Murphy's Laws of Fencing - Henry Version

Greetings, There have been many different versions of "Murphy's Laws". Each one of these is focussed on the particular topic to which it is directed. These are a way to gain some amusement from these topics while at the same time learning something about the topic. Many of the lists have some hidden truths in them as well. There should be no surprise that for the most part each particular area will have its own and fencing is no different. There are many variants of Murphy's Laws of fencing. This is a list which I have assembled based on other lists and also on my experiences in fencing. This will have the laws as well as a little bit of an explanation about where this particular law comes from. In this way, it is hoped that these will be a source of amusement and education simultaneously. 1. If the opponent is within distance, so are you. 2. If you have a tempo, so does the opponent. Laws one and two are about timing and distance, these are the two key concepts in fencing of all kinds. The important thing here is that they are fluid and what you have the opponent can take, or will also have at the same time. Remember to use these to your advantage. 3. The opponent will attack either when you are ready or when you are not. 4. If you are not attacking, expect your oppoenent to be. If you are on guard in front of your opponent, expect that they will attack at their convenience, and not yours. This means you need to be prepared at all times. If you do not have the opponent on the defensive then he will take the opportunity to attack you. 5. Incoming attacks always have the right of way. Make defence a priority against incoming attacks, the opportunity for riposte or counter should be secondary to not being struck 6. What can be seen can be hit. If you leave an opening in your defence, expect it to be struck. Likewise even if it is covered, it can be uncovered and hit. 7. If your attack is going well, your opponent is using second intention. 8. The only plan to rely on is to strike the opponent while not being struck yourself. 9. If you have read your opponent, he has read you. Plans are awesome in fencing, but remember that the opponent will also have a plan. Expect that your opponent will have some sort of counter to your attack, and you should plan to counter that. 10. Secret Blows, aren't. 11. Ultimate killing moves, aren't. 12. The brilliant technique you just learnt has a counter. 13. There is no complex action which cannot be countered by a simple response. The botta secreta (secret blow) is effective until it is used, therefore it can never be used. Once it is used people will learn it and counter it. There is no technique in fencing which cannot be countered in some fashion. Usually the ....

The rest of this article can be found in Un-Blogged: A Fencer's Ramblings by Henry Walker, which is available in paperback from:

Amazon: https://www.amazon.com/Blogged-Ramblings-Henry-Leigh-Walker/dp/098764470X
Booktopia: https://www.booktopia.com.au/un-blogged-henry-leigh-walker/book/9780987644701.html
Among other places...

It is also available in electronic format (pdf) from: https://buy.stripe.com/fZecP419c7CB9VKeUV

... or direct from the author.

Making Plans for Training

Greetings, A while ago I posted about taking a hold of your training. This was designed to get people to realise that the only person who was going to make it all work was you. This is more or less a follow-up on that one, examining the next step in the process and one that should be considered by fencers at all levels. Making plans for training is a good thing as it provides advantages, but it needs to be done right. The advantage of making a plan for your training, rather than just filling in holes where they are perceived is that it gives a plan for the future. This provides a direction for the training and a simple process to follow. This particular plan can provide a reason for going to training, and going on a regular basis especially. Where it is filling holes then there is motivation to pick something, where there is a plan, it is just the next lesson in the plan. This provides things to do at training, especially where the motivation may not be there to figure something out to do. This also means that the training is directed at a target. Targets are important as they give us something to aim at. For some, they can be non-specific, but for most they need to be specific about where it is all going. As far as overall targets are concerned "I want to get better at my fencing." is a target which we all have as who does not want to get better at their fencing? This target does not provide particularly much direction. In order to provide direction, it is useful to be somewhat more specific, this is achieved by dividing goals up into long term and short term targets or goals. Long term targets are those which will not happen soon and will require a lot of work, and are something to strive toward. These are often hopeful goals of where a person may want to end up sometime down the track. In many ways this is some what "cloud shooting" dreaming about the day that you will hit the top of the ranks in your particular form of fencing. Of course for some, this will be out of reach so this needs to be tempered a little with sensibility. These long term goals should not have a time limit on them anything under a year or even more. Short term goals are those which will happen sooner than the long term goals, but they may not happen in a couple of months or possibly even a couple of years. These goals need to be realistic in order that you can work toward them in an active fashion. It is these goals that the plan for training is written to actively pursue. Each short term goal should be achieved with a plan. Each one of these short term goals should build to fulfil a long term goal. In this way there is an overall plan and more specific ones as well. The short ....

