"The period of the rapier was, in good truth, the most quarrelsome period in history; the "point of honour" was carried to such an extreme point that men would fight to the death for almost any trivial reason, and sometimes even without any at all, but from pure light-heartedness, for the mere fun of the thing and for nothing else."
Alfred Hutton. The Sword and the Centuries.
"Do not upon Every tryfle make an Action of revenge, or of Defyance."
George Silver. Brief Instructions Upon My Paradoxes of Defence.
"For we all acknowledge that it is with the sword that Kingdoms are protected, Religions are defended, injuries are avenged and Nations achieve peace and happiness."
Salvator Fabris. As taken from Tommaso Leoni's translation, Art of Dueling.
Saturday, July 31, 2010
Sunday, January 3, 2010
Warmachine!
Here are a couple of shots from a Warmachine game at All Things Fun in Berlin, NJ:
Terror was this thing.
"C'mon, guys...lets sneak through the creepy cemetery!"
Terror was this thing.
"C'mon, guys...lets sneak through the creepy cemetery!"
Best D&D game ever!
My son and I often pull out my D&D or Star Wars minis and play a little game. We play a skirmish-style Star Wars game, where one of us gets clones, or stormtroopers, or droids, or Rebel troopers, plus a couple of heroes. The object of the game is to get to a particular door, or blow up a console, or destroy the attackers. If we pull out the D&D minis, we play a quick little dungeon-crawl, no more than 3 or four rooms, and my boy gets to beat on some goblins or skeletons, or whatever monsters strike his fancy at that moment.
Today, we tried something a little different. I pulled out the Microlite D20 rules, had him create a character, and we played a little more sincerely. The adventure began with an old wizard coming to the home of his character ("Knight Smith"), asking for help to recover a crystal ball from an old castle. What happened next was gaming gold.
I described the approach to an old, ruined castle; there was a drawbridge, a dry moat, and an open doorway to the castle. I described a gnoll ("dog-man") sitting just beyond the doorway, eating soup at a ramshackle table, with an axe at his feet. My son told me his character would talk to him, asking him if he knew where the crystal ball was. He and the gnoll talked for a little while and, once the gnoll was convinced that my son's character wouldn't try to fight him, led him to the door to the dungeon. The gonll even offered some useful advice..."The goblins downstairs aren't really bright." My son thanked him and moved on.
One trapped hallway later (my son's character got through it by going back up and asking the gnoll if he was good at tripping traps), he made his way to a door. He heard goblins beyond. His solution to the problem...style:italic;">go back to town and get help!
Smart kid, this one.
One hired-gun cleric added to the party, and they went back into the dungeon. My kid's plan...knock on the door to the goblin lair and tell them, "Hey, we're a couple of goblins looking to join up!"
Once the goblins let them in...my we put down the minis and drew the dungeon on the battle-map. Things went really smoothly...the kid took well to the Microlite rules :)
Later in the game, the boy's character and his cleric-helper encountered the Goblin Chieftan and his bodyguards. Nearby was the magical crystal ball. The boy's plan went flawlessly: knock out the chieftain, and then declare to the bodyguards: "Your chief has been defeated! Give us the crystal ball, and we spare the rest of you!" he also made a proposal to them: let him leave, and promise never to attack the village, the the goblins could live in the abandoned castle. On top of that, he would tell the cleric to heal all the goblins that had been defeated!
So, by the time we were finished, the boy's character had made allies of a gnoll, added a cleric to his adventuring party, recovered a magical artifact, and gave a home to a tribe of goblins.
Eight years old, this kid.
Microlite D20: http://microlite20.net/
Sunday, October 25, 2009
Different definitions of victory
Does studying an historically accurate fighting style in the SCA mean that you have to abandon winning tournaments?
Alot of people I talk to have a misconception about me when it comes to SCA combat...that I don't care about whether or not I win or loose. That's not entirely true. The Don I study with put it into my head that when you're on the tournament field, you're there to do a job. Do the job, maintain honor, treat your opponent with respect. This is basic sportsmanship, and its the core of how I feel about competition.
That being said, I think I take a slightly different approach to SCA tournament fighting than other people. I go into competition with a few objectives:
1: Keep perspective. Have fun. This is the obvious one, don't you think? These are friends we're fighting. The best prize is being told you gave a good fight, and knowing that everyone acted with honor. If everyone walked out feeling good about the fight, then its a win.
