Fencing Language In “I Love You, Man”

In 2009, a movie came along that I found utterly hilarious.  What tickled me even more was that the main character fenced!  (Something we have in common).  And just like The Princess Bride, screenwriter and director John Hamburg decided to add some fencing dialogue… something that us fencing nerds soo relish to hear.  (Fencing Nerds, lets be honest!)  After the above pictured bout, in which Paul Rudd’s character Peter Klaven executes a mean In Quartata on his opponent Gil, (and Gil resorts to a mask throwing tantrum) they exchange these words:

Gil: Bro.  Really sorry I lost my #@$& out there.  I just did not see that In Quartata coming.

Peter: Hey man, don’t worry.  You know you came in with a pretty sweet glissade.

Eugene: Anybody seen my manchette?

Larry: Did you look under your plastron, #$&% wicker?

When I first heard this exchange, I (like Olympic silver medalist fencer, Tim Morehouse) didn’t even recognize some of those terms.  But after some research, I now have the answers that the both the fencing community (and possibly, the film-loving community) would love to hear.

An In quartata is an counter-offensive action made by an attackers attack to the high-inside line (only). You are moving your body ‘off-line’ a ‘quarter’ turn (watch clip above).

A glissade is actually not a sport fencing term per se, but rather a classical/historical sword-fighting term whereby you “glide/glissade” down the opponent’s blade in order to cause a parrying action.  The parry is swiftly met with a disengage to hit (with opposition).

A manchette is a special glove that is worn to protect the weapon hand.  Most fencers just call this “the glove,” however in fencing conversation (especially those that practice the saber/sabre) you might hear the term Coup de Manchette, which means “Cut to the arm.”

A plastron is a protective pad worn to protect the torso and side.  Most plastrons available cover 3/4 of the body, thus allowing your free arm to move with less restriction (and less protection).

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* Paul Rudd : “I actually had fenced before this film.  In fact, the guy who oversaw the fencing in this film was my teacher 20 years ago.  Just kidding about that, but I have seen most of Errol Flynn’s movies.  That’s where I came up with ‘On guard that.'”

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Coach Michael Joyce teaches classical foil fencing in Winston-Salem, North Carolina.  Mr. Joyce got his training at both the St. Louis University (1998, 1999) and University of NC-Greensboro (1999-2002) Fencing Clubs.  He has been teaching (fencing) professionally since 2005 and has a Foil Fencing Beginners Manual making its way to the shelves in December 2010.  Look for it here,ChenCenterStore.Com or at our Fencing Page – WSfencing.info

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10 Questions With Luke Holloway

The Combative Corner is proud to introduce you to a guy that is (and has been) making a big name for himself in the field of close quarter combatives, security, crisis response and risk management (Law Enforcement / Military / Special Forces).

The Combative Corner became aware of Mr. Holloway through his many channels on YouTube (TeamWuJin, RCI Japan, Raw LEO Combatives, and more!).  Luke Holloway is the founder of Raw Combat International and is now in 24 countries.  Find out more about this extraordinary teacher at his websites Luke-Holloway.Com and Raw-Combat.Com.

Now… for our exclusive interview!  Enjoy.

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What brought you to teaching tactical self-prtotection?

I was simply sharing tactics based on my experience in my job (event/club security, protection, investigations and risk management consulting). I guess I just attracted a bunch of like minded people who saw it necessary to develop and maintain such skills. I never meant to create a ‘system’ or anything like that but people just started watching me on youtube (which was up for local students benefit in the beginning) and then I started to get asked to share things in many places (19 countries in the past couple of years).  As certified by the Australian Government in Risk Management, Security, Protection, Crisis Management, Sports Coaching and Work Place Training & Assessment (etc) I was able to structure things pretty easily.. things kinda just.. fell into place.

You’re currently in Shinjuku, Japan.  Where did you grow up and what brought you to Japan?

I’m in Japan because of a circumstance which I won’t go into for protection of my own privacy & personal security if that’s ok.  But I’d worked here before and spoke the language before I re-located here after doing a bit in Malaysia, Thailand, Hong Kong, China and Taiwan.  I am originally from Queensland, Australia and grew up hunting/shooting and doing not much-else then that and martial arts.. hahaha, a sheltered childhood maybe??  lol.. just wasn’t into football or anything like that really…

What’s the biggest obstacle for you as a self-defense instructor?

