In class this week and last week, we worked on feints followed by a disengage. The focus is on making the feints believable as attacks to your opponent, and waiting for your opponent to react to the feint before disengaging. We ended with a decision making drill, where the person being attacked could choose to parry or not, and the attacker had to finish a straight attack or disengage. This is a really difficult step to take, but everyone did well. In a bout situation, you often have prior information about the tendencies of your opponent to react one way or another to a feint so this decision can be easier, but it is never easy.

Next week we will continue working with feints and disengages, but in a different context. I want to emphasize waiting for your opponents reaction.

Everyone in the class is visibly getting more comfortable with their footwork, so next week I am going to start making small adjustments to on-guards and some of the basic movements.