The rest of this article can be found in Un-Blogged: A Fencer's Ramblings by Henry Walker, which is available in paperback from:

Amazon: https://www.amazon.com/Blogged-Ramblings-Henry-Leigh-Walker/dp/098764470X
Booktopia: https://www.booktopia.com.au/un-blogged-henry-leigh-walker/book/9780987644701.html
Among other places...

It is also available in electronic format (pdf) from: https://buy.stripe.com/fZecP419c7CB9VKeUV

... or direct from the author.

Musashi for the Rapier Combatant: Adventures in Cross-Training

Greetings, Musashi for the rapier combatant? What is he on about? These are the first two questions that I would expect to be asked with regard to this particular topic. The idea of this blog is to get people thinking about other resources that they might find useful in their study of swordplay. I have actually already written an article entitled "Musashi for the Rapier Combatant" and I was tempted to simply re-print that article here. Instead I have decided to go through the approach that led me to such a conclusion and the article that resulted. "Let the Gaze Be Broad" is one of the most used sayings found in Musashi's book Go Rin No Sho, or The Book of Five Rings. From Musashi's point of view it is about being aware of the opponent and also aware of your surroundings when facing an opponent. For the purposes of this particular discussion it is also about being aware of the resources available to you in your research. People tend to approach the research of fencing and swordplay in general from one of two points of view, a narrow view or a broad view of things. Each one of these approaches has advantages and disadvantages. They are also useful for different things depending on the desired outcome of the particular research. For the narrow view, people get caught up with the importance of a culturally-centric, weapon-centric, or even "school"-centric approach in their approach. The advantage of this is that they are totally focused on their material and will go into all of the finer details in their particular approach. One problem is that if they are hampered by the source material, being a translation issue or an availability, then their research will stop. Every researcher has been here, "I could really do with studying "X" but it is a) written in a language I don't speak or b) simply is not available." Another problem is that they do not experience swordplay from a broad point of view and thus miss the overall picture. For the researcher with a broad point of view, this is less of an issue. The broad point of view looks at all of the source material that is available and thus has much more to look at. The wealth of information can be both an advantage and a disadvantage. The advantage being the quantity of material available and the disadvantage being that there is so much of it that research on a particular topic can last forever and never really finish. The advantage of the broad point of view is that this researcher is able to compare and contrast, and get a view of topics from an overall perspective rather than a focused one. The researcher with the broad point of view is able to use resources from different places in order to build his research and this can lead to using some resources of unexpected usefulness. There are resources out there which on the surface look like that they will be of no use to the researcher of swordplay. One of the obvious examples for the researcher of rapier combat is the usefulness of sport fencing materials. The movements expressed in these texts can be quite useful, but the real value is in the drills and concepts which are most useful. From an even broader point of view, you need to look at ....

The rest of this article can be found in Un-Blogged: A Fencer's Ramblings by Henry Walker, which is available in paperback from:

Amazon: https://www.amazon.com/Blogged-Ramblings-Henry-Leigh-Walker/dp/098764470X
Booktopia: https://www.booktopia.com.au/un-blogged-henry-leigh-walker/book/9780987644701.html
Among other places...

It is also available in electronic format (pdf) from: https://buy.stripe.com/fZecP419c7CB9VKeUV

... or direct from the author.

Dedication... too much to ask?

Greetings, The question of dedication to something is something which will come up in every person's life. With regard to fencing, indeed in all its forms, it is an especially important one and one that needs to be addressed. Is it too much to ask for our students and teachers to be dedicated to what they are doing? What does it mean to be dedicated? This blog will investigate the idea of whether or not it is too much to ask a student or teacher to be dedicated to what they are doing. First of all it is important to figure out what is meant by "dedication". There are many grades of this particular word and many different interpretations that may be used. For some dedication brings ideas about travelling vast distances in horrible weather in order to get somewhere. For others it simply means that they always put their mind to a single task. With regard to fencing and this blog, there is a mid-point between these two. Dedication means putting in the effort in order to get somewhere and use the teaching that the teacher has so generously supplied. It is also about being regular to training and putting in the effort while being present at the training session. Sure, it is understood that things do not always go the way that they are supposed to. Injuries and illnesses will hamper the ability of the fencer, but aside from these there are certain things that should be expected from the student. Most of the things that people are dedicated to in the modern world are those things which are most relevant to their existence. For example, people go to work each day and do what they need to do because this is relevant to their existence. So, with this in mind, could the fencer be on the wrong track as skill with a sword in the modern world is not particularly relevant? Can this be used as a valid reason for the student to be slack or the teacher to not give the students their full attention? This is clearly not the case. If the person has decided that fencing is what they want to do, and it is not just another hobby, then a certain level of dedication should be able to be expected. Expectations are something which we have put on us and also are personally placed. The athletically gifted individual has a great advantage over someone who is not so gifted, it could be said that this person has a lot of potential. The same could be said of a person who picks skills up quickly and is able to put them into practice. Both of these people would be expected to do well, but only if they are willing to put in the work. Regardless of a student's potential, the student ....

