Objectives in martial arts sparring and real combat - HEMA

[@Lunumbrus]

Thumbnail looks like Matt trying really, really hard to describe the size of a watermelon.

[@TheCockeyez]

Or "aliens".

[@charlesmartel4794]

+Lunumbrus or booty

[@ladymelisandre975]

+Lunumbrus No his wife just hid his glove puppets.

[@reganheath]

+Lunumbrus Nah, he's eating an invisible giant hamburger.. obviously :P

[@Hebdomad7]

As technique for training, this is great. It already agrees with my gamesentric view of the world, but it would definitely spice things up instead of doing the same old duels over and over.

[@tangsoodoarnis4life]

Thanks for the great advice Matt.

[@100dfrost]

Matt, very interesting training concept. I don't believe I was ever actually trained that way. I do not think I would describe you as a defensive swordsman. You always look like you (especially with the saber) instantly strike back from a parry. I may be missing something though. In boxing we would call you a counter puncher, not defensive. Or maybe an "active" defense. Great video, thank-you. Dante.

[@GeorgeThoughts]

+100dfrost In fencing that's the best time to attack whilst the enemy is open. And if it's non-HEMA fencing using the priority rule then you really have to parry and riposte immediately to score a point.

[@100dfrost]

+The Light That Paints Thanks. Dante.

[@weissschnee2772]

+100dfrost If one won't attack, then the greatest defense is useless. The riposte is necessary for the defense to overcome the opponent's aggression else the opponent will win.

[@100dfrost]

+Weiss Schnee Thanks.

[@Thatonedude227]

+Weiss Schnee Shouldn't you be worrying about your tournament? Winter will be watching you know.

[@jasonslade6259]

Interestingly enough, I tend to give the exact same advice to people trying to improve at Competitive Gaming. If you want to get better, you have to get out of your comfort zone from time to time and try things you don't usually do. Otherwise its very easy to stagnate.

[@silverback7133]

ffs there is only ever 1 objective in any combat situation. to seize and hold ground from your opponent until they are placed in a situation where they realise they cant win. took you 13 mins and you never even talked about the single most important factor

[@hedgetwentyfour2708]

Enter: schola gladiatoria merch; role-playing cards

[@scholagladiatoria]

+Hedge Twentyfour It's already in the works, kind of :-)

[@alpenjon]

+Hedge Twentyfour Genius idea! Shut up and take my money!

[@andy4an]

the freeing mechanism to try new things is important in ANY hobby.

[@ARR0WMANC3R]

Tournaments are like a box of chocolates... You never know what you're gonna get...

[@ladymelisandre975]

+ARR0WMANC3R Yeah you do, Milk Tray.

[@thewolvesbane2536]

+Lady Melisandre for the night is dark and full of terrors.

[@nikitaonassis6090]

+Lady Melisandre The night is duck and full of Quackers..

[@rryuan]

You can also choose to only score/kill with one or two techniques. This works well when you outclass your opponent as it increases your challenge and allows you to work on techniques at speed with a solid chance of success.

[@JimGiant]

This is a really good idea. Occasionally I'll fight differently to help my opponent learn but I hadn't thought about it this deeply. How about producing a set of playing cards with different objectives? Hell you could even have a board game where you get up and spar when you land on certain spaces and chose your objective from your hand.

[@Hebdomad7]

Very good idea. I'm tempted to produce a set of objective/random encounter cards that could be used for hema, paintball/airsoft, football, D&D etc...

[@scholagladiatoria]

+Jim Giant We already have cards in use actually, I'm constantly refining them.

[@chrisf247]

Great point and great idea. I was just going to post about removing ego from the equation, and you mentioned it at the end. To grow in anything, to some extent you need permission to suck.

[@slenpaiwashere3599]

Chris F if arrogance is the path to self destruction then humility is the path to self salvation.

[@weissschnee2772]

There is a good reason why I triangulate in swordsmanship. I go to LARPing and SCA practices with my French classical fencing experiences to expand my swordsmanship. To test what I've learned, I faced against many people who were never trained under my system, and I can safely say that my swordsmanship has improved greatly.

[@NoahWeisbrod]

And do you also practice fighting giant suits of armor?

[@weissschnee2772]

Noah Weisbrod Whenever I get the chance; they cost a lot to set up.

[@nikitaonassis6090]

Do you mean triangulate as in filing in the knowledge gaps by using different sources of information ? Thanks..

