Fight practice in NYC

I know some folks here partake in fight practice in Pennsylvania, others in New Jersey. Folks get together, learn how to safely boffer fight, practice combat rules, etc...

Any of you folks perform these practices in the greater NYC area? When I returned to game this past event, I was sloppy, shaky, & frankly sucked even worse than I normally suck. I could use A LOT of practice.

Mostly looking for night time or weekend practices...

I am in the NYC area and could easily come meet for battle practice if enough people wanted to do so.

I'm in the NYC area and would come for it too. I seriously need to learn how to fight better.

I live in the NY area, about a train ride to the City when I am not in college. It sounds fun.

I imagine the tricky part of this is the location- between the cold and people looking a bit askance and people waving swordlike objects at each other in public spaces.

I was part of an Amtgard group in Central Park. People would stare but that's not a big deal. Sometimes they even join in.

Copying what Jeremy said, I've seen people doing Boffer sparing and/or practice in Central park for 10+ years.

or Prospect Park
(I'm only saying that because Brooklyn just rocks hee hee)

White Plains local here, would totally train in for this.

I'd love to get in on this when time permits :)

Backpacking on what Jeremy, Jason, and Teresa said, I spent a few years as a part of boffer fighting groups that fought in both Prospect and Central Parks so yeah, there are a bunch of places there that would make great spots for both full on battles and small scale battle practices.

Dunno about commuting to the city for this, but I live in Orange County, about an hour North of there.

Could be into this...much easier to get to NY.

If anyone does not mind, I would like to join in on this. This would actually help me in actual martial arts combat, so... yay for RL combat xp.

I remember a while ago, there was one time we did this in Central Park. It was fun stuff. Totes doable.

Come the spring, we do plan on restarting it here in Reading.

If things can't work out completely for out there, there is still always here.:)

If a practice can be put together out there, I'm game to take a ride out.

So we have a number of people who are interested. Now we just have to find...
1. A venue or location where everyone can meet.
2. A time that fits everyone's schedule.
3. The most important part... find someone who can teach/lead the practice sessions.

Central Park has worked pretty well. It's got a lot of space and is pretty well known.

I found a number of locations in & around the city that could work. Mostly outdoors, but a few indoor ones as well in case the weather is bad. Again, the most important thing is getting someone to lead the group. Plenty of learners/practitioners... but we could use someone who can do the formal training.

Just a bit of advice. Normally when folks are boffer sparing with realistic weapons, people may come up to you to ask what you are up to. It would be a very good idea to have a poster card mentioning knightrealms and what its all about. Also, not a bad idea since what's been going on in the city.
I'm considering on swinging by if everyone has a solid plan. New York is a stone throw away from me.

Tom,

If people were interested in practicing during the winter, I found some event spaces that rent by the hour. So if folks chip in a few dollars, we could rent a large practice space for fight choreography and other stuff for a large group.

Again, just looking for someone who can lead/teach the sessions now, as we have plenty of folks interested in joining the practice.

As for myself, I'm trying something new, & learning how to florentine/dual wield. I need work on footwork, how to use my off-hand for defense, & to strengthen my main attack skills. I found it's easier for me to commute to KR on public transport when I only have to carry weapons, & no shield.

For people wondering about the indoor space. Here;s the link... Rehearsal Space.

NYC has tons of places where actors, musicians, performers can rent space by the hour to practice singing, dancing, or fight choreography. I find these places would be good for when we want to practice indoors when the weather is bad. Also, if people want to use these areas to practice for their bard performances, there you go.

As far as someone to "lead / teach" sometimes the best teachers are the students themselves. If I weren't 4 states away I would totally join you all, but from this far away the best I can do is provide some advice.

I would suggest starting with a list of things that people want to learn about. Top of that list should be safety of course followed by how to keep distance from your target and maintain balance. So much of martial arts relies on footwork.

After that, someone do some research into online videos about particular weapons or look into actual fighting manuals to bring to the site to gain inspiration from. Bottom line though, boffer is not real martial combat so adjustments have to be made for safety like no head shots or real disarm techniques.

So, make a list of weapon styles you want to practice, focus on distance and footwork, ensure you have a good hit calibration and then simply walk down the list. Pair off at first (1 on 1) and then try some 2 on 2, 3 on 3 and some uneven number pairings (4 on 3) and see what happens!

One last thing, probably want to keep the damage calls and defense calls out of this to start. Your fighting skill will improve if you simply go with the idea of "arm gets hit, lose the arm: torso gets hit, dead" ... much more incentive to learn to actually defend with your weapon which will lead to a much more realistic training environment.

All of this is just my opinion.

A small bit of thread resurrection. As well as I think other folks have found ways to use boffer arrows outside of LARP. May I introduce you all to Long Island City (in NYC)... Archery Tag...

ARCHERY TAG!!!

Going to check it out this weekend to see what it is like.

I am close enough to do this!

holy smokes i remember we had one of these in central park. it was a huge group of random people too from what i remember, a few of my sisters friends showed up.

I'm all for it! central park is probably best because of all the space. we could meet somewhere else first though, since it's a huge park and easy to get lost in.

I am busy Saturday, but I can easily do Sunday

Time: Saturday June 13th, after 12 noon.
Place: Central Park (West 69th Street entrance).
Plan: How to properly defend/block using shield or weapon.

I am free this coming Saturday (not Sunday as it's usually a chore day for me or work). It's B.Y.O.A. (Bring Your Own Armament). If other people show up, I plan on only practicing on how to defend/block/parry. If no one else shows up, I'll do what I did this past weekend, & just practice my stance & lunging/stabbing.

Edit: I'm thinking of going to near where the Yoga fields are & finding an empty spot there. Last time, there was plenty of space for myself alone to practice lunging/stabbing at a tree. Hopefully this weekend won't be so crowded & we can find a decent spot to practice guarding/blocking.

For those interested, PM me here, on FB, or those who have my cell can call me.

If a meet is set up in the future I would be in.. Parker (Nick) and I are in the NYC area