The rest of this article can be found in Un-Blogged: A Fencer's Ramblings by Henry Walker, which is available in paperback from:

Amazon: https://www.amazon.com/Blogged-Ramblings-Henry-Leigh-Walker/dp/098764470X
Booktopia: https://www.booktopia.com.au/un-blogged-henry-leigh-walker/book/9780987644701.html
Among other places...

It is also available in electronic format (pdf) from: https://buy.stripe.com/fZecP419c7CB9VKeUV

... or direct from the author.

Taking a Hold of Your Training

Greetings, There is a time in each person's fencing career when they need to take a hold of their own training. What this means is that the fencer needs to take hold of the direction in which the training goes. This blog is designed to address this particular concept and present some ideas about how each fencer can take a hold of their own training and thus push it in a direction which interests them. The first thing that each fencer needs to realise is that training is actually a very personal thing and that the fencer is the real person who gets benefit out of training. Sure, the teacher or coach may get some satisfaction out of the progress made by the student, but in the end it is really up to the student. This is the most important thing and the reason why eventually each fencer needs to take ownership of their own training and give it some personal direction. To begin with the teacher supplies the direction because the fencer does not understand those skills that he or she will require. In this particular element the teacher will supply the basic elements of training and through such the basic skills which are required of the fencer. Once these basics have been learnt then the fencer needs to have some idea about where they want to go after the basics. The new direction will always be based on the basic skills which the fencer has learnt, but will tend to go in a direction different and more personal than previously. There are many different directions that the training can go once the basics have been learnt. For the more Renaissance oriented fencer there is the question of whether a particular school or nationality will be the focus. Or the fencer may focus toward a particular skill-set or weapon combination. Or the fencer may even decide that a particular manual may be their focus. Each one of these gives different options for the fencer and gives a slightly different direction. The important thing in this particular situation is that the fencer has to choose the direction. The teacher may suggest or encourage, but in the end it is the fencer's decision. For the fencer who is primarily training alone the taking a hold of training has to happen a lot sooner. Firstly this is because it is only the fencer who can really motivate himself in order to do the training in the first place. In this particular situation there really is no teacher or coach that can give the direction for the fencer. Other teachers or fencers may supply suggestions, but in the end it is all up to the fencer. In this particular situation the fencer needs to decide where he is going and what to work on next as there is no one else to supply the plan of where to go. In order to continue to progress the fencer requires some sort of direction. Even if that direction is merely to improve the skills that he has already, still this is a direction. The best direction for a fencer to go in is one which the fencer is self-motivated to go in. The teacher can supply ideas and encouragement, but in the end the fencer must make the decision and then stick to it. This requires the fencer to have the motivation to start and ....

The rest of this article can be found in Un-Blogged: A Fencer's Ramblings by Henry Walker, which is available in paperback from:

Amazon: https://www.amazon.com/Blogged-Ramblings-Henry-Leigh-Walker/dp/098764470X
Booktopia: https://www.booktopia.com.au/un-blogged-henry-leigh-walker/book/9780987644701.html
Among other places...

It is also available in electronic format (pdf) from: https://buy.stripe.com/fZecP419c7CB9VKeUV

... or direct from the author.

