For transcriptions and more detailed shownotes, please go to https://swordschool.com/podcast/outnumbered-combat-and-catching-imaginary-balls-with-luis-preto/ 

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Luis Preto is a Jogo do Pau instructor and author of multiple books, including a tutorial on multiple opponent combat with one handed weapons. He also has two master's degrees, one in teaching sports and the other in Kineseology.

Jogo do Pau is known as Portuguese stick fighting, which shares a cultural heritage with similar combat systems in Europe, but one difference is that in the Portuguese system, the multiple opponent training has been preserved. We talk about why training in outnumbered combat may have been lost in other areas, and how to train for such scenarios in a safe way. Luis explains how it’s actually quite simple to protect your head from being whacked by a big stick.

To watch some Jogo do Pau videos, here is Luis’s YouTube channel: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC45K3e12LNK9EajBvpMtmKg

We also talk about teacher training, and how to teach movement through practises that give trainees intrinsic feedback, rather than repeating specific techniques that may not be helpful in the reality of a swordfight. It is all about the context and the motivation. We also talk about how martial arts practitioners can improve their training, and how coaches can get better at coaching.