2: Have an additional objective than simple victory. I participated in a tournament in which we were expected to display historical technique. The participants were concerned with how they displayed their technique, much more than they were concerned with whether they won or lost. The question wasn't so much, "What could I have done to won," as much as it was, "Did I do this right?"
3: Use each victory and defeat to help with the details. How is your timing or your distance? What details of the technique that you're using helped? Its helpful having someone you study with watching from the sidelines. Ask them what they saw. Discuss it with them. Use every defeat to hone the technique.
Although some of us practice historical swordsmanship as an art form, it is still a martial activity. The ultimate objective of the period masters is victory. In the SCA, we have the opportunity to take our time to practice every detail with intensity and passion. We aren't fettered by a seasonal tournament schedule; we can take time to grow in our technique, using every fight as a learning exercise.
Alot of people I talk to have a misconception about me when it comes to SCA combat...that I don't care about whether or not I win or loose. That's not entirely true. The Don I study with put it into my head that when you're on the tournament field, you're there to do a job. Do the job, maintain honor, treat your opponent with respect. This is basic sportsmanship, and its the core of how I feel about competition.
That being said, I think I take a slightly different approach to SCA tournament fighting than other people. I go into competition with a few objectives:
1: Keep perspective. Have fun. This is the obvious one, don't you think? These are friends we're fighting. The best prize is being told you gave a good fight, and knowing that everyone acted with honor. If everyone walked out feeling good about the fight, then its a win.
2: Have an additional objective than simple victory. I participated in a tournament in which we were expected to display historical technique. The participants were concerned with how they displayed their technique, much more than they were concerned with whether they won or lost. The question wasn't so much, "What could I have done to won," as much as it was, "Did I do this right?"
3: Use each victory and defeat to help with the details. How is your timing or your distance? What details of the technique that you're using helped? Its helpful having someone you study with watching from the sidelines. Ask them what they saw. Discuss it with them. Use every defeat to hone the technique.
Although some of us practice historical swordsmanship as an art form, it is still a martial activity. The ultimate objective of the period masters is victory. In the SCA, we have the opportunity to take our time to practice every detail with intensity and passion. We aren't fettered by a seasonal tournament schedule; we can take time to grow in our technique, using every fight as a learning exercise.
Wednesday, October 14, 2009
My handout for Known World Rapier Academy class: Intro to Studying Historical Swordfighting
Introduction to Studying Historical Swordsmanship
My objective is to make studying historical sword-fighting accessible to everyone. Techniques from the period masters can be integrated into SCA rapier with a minimum of mutation. The purpose behind this class is to give you the tools so you can start studying historical technique.
Outside of the practice of sword-fighting, what are the advantages of studying the period masters?
1: Historical technique can be used as a tool for persona development and cultural research. Take the study of Italian and English masters for example. For example, George Silver wrote his manual as a response to the proliferation of Italian masters throughout London, and the popularity of rapier fighting. How does that impact you if your persona is from Elizabethan England?
2: The period masters have something to say about our martial culture. The manuals weren't written in a vacuum; they were written in response to specific needs of fighters of the time. Who were they written for? Were they written for a particular patron, or for the public? Who would have used this fighting style?
3: Studying historical sword-fighting helps preserve obscure arts and sciences that would die out, were it not for our practice. The recent renaissance (no pun intended) in western martial arts has created a need and interest in the publication of sword-fighting manuals. Western martial arts groups, as well as the SCA, are preserving these arts. We pass these techniques onto our students, and to the public via demos, scholas, academies, and other events.
How do we begin?
First, surround yourself with like-minded individuals. Find friends who share your interest. I can't stress the importance of having a supportive group that has your back. Excitement is infectious. Its important to have a circle of students to provide different opinions and outlooks on the text. In my opinion, you should have a minimum of three people, so two may practice the technique, and one can read the manual and offer opinions from the outside.
Second, choose a master you'd be interested in looking into. How to choose a manual or a particular master is beyond the scope of this class. Choosing what kind of manual, though, is based really on what you're interested in getting out of the manual. If you're interested specifically in using a rapier, as opposed to older forms or cutting-based forms, you may be interested more in Fabris or Capo Ferro, for example. If you're interested in a for that emphasizes the mechanical aspects of time and distance, consider a Spanish technique.
Once you decide on a manual, analyze it with your study group. Look into the historical context of the manual. Don't ignore the introduction to the manual; often, it will talk about the background of the master, who he's written for, and a little about the culture he's written in. Read as much of the manual as possible before practicing techniques from the manual. Don't just read the first paragraph, for example, and try the technique described. Most often, techniques in a single section of a manual build on other material described earlier. You'll understand more of what the master is trying to describe when you see techniques described earlier and later.
