Reclaiming the Blade Page #8

and I'm using all my weight

to shove my sword through him,

then I can penetrate.

In order to

comprehend the sword,

you need to comprehend all

the techniques surrounding

the actual use of swords.

Contrary to what you see at

Ren fairs and what you see

in Hollywood movies,

armored fighting is not about

using the edge of the sword.

It's not gonna penetrate that

breast plate or that plate leg

armor so they have to come up

with another way of defeating

a man in armor and that method

is primarily half swording.

The manuals are full

of this technique.

I grab my own blade and I

use it as a thrusting weapon.

I can shorten the blade by doing

this and make it much stiffer

so I have accuracy and enough

strike to penetrate his armor.

I have to thrust it in,

and put some weight behind it

and really drive it.

Fencing does not allow you

to use the left hand

and I have heard people

tell you or say that

the left hand

is for balance.

It has nothing to

do with balance.

We're constantly

using this hand,

so if he makes an attack--

if I have to I'll use elbow,

forearm,

anything I need to.

Now in classical fencing

or dueling manuals

you see slapping the blade

as a constant thing.

In fact, you will see that most

of the time with the left hand

up here in a position to slap.

He makes a thrust

and I have to get to here,

I'm gonna disarm him.

You have to do freeplay,

you have to do

an intense amount

of mock combat.

You have to do it with as

realistic a way as possible.

Today we do a lot

of sitting.

You know we sit in

front of our computers.

We sit in front of

our televisions.

We sit on the way to work,

then we get to work and we sit.

Then we go home and we sit again

and then we're laying down.

In the medieval renaissance

eras people didn't.

They did a lot of walking

and a lot of riding

and a lot of running.

I think we have no idea how much

like rawhide these people must

have been back in, you know,

5 or 6 centuries ago.

I think we're very soft

nowadays despite our efforts

to remain,

you know, fit.

I was a sword nut at 12, so me

and one of my friends went out.

We immediately went

"bang, bang, bang,"

started fencing with them.

And after it was over with,

I had 2 hacksaws because

you know it just

ruins the edge.

Well I was shocked and upset

because this wasn't what

happened in the movies.

Movie combat is really a curious

undertaking because it's

not very realistic, generally.

It doesn't portray how

the historical weaponry

actually performs and handles.

It's one of my favorite themes

actually that that metallic

noise that a sword makes

coming out of a scabbard

which makes no sense.

Swords don't make a noise

when they come out, you know.

It's, life as a fantasy.

It doesn't reflect the way

human beings actually behave

in violent,

personal armed combat.

Mainly when you see

movies nowadays,

they always focus

on techniques

even in moves displaying

medieval Europe.

They always focus on Asian

techniques and et cetera,

and that's not our way,

so to speak.

Western martial arts,

you know, that's, you know,

whether it be English,

Italian, French, Spanish,

there are specifics to those

styles and those weapons

that are ignored in most

of the movies these days.

It's like a huge pot of soup

with many, many ingredients.

You know they're

hybrids, really.

They're not true to western

martial arts, I wouldn't say,

for the most part because

they're mixing in elements

of Asian martial arts that

have no place there,

really if you want

to be realistic.

So you have a little bit

kung fu, and a little bit of,

you know, a little

bit of everything.

Most of the time a lot of

these movies are very good.

The problem that I have with

it is that a lot of people

in the audience think this

is the way you use a sword.

It's purely for entertainment;

this is true.

But it certainly

makes my job harder.

We teach people:
No, your

sword's not going to cut through

a guy with plate armor;

no you can't cut through--

cut a Z in somebody's chest.

But you can do

other things and they're

even more interesting

because they're real.

Many who study classical fencing

and European martial arts

believe that if you give the

audience more realism combined

with credible performances then

they will enjoy and embrace it.

I think that now there's

a generation of moviegoers and

readers who are ready for that,

and they're asking for that.

Classical fences and historical

European martial artists

and scholars have now shown

that there is a wonderful craft

out there that has been lost but

that can now be made

to exist again.

There have, recently there

are some movies that have been

focusing a little bit on

European martial arts.

Good examples of films that

feature combat based on specific

historical swordsmanship include

"Rob Roy," "Gladiator,"

"Troy," "Kingdom of Heaven"

and "Alatriste."

In some few cases people are

more in tune and do a better job

of researching and being true

to the style of the period.

As I said,

Bob does this very well.

For example,

in "Alatriste,"

they're not what Bob would call

sword-slapping scenes, you know.

His goal is always

credibility, naturalism,

fights the way they would be

and the reason that people are

careful going in and they're,

once they commit they commit

fully is because even

a small wound in those times--

infection and you could

die just from that.

You're going in to kill and

it's over with very quickly.

They were violent, you know,

shockingly violent at times

and there were very real,

dangerous consequences

to mixing it up with swords.

In many regards it is to the

high fantasy of film that we are

indebted for today's resurgence

of western martial arts.

Movies have inspired many

talented individuals

to take up the sword

in an effort

to rediscover

its true martial significance.

The resurgence of authentic

European martial arts has been

growing exponentially over time.

Over the years it has actually

become influential in cinema.

Historical European martial

arts are neither reenactment

nor sport fencing.

They're in a category

all of their own.

This fresh approach to training

takes history into account

striving to improve both its

practice and authenticity.

Our lives don't depend

on this craft.

Nobody's going to challenge us

to a duel at the mall

with a rapier.

Nobody's going to ambush

us in the parking lot

with a bastard sword,

so we have to have

alternative reasons for

why we're doing this.

We do this, I think,

because it needs to be done.

And hopefully it will increase

everyone's understanding

and awareness of how

European warfare was conducted.

They will be appreciated for

as effective and as elegant

and as useful as anything the

rest of the world has to offer.

All these things

that have been forgotten

needs to be found again.

In an age where truth

Rate this script:0.0 / 0 votes