[@TheRadioactiveFX]

I have a nice idea for a scenario: Person 1: survive 5 minutes until your buddies come or incapacitate your enemy so you can run away Person 2: survive 5 minutes until your buddies come or incapacitate your enemy so you can take his wallet After 5 minutes it becomes a group fight with following objectives: Team 1: at least 75% of the team escapes the sparring area (including the original Person 1) Team 2: incapacitate Person 1 without getting Person 2 killed The sparring area can only be escaped from one side, so that Team 2 stands between Team 1 and the escape line.

[@dockmasterted]

Personally I would like to see a video of this concept put into action! (like the video's of your HEMA matches)

[@chadherbert18]

Do you find that you can classify fighters into 'types'? Like, when you face a new opponent, how long until you decide, "oh, this guy's a dodger and a feint-er?" Or, is every fighter just too different? Or, would you say that you just haven't faced enough opponents to form solid categories? I find that I can do this in the sports that I play - I haven't spared with enough people with swords yet - so far, everyone looks like they have a different 'style'...

[@Henrik.Yngvesson]

Swedish LARP is pretty fun as it includes a lot of role playing and not just fighting and "win the game" and that reminds a lot of what you're talking about with different situations and intentions. And you're mostly facing people you don't know anything about and you could be alone against 5 etc. You can really get the feeling of a real life threatning situation and you don't want to fight and rather flee or sort it out in other ways.

[@WakarimasenKa]

In real combat, if both sides were trained by someone experienced or they were experienced themselves, they would would come from the same sort of meta fighting. There would only be surprises if there was a great difference in experience or if their style had grown from some isolated place... like the Mongols invading all of a sudden with new tactics and force combinations.

[@weissschnee2772]

+WakarimasenKa Just a little history fact: Western civilization started to get used to Mongols' invasions. To deal with Mongolian invasions, the Eastern front of Western civilization, especially Russia, changed their military tactics to deal with them.

[@WakarimasenKa]

Weiss Schnee My point was that they werent any less trained or skilled before they adapted. They just hadnt trained or organized to fight that particular threat. Similarly, arming police to fight terrorists and bank robbers, make them less suited to fight other sorts of crime.

[@Killery96]

FIRST! HAHAHAHAAA! Is that a sweater you're wearing?

[@KmitZeRap]

+Killery96 no it's cloth armor :P

[@Killery96]

+League of Kaboonio Oh, well. I thought maybe SPES had come out with a HEMA sweater or something.

[@Brown195]

+League of Kaboonio Not even close, it's obviously a historically accurate Easton style black mail armour designed for stopping thrown pommels.

[@alfatazer_8991]

+Brown Of course! (Slaps head) Genius! You never know when a thrown pommel might strike!

[@lukutiss1324]

How often do you see people grappling when they spar in HEMA? I watched some of your tournaments but didn't really see any grappling because I guess it doesn't really get points.

[@weissschnee2772]

+lukutiss1324 It depends on what the clubs are studying. If the club is studying German longsword, grappling is part of the toolkits. If the club is studying rapier, grappling is included in disarmings. It also depends on the club's pedagogy. Some clubs include grappling in their swordsmanship whereby other clubs separate both.

[@gurkfisk89]

+lukutiss1324 I would say that it happens more often in sparring than in tournaments, and then it really comes down to the individual. Some people really likes grappling and then it happens a lot more often. It also depends a bit on who your sparring partner is, I for example likes grappling but if I'm against someone who doesn't I think twice before I go there, especially if we are sparring on hard floor instead of mats. In some tournaments you can get points from grappling, but it's often much more difficult than with a cut or thrust.

[@klyanadkmorr]

Hodor We did similar for fun doing martial arts workouts 80-90s with different friends who knew and crosstrained different styles. Sometimes you could only use one hand/kick/takedown or stay with a certain stance or technique to see if you could adjust adapt to your opponent. Or with sparring weapons the same rules.

[@Patryk....]

If HEMA is realistic please enter M1 Tournament and outclass those "athletes" with HEMA techniques. Simple.

[@PieterBreda]

And of course, in the past, in real life people died if they lost. That won't normally happen in HEMA, though you can probably get injured a bit. But nobody will chop off your head.

[@MannulusPallidus]

Awesome video. I especially liked what you said about watching someone fight being substantially different than fighting them yourself.