Stand Up Straight and Relax

Greetings, Most of the time when we are told to stand up straight relaxing is not going through our heads. This is usually someone telling us to improve our posture or stand at attention. In these particular situations the body goes rigid and upright. For fencing the two need to be accomodated in order to achieve the most effective on guard, or ward position. Being rigid in the on guard position is detrimental to your fencing. When you are rigid, your muscles are already burning energy and are already tensed. This means that they are not ready for movement which leads you to slower movement, which can decide whether you are struck or not. In order to fight this you need to relax your body, so only those muscles that need to be working are actually working. Standing up straight means that you are standing tall. Your chest is expanded and you have an air of confidence about your stance. Both of these elements are important in the on guard stance. With the chest expanded it is much easier to breathe, this means you have more energy due to the increase in breath. Your muscles are also not tensed as much if you were slouching, this goes especially for those which are over the shoulders. So, the trick is to combine the relaxed but upright position into the on guard position. This may sound like a contradiction, but it is not. First of all, spread your feet to shoulder width, remember to keep the front foot pointed at the opponent. Bend your knees somewhat, but not so much that they become tensed. You ....

The rest of this article can be found in Un-Blogged: A Fencer's Ramblings by Henry Walker, which is available in paperback from:

Amazon: https://www.amazon.com/Blogged-Ramblings-Henry-Leigh-Walker/dp/098764470X
Booktopia: https://www.booktopia.com.au/un-blogged-henry-leigh-walker/book/9780987644701.html
Among other places...

It is also available in electronic format (pdf) from: https://buy.stripe.com/fZecP419c7CB9VKeUV

... or direct from the author.

Fabris From a Chair?

Greetings, Many in the Western Martial Arts (WMA) community examine manuals from their own points of view and in order to understand what the author is saying about fencing. For the most part it is purely so that the individual can understand what the author is on about and possibly put some of what the author has said into practice. The question happens to come to mind about what happens when such information is examined and then attempted only to find out that there is some physical impediment to completing the action, what now? Performing most of the actions of Fabris is a simple impossibility for me due to my physical condition. My body simply will not allow me to bend in the ways that Fabris would have me do so. For the most part, I will admit, I bought the manual in order to extract as much information out of it about his blade engagement and counter positions (contra-postura) as possible, and this has been most useful. This is somewhat limited as it does not take into account much that could be used from this most informative manual. So in order to lower my the position of my body without having to damage myself, I thought, what about a chair? One of the prime principles of Fabris is that the lower position of the body is safer than the taller. Sitting in a chair sure lowers the position of the body, and it also allows for the bending of the body as well to make it even smaller. Of course sitting in a chair and fencing, while possible, as I have already discussed previously, does remove certain aspects from being possible. Any form of major footwork is removed, but it can be compensated for in part by the movement of the body. Approaching the opponent is also not possible due to the seated position. However, even with these limitations, there is a great deal that can be done. The most interesting discovery that I made while experimenting with the actions of Fabris is that a form of his girata (a turning void) is actually possible from a seated position. This is so long as the movement is based on the movement of the body rather than the feet. The ability to do this particular technique opened much ....

The rest of this article can be found in Un-Blogged: A Fencer's Ramblings by Henry Walker, which is available in paperback from:

Amazon: https://www.amazon.com/Blogged-Ramblings-Henry-Leigh-Walker/dp/098764470X
Booktopia: https://www.booktopia.com.au/un-blogged-henry-leigh-walker/book/9780987644701.html
Among other places...

It is also available in electronic format (pdf) from: https://buy.stripe.com/fZecP419c7CB9VKeUV

... or direct from the author.

Beginning to Teach

Greetings, Benginning to teach can be one of the scariest endeavours a fencer can put themselves through. Just like all other aspects of fencing it is a skill which needs to be learnt. The decision to teach really needs to be a voluntary one and not something which is forced on the fencer. There has been a great deal said about teaching and the process of teaching, some of this will be of use to the beginner teacher, but there are some things which have not been said. Preach What You Practice The expression "practice what you preach" is most useful for correcting your own techniques, but there is also a situation where the reverse of the process is actually more useful for the fencer who is beginning to teach. The skills which the fencer uses in bouting are the ones which they will know the best. They understand these particular techniques and subconsciously understand why they work. This is where the teaching process should start from, hence "preach what you practice". The skills which you have honed over your time fencing are those which you will know the best. It is of little use attempting to teach things that you do not know so the best thing is to start with those things that you do know. For example, a fencer who does not use a great deal of blade engagement techniques should not be attempting to teach these, more he should be looking at how he manages and teaching this, possibly teaching absence of the blade or something similar. This is the sort of thing that you should be looking at when you begin to teach. The Basics Each fencer will have been taught the basics at some point in time. This may have come from a more qualified teacher, or it may have actually come from another fencer. The basics are those lessons which we have drilled the most in our fencing careers. Footwork and the simple elements of defence and attack are perfect examples of the basics. This is a great place for the beginning teacher to start teaching. The basics should keep your prospective students occupied for some period of time. These particular formative lessons are some of the most important lessons a ....