Training civilians with ‘too’ much experience.  I think every instructor knows what I mean.  Although I just see myself as sharing what I got, people need to understand that martial arts and tactical training are two COMPLETELY different things! I don’t care if you put the words ‘Tactical’ or ‘Commando’ or ‘Combat’ or ‘Extreme’ or whatevers goin’ on these days, you can take one look and know it’s shit! Most of our members or active operatives in Security, Law Enforcement/Customs or Military including Japans newest Special Forces Group (CRF). I know what backgrounds, what training they have and what training they need to be able to respond to incidents effectively in a professional manner and therefore it’s easier to ‘train’ them.. but civys with a chip on their shoulder about doing a krav maga seminar and 2 kickboxing lessons I don’t have much time for to be honest. Too many shit dribblers! Talking about how they do ‘military martial arts’ or some shit how they are a ‘bodyguard’ yet don’t know the first thing about personal security concepts as they just mentioned their wife’s name, their kids names, where they live and where they’re from.. (displaying the fact that they don’t have a clue about any of the BASICS of protection on a professional level) I got all I need now to find them if I need to, lol.. just a waste of my time!

The fact is professionals, as in cops/military don’t need to know the style’s master, a bunch of foreign terms and how to wear pajamas and act as ‘in character (asian dress up party) as possible to learn how to survive the streets! They don’t need Jurus/Katas they need drills to become skills that they can employ immediately! Don’t get me wrong, I love martial arts, but I accept it for what it is and even though I live in Japan, I got no interest in trying to become the last Samurai! lol, but on the other hand I’m not one of these guys that loves to sit there and talk about how shitty martial arts techniques are but have no real answers myself..Trying to ‘prove techniques wrong’ is a waste of time I think, especially if you haven’t learned the foundational elements nor had to adapt and employ it in the field… other than that, yeah I got no time to talk about shit cos I’m too busy training! Feel me?

What would your reason for the “Streetfighter”/RBSD practitioner to learn a softer art such as Tai Ji Quan?

I don’t see myself as a ‘street fighter’ or this or that, my name’s Luke, I’m from the land down under and I don’t cop shit from anyone! That’s how it is, in my world; Respect is the only currency! I give everyone a dollar in the beginning, they sit there and expect the world and don’t show any real appreciation, gratitude or consideration but when it comes time for them to ask me for that dollar back I say ‘Sorry mate, but you only got 10 cents left in your account’.. and leave it at that!

I’ve dealt with armed attacks on myself and clients/patrons in public and also in private and I am training tactics that rely on assertiveness with committed, controlled aggressiveness and intimidation! That’s how I am, I made up my mind in the beginning that I refuse to be the victim!

As for Taiji, if you train push hands you learn to move/deal with any line of force/tension and or ‘energy’ (without being cosmic about it, let’s just say ‘gravity’).. So the expression of the ‘technique’ is irrelevant if you are truly ‘listening’.. not waiting but LISTENING (what you technicians like to refer to as ‘ting-jing’) which is making use of your hightened sense of awareness to expand that awareness through your own structure and into your opponents.. Now, I know I’m probably loosing more than half the people reading this by now so I can go back to being gutter mouthed sharp shootin’ Aussie! It’s simple: Control yourself and you can control your opponent (if you TRAIN how to).. knowing how is one thing but maintaining your skills and awareness levels is another thing! In short Taiji has helped me BIG TIME in shooting, grappling and restraining, contain & removal in the field; Simply because you train to deal with anything in an instinctive, natural/fluent and appropriate manner! The biggest misconception about taiji is that it’s some sort of spiritual cosmic bull shit and that you need to try and be more asian then the next fella to be able to do it/teach it. I stopped wearing the pajamas (guilty but I admit I once did, come on.. we were all brain washed at one point lol) once I started push hands and found that it saved my arse more than a few times in the field wearing gear and all!

What is one of the hardest things to teach (in your opinion)?

Kids classes!

hahaha, I’m a parent my self so I’m very passionate about kids becoming self reliant and making the right choices in life and of courses making their personal security a priority a long with training self protection (self defense is just not being pro-active enough as they train to wait for the attacks). I started teaching in the year 2000 and I’ve found that doing kids classes is very rewarding and enjoyable but hard to maintain your personal life/space as parents try and get involved or try and get you involved in their shit fights etc.. it’s quite hard to maintain a balance sometimes..

The other hardest thing to share with people is Taiji, it really just takes patience and commitment like no other art, but the mental, emotional and of course physical benefits are like no other.

