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Ask the Champion: Dealing with Tracers
Dear Champion: How do I deal with tracers? With some fighters, as soon as I throw a shot, they throw a shot. So I end up with a lot of simos. Sometimes I kill them and just lose an arm, sometimes they kill me and I just wound them. If I don’t throw a shot,…
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Ask the Champion: Overcoming Overthinking and Uncertainty
Dear Champion: I often find myself not doing anything because everything I can think of will get me killed. I have been taught a number of different shots, but I avoid throwing them because I’m terrible at them. What should I do? Overthought and Outfought Dear Overthought: The answer is really simple: throw a shot.…
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Ask The Champion: Training in Isolation
Dear Champion: I am having trouble improving as a fighter. Many people at my park do not wish to fight against me anymore, as I have discouraged them. My goal is to ascend to Warlord, and eventually Sword Knight. I do not have access to veterans able to teach me the proper ways to improve,…
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Ask the Champion: Choosing Something to Work On
Dear Champion: I have a laundry list of things I need to improve; footwork, stance, guard, shot accuracy, shot selection, feints, baits, combos…. I’m overwhelmed. Where do I begin and how do I go about improving in a smart and logical fashion. Overwhelmed in the Wetlands Dear Overwhelmed: That is an excellent question. The answer…
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Ask the Champion – Pell Work
Dear Champion: I hear, very frequently, that in other activities similar to Amtgard pell training is highly encouraged. Does pell training have value in Amtgard, and if so how should I go about doing it? Fighter Practice Absentee Dear Absentee: Pell training is an excellent addition to your Amtgard training regime. I use a…
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Ask the Champion – Minimized Movement
Dear Champion: I am a large fighter and I’m taller than average. Typically when fighting smaller fighters, I see them leaping and darting around. Even at my thinnest, I am just not build for such maneuvers. Do you have any suggestions on resources, specific fighting styles, or advice for someone who doesn’t fit the average…
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Ask the Champion – Footwork
Dear Champion: I often hear people say that footwork is important to being a good fighter, and several times I have been told I need to work on my footwork, but no one has ever explained to me exactly what I should be doing or how I can get better at it. Can you help…
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The Rules of Combat, Part 1
Everyone who has ever had to take an English class has heard about the rules of good writing; don’t end a sentence with a proposition, don’t split an infinitive, don’t begin a sentence with “and” or “but”, and so forth. These are hard and fast rules for beginning writers, but experienced writers break them all…
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Lefty Combat at the Movies: Samurai Swordsmanship Vol 2: Intermediate Sword Program
If you have a Netflix account, you may have seen martial arts videos listed in their catalog. After seeing these myself, I decided to rent them and watch them, viewing them from the perspective of a foam combat fighter to see what could be gleaned from these videos on other styles. Having watched one in…