[@Pyllymysli]

Random rambling incoming. While variety is a very important aspect of any competent fighter, almost everyone needs their go-to technique. Something you can be relatively sure will work most of the times you engage in it. Like Bruce Lee said "I don't fear a man who's practiced 1000 kicks, I fear a man who's practiced one kick 1000 times." When variety comes in the play you could say it's more like early fight thing, unless we are talking about some serious risky manouvers. It's like try to get your opponent falsely in their comfort zone and then bang, bring on the pain with your best technique and win the fight in seconds.

[@andretorres75]

Very interesting point of view, I definitely agree with you. I may try that objectives sparring with my comrades if they are willing. Thanks!

[@DemonixGamer]

DUDE!! I couldn't agree more!! :D That's why as someone who's taken fencing for a while, I realized that most fights, despite popular belief, wouldn't necessarily last that short a while like they do in sparring. No one in their right mind is going to charge at another human being without protecting themselves as well. Yeah maybe you see an opening, and you take it but, 1) that wouldn't necessarily kill them right away, and 2) you'd be leaving yourself wide open to get hit with a fatal or devastating blow as well.

[@Ladyshaver]

Hi Matt! After almost 2 years from this video i'd like to ask if you still stick to the idea of objectives in sparring. And if yes, how does this technique turns out? Can you give an evaluation about this? :)

[@LupineHero]

Interesting idea. I might actually try something like this with Super Smash Bros. (A fighting game, in case anyone is unaware.)

[@nate6466]

In practice, fight with your weaknesses. In competition, fight with your strengths. You'll probably lose a LOT in practice, but when you compete, you will most likely not have any glaring weaknesses or things you simply cannot do of which the opponent can take advantage. This was an old Chuck Norris thing, when he was competing. He got beat all the time in practice, but was a champion fighter in his prime because he worked out his weaknesses rather than focus just on what he was good at doing.

[@sparrowhawk81]

I really like this idea, Matt. I've been wondering how tournaments could be tweaked to keep them from just being purely touch-based affairs which can lead to some funny fencing in my opinion. I like the idea of saying "Okay, this guy is an attacker and you are his victim. You have to stop him but you cannot kill him." which would make me really want to say, in the case of a saber, get a nice hand/arm thrust or cut to make them drop the sword. Or to disarm them, etc. I like it.

[@NoahWeisbrod]

You sound like a theatre teacher. Pursuing an objective to get yourself out of your head is a key skill in acting rehearsal and performance.

[@theskoomacat7849]

Yay, hema skill development is quantized. Get a physicist over here to figure out the formulae.

[@MageGrayWolf]

Just an idea for assigning objective. Have it done randomly. You could put the objective on a piece of paper and have everyone pick one from a box. Each person reads their objective but doesn't tell anyone else what it is. Then you pair each person off and you'll never know I you're going to get two aggressive fighter, to defensive, aggressive defensive and so forth.

[@57WillysCJ]

In the days when boxing was one of the most popular sports in America. Carnivals that traveled from town to town put on boxing matches where a fee was offered to locals if they could last a certain number of rounds or knock the shows boxer down. If you worked for the show, every town you found opponents and some were really good. They were local boxing clubs. Very popular with miners, loggers and agriculture workers. You might be a middle weight toe to toe with a local who is half trained heavy weight. These locals would give their all during a fight. So you fought different classes, different styles and multiple opponents each show.

[@RennyRe]

I find that sparring against people you know is still good, because your reflexes stay quick and sharp!

[@kylesutliff8258]

+scholagladiatoria You don't perchance have a list of the various objective which you generally assign to participants do you? I want to incorporate objective sparring, because after seeing this video I think will prove a helpful and interesting exercise, but I am not terribly creative when it comes to inventing objectives.

[@dizzt19]

Targeted practice is very important, even in sparring. If you don't talk each other and don't decide on what the goal is, you might just end up trying to hit each other and win. Also I feel like if you don't have the time to talk about it after you lose potential progress. The pair can give each other tips (no pun intended) or if you have limited space, have other people watch and give feedback. Oh and I had a bad time sparring without knowing any of the basic stuff, it was just chaotic and I didn't know how to make any goals.

[@kimmorgan317]

I really love this Idea of Objective based sparring, do you mind if I use the terminology. I teach unarmed Martial arts for a living and would like to make my own sort of cards.

