From time to time; our community manages to get ‘good press’ by journalists that drop by a salle and participate in a HEMA/WMA program; or they are able to interview an enthusiastic public after a hard fought and dramatic, historical swordplay demonstration.
That said, one of the frustrating elements about being interested and active in historical swordplay is reading some items that are published by the press. By and large, we do get ‘just the facts ma’am’ style reporting that accurately cover the W5 (who, when, what, why and how) of any sword related event … historical sword finds being the best covered of the lot.
However, by far most of the ‘local paper’ sword press reports on over-night police events during which a sword was somehow used, or present during some illegal altercation. Fair enough; facts are facts.
However, everything with an edge, point or point and swung like a baseball bat is not a sword. Large knives are not swords. Filed down hunks of metal are not swords.
And not every sword in the world is a samurai sword.
We so feel the pain of our kendo peers.
Wanna Fight?
METRO (Simcoe, Ontario) 12 December 13 History key part of Barrie knights' lessons
(Shawn Gibson)
Colin Allen, president of the Barrie Swordplay Association leads a group of 15 English Backsword and Fiore studies students through their studies and the resulting impacts.
He attributes his HEMA/WMA studies ‘bringing out the kid in us”; however, the BSA “… do take it seriously though when training and sparring. We study historical martial arts and sword fighting from manuals that are very old and some in different languages. It’s helped us learn some Italian and other European tongues.”
The BSA also has an active and wide ranging public education program…“We pride ourselves in educating the crowds as well, since most don’t know that we use martial arts with trained sword-fighting.”
Sword of Honour
EL UNIVERSAL (Caracas, Venezuela) 12 December 13 Arreaza entregó réplica de espada de Bolívar a nieto de Mandela
Vice President Jorge Arreaza led a Venezuelan delegation to Pretoria to honour the late Nelson Mandela. Afterwards, the group presented Mandela's grandson with a replica of the sword of Simon Bolivar in recognition of the departed struggles for freedoms within South Africa.
Just the Facts Ma’am … sort of
OE24 (Vienna, Austria) 13 December 13 Nachbarn mit Samuraischwert bedroht - Der 27-Jähriger Schwert-Besitzer hatte sich durch Lärm gestört gefühlt.
A young Austrian threatens his noisy neighbors with the omnipresent ‘samurai sword’!
Snippets
A 2,500 year-old Chinese bronze sword recently put on display is reputed as still being sharp enough to cut through wood and sharpen a pencil.
I don’t know what restaurants 18th C German noblemen chose to frequent when peckish, but We so want to go to the place that has this laid out as a dinner service!
Quick, don’t look up … name 12 ‘famous swords’ of history or myth … the Russians can …