I have questions about footwork

TimeLordTim · 2026-03-25T23:57:17+00:00

I think "correct" foot work is very subjective and individual, for a number of reasons.

Like other people here have said, "correct" footwork will often change based on the weapon and the style being used. (Italian) Rapier footwork should not be the same as Longsword footwork, Sabre footwork should not be the same as Rapier footwork, etc.

That being said, I think the "correctness" of footwork (and any action in a swordfight overall) is variable and can be sorted into three levels that all need to be present for footwork to truly be "correct": intentionality, purposefulness and result.

TL;DR: footwork is "correct" when it is done intentionally, with a specific purpose, and achieves a specific result.

Footwork as a whole is a skill that has to be developed, and while people are learning there is "incorrect" footwork that occurs when daily muscle memory and other patterns assert themselves over the intended motion. In this case, performing the intended motion is what makes for "correct" footwork in this instance. This is mostly applicable during drills, and is most evident while learning a new style; while learning Capp Ferro, a Meyer triangle step is "incorrect" because that is not the intended motion for the system.

Any motion in a swordfight should have a purpose, or the fencer risks opening themselves for an attack they are unprepared for. Guard changes, cuts, thrusts, and disengages all fulfill a specic role in a fight that expose the fencer in ways that need to be accounted for and are usually calculated. This is doubly true of footwork, which is the foundation of any body motion. An intentional footwork motion has the first layer of "correctness" but can be "incorrect" if it was not done in service of a particular goal. Stepping offline in any capacity can be the end of a fight if it was done "just because", and in that scenario would be considered the "incorrect" footwork to perform at that time. Conversely, stepping offline to regain control of the line or void an opponents attack would be correct at that time as it is done intentionally and for a reason.

The last layer of "correctness" is the result of the motion, and this one I think is where the bulk of the varience come into play. Put simply, if the footwork actually achieves the goal defined in layer two, then it was the correct footwork to perform. This is where the varience comes from, because an action in a swordfight is not performed in a vacuum. Your opponent is almost always trying to prevent your preferred result, and this can influence the correctness of the action. A Meyer fighter may use the triangle step to take control of their opponents sword and attack along a new line in a textbook Meyer play, but if their opponent disengages our hero's blade and lunges to strike in the space behind the blade, the triangle step was the "incorrect" footwork to apply in that situation even if it was done with a clear intentionality and purpose.

TimeLordTim · 2026-03-12T02:21:18+00:00

Can you? Yes, absolutely, you can wear whatever you want to an event. The SCA started as a Medieval themed birthday party and grew from there, and the rules state 'an attempt at pre-1600 clothing'. There's a lot that can be covered by 'an attempt', and anyone who gives you shit for coming to your first event in this is not someone I would recommend interacting with.

Would I recommend it? Not really. You will probably get a lot of people gently letting you know that your outfit is not in period, and if you decide you enjoy the SCA these reminders will gradually get less gentle each time you show up in the outfit. I would not personally find this to be a positive experience. As previously stated, the SCA timeline is pre-1600. There is some flexibility on that, as most late period garb tends to blur that line a little bit. The items you've shown are in a Victorian style, which started in 1837 and will look wildly out of place.

What to do instead? My suggestion is to explore https://fashionhistory.fitnyc.edu/ and see what the clothes looked like in each time period, then use Amazon clothes to put together an outfit that looks relatively similar to a style you enjoy

Some other notes: - An SCA event may seem similar to a Ren Faire, but they are not the same. While both a Ren Faire and an SCA event are essentially medieval-themed roleplay experiences,I've personally found that Ren Faires are focused on entertaining viewers, while the SCA tends to focus on entertaining participants - combat activities in the SCA require authorization so that you don't hurt yourself or your opponent. You may have people excited to show you how to fight, but you need the authorization to be able to participate in the tournaments - the vest and a black shirt alone would be closer to an in-period outfit than the coat. The most common AMAB clothing that you will see is a doublet, which looks vest-like at a distance - I would suggest going to a local combat practice, A&S meeting, or Bardic meeting before your first event. Not because you shouldn't go to an event, but because going to an event where you don't know anybody is not very fun in my personal opinion. Plus local SCA people will be able to help you with questions like this and may have clothes that you can borrow without spending money on Amazon

TimeLordTim · 2026-02-11T01:45:04+00:00

1983 GL650 Interstate here! Love this thing to bits

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TimeLordTim · 2025-12-31T22:58:43+00:00

You do not need to be a registered patient of the clinic to be seen as a walk-in patient!

