Mixing Martial Arts

When I first encountered Jogo do Pau a couple years ago I was still in the middle of learning German longsword and various single handed styles. My fencing was a patchwork of different techniques and odd habits, but sometimes that’s just part of the process. You have to figure out what works for you and what doesn’t, and that means trying everything you can get your hands on. That being said, I think it’s a good idea to always approach a new combat system/style with a blank slate and an open mind; even if it seems familiar.

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Meetups

Hey guys, it’s been a few months since our last post and a few things have happened. Krista and I worked on baton for a while, and this allowed us to experiment with some fun drills. The padded batons made it possible for us to practice at full speed, and challenge each other by taking advantage of any mistake our partner made. Secondly, I taught a friend for about a month who was completely green. The drill experimentation Krista and I were doing really helped me during these training periods since I went in knowing what I wanted to cover. Again, we used the padded batons and I would have the trainee perform as fast as he could, while also executing techniques successfully. I was very happy to see that by the end of several training sessions, he was mostly successful at parrying full speed strikes and was able to perform strikes quickly.

Now for the exciting news.

First Steps

Finding other HEMA practitioners in Canada is hard enough as it is, but finding people who practice, let alone know about Jogo do Pau is a true rarity. For those of you who just said, “Drogo doh what?”, here is a great video by Luis Preto (our instructor) that sums up the art: