Another eclectic offering of items … fight schools, stage, literature, history and popular culture. Whether you’re interested in the historical background of your favorite blade or chosen discipline; or interested in having some sort of kick-butt ‘white arm’ to bring to your Wii-fight, swords continue to consistently (if somewhat sparingly at times) appear in the back pages of your local, national and inter-national press. Please … read all about it!
Fight, fight, where-ever you may be, I am the Lord of the Fight said he … (Apologies to Sydney Carter)
BUCKS HERALD (Aylesbury, UK) 26 October 13 New fitness class is practically medieval - Medieval combat class in Aylesbury
Gareth Prior, perhaps best known for his work with Academie Glorianna and their George Silver wordplay, is teaching ‘Medieval Combat for Beginners’. Prior, who has been studying HEMA/WMA for a decade now is of the belief that he can adapt a renaissance, swordplay routine and create “… exercises to suit all abilities so that everyone is able to participate.””
Fencing from chairs has been with us for a while now, and if you root around in the back of your library, you’ll find a copy of LCol Drexel Biddles’ Do or Die. (Paladin Press. Boulder Co., 1937), featuring a picture of him effectively fencing while seated comfortably in a dinner chair!
Short Fight – Long Lasting Effect
LIVE PR (Vienna, Austria) 14 October 13 Die Lesung der anderen Art mit Fecht-Hut
So, you’re writing a historical fiction which features a lot of sword play are you?
Just how does one design and incorporate ‘realistic’ period fight scenes into a book; how do you choose the weapons used, how does the fight progress?
Holger Weinbach, author of the German-language ‘Eiswolf’ series and member of the ‘Fecht Hut’ salle recently gave his opinion on the subject while participating in a book fair.
“In early times, the fatal conclusion of a fight came quickly -, which means that survival strategies were more important than making the first point.”
Coming near to a Salle near you.
WEST LIBERTY INDEX (West Liberty, Iowa) 23 October 13 Depot displays the “John Brown sword” (Mary Atkinson )
One of the good things about museum programs is when they put on a ‘road show’ or ‘loan program’; allowing us that ’live in the sticks’ a chance to see historical artifacts usually kept within the larger cities.
The West Liberty Depot and Museum is displaying what is known as the "John Brown" sword. John Brown was an abolitionist who led runaway slaves across the underground railroad .
Short Fight – Long Lasting Effect Redux
WCF COURIER (Waterloo, Iowa) October 13 Fiction and history meet in 'Sherlock Holmes' mystery (Melody Parker)
Here we get a few words on just what is involved in staging a realistic, engaging (and safe) sword fight on the stage.
“Both (of the main) actors agree their combat scenes are exhausting. “But if it’s done well, it adds to the realism. It’s three minutes, but it’s the longest three minutes I’ve spent on stage”
Keep moving, keep moving!
CONCENTRATE (Ann Arbor, Michigan) 02 October 13 RingStar Studio: Swords, Silks and Circus Arts (Patrick Dunn)
The Ring of Steel Action Theater and Stunt Troupe has an enviable problem, they’ve outgrown their venue and had to move lock, stock and barrels full of swords down the street to larger digs! (For those of you from the Academie Duello, We’ve just had the weirdest feeling of 2009-ish ‘déjà vu’!)
"We sort of grew to fit the space, like growing inside a bottle, … While the rent was very attractive and the location was in some ways convenient, it was in other ways terribly inconvenient.”
The article describes in some detail the groups program, and the unique ways that it incorporates traditional and modern swordplay into challenging fitness regimes.
Of note; Director Barbeau says he's seen a decline in the fitness of his average sword-fighting student over the 40 years he's been teaching.
Snippets
Hard to find a good medieval-style opponent in your rural area? Head out back into the garden!
We’ve mentioned before that swords affect popular culture - as represented in film and stage. But sometimes the reverse is true and popular culture affects how the swordsmith does his business.