The rest of this article can be found in Un-Blogged: A Fencer's Ramblings by Henry Walker, which is available in paperback from:

Amazon: https://www.amazon.com/Blogged-Ramblings-Henry-Leigh-Walker/dp/098764470X
Booktopia: https://www.booktopia.com.au/un-blogged-henry-leigh-walker/book/9780987644701.html
Among other places...

It is also available in electronic format (pdf) from: https://buy.stripe.com/fZecP419c7CB9VKeUV

... or direct from the author.

No Footwork Fencing Or Fencing From a Chair

Greetings,

The first thing that is going to be said by my regular readers is "Didn't you not so long ago write a blog about the importance of footwork?" The answer to this is "Yes." Am I going to deny the importance of footwork to normal modes of fencing, not at all. This blog is more a reinforcing of a much earlier blog about disability and fencing.

The question arises, just because you cannot walk for some reason, either permanent or temporary, does that mean that you should stop fencing, or fencing training for you is not possible? Not at all. There are ways around this. From the point of this particular blog so long as you can sit up and hold a sword you can still fence in a form.

Leg Replacement
The first part of the process is replacing the bits of the body that don't work. In this particular case it is replacing the legs that are not working. To this point the chair is used. This has some advantages over legs actually. The chair is more stable as it has four legs and is thus less likely to fall over. Your legs do not have to be used and thus any injured joints do not have stress placed on them. Finally sitting in the chair means that footwork in its normal form is not possible.

Of course there are some disadvantages as well. With the increased stability also comes the lack of footwork and thus the inability to move as far as you otherwise might. This means that you are a stationary target for the most part, though as will be explained, there are some options available for the sitting fencer. The final disadvantage is the possible increased luggage when you travel, but this is more of a side note.

Choosing a Chair
Choosing the chair needs to be done carefully, just any chair will not actually do. While your favourite laid-back chair may be awesomely comfortable, it may not be the most appropriate for fencing from. The first thing is that the chair must allow you to sit up straight in the chair's normal mode of operation. This means that it should have a straight back or none at all.

The second thing is that the chair must be stable when you are sitting on it. For this particular purpose, four-legged chairs are the best option. Remember for those Renaissance fencers you are not always on concrete or otherwise stable surfaces, so the potential for the chair to sink in needs to be considered as well. The next thing, is arms. Arms on the chair will limit your movement so it is better to have them be able to fold away, or not at all.

Height is also an important consideration. For the most part it is better to have the chair too low than too high. A chair which sits high will not necessarily be the most stable and stability is a vital concern. The other thing is that it is best that the lower limbs are able to be placed upon the ground comfortably and flat footed.

From the above ideas you should get the impression of a relatively low-sitting chair or stool with four legs. For some a back on the chair will be a help and for others it will be a hinderance. For some the worry of falling off backward will be more of a consideration thant the advantage of the back not being a distraction or annoyance.

The Sitting Wards
Now that your chair has been selected it is time to start the process of learning to fence from it. As with all forms of fencing the ward is important to the fencer. For the sitting fencer, the position of the lower limbs is just as important as if they were standing. Your legs should be lined up with the front legs of the chair. Make sure you have the chair turned so your dominant shoulder is closer toward your opponent. This will profile your body to them slightly. The top half of the body should assume the normal position for your ward of choice.

In selecting a ward when sitting in a chair you should consider your position and what you have to protect. Selecting a high ward may place the blade across the line of the opponent, but it will also allow them easy access to it. This is beside the fact that it will be tiring. A low ward is much preferable as the arm can relax more and the blade is withdrawn more. This means that the engagement can be chosen by you at the correct time. The other thing is that a low ward may lure your opponent into easy striking distance.

Sitting "Footwork"
What? How can you do footwork when sitting down? When sitting, remember it is possible for you to lean your body forward, backward and sideways. The forward and backward will serve for your advance and retreat. The sideways movement will serve for voids. In this way you can actually change your distance, however so slightly that you do. Sit in your chair, see how far you can lean in each direction.

