The Triumvirate of Training Types

Michael Chidester from True Edge Academy recently asked me to explain my idea of the "triumvirate" of training types...cutting, free fencing and drills. First, it's not my idea, it belongs to Sang Kim Sensei, and though I've been training that way almost since I first picked up a sword, it was Sang who put the idea into words for me and crystalized the importance of each of these forms and how they relate to each other. Our dojo mon (I say ours because I am, proudly, a member) is three dragonfly in a circle, each one representing a form of training, which is slightly different on the Japanese side--kata, gekken (free fencing) and cutting.

The reason for this post is that I made some effort to explain this concept to Michael and I want to share that post with you here:

"I grew up in Brooklyn, then served in the military, so I saw (but fortunately did not participate in) a good deal of violence. I’ve seen people who want to kill each other with a bat or a knife or a crowbar (or whatever) stand a few meters away and hop on their feet, taking cautious swipes, probing, but that is just the preamble, and is not the norm. If a man wants to kill another with a crowbar, he comes at him with everything he's got, fully committed (even if, on occasion, he hops around a bit first to get up his nerve). The other man either dies or gets one chance to do something, and usually only one combatant realizes that the fight has begun.

So if you look at a description of a play in a fechtbuch..."when he strikes A at you, you do B," it's basically a description of this type of violence. The drill that evolves from that, when done with full power and intensity, is therefore the closest you can actually come, in my opinion, to a real confrontation with a sword. It is artificial because you know it beforehand, but it is artificial only in the mind, not the body. So performance in drills, to me, is therefore extremely important. We do what I call "intensity drills" where the drills are done with 100% of what you've got. It's a bit dangerous, but worth it.

However, even with drills you have to ask yourself, what am I doing? What is the point of swinging this plastic or wooden or metal stick around? That's where cutting comes in. Cutting is the element of fighting missing from both drills and free play. By itself, it is imperfect, because the target does not move, is not armed, and does not fight back. However, it is only a piece of the puzzle. They are all a pieces of the puzzle...in drills, the target is cooperative, in free play, you just have to tag someone who is acting unrealistically (not coming straight in intent on bloody murder). Keep in mind we're focusing on the worst possible scenario, not all combat is uniform.

So what cutting does is it shows you what you're actually trying to accomplish when you swing your sword, and teaches how you have to move to accomplish it. Free fencing quickly separates the bullshitter from the fighter, cutting, the way I see it, separates the sport fighter from the martial artist. Approaching a target, timing your strike, getting your measure right, coordinating your body, keeping your center, maintaining your balance, composure, awareness, etc. etc. etc., and most importantly, that subtle motion of the sword along the target that is so hard to explain and teach but just comes to you naturally when you've been cutitng a while.

So after you learn to cut, you apply that same criteria to your drills, you strike at your opponent the way you would a cutting target. Now you have two pieces of the puzzle combined, and you practice both to maintain them. Finally, when you free fence, you come in fully committed, striking as you would a target, reacting as though a sharp sword is about to get you. This gives you all three pieces of the puzzle, if you can pull it off (I am still struggling).

I hope that answers your questions."