What are some of the things you’d want every woman to know about personal self-protection?

As I work a lot as a security consultant advising corporations and most recently even regiments on risk management/crisis responses and prevention planning it is quite easy to give advice to women because most of them don’t know to start.. You can see it when they walk.. put yourself in a stalkers shoes, does she walk with intent? Does she look like she’s off with the fairies (day dreaming)?  Any other indications of being an easy target such as: Ipod, mobile phone being used, dark street she has chosen to take, etc?

The main thing is not setting a pattern and preventing stalkers (who have the potential to become kidnappers/rapists and other scum that just haven’t stepped over the line yet but are heading towards it with intent). Making privacy protection a priority ie – not adding people you don’t know on facebook (etc) when you put up your whole life on there including where you are at what time (like anyone gives a shit).. actually it’s funny cos a lot of these dudes who are ‘Tacti-coool’ trainers don’t obey basic principals of privacy protection/personal security either.. again, jokes in my book! But yeah, it’s not about learning mad martial arts skills it’s about using your head! Martial arts requires maintenance where as personal protection requires simple common sense, sometimes you just gotta show them how to develop that.. Can I leave that one there for now?  I think it’ll go on way too long! hahaha, sorry..

We’ve noticed from your videos that you enjoy knifeplay.  What is the draw?  And do you feel that knife drills are important for every “serious” self-protection student?

It’s like this, people in the UK ask my why I bother with it and people in the US ask my why don’t I show more of the ‘tactical stuff’ on youtube (free)?   Well, it’s the situation and the impacting factors (as always!) but think about this, even if you aren’t carrying a knife and you do disarm it/one and you don’t have a clue about survival tactics (with the knife, I’m not talking about martial arts – screw that for the time being)/ Weapon Retention it’s probably more dangerous to you than it is the assailant. Plus, our knife work is adapted to house hold utensils, pens, screwdrivers you name it, we’ll use it when necessary! Don’t get me wrong, again, I love martial arts but I’m a big white guy in the line of work who needs urban survival skills for myself AND others! I’m not a little asian guy and I don’t try to be! I don’t play dress ups anymore, I live in the real world and have had to deal with real shit.  Anyone else seeing what I see has woken up to them selves!

What has your experience (thusfar) as a full time trainer taught you?

Shit, I don’t know where to begin, off the top of my head (like the rest of these answers) I guess just being able to deal with different people..

I have taught security, law enforcement, customs and military/SF in more countries then I ever imagined visiting and when you look at different people in different jobs from different countries you get a pretty good variety. A lot of positive things have come of it; Patience, Tolerance, Flexibility and I guess another big thing is not giving a shit anymore.. by that I mean I used to care what people think about me/my material and now I’ve got bigger things in my life to be concerned with. Kids talking shit on the internet doesn’t mean much to me, they’re the one’s loosing sleep over it all! hahaha

What are your thoughts regarding Traditional Martial Art form work?  In your opinion, do they help or hinder a practitioner’s ability to react spontaneously with the proper intent?  If so, do you feel there should be a short, CQC (close quarter combat) form or kata?

No.

I do not believe that Kata/Jurus helps you with that at all! Not only is there no-one in-front of you, there’s no situation/incident which is spontaneous/random/intimidating/un-fair etc.. However, it’s like pad work.. it just develops a certain skill. In Chinese arts we do forms (Taolu) and in my southern training a lot of it was based on developing intrinsic energies within the body which create explosive power, in Japanese arts it’s kata and all about basics being reliable (however in my jujutsu training here in Japan there was never kata) in SE Asian (Malaysian/Indonesian/Filipino) we have Jurus and to me they are much more realistic (as they are more savage when the Buah ‘application’ is trained) but still are limiting.  And this is why we do a lot of scenario based simulation training with no rules/limitations (mind you I’ve lost the same tooth twice doing it recently haha) but it’s worth it, well worth it! I sometimes still train my tonglong forms/drills cos they rip the shit out of you and develop and insane amount of energy but I don’t bother with Jurus much anymore, I’m not a muslim nor an asian so I don’t pretend to understand the ‘cultural benefits’, when I’m in SE Asia training Silat I simply follow and of course appreciate whatever is shared with me, weather it be ‘the deep dark secrets of jungle blade arts or a nice meal and tea, but my own personal training has a different objective. Today, I’m still training taiji, regardless of what anyone says – it’s the real deal.. unfortunately it will take most people until they are in there 50s (no longer to do what they can now and have to look at an alternative) to realize/appreciate that.

