When fencing halls and dojos closed down due to the Covid-19 pandemic, everyone's fencing classes changed dramatically; but did solo practice, i.e. time spent practicing outside of class, change? Kat Hamilton conducted an informal study and now shares her findings.
Excerpt from Practice Habits Before and During the Covid-19 Pandemic:
The pandemic raged on and the fencing hall stayed closed; my fellow students and I relied heavily on our Longsword teacher’s weekly AMAs and Zoom classes. I noticed that people were asking, begging, for our teacher to give us more—more physical practice instead of informal chats, more resources, more in-person classes (as safety and weather allowed). Many of my classmates were talking about issues with home practice, such as too many distractions, family obligations, low ceilings, pets, etc.
As I observed the conversations happening around me, I began to wonder: how are people practicing? Have their habits shifted from pre-pandemic to the current time? Have other folks come to fencing with established practice habits, and, if so, have those habits helped them to keep going in the absence of classes?
So, I did what any other data geek would do and put together a survey on practice habits and sent it out into the sword world.
Read the full article here.
Peter's practice worksheet here.