Journaling Recruitment and Retention: because it is illegal and ineffective to kidnap people and make them fence me. » HMA: Training Maxims Recent holidays have prompted a reflective mood. I began teaching formal HMA rapier classes in April of last year (mostly at the urging of a more senior HMA guy. When I protested that I didn’t know enough to teach, he assured me that knowing more than anyone else was good enough). I’d spent much of the prior year teaching at SCA practices, and exploring the works of other researchers and instructors. The majority of my curriculum, pedagogy, conceptual underpinnings, and conditioning programs was more-or-less copied from other sources. There were small modifications, but for the most part, I figured everyone else was a better teacher than I, so I was better off doing what they were doing. Almost everything has changed since then. I was ruthless about self-improvement, and as my teaching skill developed and my knowledge of kinesiology improved, I discovered better information, better methods to communicate it, and better ways to organize class around it. Naturally, everything will continue to evolve. But in this time, I’ve nonetheless found success in recruitment and retention, research, and, to a lesser degree, developing my own prowess. One of the few things to remain unchanged is also one of the few things I developed myself. As I was considering didactic approaches, I found myself wanting to boil our culture and training philosophy down to a handful of maxims – short phrases encapsulating productive ways to approach the art – and so teach students to avoid many of the pitfalls I’ve seen and encountered myself. Eventually I got it down to four, and made a habit of ending class by solemnly reciting each. They’ve done an admirable job in setting the tenor of our activities, and encouraging a positive mindset. I cannot take credit for any of these ideas themselves – only in observing them as consistent patterns among high-level HMA and SCA practitioners. But I am inclined to attribute the bulk of my success to following these maxims (as, having defined good behavior, I was obligated to constantly model it for my students … this has certainly ensured that my own practice is a little better than it might have been otherwise). Since these have helped me, perhaps readers will also find them useful. Maxim 1: We Don’t Know Anything. This maxim describes our approach to research (broadly defined, as the act of gaining knowledge). It encapsulates several ideas: Corollary: There is no dogma. Everything is a hypothesis or theory. Every theory turns only on the weight of evidence.

Corollary: There are no experts. Every person and idea is to be evaluated on its own merits.

Corollary: Be humble. Be respectful.

Corollary: Aggressively seek out differing opinions (travel). Learn from them. Be ready to cast aside ideas that no longer work.

Corollary: Everyone is a researcher. Everyone can contribute. Try new things. Be bold.

Corollary: We are never done. Maxim 2: Fencing is Hard. This maxim negotiates our expectations and our training. Swordfighting is “essentially geeky”, as Packer said, and there can be a tendency to treat it with a little triviality. We should remember that historical fencing must approached as a bona fide martial art. Thus: Corollary: You will not master this in a year. Or two years. Be in it for the long haul.

Corollary: Knowing what to do is not the same as being able to do it.

Corollary: Expect frustration before success. Know that success will come. Be patient. Be dedicated.

Corollary: You will need to build strength, endurance, and proprioception to succeed. You will sweat. You will bruise. You will be sore.

Corollary: We will revisit and refine the basics constantly. Nothing is ever done being improved.

Corollary: You may need to re-learn a technique you’ve drilled into muscle memory over years and years, if later research shows a better way. Expect this. Embrace it. Maxim 3: Martial Excellence is the Goal. This maxim defines what we work towards. We’ll never know exactly what period Italian rapier looked like, so we can’t really hold that as our goal. We CAN, however, measure martial excellence as expressed through successful athletes and martial artists in other disciplines. Since what we do is martial, we should strive to replicate their achievements: Corollary: Success in competitive sparring is part of our goal.

Corollary: Fluid, direct, powerful, effortless, and decisive movement – sprezzatura – is part of our goal.

Corollary: Total control of one’s body, one’s weapon, and one’s opponent is part of our goal.

Corollary: Developing the ability to adapt to new situations is part of our goal.

Corollary: Following the tactics set forth by the Masters and “looking like the plates” is part of our goal.

Corollary: A mindset of discipline and continual improvement is part of our goal. Maxim 4: Swords are Cool. This is about attitude. Sword arts themselves are impractical, but in the pursuit, much can be gained: Corollary: Recognize what we do: figuring out puzzles, gaining knowledge, becoming stronger, connecting with people (both long-dead and still living), moving with grace and elegance, finding inspiration, working hard, achieving things we never thought possible, learning to love the journey.

Corollary: All that we do should seed a profound sense of fulfillment and joy, from which springs the sincere desire to share it with others.

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