Where does Luke Holloway see himself 10 years from now?

Everyday brings new things/beings and situations into your life that will effect you, I try and make the best out of every situation.

So I’m just crusin’ along seein’ what’s goin’ on… make sense? As long as I have the health and safety of me and my family, I’m not too bothered about what I’m doing. Of course I’m passionate about it, but I’d be just as happy to be doing other things that are positive and productive for me – it’s not about leaving a ‘legacy’ or ‘being remembered as this or that.’ I couldn’t care less! I’ve have met wonderful people and had a wonderful time appreciating everyday and making the most of it, if it ended tomorrow I’m still content, if I’m still doing it in 10 years and we are still happy and healthy we are blessed.

Bonus Questions: We just recently had a Roundtable Discussion.  The question was “What’s your favorite (martial art/inspirational) book that you OWN, and why?”

I collected martial arts books in high-school/college and realized they were all B.S. when I started in my profession, that was even further supported when I saw a lot of those clowns on youtube. In a book, you can say what you want and show what you want in slow motion and make yourself out to be anyone, from anywhere doing anything… same in MA mags which are total B.S. these days, they have ‘Halls of fame’ Bwhahahaha, what a joke! The ‘famous’ guys are the ones who have spent over 10 grand on advertising with them. I advertised in a magazine once and before then no matter how much I tried they wouldn’t put my material in their news or do a story or anything.  If it’s not profitable, they are not interested, which is fair enough. But I went home earlier this year and I don’t have any idea why but I brought a magazine (MA) and it’s still got the same fat guys in pajamas talking the same shit about how ‘samurai’ they are or how their lineage is more ‘correct’ or how ‘scientific’ their techniques are.  It’s all a big joke to me and so are books in most cases! I would rather read someone’s story and get into the guy’s head if I wanted to learn from him.  A recent book I have is called ‘The Art of Deception.’ It is full of case stories about one of the worlds best hackers and manipulators of the human element of security through social engineering.  It re-enforced that I am on the right path as a consultant & active operative but also gave me the chance to see it from another point of view, the criminals.

I’m sorry mate, that’s probably not really what you wanted to hear and I know a lot of people may be offended by some of the things I’ve said.  In my experience it usually means I’ve hit the nail on the head and that nail was on their weak spot!  But nothing is mean to be in vain or offensive, you asked my opinion on things and I gave it, I hate preachers and shit dribblers so I refuse to be/act like one.

Anyhow, I’d like to say thank you and the Combative Corner for giving me the chance to be heard.

Bless you all.

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Roundtable Discussion 006: Life

Six martial artists, from six different disciplines were asked,

“How did the study of the martial arts impact your Life?”

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Robert Lara ::.. The study of Martial Arts positively impacts my life more and more each day. I started my studies in the arts to learn to be able to control attackers. But as the years have went by I now train to learn to control myself. To master the self is the true battle.

I do my best each day of my life to better myself through the study Martial Arts. I deal with Fibromyalgia and other health issues. Without the Martial Arts I would not have the tools to deal with my health issues. I wish you all the best on your paths in the study of Martial Arts.

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Brandon Vaughn ::.. That’s easy.  My martial arts training greatly increased my confidence and improved my self discipline.

I first started training for the same reason a lot of kids did because I wanted to be able to beat up all the bullies that were tormenting me at the time. As so often happens in martial arts, by the time you learn how to “fight” you realize that you no longer need to. Through Martial Arts I gained the confidence to stand up for myself but also the discipline to not let people provoke me into fighting over nothing. I went from walking looking down at my shoes to walking with my chin held high.

Martial Arts also helped me deal with some anger issues when I was younger and still helps me manage my temper to this day. Martial Arts gave me a healthy outlet for expressing my anger and according to my wife has calmed me down a lot since high school. One of the main reasons I enjoy teaching so much is because I get to help kids dealing with the same issues that I dealt with as a child. Nothing compares to watching a student’s confidence grow before your eyes.

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Freddie Lee ::.. Martial Arts holds great significance in my life. Before practicing Martial Art, all I knew of was sport, nothing about art. When I started training, it was a physical discipline, something that was nothing new to me. It was not until 2 years later did I begin to look deeper into it. It first started with being inspired by Bruce Lee. Practicing Martial Arts for the first time made me proud of my own culture and race. I was no longer ashamed. For the first time I went to seek out information about my original Chinese culture.