I should take a moment to say a few words about looking over the plates in the manual. Obviously, the plates are just snapshots, single moments in time. Mimicking the plates is not the same as learning the technique. Think of the plates as a guide to use along with the text. If you try to just recreate the stances and motions shown in the plates, then you're not really learning anything of the technique. Don't be afraid to play with what you see in the manual, though. If you see a plate that shows a final motion (such as a killing blow), don't be afraid to play with the motions that take you from guard position to the final plate.
What should we keep in mind when we practice?
Play. Don't be afraid to play. Don't be afraid to experiment. Have a great sense of humor about what you're doing. While you're trying something new, expect to loose a lot of bouts. You'll be learning new things about your stance, distance, timing, guards, etc. Get used to dealing with a new learning curve.
Like I'd said earlier, I find that working in groups of at least three works best. One person reads the manual, while the other two practice. The one observer serves the role as director. Rotate the roles among each other. Listen to each other, and share your observations.
Here are a few other tips:
Make sure that your study group stays focused. Its easy to drift off while studying a manual. There may be movements or terminology you may not be familiar with; resist the temptation to try to mutate the techniques in the manual to fit your personal style. The further away you take yourself from the intention of the master, the less effective the techniques you're trying to learn become.
That shouldn't keep you from playing with the techniques, though. There's a difference between playing with the form and drifting too far from the goal.
While reading through the manual, try to find the agenda that the master is trying to put forth. Most manuals follow a particular theme, technique, or even political agenda. If you're able to discover the “agenda,” then you have tool to help you get through roadblocks in the manual. For example, if you know that one particular master advocates attacks in single-time, then if you are at a roadblock in a particular part of a manual and it is ambiguous as to how an attack should be delivered, you'll at least know that it is likely that the attack should be delivered in single time. Its one more tool at your disposal to help you understand the manuals a little more deeply.
Consider your sword. Is the technique you're studying going to work with that weapon? Different masters advocate weapons of different styles or lengths. For example, Silver will not work with a long rapier, Capo Ferro will not work with a curved blade. I wouldn't use epees or foils for Italian rapier techniques (the techniques just don't work). Again, determining the correct weapon length for all different masters is beyond the scope of this class. In some cases, the master may assume you know the length or type of weapon to be used (that's where its helpful to know the historical context in which the manual was written). Others may specify the length by your height, the length of your lunge, etc.
Remember your fundamentals. Things like footwork, distance, accuracy, and timing are universal. Though some things may work differently, the basics of how to fight aren't necessarily going to change. Some masters may want slightly different stances, or recommend you move a particular way, but they won't likely be too different from what you first learned.
Drill. Stretch. Work out. I've found that reproducing some techniques straight from the plates is a little like yoga. There may not be a lot of impact, but its still a workout.
When you practice, practice with intent. The best way to determine if something works is to practice as if you are really fighting. For the longest time, I couldn't see any value in Capo Ferro's first guard. One day, we practiced cutting attacks against someone who is just first drawing his sword out of the scabbard. That was when we found its value. We could never really see how effective it was when doing slow-work., or just trying to reproduce moves from the plates and from other practitioners' pictures.
Practice everywhere. Take what you've learned into tournaments. Yeah, you may loose at first...a lot. But be okay with that. One way to stay encouraged is to look for different objectives when you enter tournaments. Instead of, “victory” as your ultimate objective, why not focus on insuring that your technique is as clean as possible. The more you perfect your style, the closer to victory you'll ultimately become. That may sound obvious, but you're likely to be moving out of a particular comfort zone. Its important to have something to hold onto, to help keep encouraged.
My objective is to make studying historical sword-fighting accessible to everyone. Techniques from the period masters can be integrated into SCA rapier with a minimum of mutation. The purpose behind this class is to give you the tools so you can start studying historical technique.
Outside of the practice of sword-fighting, what are the advantages of studying the period masters?
1: Historical technique can be used as a tool for persona development and cultural research. Take the study of Italian and English masters for example. For example, George Silver wrote his manual as a response to the proliferation of Italian masters throughout London, and the popularity of rapier fighting. How does that impact you if your persona is from Elizabethan England?
2: The period masters have something to say about our martial culture. The manuals weren't written in a vacuum; they were written in response to specific needs of fighters of the time. Who were they written for? Were they written for a particular patron, or for the public? Who would have used this fighting style?
