After many months of being unable to train due to illness, I am finally feeling like myself again. Today I decided to keep my training simple and focus on the fundamentals of Solo Baston, Espada y Daga, and Doble Baston, as well as my footwork.
While warming up with my footwork I did notice that my old strength was not present, but despite this I emphasized the fundamental mechanics of the system and noticed that I was still moving around decently. Being a youth I really have little to complain about here. Many members of the Tortal family practiced the system well into old age, including Tuhon Gaje himself.
While running through the Solo Baston system, I did notice a few flaws in my mechanics. Most notably, my two florette was not what I wanted it to be. In the clip below, you can clearly see the initial thrust is NOT on the proper 45 line. Fortunately this can be fixed through video/repetition. I am however somewhat satisfied with the other angles, although I would like to capture more footage from different angles.
Because of the Texas heat I was quite tired when I transitioned to Doble Baston, though a bit of fatigue is really no excuse for bad mechanics/timing. In the video clip below, you can clearly see that my strikes are NOT on time with my feet while I’m circling. This is another big one I need to work on, but I expect to have it back to normal within a few weeks. My strikes are also slightly wider than 45, another problem that needs addressing.
Finally, I finished up with a bit of Espada y Daga and Doble knife. My mechanics for these were much better than the outliers I mentioned above. Overall, I was satisfied with my performance given my recent illness.