I first started reading “The Artist of Life.” That lead me to many other books related to Eastern Philosophy. Martial Arts sparked my thirst for knowledge and wisdom. Ever since then, my life was never the same. Ultimately it lead me towards enlightenment. Now I see the world from a whole different level. It has awakened me. I see very clearly now. And it began with Martial Arts; I have much appreciation towards Bruce Lee who had shared his wisdom with the world through his writings.

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Johnny Kuo ::.. The martial arts have impacted my life in several ways, but the primary effect has been on personal development. To understand an art, you need to focus your mental energies to perceive its essence. That sort of mental focus is not easy, especially in our modern day barrage of constant and varied distractions. The mental training has paid dividends in different aspects of my life. It helps me stay focused and calm when life’s pressures start mounting.

The other major effect of studying martial arts I’ve noticed has been more social. Training martial arts has given me the opportunity to interact with people who I would probably not run into otherwise. In my experience, the martial arts have been both a vehicle of physical struggle as well as a common bond which forms friendships and community.

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Coach Michael Joyce ::.. All people are different (especially children) and as I began to sprout upwards in this world, I played a variety of sports.  My father had always encouraged me to play football and I ended up becoming a fairly decent wide receiver.  In middle school, I could literally feel a strange “shifting” at work.  Running patterns on the football field and catching an oval shaped ball just didn’t cut it for me anymore.  Besides, I wanted something that could help to develop the image of what I had always hoped to become.  The martial arts, whether it was my earlier kungfu training, my college days spent studying fencing (mainly) or, later, my focus on self-defense and taiji… gave me an inner sense of fulfillment that I couldn’t get by being a team player.

In this world, it is important to do things on your own… or at least, have the capacity and confidence to do things on your own.  Although we all need people to guide us, nothing improves one’s confidence and sense of achievement when you know it was your strength, your courage, and your determination that produced the result.  Moreso, the result becomes even greater to see as one continues down the martial art path, whereby the result isn’t a championship ring, but something deep and profound that you wake up to every morning and something absolutely no one can take away.

Instructors Profiles – LARA – VAUGHN – LEE – KUO – JOYCE

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LET US KNOW WHAT THE MARTIAL ARTS MEAN TO YOU !

(write your comments in the space below)

Don’t forget to follow The Combative Corner on Twitter!  – here –

 

 

 

10 Questions with Philip Sahagun

7-Time National Champion of the Open Martial Arts Circuit

3-Time International Level Weapons Champion (2003-2005)

Member US Traditional Wushu Team (USAKWF) 2006 & 2008

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1) How did you know that you wanted to become a professional martial artist?

When I was young I didn’t know what I would do as a profession. My father and mother were both in the martial arts and I began training in Kenpo Karate and kickboxing from an early age. However despite the fact I was born into it, I didn’t seem to have any physical talent. If I fought I lost, if I jumped I wasn’t the highest, and if I ran I certainly wasn’t the fastest. Basically I had no prospects for the martial arts until my latter teens. During that time something clicked. It was like I discovered how to use a key that I had carried all along. I started to excel in physical training and eventually my personal life. Twelve years of training had passed and I began to consider martial arts a possible career.

(2) What are some top martial artists/athletes/coaches that made an impression on you?

My family played the largest role in my development, they opened the school South Coast Martial Arts when I was 5 and introduced me to training. Also my current Wushu Coach Wei Jin Lin or (Wei Wei) has helped me greatly with body mechanics and performance, while my martial arts mentor Shi Yan Xu (former teacher to Shaolin Temple’s Warrior Monks) has greatly improved my understanding of traditional arts and the martial mindset. Other than that, various Kick boxers, Wushu players, Monks, Lawyers, and even singers have all helped me in my practice.

(3) Wushu seems to be your “big passion.” Is it, and what set Wushu apart?

Wushu is a big passion of mine, and although I was brought up in other art forms I always found myself fascinated by the world of Chinese Martial Arts and weaponry. For me Wushu is unique in many ways. I feel it places a higher emphasis on physical conditioning and mind body unity. Ankles, Hips Knees, Arms, Back, Quads etc it seems like there’s not one thing Wushu isn’t concerned about stretching, strengthening or making faster and I enjoy that challenge. Another thing that attracts me is the culture aspect of it. I feel the methods of performance art, self cultivation and spirit found within Wushu allows it to transcend a one level practice; and in the words of Jet Li allows it to be “an intricate, purposeful skill.”