With this in mind, it is actually possible to do a lunge from a chair. It works the same way as it would if you were standing. Extend your point toward your target and lean with your body. Just as with the standing version the hand should always lead the body. Especially when performing this action from a chair, you should lift your hilt in to protect yourself.

Other Fencing Actions
For the most part, the other actions in fencing work much the same as they do when you are standing up. Parries are the same for the upper part of the body. Parries for the lower parts, if used, will just have to be a little more shallow than when you are standing. As stated you can lean your body to the left, right and rear in order to void, though this will clearly demonstrate the advantage of going perpendicular to the opponent's attack.

Actions using the blade of the weapon will work the same as they have previously. This is because the hand actions are not changed. You just have to remember that you don't have to go so low with many of them and if you do you may run into problems.

Tactics for the Seated Fencer
Where the two fencers are seated in chairs, they should be placed an extension and a lean away from one another. This allows for some movement and use of distance. Where there is the normal situation of a seated fencer against a standing one. The standing one has the advantage of movement and a much greater use of distance and height. The seated fencer has the advantage of having a set distance so has one thing less to worry about.

The only way that the seated fencer can get the advantage in distance is to lure their opponent in so an attack may be made. This is the primary method that the seated fencer has to use. This can be achieved by body position, arm positon, sword position or all of them. Blade engagement is one way in which this can be achieved.

Conclusion
Fencing without footwork is possible, not advised for the individual who has the option of movement, but for the fencer without that option, it is. Fencing from a chair is an option for those individuals with a mobility impairment. In this way they can participate, and quite effectively, in fencing. This idea is not actually new, as can be seen by the wheelchair fencing at the paralympics, as has been mentioned in a previous blog. For the Renaissance fencer a suitable period-looking chair is even an option. Fencing is something which many can participate in, with the right attitude and approach. This has been a rather short guide to fencing from a chair, but it should give some ideas about where to approach this particular problem from.

Cheers,

Henry.

What is Fencing?

Greetings, A question that is not often asked is "What is fencing?" Most often the answer to this question is assumed to be general knowledge by most people. While swordplay, for most people, is not a normal part of their everyday life, there is the assumption that something is known about fencing. This blog will address both this particular question and some of the associated elements of fencing which must be realised, and most importantly by the fencing community. There are many assumptions which have been made about fencing over many years. Some of these are reinforced by popular culture in movies and other things. One of the first places that must be investigated is the "dictionary definition" of fencing and what that implies.

"Fencing is a family of sports and activities that feature armed combat involving cutting, stabbing, or bludgeoning weapons that are directly manipulated by hand rather than shot, thrown or positioned." http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fencing

This gives a surprisingly broad definition of what fencing is. What is most relevant at this point in time is that this particular defintion of fencing is the one that must be used in order to appreciate its complete scale. Even for the fencer this is important, too often to we get locked into believing that what we do is the one and only true form of fencing whereas there are many out there. This much broader view of the idea of fencing allows for a much deeper analysis and discussion of fencing and the potential it has for all fencers and others as well. Where modern usage of "fencing" falls down is as follows:

"In contemporary common usage, fencing tends to refer specifically to European schools of swordsmanship and to the modern Olympic sport that has evolved out of them." http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fencing

This falls down from several different points of view. First of all it limits fencing to European schools of swordsmanship. This is very limiting as it would be known and argued that any Japanese kendoka or Chinese swordsman would also argue the point. Fencing must refer to all forms of swordplay not only those found in European schools of swordsmanship. The next point that must be made is the idea that sport fencing "evolved" out of the previous forms. This is inaccurate to say the least. The change from the rapier to the smallsword and thus to later weapons was a result of fashion not evolution or increase in skills. Those treatises left by the masters of the Renaissance period will demonstrate that what was taught were complete and complex skill systems. Thus the so-called "evolution" is inaccurate. In order to approach fencing with a truly holistic point of view it must be appreciated how each of these martial arts relates to one another. The first is through the foundation principles. All the forms work on the ....

The rest of this article can be found in Un-Blogged: A Fencer's Ramblings by Henry Walker, which is available in paperback from:

Amazon: https://www.amazon.com/Blogged-Ramblings-Henry-Leigh-Walker/dp/098764470X
Booktopia: https://www.booktopia.com.au/un-blogged-henry-leigh-walker/book/9780987644701.html
Among other places...

It is also available in electronic format (pdf) from: https://buy.stripe.com/fZecP419c7CB9VKeUV

... or direct from the author.