TGIF! Unless you’re in the path of Helene. Then hope you’re staying safe by taking advantage of those free flights to Istanbul they seem to be handing out.

Survival – Personal Edition

Let’s learn some sword fighting. No, actual swords, like an epee or foil in fencing, weirdo.

Ready Position

• At rest you should keep the sword in a ready position. Both hands on the handle, sword in front of you and perpendicular to the ground. Also keep the point tilted slightly forward. From this position you can block or strike quickly in any direction.

Defend

• When facing an attack, step into the blow with your arms held against your body. By moving closer you reduce the power of the blow. And by keeping your arms close your counter attack will have full power.
• Use your sword to push against the blow. For blows aimed at your head, hold your sword parallel to the ground and push it above your head toward the blow. Make sure the blow impacts the center of the sword instead of the end. Blows aimed at your side, keep the sword perpendicular to the ground and push it toward the blow, again taking the blow to the center of the sword.
• If facing a lunging attack, swipe their sword to the side and counter-attack. With a lunge they will be off balance, and double so when you swipe their sword so you should have an easy counterblow on them.

Attack

• Make sure your strikes are steady and quick. Your strikes should only be from the top, bottom, or either side. Do not stab, or slash diagonally as you will expose yourself to a counterblow.
• As much fun as it looks, don’t raise your sword above your head for a huge downward blow. You’ll only end up with a sword in your torso.
• Hold your position. You can’t attack effectively while backing up.
• If your attacks aren’t effective, stick with it. Hold steady, block, counterattack, and wait until they make a mistake. Then pounce.

There’s the basics. Hopefully you still have all your limbs and don’t have a bunch of sword shaped holes in your body.

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Survival – Species Edition

Time to put the sexy in Friday!

Enjoy the weekend, folks! Alright, now let’s get to the comments!