(4) How does (Spirituality/Meditation) play a role in what you do? (Or does it)

I love discussing philosophy, religious beliefs and meditation within the martial arts, but unfortunately I feel that topic lacks interest amongst today’s practitioners. I feel that in our youth one can always be faster, stronger, and more flexible, but as time passes and we begin to turn old, how much of these physical skills can stay with us? I am a strong believer that scholarly practices and physical practices are complimentary; you should pursue both with equal respect if you want to be considered a true martial artist and have qualities that are everlasting. A quote often shared by Teijun-Soku Uekata and Gichen Funakoshi; “No matter how high your skills become in art or scholastics, nothing is more important than your behavior and humanity as observed in daily life.” I strongly agree with this.

(5) What are the biggest problems that you confront when you are preparing to compete/demo/fight/or spar?

When I was younger I would be worried about how tough my opponent was or what would happen if I made a mistake in executing certain movements. However right now I really don’t have any problems when sparring or performing. I’ve faced numerous challenges and made numerous mistakes throughout my practice. I am certainly not without loss, yet I still don’t doubt myself or my ability. In practice and competition, we should not detain ourselves with thoughts of wins or loses, nor in advancement or setback. Failure in the past can be redeemed by the present, and successes of the future will be determined by our awareness. In this sense when practicing martial arts we have to maintain a “No Mind” mentality and I follow that pretty seriously.

(6) What goes through your mind before you compete or prepare to demonstrate in front of an audience? (and is it the same routine/thought independent of the audience size?)

For me it doesn’t matter how large the audience, but it is nice to know what the audience is interested in. For instance I’ve performed at Anime Conventions, Basketball Shows, Buddhist Monasteries, Karate Tournaments etc. but despite my experience, I never really have a set idea of what to perform unless I know where I’m going or who I’m going to perform in front of. For instance, I love traditional Martial Arts. But If I were to walk into a basketball stadium and do a performance of Traditional MA I can guarantee that over 90% of people would not find interesting. So generally I think about what would interest my audience and then I plan accordingly.

(7) As a Traditional Martial Artist, what is your opinion of people entering the sport of “Mixed Martial Arts” (or do you even bother watching?)

I watch MMA from time to time and there are a handful of fighters who have good skill and maintain a set of values. Unfortunately I feel the current marketing behind MMA promotes a lot of negative imagery that doesn’t accurately represent its athletes nor the “martial arts” side of MMA, but such is the effects of media and promotion. I understand that most MMA athletes fight to make a living and I can’t criticize them for doing so.

(8) Out of all that you do, what are you most passionate about or what would you most like to accomplish with your skill?

I currently teach about five days a week and I am very passionate about it. It’s rewarding to see children and adults make progress in training and I sincerely hope to have greater opportunities to teach more in the future.

(9) Thinking back on your life, what are a couple of major, martial art highlights?

In 2006 I took part of a Chinese TV show co-sponsored by Shenzhen TV and the Shaolin Temple called Kungfu Star. For its time K-Star was China’s largest scale reality television program and reached an audience of around 300 Million. I am very proud to have participated in that event and I still have many friends and found memories associated with it. Also in 2008 I took a group of students to compete in China’s Third Traditional Wushu Festival near Wudang Mountain. Although I personally didn’t do very well, it was a thrill to see my students compete and earn such high marks. We had four competitors and everyone took home a first, second, or third in their respective events.
(10) Where do you see yourself in 5-10 years?

In five to ten years I hope to have travelled more of the world studying different traditions and cultures. I also wish to make more friends through the martial arts and create events to promote the benefits of its study to the public. Hmm, what else? Basically I want to continue what I’m doing on a larger scale and regardless of where this life takes me, I know the only way for me to find happiness is to keep moving forward. I’m on a quest for self betterment and I don’t plan on giving that up anytime soon.

For More Information about Philip Sahagun:

www.philipsahagun.com

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Fencing Language in “The Princess Bride”

If you’re anything like me, you found the movie The Princess Bride (1987) by Rob Reiner, to be a very entertaining film.  In all honesty, this was the film that poured gasoline on my desire to wield a sword, and quote the lines (with accent), “Hello, my name is Inigo Montoya.  You killed my father.  Prepare to die.”  For others it may have been Errol Flynn or Douglas Fairbanks; but for me, it was the sword fight on “The Cliffs of Insanity” that sparked my early fascination with fencing.

