then your hosed).
Title: Re: Combatting Double Kills.
Post by: Sir Brian on 2011-12-14, 14:23:32
Thanks for posting this because I think that’s really interesting and will ask about giving it a try at tonight’s class. In our more formal (i.e. tournament mode) bouts we count doubles against both so yeah you can get hosed in points.  ;)
Title: Re: Combatting Double Kills.
Post by: SirNathanQ on 2011-12-14, 21:04:54
I hear some groups actually have a mode where after a touch is made, the fighters have 3 moves, if the person who was hit or touched returns the hit or touch, then the original hit or touch is negated.
Title: Re: Combatting Double Kills.
Post by: Sir Edward on 2011-12-14, 21:07:00

We sometimes work with an "after blow" rule, where after being hit, you have a single action within which to hit the other guy back. That turns it into a double, meaning you both lose or the point is negated. Any attack that doesn't properly defend against a follow-through leaves you open to death.
Title: Re: Combatting Double Kills.
Post by: Sir William on 2011-12-16, 16:33:51
Sort of like 'Last Stand' in Call of Duty?  You're shot, you go down but you have the ability to shoot from on your back in a last ditch effort to take out your attacker...if you survive the firefight, you stand back up.  Sorry for the MW3 reference...did it last night and was shocked that I survived.