3: Studying historical sword-fighting helps preserve obscure arts and sciences that would die out, were it not for our practice. The recent renaissance (no pun intended) in western martial arts has created a need and interest in the publication of sword-fighting manuals. Western martial arts groups, as well as the SCA, are preserving these arts. We pass these techniques onto our students, and to the public via demos, scholas, academies, and other events.
How do we begin?
First, surround yourself with like-minded individuals. Find friends who share your interest. I can't stress the importance of having a supportive group that has your back. Excitement is infectious. Its important to have a circle of students to provide different opinions and outlooks on the text. In my opinion, you should have a minimum of three people, so two may practice the technique, and one can read the manual and offer opinions from the outside.
Second, choose a master you'd be interested in looking into. How to choose a manual or a particular master is beyond the scope of this class. Choosing what kind of manual, though, is based really on what you're interested in getting out of the manual. If you're interested specifically in using a rapier, as opposed to older forms or cutting-based forms, you may be interested more in Fabris or Capo Ferro, for example. If you're interested in a for that emphasizes the mechanical aspects of time and distance, consider a Spanish technique.
Once you decide on a manual, analyze it with your study group. Look into the historical context of the manual. Don't ignore the introduction to the manual; often, it will talk about the background of the master, who he's written for, and a little about the culture he's written in. Read as much of the manual as possible before practicing techniques from the manual. Don't just read the first paragraph, for example, and try the technique described. Most often, techniques in a single section of a manual build on other material described earlier. You'll understand more of what the master is trying to describe when you see techniques described earlier and later.
I should take a moment to say a few words about looking over the plates in the manual. Obviously, the plates are just snapshots, single moments in time. Mimicking the plates is not the same as learning the technique. Think of the plates as a guide to use along with the text. If you try to just recreate the stances and motions shown in the plates, then you're not really learning anything of the technique. Don't be afraid to play with what you see in the manual, though. If you see a plate that shows a final motion (such as a killing blow), don't be afraid to play with the motions that take you from guard position to the final plate.
What should we keep in mind when we practice?
Play. Don't be afraid to play. Don't be afraid to experiment. Have a great sense of humor about what you're doing. While you're trying something new, expect to loose a lot of bouts. You'll be learning new things about your stance, distance, timing, guards, etc. Get used to dealing with a new learning curve.
Like I'd said earlier, I find that working in groups of at least three works best. One person reads the manual, while the other two practice. The one observer serves the role as director. Rotate the roles among each other. Listen to each other, and share your observations.
Here are a few other tips:
Make sure that your study group stays focused. Its easy to drift off while studying a manual. There may be movements or terminology you may not be familiar with; resist the temptation to try to mutate the techniques in the manual to fit your personal style. The further away you take yourself from the intention of the master, the less effective the techniques you're trying to learn become.
That shouldn't keep you from playing with the techniques, though. There's a difference between playing with the form and drifting too far from the goal.
While reading through the manual, try to find the agenda that the master is trying to put forth. Most manuals follow a particular theme, technique, or even political agenda. If you're able to discover the “agenda,” then you have tool to help you get through roadblocks in the manual. For example, if you know that one particular master advocates attacks in single-time, then if you are at a roadblock in a particular part of a manual and it is ambiguous as to how an attack should be delivered, you'll at least know that it is likely that the attack should be delivered in single time. Its one more tool at your disposal to help you understand the manuals a little more deeply.
Consider your sword. Is the technique you're studying going to work with that weapon? Different masters advocate weapons of different styles or lengths. For example, Silver will not work with a long rapier, Capo Ferro will not work with a curved blade. I wouldn't use epees or foils for Italian rapier techniques (the techniques just don't work). Again, determining the correct weapon length for all different masters is beyond the scope of this class. In some cases, the master may assume you know the length or type of weapon to be used (that's where its helpful to know the historical context in which the manual was written). Others may specify the length by your height, the length of your lunge, etc.
Remember your fundamentals. Things like footwork, distance, accuracy, and timing are universal. Though some things may work differently, the basics of how to fight aren't necessarily going to change. Some masters may want slightly different stances, or recommend you move a particular way, but they won't likely be too different from what you first learned.
Drill. Stretch. Work out. I've found that reproducing some techniques straight from the plates is a little like yoga. There may not be a lot of impact, but its still a workout.
When you practice, practice with intent. The best way to determine if something works is to practice as if you are really fighting. For the longest time, I couldn't see any value in Capo Ferro's first guard. One day, we practiced cutting attacks against someone who is just first drawing his sword out of the scabbard. That was when we found its value. We could never really see how effective it was when doing slow-work., or just trying to reproduce moves from the plates and from other practitioners' pictures.