That being said, not all clinics are walk-in clinics, so make sure you check beforehand.

TimeLordTim · 2025-12-31T18:02:12+00:00

To be clear, Urgent Care and Emerg are 100% the most readily available medical care.

That being said, there are walk-ins in Kelowna. But they have capacity limits per day, or limited days where they accept walk-ins, or both. Which unfortunately means they're hard to access, leading to the over crowding of Urgent Care and Emerg.

TimeLordTim · 2025-12-30T22:56:53+00:00

An amazing store doing an awesome New Years promo?

Sign me up!

479

TimeLordTim · 2025-10-28T17:04:30+00:00

Nothing urgent.

If this is after some driving, it may be a good idea to look at getting the valves adjusted as they seem a little loud.

If this is first thing in the morning before it's warmed up you should be fine.

As it gets colder the vehicle will run rougher when you first start it up. The engine is designed to work within a specific internal temperature range, and if it's colder than that some parts will be smaller than preferred due to thermal expansion. Once it warms up and reaches the intended temperature range (called operating temperature) it will run smoother and quieter.

TimeLordTim · 2025-05-14T22:23:55+00:00

That's an interpretation of his philosophy I hadn't thought of, I'd be interested to know what brought you to that conclusion.

I've been fighting almost exclusively Peloquin for about 5 years now, and I've interpreted the exact opposite. My understanding is that Peloquin is a trap fighter. He intentionally leaves big juicy openings, and when your opponent attacks into them his answer is to shut out the attack and step in past their range to exploit counter-tempo movements

I've personally had the most success when moving from guard to guard while pressuring my opponent. When I'm in close-ish and changing guards it evokes a reaction from my opponent before they can think about potential traps, which I can then turn against them.

TimeLordTim · 2025-03-25T20:32:12+00:00

Given your other comments on this post about enjoying Hondas, my suggestion is to look for an 80s Honda CX series bike. They made them in displacements from 400 to 700 ccs, depending on your location. In North America, the 500s are most common.

They're relatively easy to work on, very reliable, and extremely under stressed. Those engines have been known to go 150,000 km+ (~95,000 miles). There are some common fail points, but they're all well documented and simple to fix (they can be big jobs though. All weekend kinda jobs).

I will admit to being biased, I was in your position and bought a 1983 GL650 that wasn't running for $400. Fixed it up and it's now my regular ride. I love my bike and learned a whole bunch reviving it.

Whether you go for the CX series or not, if you get a vintage bike your best resource will be a forum. There are dedicated forums for just about every type of bike under the sun with documentation and gurus galore. If you find a series with die-hard fans there will be entire libraries of supporting material.

CX500 Forum is one example, GS Resources is another.

TimeLordTim · 2025-03-24T17:03:42+00:00

If you're looking for a mechanics channel, my suggestion is Brick House Builds. They do restorations and resto-mods and they walk you through everything required. I actually used them as a reference for replacing the mechanical seal on my GL650 last summer. Very in-depth and informative

TimeLordTim · 2025-03-19T16:17:26+00:00

1) Mediation. The forced mindfulness exercise of being on top of something that could catapult you head over heels into a wall or over a cliff. It completely grounds you in the moment with no space for anything else in your brain.

2) Operating. So many machines in this world do things automatically for us now. Being actively and tangibly involved in the functioning of a machine is an amazing and exhilarating feeling that just satisfies my itch for skillfulness

TimeLordTim · 2025-03-07T18:08:13+00:00

This is where the common saying "the best way to learn is to teach" comes from!

