What happens at a rapier practice?
Fighters practice against each other one-on-one, and may also fight in small melees. When you’re just starting out, we’ll explain the basics, including the rules and calibration, and have you practice the footwork, basic attacks, and blocks. Usually, you’ll do a mix of slow drills and half- or full-speed sparring. (You learn and perfect a move at slow speed, then practice it at full speed.) You’ll usually start with a weapon only, then move on to using a hard or soft parry device or a second weapon in your off-hand. Since our current practice is for both rapier and armored combat, you’ll also get to see armored fighters beating each other about the head with sticks.