[@crwydryny]

this is actually an interesting idea. in one of the clubs I train at, when I'm taking a class I often include things such as sparing against multiple opponents and sparing against an armed assailant (sort of simulating a mugging situation to a degree) but I never thought of giving objectives such as escaping the room, or incapacitating your opponent. (definatly something I may be incorporating into my classes, as well as bringing to the clubs I train at) funny thing is just before clicking on this video I had a discussion with a friend about the self defense class I teach, about how being a bujitsuka (someone who practices multiple martial arts) one thing I always suggest is that if someone wants to try another martial art then do so and bring what they learn to the class so we can take a look at it, and incorporate it into the class, and ideas such as this one are great for improving training

[@АлександрМавромати]

Congratulations! You have reinvented the wheel. All this things you are talking about exists in all martial arts (armed & unarmed) for decades. I advice to read some manuals for boxing trainers. There are a lot of information about objective sparring that could be adapted to hema

[@wholesomevideoguy5336]

I agree one hundred percent. Back when I was in The Adrian Empire the monthly events would usually have one traditional tournament and one objective based tournament. The variety was great for keeping things fresh and forcing adaptation even if every once in a while it could get a little gimmicky.

[@lokuzt]

Hey Matt, I believe that what you are referring to in 3:25 is called "the Peltzman effect", where a subconscious sense of false security begins to derive from growing accustomed to the regularity of their rule sets, club or partners... so that the adrenaline rush that fear brings starts to disappear and fighters will take more risks, which probably leads to having more accidents.

[@justsomeguy3931]

My foil fencing classes always spent the last few minutes of class during the final weeks doing team fights of up to 8 people per team. It was much more fun, a liberating experience after being confined to a narrow runway, but not "a totally different ball game." Same game, extra rules and lots more people.

[@ostrowulf]

In different training I have had to do something similar to this over the years. Not so much having some one give me differing secret objectives, but training to different ones. In my teenage years doing martial arts, it was obviously self defense, and points based types of fighting. Then I joined the army, where it became about incapacitating or killing the enemy as fast as possible, preferably before their buddy got to you. Then I took a course on being a military prison guard, where it is rather frowned upon if you kill the prisoner. So almost every move I had done for the last several years in the army was obsolete to my new objective of either subduing the opponent, or breaking contact so that I could get help (as well as playing the unruly detainee, with an entirely different objective).

[@southpawmoose]

we did stuff like this in my judo dojo. one could only use leg sweeps and the other could only use counter throwing. makes the sparring very effective.

[@ThatNateGuy]

Do you think that competitions might go better (if much longer) if they were based more on objectives than point scoring?

[@alpenjon]

This is pure gold. Thank you so much for sharing these ideas, Matt!

[@ladymelisandre975]

Congrats on getting the job as the new Cadbury's Milk Tray Man.

[@DaBezzzz]

Please expand Scholagladiatoria to the Netherlands... this makes me so excited to join

[@MixedMartialHelp]

Very good points, totally agree with you.

[@willnonya9438]

Quickly, get me a hat full of objectives to draw from.

[@aatamisyren4747]

what's the middle sword on the right

[@scholagladiatoria]

+Aatami Syrén A colichemarde smallsword.

[@hemanisto1390]

What do you think abou trash talking, cursing, sreaming, mocking, etc in sparring? taunting your oponent and trying to make your opponent loose its temper would be a interesting thing to try?

[@brotherandythesage]

Typically my objective has always been to stay alive and destroy my opponent!

[@TheOhgodineedaname]

Ah damn, to late to dislike within the first minute. Well played Matt, well played.

[@TheVanguardFighter]

something you could do for extra preparation is watch tape of the well known fencers in the tournament and use that to make a game plan. Also think about ocasionally going to other gyms to train and inviting members,of other clubs to do the same at yours.

[@seankavanagh3742]

In almost combat I go from timid to all out assult its like a switch, I find a middle ground hard what type of role would apply to help me develop that?

[@WardancerHB]

If I could I would move to London - only so I can be trained by Matt...!

[@ElDrHouse2010]

You're really smart Schola, thanks.

[@TrueFireAnt]

I'd love to hear your thoughts and/or theories in regard to the apparent "stepped" progression in skill that people seem to move along.

[@justsomeguy3931]

Some of the smartest stuff I've ever heard anyone say about combat and training

[@passerby5]

So it's a bit like introducing improv in acting sessions into your martial arts sparring sessions. It forces the participants to be more spontaneous.