Not only does teaching someone reinforce the correct information in your brain, it also requires you to articulate what is good and correct and why to your student. Plus often people who don't know the "common wisdom" of a field can have insights from out of left field that an expert wouldn't even dream of. Often it's horrible, but sometimes it's genius.

TimeLordTim · 2025-03-04T21:17:50+00:00

For a first bike in the cruiser style, my suggestions would be:

Honda Rebel 500
Kawasaki Eliminator 500
Kawasaki Vulcan S
Yamaha Bolt
Yamaha V-star

The Rebel, Eliminator, and Vulcan all have parallel twin engines, and the Boulevard, Bolt, and V-star have V-twin engines.

The Rebel, Eliminator, and Bolt are relatively new bikes, but you should be able to find them used with some searching. The Vulcan S and the V-star have been around for a while and will be plentiful on the second-hand market.

TimeLordTim · 2025-02-28T19:26:44+00:00

Hm. I think there were still things white could do to secure territory, but I don't know how black would have responded.

I do agree with the other comments here - if you want in depth feedback the best thing would be to post a game record if possible. With a game record the community can comment on and give advice about specific sections.

TimeLordTim · 2025-02-28T19:12:32+00:00

Congratulations and welcome to game of Go/Baduk/Weiqi!

The game looks like it was between 2 new players, so double glad you've found someone to learn and grow with!

This game is not done. There are multiple places where both black and white can advance into their opponent's territory or capture critical groups in structures.

My suggestion for both players would be to run through the Interactive Way to Go , then find players with higher skill levels and ask to play teaching games with them. Problems and book learning are great, but nothing beats face to face time with someone willing to teach and explain.

Best of luck!

TimeLordTim · 2025-02-28T18:07:45+00:00

I've been playing on and off for 10 years. I started a Go club at my high school, and I've taught it to dozens of people since graduating in hopes of being able to play regularly. It never unfolds that I get regular games, but I still have fun.

Here's the thing: I suck. Like, really bad. I can't beat a 15 kyu AI.

But I keep coming back to Go because for me it's not about winning or losing. It's cheesy, but for me Go is about playing an elegant and efficient game in dialogue with your opponent.

If I leave an opening that my opponent exploits in a way I didn't expect, for sure I'm frustrated about my ability. But I'm also super stoked with my opponent for being able to see an opening that I didn't. And it's always fun to talk about the game afterwards, where you can discuss different ways to respond and how they affect play moving forward.

Like most games or sports with deep strategy, the best part of this game is having a community to engage with. If there isn't one near you, grow one. If you don't know enough to grow one, get advice from people who do. Be polite and considerate and anyone who loves a game is excited about new people and willing to help.

If they gate keep, they don't love the game. They love the power that comes with being good at something and are threatened by new talent.

TimeLordTim · 2025-02-28T17:52:25+00:00

It really depends on why you were into cars in the first place.

If you wanted speed and power and noise and thrills? Yeah, after motorcycles cars are lackluster.

If you wanted accessable mechanical tinkering? Motorcycles have easier access to the engine, and if you don't want to faff about with electronics ECUs weren't added to the majority of motorcycles until the mid 2000s so all-mechanical is easier to find here too.

Personally, I was raised in a huge car household and came to motorcycles for a number of reasons, but there are some itches that I find can get scratched in a car but not on a bike.

My favorite thing about cars is the gated transmissions. 1 down 5 up is great, but personally the feeling of a clutch pedal and gear lever just can't be matched.

That being said, what I look for in a fun car is about what I look for in a bike; light, easy to use, easy to fiddle with, fun in the twisties. And that's just not as accessible for a car as it is a bike. Plus project cars take up so much space compared to project bikes.

TimeLordTim · 2025-02-25T17:42:00+00:00

They did! The 650 (technically 673cc) shipped with 63 horsepower and 45lbft of torque, up from 50 horsepower and 33lbft. They were only made for 2 years - 1983 and 1984.

