Is this normal in a HEMA tourney?

[Thorsteinn]

Is this normal visavie the twitching, bad flow, and bouncing?
I counted at least three blows landed while either the striker or receivers feet were both off the ground. Do you think turn shoes would have helped with the footwork & to cut down on the bouncing?

[Sir Brian]

Well understand that I've only been doing WMA for 2.5 years and haven't been around a great deal in the greater HEMA/WMA community but I have observed several people fight in this manner with a lot of the twitching and bouncing. One of the best fighters from MASHS does a great deal of linear moments with much more fluid bobbing and weaving but definitely not twitching. I've never liked the bouncing or twitching even when I did Karate/Ju Jitsu as I always considered it an unnecessary waste of energy although others claim it keeps your muscles charged up. I suppose it is akin to the arguments for and against thoroughly stretching prior to any athletic activity which I don't pay much attention to either and never had a muscle cramp up or pulled. 

[Sir James A]

"Style doesn't matter. What works is what's important."
~ Mitsusuke Harada

[Joshua Santana]

I would say no.  This looks more like nerves reacting to the visual intensity of the fight.  I know this because it happened to me once and it wasn't a good feeling.  On the other hand that is also their way of feeling their opponent out to find a tempo to exploit their opening. 

[Sir James (Fiat Lux)]

I've seen similar movements in olympic-style fencing. The theory is that the constant motion improves mobility. In a sword-tag type of match, that would prove true. It's a bit different when you need to actually impart power to the strike. Look at Boxing vs. sport karate. In sport karate, it's a matter of simply landing a blow. Boxing requires sufficient force, which is all generated by one's linkage to the ground.