Watch here:

In this particular scene, while dueling (then, a life-or-death affair), while at the same time showing overwhelming sportsmanship, Inigo Montoya and the Man-In-Black (Westley) casually (and most humorously) discuss complex fencing tactics.  It was this friendly exchange of historical references that I found completely intriguing.  For years, I would quote the lines, but it wasn’t until my first years of fencing (and quite a bit of research & inquiring) that I understood what they were talking about.

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Inigo Montoya: You are using Bonetti’s Defense against me, ah?
Man in Black: I thought it fitting considering the rocky terrain.
Inigo: Naturally, you must suspect me to attack with Capa Ferro?
Man in Black: Naturally, but I find that Thibault cancels out Capa Ferro. Don’t you?
Inigo: Unless the enemy has studied his Agrippa… which I have.

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The quotation begins with Inigo, pushing Wesley (The Man in Black) back in retreat with his consistent attacks.  “Bonetti’s Defense” refers to the Italian swordmaster Rocco Bonetti, who established a “School of Arms” in London in 1576.  An unusual reference, as Bonetti was much hated by English fencing masters of the time (i.e. critically bashed by George Silver in his Paradoxes of Defence [1599]) and was killed in a duel against a man named Austen Bagger (who, during the duel, was “quite drunk” and “easily defeated” Bonetti*).

[*Source: The Encyclopedia of the Sword. Evangelista, Nick.]

Unfortunately we have no idea how Bonetti fenced.  What is of popular opinion (as to the reference in the film) is that “Waterman’s Story” whereby Bonetti once drew his sword and was quickly belted with the oar of the waterman (per: Guy Windsor’s demonstration in the video below) and lost the fight.  By cautiously stepping back and relying on defense, it helps to ensure that he doesn’t make a fatal blunder by attacking from an uneven, unpredictable surface (ie. “rocky terrain”).

Inigo’s second question to Wesley is, “…You must suspect me to attack with Capa Ferro?”  This, is a misspelling first off.  Both the International Movie Database (IMDB.Com) and the movie’s subtitles say “Capa Ferro”, when instead, it’s actually “Capo Ferro.”  In this instance, “Capa (Capo) Ferro” is a term given to the powerful attack known as “The Lunge,” obviously after Italian swordmaster, Ridolfo Capo Ferro, who taught a linear style of fencing.  (a good analysis of Capo Ferro can be located (here: click)

Wesley’s retort was of, “…but I find that Thibault cancels out Capa Ferro. Don’t you?”  This speaks of Gérard (Girard) Thibault d’Anvers (1574-1627), a Dutch fencing master and author of the rapier manual, Academie de l’Espée (1630).  Thibault brilliantly utilized both logic and geometry to aid in his swordfighting defense.  Therefore, Wesley felt that his Thibaultian studies in using such tactics as (for example) “higher ground” and angulation on attack, gave him added measure when defending against linear thrusts such as “The Lunge.”

To this, Inigo concludes, “Unless the enemy has studied his Agrippa…”  – a term named after Italian short sword master, Camillo Agrippa who wrote, Treatise on the Science of Arms with Philosophical Dialogue (1553).  Historically, Agrippa simplified fencing techniques (i.e. Shortened Marozzo’s eleven guards, to a “fundamental four”), emphasizing defensive tactics,  & logic above techniques that he deemed over-stylized.  One can imagine that since he was a master of the short sword, he would be quite knowledgeable in “closing distance” (because in closer proximity, the short sword rules!).  In the picture to the left, the drawing shows a fencer as he raises his primary weapon arm in a prime-like position, which is effective counter to the mid & low-line of the body on high-line thrusts.

And there you have it…a breakdown of the famous movie duel from The Princess Bride.

Continue to study, practice and duel… in a valiant attempt at making a victory over you, “Inconceivable!”

Coach Michael Joyce

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ADDITIONAL VIDEO: GUY WINDSOR

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Coach Michael Joyce teaches classical foil fencing in Winston-Salem, North Carolina.  Mr. Joyce got his training at both the St. Louis University (1998, 1999) and University of NC-Greensboro (1999-2002) Fencing Clubs.  He has been teaching (fencing) professionally since 2005.

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Joyce’s Fencing Page -Click-

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