Practice everywhere. Take what you've learned into tournaments. Yeah, you may loose at first...a lot. But be okay with that. One way to stay encouraged is to look for different objectives when you enter tournaments. Instead of, “victory” as your ultimate objective, why not focus on insuring that your technique is as clean as possible. The more you perfect your style, the closer to victory you'll ultimately become. That may sound obvious, but you're likely to be moving out of a particular comfort zone. Its important to have something to hold onto, to help keep encouraged.
Saturday, August 29, 2009
Fabris: the first guard, and posture
We practiced the postures of the first guard. Fabris' postures are unusual; the head and the shoulders are forward, while the trunk of the body is tucked back. Balance is maintained partially because the posterior is stuck back. My first problem, honestly, stemmed from being fat. My balance is thrown off, and its difficult to put myself into the appropriate posture. I don't want to modify my stance too much, because I'm afraid of loosing the core of the style.
Does that make sense?
If I modify things from the beginning, then I'm not really doing the style properly. On the other hand, I have to modify things just slightly so I can compensate for my weight/balance.
We were told that most of your weight should be distributed to the back foot. So every time I'd take a step, I have to make sure that my weight is properly distributed. The trouble was that I ended up shifting my weight before settling. This would throw off my timing, and of course would throw off my balance.
So my practice now involves getting my stance correct, adjusting for balance and proper distribution of my weight.
Does that make sense?
If I modify things from the beginning, then I'm not really doing the style properly. On the other hand, I have to modify things just slightly so I can compensate for my weight/balance.
We were told that most of your weight should be distributed to the back foot. So every time I'd take a step, I have to make sure that my weight is properly distributed. The trouble was that I ended up shifting my weight before settling. This would throw off my timing, and of course would throw off my balance.
So my practice now involves getting my stance correct, adjusting for balance and proper distribution of my weight.
Saturday, August 22, 2009
Question about the first guard in Fabris
Had our first question about how to approach some of the interpretations of the plates:
My partner asked:
ok, first question for you.
p. 35 (first paragraph) "in this manner your opponent will not be able to come in above your sword; and that part being the weakest, it should be the most strongly defended".....my question... why is this part the weakest.
I thought about it, and read over some of the manual:
Just looking at the formation of the sentence, "that part" seems to refer to the target area you'd be defending. If someone is attacking above your sword while you are in this guard, they're attacking the head, and possibly the arm (he mentions earlier the possibility of the arm being the target). Looking at the plates, where exactly is the forte really protecting? He mentions the guard helping protect the body more efficiently, too.
Check out page 25, where he talks about why to hold the sword extended: "If your opponent simply places his forte to your debole and goes for the attack, he will find it difficult to succeed by virtue of the small opening that is one of the properties of the manner of holding the sword." Also, check page 28, talking about posture: "If a person could make himself so small as to be able to cover his entire body with the forte of the sword, it would be ideal. But since this is not normally possible, you should at least make an effort to cover as much of it as you can, so you can enjoy more safety."
Does that make sense? I don't think he comes right out and says what the weak part is, but he's already said this is an effective guard against cuts, and it appears the primary cut someone would attempt would be from up to down, near the head or shoulder.
My partner asked:
ok, first question for you.
p. 35 (first paragraph) "in this manner your opponent will not be able to come in above your sword; and that part being the weakest, it should be the most strongly defended".....my question... why is this part the weakest.
I thought about it, and read over some of the manual:
Just looking at the formation of the sentence, "that part" seems to refer to the target area you'd be defending. If someone is attacking above your sword while you are in this guard, they're attacking the head, and possibly the arm (he mentions earlier the possibility of the arm being the target). Looking at the plates, where exactly is the forte really protecting? He mentions the guard helping protect the body more efficiently, too.
Check out page 25, where he talks about why to hold the sword extended: "If your opponent simply places his forte to your debole and goes for the attack, he will find it difficult to succeed by virtue of the small opening that is one of the properties of the manner of holding the sword." Also, check page 28, talking about posture: "If a person could make himself so small as to be able to cover his entire body with the forte of the sword, it would be ideal. But since this is not normally possible, you should at least make an effort to cover as much of it as you can, so you can enjoy more safety."
Does that make sense? I don't think he comes right out and says what the weak part is, but he's already said this is an effective guard against cuts, and it appears the primary cut someone would attempt would be from up to down, near the head or shoulder.
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