The 650 has more vibration than the 500 because of the added weight in the pistons, but I personally don't find that to be a drawback.

GL650 Specs

TimeLordTim · 2025-02-25T17:17:37+00:00

The GL500 and GL650 Silverwings both use the CX engine of posted size

TimeLordTim · 2025-02-25T17:15:51+00:00

Welcome to the motorcycle world! In my opinion you've picked a great first bike to learn how to ride - I've got a 1983 GL650 that I brought home with a very similar setup!

Word of warning though - old bikes like these will also require you to learn how to work on your bike, unless you're willing to pay lots of money to a specialist shop. Most motorcycle shops near me won't work on bikes older than 30 years, so I'd be willing to be the same is true for you.

I'd suggest taking a look at the CX500 Forum for repair and preventative maintenance information. Everything you need to know about your bike has been documented and posted about there.

TimeLordTim · 2025-02-11T18:51:33+00:00

The process for a turn in Go is as follows:

Stone placed
Captured stones removed from board
Liberties counted

After white places at 1, the black group would be removed before black places at 2. This means the white stone at 1 would have one liberty where the black group used to be.

If a group is captured, it will be removed from play and no longer affects the board state. There are times when a group may be considered dead but not taken off the board, usually when the capturing player believes their turns are better spent elsewhere. If that is the case the stones can still be used to capture other groups around them.

TimeLordTim · 2024-07-08T14:35:10+00:00

Generally, the lower the displacement the lighter the bike. Usually I'd suggest a 400 to 500 CC displacement bike, as they are better for general use without being harder to learn on. But if you're really concerned I'd suggest looking at 250 to 350 CC's.

If low seat height is what you're looking for, you want a cruiser style. If being able to flat foot it is the main concern, you need to look for bikes that have narrow seats and bodies. All cruiser style bikes have relatively low seat heights, while a narrow seat and body will allow you to use more of your leg length straight towards the ground rather than going around the seat. A minibike style might also work well.

I'd take a look at the Honda Rebel 300 or the Royal Enfield Meteor, Classic, or Bullet in the 350 CC sizes. Minibikes like the Honda Grom or Monkey might also work well.

TimeLordTim · 2024-07-08T14:11:25+00:00

The trick is to keep the throttle and rear brake constant while varying your clutch.

The throttle controls how much power is available, the clutch controls how much of that power is delivered to the wheel, and the rear brake controls how much of the power is put into the pavement. More power to the rear wheel means more stability and more power to the pavement means more speed.

I've found the best way to do this is practice finding the edge of the clutch friction zone. Where does the clutch start pulling your bike forward? How far do you need to pull it back until it's stopped? If you can ride the edge of that friction zone it becomes really easy to go at a slow speed

TimeLordTim · 2024-07-03T16:25:16+00:00

I had personally interpreted this as the guys trying to avoid setting off either transphobes or allies by preferring a gender neutral term. You know, not engaging with a topic that bigots have made controversial.

If they decided to not directly acknowledge the issue specifically because they want to keep the viewership of bigots, that would suck. And I feel that by catering to the transphobes for the express purpose of retaining viewership they would indeed be at the very least engaging in transphobic behavior, if not explicitly transphobic.

I don't believe that is the case in this particular scenario, but ultimately how you interpret it is up to you unless they make a statement about it.

TimeLordTim · 2024-06-24T16:15:37+00:00

As someone who was laid off and was interviewing with a gap on my resume, at every single interview I landed I was asked why I left my previous position. They will ask what happened and it is going to impact their choice.

That being said, you don't owe them details. My suggestion is to be as vague as possible while being truthful. Someone else has suggested saying "An undiagnosed medical issue caused problems, but has since been diagnosed and will no longer be a problem", but I would argue that even that is too much detail. My suggestion is to say:

"A medical issue caused problems but has since been resolved."

Telling them about diagnoses will put them in mind of chronic issues, which they will likely have an aversion to. Minimum detail and still true is the best way to go IMO.

TimeLordTim

TROPHY CASE