Facts and Figures 2013

This Academic year (2012-13) so far...
159 Students (including Rutgers and Guildhall)went through the various exams
Standard 61 Students (Plus 35 from Guildhall and Rutgers)
Advanced Modules 194 Modules (72 Students)
- 30 Students Completed Advanced
- 42 Students tested on ASW
Specialisations 27 (24 Students)
Of all the students taught at the three schools only 6 students took no exam, most of those were to do with physical conditions that meant they could not take part in classes

For comparison to last year

	2012	2013	Increase
Standard	135	159	15%
Advanced Complete	21	30	30%
Advanced Single Weapon	26	42	38%
Specialisations	19	24	20%

The gloved hand

I recently was reading a Stage Combat blog. One entry was about a new pair of stage combat gloves the writer had bought. Gloves seem to be a must in Stage combat in the US, though they are popular amongst other organisations and individuals.
I think I have mentioned that we don't allow anyone to use gloves to start with, though in certain circumstances with heavier weapons we do allow it in performance, though generally not in training...

I posted a question to the blog post, Why the need for gloves, that I had never received a satisfactory answer to this.
Posted below is his response

To protect your hands from the swords and the swords from your hands. Little dings on the hand that might have been bloody will just be bruises if you’re wearing gloves — especially when you’re using weapons without a big fancy guard, or working in styles with hand beats or half-swording. And any moisture or sweat on your hands will start the high-carbon steel rusting.

Below my reply

It is up to the individual, of course, but these reasons don’t and have never convinced me, The best protection for the hands is to not allow them to get hit in the first place, I almost never wear gloves when I fight and don’t get hit on the hands, In my experience of teaching for over 20 years and previously to that my fathers 30 years is that people look after unprotected hands more than they do when they wear gloves. The gloves give both sides a false sense of security, especially the gloves that most stage combatants wear as they are unpadded and do nothing against a meaningful hit. Though an increase of padding just makes things worse as an increased perception of safety leads to greater risk taking. Hand beats and half swording again can be done fine, even with non rebated weapons without gloves, I have seen no real reason to use them with rebated weapons. I also hear the arguments about chips on the blades etc, but that is not a problem with well maintained blades or those crafted properly.
In regards to moisture, depends on the person, but most people don’t get sweaty hands unless they are either gripping to tightly, or wearing gloves which hold in the heat. As to moisture and possible rust on the sword, that can be dealt with by a quick clean or wipe of the weapons after use, something that should be done anyway, IMO
Hands can get hit, but they are not being specifically targeted and with properly blade placement and parries etc. they are in no more danger danger than another body part. One could argue that same chances of things going wrong could be applied to mistakes leading to face or head hits, yet no one I am aware of recommends that stage combat should be done with fencing masks or eye protection.
It is my belief that the use of gloves is received wisdom, people do it because that is what is done, the reasons for them seems to make sense and no one questions it. Or they receive a hit on the hands, caused in part because of a lack of awareness due to feeling safer in gloves and poor technique and then praise the gloves for having saved the day, rather than looking at the fact that the gloves are a major part in why the hand got hit in first place.

Facts and figures 2012

At the BADC AGM at the end of 2012 there were several reports. Amongst them was one on the number of students that had been examined by the organisation over the year.
767 students went through the various exams
From our point of view the number of our students made some interesting info.

	Total in BADC	Trained by AoF	Percentage of total
Foundation	220	8	3.6%
Standard	425	135	31%
Advanced Completed	29	21	72%
Advanced Single Weapons	52	26	50%
Specialisation	23	19	82%

It is an interesting indication of what we are able to do, particularly  at LAMDA and especially at the higher levels of the process

Why don't things change....

You cannot simultaneously ignore problems and solve them.

This appears to be so obvious that it almost seems pointless to mention it... yet again and again people do just that.
When teaching one finds that students will ask if one can watch them to tell what they need to work on or improve. When you then point out a weakness, many times one gets the response.... "yes yes I know".

Well, no no! If they really knew it was wrong, they would have done several things. They would have recognised it and then in the moment done something to change it, and possibly done the movement again to effect the change in motion. They may also have told me before doing the movements that this thing was something you were having trouble with

The "yes yes, I know" response tells you that the person does not really know, rather have received the information in the past and so when you tell them again they think they know it.

Real knowing, knowledge, changes you and how you behave. Just receiving information doesn't DO anything,  how you use that information is what does something.

To affect a change in yourself you have to be Aware of it!

Fight Night 2013 and exam done...

ANother one done for this year...

95 people through the exam
76 fighters in Fight Night
16 Standards
100 Advanced Modules
27 Specialisations

A lot of work done during that last few weeks....

Overwhelmed but not crushed

Real learning takes place when what you can already do is overwhelmed yet you still succeed, or at least not crushed. You find the your comfort zone by constantly going beyond it.

why the gloves

A bug I have is gloves for stage combat. 

We don't let our students wear them, apart from in unusual circumstances.... 

But  others do, if you look at the States almost all of them, there are a few exceptions, wear long cuffed gauntlets.

Over here in the UK I have increasingly noticed the trend increasing, especially amongst some groups. These however are not gauntlets but generally they are fingerless gym type gloves.

I don't know what real purpose they serve? They offer no protection, and even if they do, learning with protection is counter productive and leads to increased risk taking.

On the occasions when we ask students to wear gloves, such as when they are preparing to perform heavy fights such as axe vs flail, where gloves would be be appropriate, the students, having become used to fighting without them are generally resistant to doing and will prefer to work without

I have heard people ask for gloves because their hands sweat... Personally I have never encountered anyone who hands got so sweaty that they couldn't hold the sword. Also putting gloves on is hardly going going to decrease your hands from sweating.... A problem is also that if you learn, wearing gloves, then that becomes the default and what you are comfortable with, if you then have to work with out gloves you have to adapt to that, and changes a habit is harder than developing one.

Another reason I have heard is sore hands or blisters.... Again that is a problems of gripping the sword too tight or having hands that are not used to being used... So correct the grip and allow the hands to toughen up.

So what are we left with? The cool factor, wearing gloves makes me look cool! Hey you are doing combat, you look cool already! If you don't then the gloves aren't going to help!