[@xmaxdamage]

this is extremely good for fighting game players :D

[@0megasamuraistuff]

I was just thinking about this. This is really cool.

[@QueekHeadtaker]

so right about objective based sparring, hit the nail on the head

[@urbanmyths95]

hi matt i'm coming home to london over christmas i was wondering if your hema is running over that time period?

[@eatsteel994]

I wish the walls of my entire house were covered in swords...

[@QuolashMCDuck]

please train teachers in this kind of thinking matt :D

[@nerosmith2578]

Hope you post some videos to see how these objective based combats are.

[@Zerophoenix1]

yes yes objectives strategy tactics yes yes yes

[@_DarkEmperor]

Matt, You should read "Diune" by Frank Herbert. Duels are captured, very very well. And shows very well, that there is not much difference between war, politics ans single combat, they all have the same general rules.

[@tokeeptrackofrandomsubs5899]

+jhjkhgjhfgjg jgjyfhdhbfjhg I think you meant Dune :D but the i being next to the u its obviously an accident. Damn good novel, it wasn't what I expected going into it but I thoroughly enjoyed it when I read it years ago. I expected space and science fiction but I ended up with something that was more medieval feudal when it came to politics and the conflicts rather than being focused on space and the technology. Its been too long ago to really remember the details about the fight scenes but they were interesting and different from what you typically find in novels for sure starting from the strange mix of technologies already. Lasguns, personal shields, blades and hunter-killer gadgets are an odd mix. Then throw in the Bene Gesserit, Bene Tleilax, spacing guild, the various great houses and ofcourse the sandworms on Arrakis its a weird universe. I should grab it from the bookshelf again in the near future, not sure about the followup novels though I do recall enjoying them but I've got less fond memories about those.

[@TheEndKing]

This reminds me of the guy who killed Rikidozan. I spelled that wrong, but Rikidozan is the guy who brought professional wrestling to Japan, and he was a legit badass who could kill you with his bare hands any way he wanted. Well, the guy who wanted to kill Rikidozan, what he did is he soaked a knife in pig urine, for like a day. Then he went to Rikidozan's nightclub, and slashed and stabbed him a bunch of times in the arms, before Rikidozan disarmed him, broke like every bone in his body, and threw him out on the street like a sack of garbage. Unfortunately for Rikidozan, he never went to the doctor because the cuts were so superficial and unimportant, and they got infected and he died.

[@TheEndKing]

+TheEndKing Anyway the point of that rambly story is, the guy's goal wasn't to kill Rikidozan on the spot, he knew he'd never be able to outfight the guy. He just wanted to get in those little superficial cuts, so that the real killer could get to work.

[@jonathanbrenner5542]

Matt's club is as old as I am...

[@justsomeguy3931]

Sound wisdom as usual

[@joco762]

Great insights!

[@blairbuskirk5460]

Great concept

[@ilikewasabe]

total HEMA newb here. I subbed to matt mainly because im interested in the historical bacround of weapons but im not a HEMA practioner. Question: can you use HEMA in self defence? not to kill but to stun so that you can have time to run away..

[@Jacob-Day]

+ilikewasabe Yes, but the usefulness for it would be pretty limited for most types of weapons (barring perhaps some types knives or unarmed combat); mostly because it's unacceptable to carry big bladed weapons around day to day. It's more about scholarly understanding of historical fighting and personal interest than practical usability.

[@acaristic93]

+ilikewasabe Unarmed combat will definitely be useful but you still may want to learn from other martial arts as some of them,or at least aspects of them,could be more applicable to the modern age than some HEMA stuff. All of HEMA can be useful to a degree as in it can teach you general fighting principles like timing,tempo and distance managment as well to an extent the needed mindset if you approach HEMA in the right way.....but it will be at least somewhat different to what you have to use in real life. Stuff that can easily be used today is basically any system using a knife or baton/stick as those(or something akin to those) you can encounter relatively easily today...or carry around and use yourself.

[@CasparAbelmann]

Die with "offensive, defensive", "aggressive, passive, neutral" and "disarm, push back, stall" ( whatever would work really ) could be made for the randomisation. Would that work? Any ideas?

[@weissschnee2772]

+Caspar Abelmann It can. Someone in the comments suggest using cards to find their own objectives.

[@gurkfisk89]

+Caspar Abelmann The problem with the randomisation as I see it, is that some combinations doesn't work that well together. For example, holding ground against someone who is defensive.

