Longsword

[watervole]

 I'm having general fun with longsword related stuff.

I did four informal longsword workshops at Discworld and people really enjoyed them.

I'm getting a lot better at teaching the dances now. Once upon a time, I would probably have gone into great detail, telling people where they had to move, and the steps they should take, and which way they should turn at the end of the move. In a typical longsword dance, there are 6 people and each of them will be taking different actions.

 

Now, my typical approach is to give everybody a sword, get them to stand in a straight line behind me, say: "Follow me and do what I do."

 

This usually gets everyone through the first four moves of the dance without any difficulty at all. The more complicated moves, such as a double under, can often be tackled by saying: "You two make an arch; Julie and I will go under it. When you get to the other side, turn round and come back again. Steve follow Julie, Jennifer follow me."

 

This works 9 times out of 10. People instinctively turn in the correct direction, even when they've never done a sword dance in their lives. Sometimes, giving too much detail can actually confuse people.

 

The detailed instructions for double under come to several paragraphs and can be surprisingly difficult to understand.

 

Longsword, possibly more than any other kind of dance, is easiest to learn by actually doing it. And it's more fun that way.

Comments

[kerravonsen]

As the saying says:
I hear, I forget
I see, I remember
I do, I understand.

[ranunculus]

I so agree with this approach. Sounds like you are getting to be a MUCH better teacher!

[watervole]

Very true.

[watervole]

And we're enjoying it more as well. Covering a lot of ground early on gives people a real confidence boost when they get it right. When they have the confidence, I can work on improving the figures because they already feel good about them.

We had people laughing, having a blast. Someone took a short video clip and there was so much laughter on it. (Sadly posted in a Facebook community, or I'd show it to you)

[vjezkova.livejournal.com]

Another confirmation of what I keep saying: you are an outstanding teacher. No wonder people gather around you: I wish I could join them! It must be fun!

[watervole.livejournal.com]

Don't know about outstanding, just very good at listening and watching my dancers and figuring out what helps them most.

I would so love to be able to show you a dance!