Beginner Spear Drills
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Legio Draconis Spear Drills
Written and illustrated by Lady Fiona nic Shearlais, at the request and under the guidance of Earl Sir Brannos O'Irongardail, OP. Published by LegioDraconis.com, copywrite 2002. Permission to reprint this article is given to any SCA incorporated group, in print or electronic format, as long as no profit is gained, the article remains unchanged and full credits are given to the authors. All others please request permission: fiona@legiodraconis.com
Spear Drill Line-Up
For the purpose of the drills that follow, have 2 rows of spearmen line up at range. While some of the drills are one on one, it is still good to gather 8-12 spearmen because it develops the same sense of teamwork and camaraderie among the spearmen that is more commonly seen among shield men. It is helpful to pair the less experienced people with those of more experience. The more experienced person can often provide more feedback than just the trainer alone who may not see everything the newer person is doing. Likewise, for the sake of these drills, pair those of the same dominant hand together. (Righties against righties, lefties against lefties. These drills do not refer specifically to the right side or the left side, but to the dominant and non-dominant sides, so that they can be used by both right and left handed spearmen.)
Stay Within Your Box!
Like shield men must be conscious of the spatial relationship between themselves and the other shield men in their line, so too must spearmen be concerned about working within spatial limitations. From your home stance in the line of spears visualize a three foot box around you. One foot must remain in this box at all times! There are many reasons for keeping one foot in the box:
1. It minimizes side to side movement that will interfere with other spearmen in the line.
2. If you move too far back to avoid being hit, you expose the flanks of your fellow spearmen. Staying in the box forces you to develop other strategies to block/parry other than moving out of line.
3. Staying within the box forces you to only target the opponent when they are in range, keeping you from following them as they move backwards. This maintains line integrity and keeps you from becoming a target of other spearmen. If you cheat forward too much during the thrust, you will not be able to withdraw far enough in one step to remove yourself from range, thereby limiting your defense.
The Stance
The legion uses nearly the same stance for spear as it uses for sword and shield.This is a square stance as opposed to a more linear stance. The shoulders and feet point towards the opponent, with the feet at a 45 degree angle and the hips square. The dominant foot is to the rear, remains planted, and is the source of power. The knees are bent slightly and the weight is slightly more on the back foot than the front.
The dominant hand grasps the spear ball end with the thumb and index finger, the other fingers wrap around behind the ball, By keeping the hand at the back of the spear, maximum range is possible. The non-dominant hand grasps the spear underhanded, with the tip pointed at the opponent’s face.
The benefits of this stance are numerous. It is a very grounded and stable position, and from here it is possible to move both backwards and forwards. Furthermore, the squaring of the shoulders towards the opponent yields a greater range than the more linear stances. It is also possible from this position to lean the upper body out of the way of incoming shots.
The Basic Lunge
Kills are achieved through strong performance of basic skills. The basic spear lunge is practiced at the beginning of each session. Trainers watch the form of the spearmen and correct as necessary. In the absence of a trainer, practice in front of a mirror. Good form is essential to achieve good balance, maximum range, sufficient force, and agility.
From the stance previously discussed, the front foot takes as deep a step as possible. Aim for the forward leg to be bent at a 90 degree angle. The back foot remains planted. Use the front hand to guide the spear, and then release. The palm of the back hand is behind the ball at the end of the spear, powering the blow. The back hand makes a sweeping “U” motion across the front of the body, ending with the hand at shoulder height and the arm extended towards the opponent. The target is the opponents armpit/chest area. Note that the hips are square to the opponent, the torso is upright, and the front shoulder pressed toward the opponent.
Defensive Techniques- The Slap Block
The simplest block is simply to slap the opponent’s tip away from you at the beginning of their shot. It is important to stay focused on when the shot begins. The last 2 feet of the spear slap the opponent’s spear as their shot begins, and the opposing spear slides down your spear missing its mark.
Defensive Techniques- The Lifting Block
When facing an opponent with the same dominant hand as you, you can block by pushing your own spear out away from your body with both the forward and rear hands. This is an underhanded motion with the front hand, pulling the spear up, with a simultaneous overhand lifting of the spear with the back hand. Due to the subtlety of this motion, it is possible that the opponent will fully commit to the blow before realizing that it has been parried, leaving the opponent vulnerable.
Defensive Techniques: Inside Block
Blocking against shots coming into the inside. (In the example above a right handed person is blocking a thrust by a left handed person) Starting from guard, as the opponent thrusts, bend the knees and keeping the back straight lean your upper body from the hips over the top of your own spear. At the same time, pull your grip into your belly, slapping the tip of your spear in a pulling motion against the opponent’s incoming blow. If done correctly, the opponent’s blow will miss, continuing behind you. This is the most difficult block to learn, but it is valuable because it allows the point of the spear and feet to remain in a more offensive position while blocking than other alternatives, decreasing recovery time after the block.
Defensive Techniques: Return to Guard
The lunge brings you into the opponents range and places you at risk of attack. Therefore it is essential to return to guard as quickly as possible in a defensive manner. To do this, starting from the fully extended underhanded thrust, twist the wrist counterclockwise such that the thrusting hand is now over top of the spear and allow the tip to drop to the ground. Keeping the hand at shoulder height, draw the forward foot back to guard and allow the spear to follow until the body is out of range. Do this with a "pop" motion, lifting the spear tip off the ground so you can catch the shaft with the other hand and return to guard.
Offensive Technique Drills: Slap-Thrust
1. The Slap
The first portion of the movement is the slap. With a pulling movement by the forward hand, slap the opponents spear sharply. The goal is to get it out of the way so that you can target their chest without obstruction. Practice simply slapping your opponent’s stick about ten times, aiming for a sharp crisp slap as opposed to a pull, and keep control of your own spear point while doing it. The opponent should vary resisting and not resisting the slap so that you get the feel for how the spear reacts to both.
2. The Lunge
Now try combining the slap with a normal lunge. While the two movements will run together naturally in real combat situations, for practice keep the two movements separate. This will insure correct form with both. Practice slowly at first, without the opponent trying too hard to block. As you gain a feel for the timing, the opponent should put more effort into blocking. While it seems simple to block, the harder the slap, the greater the distance the opponent must go to recover. If they are late with the block, they will actually help drive the spear to its target!
Offensive Technique Drills: The "U"
1. The "U”:
The first objective is to get your spear to the other side of your opponents. To do this, drop your spear tip under his in a “C” or “U” motion. How deep this motion will need to be will depend on how much the opponent drops his spear to compensate. This is the second objective, to get your opponent to follow you in dropping his spear tip. This lowers his defenses, and will allow you to come around and over his spear for the thrust. Practice doing the “C” motion, first with little defensive action by your opponent. The opponent should then increase his resistance to allowing you to get under his spear.
2. The Lunge
Once comfortable with dipping the spear under the opponents and up on the other side, practice following this motion with a thrust. This is where the value of practicing the sweeping hand motion across the body during the basic lunge exercise will be demonstrated most clearly. By exaggerating this motion, the spear tip rises up, over the opponent’s defense, and drops down to target the chest.
Group Drills- Rotating Sparring
Have everyone spar one-on-one using the skills taught during the previous drills. (Practicing staying in the 3X3 box, use good form.) At approximately 45 second intervals, have everyone rotate. This allows everyone to practice sparring against different people , and allows for a break period approximately every five minutes. Part of the goal of this drill is to build endurance… continue sparring until a break is required!
Group Drills- Communication Drill
This is the most important drill of all. It is done with team against team. Use the same lines and the 3x3 box idea, the only difference is that the goal is team work. State this goal at the beginning and do not allow the drill to end until you see it. If people start pushing forward engage the other line, push them back. Everyone should be kept in line. Good/Light/Tippy should be called when a hit is made.
Human nature is to try to be the soloist hero, and communication usually does not occur the first time this drill is done until everyone is so tired that they need to rely on each other. Then communication starts to happen: “Hey, I’ll trap his spear, you hit him! (gasp, gasp) “Okay!” (gasp) The reward for communicating is being allowed to take a break! If people are winded and are still not talking to each other, encourage them to talk.. This is a great drill to end a practice with. The next practice, when this drill is done, everyone will start talking much more quickly!
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