[@PrimordialNightmare]

+gurkfisk89 I imagine Gandalf and the Black night opposing each other xD You shall not pass.

[@philstyle]

OT question for you, if you will allow: In the book "Rob Roy", Sir Walter Scott provides two interesting descriptions which made me think of your channel. In Ch8 of the second book, there is a sword duel between the protagonist and another character (Rashleigh). During this duel he describes rashliegh's sword as having a "three cornered blade...which are now generally worn". Later on in the duel, he describes the arrival of a more skilled swordsman who intervenes and makes his hilted broadsword "whistle about his head.. as if for the purpose of enforcing his mediation". I'm intersted in your comment on (1) what this "three cornered blade" might be and (2) their apparent literary description of someone using a sword to conduct "flashy" moves for the purposes of intimidation (which seems to have been effective against other swordsmen)...

[@JustGrowingUp84]

+phil style The three cornered blade is most likely a smallsword - many (most?) of them had triangular, concave blades. Flourishes made for intimidation or just for spectacle are definitely a thing "before" a duel, during a fight, however, they're not very practical, unless you are far enough to be safe from the opponents. That said, I wouldn't put much stock in anything Sir Walter Scott writes about swordsmanship - he is a writer of entertainment fiction, not a historian. Also, he may well have been one of the causes for the stereotype that western medieval blades were mostly heavy, brutal devices used without any grace in a "hack&smash" way - see "The Talisman". Of course, smallswords and scottish broadswords were closer to his time, but still, he is a romantic writer aiming for drama and spectacle, not historical accuracy. Do note that "Rob Roy" was written in 1817, and the action takes place in the early 1700s, a full century earlier.

[@philstyle]

" I wouldn't put much stock in anything Sir Walter Scott writes about swordsmanship - he is a writer of entertainment fiction, not a historian." - I agree with you here. Despite that caution, I still wonder how much accuracy is mixed in with Scott's descriptions, albeit that he is a novelist and not a historian.

[@JustGrowingUp84]

phil style Don't get me wrong, I enjoyed his writing. I also enjoyed novels like "The three musketeers" by Alexandre Dumas, including the fights (I also like most of the film adaptations). But we must not forget that they were 19th century writers, with 19th century prejudices... That said, you might have a point about "Rob Roy", as smallswords were still a thing during Sir Walter's life...

[@scholagladiatoria]

+phil style The first is probably a description of a triangular-section smallsword. Making a sword 'whistle' during moulinettes is described in various 19th century sources. I was generally taken to indicate good edge alignment.

[@philstyle]

+TheFilthyCasual you raise an interesting point about 19th century literature. We see loads of youtube videos decrying historical anachronisms/ inaccuracies in hollywood films. It would be very interesting to see a similar critique of 19th and early 20th century literary descriptions of war and armed combat.

[@anthonyj.manttan9986]

Real fights are mostly just a lot of flailing and rolling around.

[@matcaissie8937]

+Anthony James Dark Souls gets it right! :D

[@anthonyj.manttan9986]

Mat Caissie lol.

[@zephyrbiscuit4547]

Wut.

[@anthonyj.manttan9986]

Lord Farqwhad People generally just swing at each other in an untrained manner until the both try to bear hug each other at once. Its not very glamorous.

[@diamondflaw]

+Anthony James This is the theory behind Brazilian Jujitsu at least (as I have had it described to me by a practitioner) - a fight between two equally skilled opponents will result in a grapple - which is why they train so much with grappling. If one opponent is more disciplined and skilled however, they can often end the fight cleanly before it gets this close and dirty.

[@rockervolt9177]

Very interesting, I subscribed and I wish there was such a great school in Belgium because I would love to try that.

[@gurkfisk89]

+Rocker Volt You do have a few schools in Belgium. For example SwArta in Antwerpen.

[@rockervolt9177]

gurkfisk89 Yes, but I live +200km far away from Antwerpen. Meanwhile I found a little school that started near my home with only a few people ! I guess I will go and meet them :-D

[@gurkfisk89]

+Rocker Volt OK, nice. =) Good luck with your training.

[@rockervolt9177]

gurkfisk89 Thanks mate :)

[@zephyrbiscuit4547]

This makes a lot of sense. In wrestling practice this is what coaches would have us do. You would drill under different circumstances that happen often in a match until you mastered that scenario.

[@zephyrbiscuit4547]

My coach also took all of his advice from his former wrestling coach who was an Olympic level trainer.