h2g2 The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy: Earth Edition

Howdy! Kerr sent me your way as I'm planning on doing a Mediæval longsword fighting course with a view to eventally doing re-enactment and she said you were the person around here to talk to!

well, sort of!

The basics of sword fighting in re-enactment are very simple, there's 6 cuts and blocks, although you really don;t use the sixth cut since it is a lunge and people get narky if you poke em with a sword.

On the other hand there some groups, like the Dawn Duelist Society in scotland (the DDS as they are known) who don't 'do' re-enactment but rather do meadieval fighting as a martial art (which it is) - I'd love to have the time to do so myself! They come along for the one on one sparring and last man standing contests which are serious afairs. Interestingly, their 'top' fighter (who uses a 2 hander) is neither particularly big nor well built. I suppose like most martial arts its more about technique than anything else.

This place has some interesting resources as well:
http://www.thearma.org/manuals.htm

anyway, that's just me waffling!

Where ya doing the course? I can check and see if anyone I know has done such a thing or knows of them if you want.

Here's the website: http://www.messenger-longsword.org.uk

The course is run by a bloke I know who was recommended by a friend so hopefully it's going to be good.

looks interesting, I'll see if anyone has heard of him.

But as I say above, re-enactment events themselves do not use medieval fighting techniques (far too much work for St. Johns ambulance if they did!) so you don't need to do this as a requirement for reenactment and you'll probably have to unlearn it to partake in the display battles. Useful for the one on one combats though.

Hi both, sorry to barge in like this Icky but I know that chap!!! He ran a two day course at Usk castle in the summer of 2005 for us novice stage fighters, and he was very good, and very patient.

I’ve done a fair bit of stage fighting, and for previous shows have been trained and choreographed by a someone who is primarily there to make sure we don’t damage ourselves or anyone else whilst making the ‘action’ look as real as possible.

For the Usk show things were very different. I was the only one (apart from and ex-barrack room sergeant) who had ever done anything with a sword. We were given two afternoons stage fighting technique from a chap from the drama college down the road. Then Guy and a couple of members from the Plantagenet Society turned up, and we did things there way.

Obviously it was a very brief crash course to get us looking realistic (safely) whilst fighting at midnight under stage lights in the grounds of a castle, but he took us through everything clearly and with good humor.

We started with basic steps, then put in the attacks and blocks, then moved onto deaths and slaughter. Great fun was had by all.

We also got the chance to do some sword and shield work, and even experimented with a few wrestling moves and throws.

By the end of the weekend we were judged capable of holding our own melee type fight, and were divided into two groups with three waves in each and left to stage our own battle as it were. Things worked out really well – the less confident fighters tended to pick on each other; and others of us went yelling and charging across the grounds and happily hacked away at each other.

It must be great testament to the training that apart form the odd bruise, and one chap who tripped over the sundial – there weren’t any injuries.

We heard he was going to start running courses in Swindon. I hope you have a really great time. I’m very jealous!!!!

No probs Odo, glad you're still ocassionally here!
Sounds like a good fun course then!

*pops back in*

I'm still about occasionally, although I do more lurking than posting these days. It became rather busy in cardigan country and I seem to have lost touch rather with the world of hootoo. It doesn’t mean that I’ve forgotten about you all though.

I'm sure Mr Dreadful will have a great time.

you still going to do this Mr. D? Or have you already started?

I'll be starting on the 3rd of March. Woo!

cool!

Let us know how it goes and what you think of it!

Certainly will!

Did my first class on Saturday and it was bloody great... I'm going again tomorrow!

We did four basic moves, which all apply to wrestling, dagger and longsword and then went through a few pre-set one-on-one combats to show how the moves apply to the actual trying to kill people bit.

Words used most often by the instructor (apart from sword, dagger, stance, etc.): brutal, kill, throat, skull, blood.

heh

Yes, one of the fascinating things reading through the few surviving medieval martial arts manuals and discussions of battlefield technique is the singular lack of any sort of chivalry! If you can knee them in the knackers and then ram your dagger up their jacksie you do it!

Was you knackered afterwards?

I was pretty tired... and the lack of chivalry was definitely evident, the instructor specifically mentioned the knee-to-the-groin tactic!

I remember my first bill-block training. Was lucky to get some personal tuition from a bloke who can be best described as a brick outhouse. After the training, which went of for several hours, my arms were so tired I had trouble getting a ciggie up to my mouth! Bills are fun, but you really don;t appreciate the muscular strength required to fight with one until you try it.

The other interesting weapon is the poleaxe. Everyone thinks it is pretty mean and nasty but once you get into it you realise it was mostly for show. Combat sports and sparring. There's records of knights duelling with them until both collapsed from exhaustion with neither having any significant injuries on them. just goes to show the reality vs. the romanticised victorian perception we have of the medieval ages.

And you quickly realise why all the sword experts and stories of swords go on about balance. An unbalance sword really takes its toll on you.

Ooh yes... even in LRP (where it's all lightweight foam and whatnot) polearms are tiring to use.

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Of course it's thanks to the Victorians that most people don't realise that knights could and would knee their opponents in the goolies.