Greetings,
In the pursuit of swordplay from the past it is necessary at some point in time to consult texts of that period. Sure, we can use secondary sources and other's interpretations but in the end if we really want to get at what the masters and practitioners of the period were getting at then we really need to look at some primary source material, or at least translations of primary source material where the language barrier exists. It is this language barrier which will be the focus of this blog as it is easy to get caught up in the language of the period, or indeed the translation and/or interpretation of the author of the current form.
Language is important and so are the rules associated with that language as it is the rules which hold the language together. Aside from the usual rules of grammar and spelling which need to be interpreted sometimes especially when looking at period texts, there is also the flow and format of the language which is also important to be examined. When examining fencing manuals there is also an extra set of guidelines which become important in order to read and gain a useful output from the study of the manual.
Manuals often have their actions written in tempos rather than individual actions. The misreading of this will result in the misreading of actions and results in a misinterpretation of the intent of the author. Reading in tempos changes the time of the action and thus also the tempo of the action. Thus this will affect the resulting sequence of actions.
To read it in a modern manner it may seem that a person makes an action and their opponent replies to that action and the person makes another action in reply to that an so forth. For some sequences this will be appropriate and will apply with no problems, however this is not always the case. This especially so for the later period manuals where the use of time becomes increasingly important to the method which is being used.
To read in tempos is to realise that the action of one fencer may occur at the same time and thus in the same tempo as their opponent. This will speed up the actions and also allow for more smaller actions to ...
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.
About Me
- Henry Walker
- Either an author who fences, or a fencer who tends to write a lot. I found a passion for writing first, then I found fencing. I also found that the pen and the sword work very well together. The pen may be mightier than the sword but together they are much greater.
Henry, my dear and beloved friend,
ReplyDeleteThe problem we face is that a tempo isnt a tempo ; the time taken to turn the wrist is not the time needed to move a foot, or flip the hips, or do any of the other things that are needed in a swordfight.
We have short tempos, such as a back-edge cut from the wrist, or a rolling of the hand, or flipping the front corner of a heater shield. We have long tempos, such as moving the front foot forward, or pivoting the body against a wrap.
A tempo is the time it takes to do a single thing, and a single thing can take a blink of thought, or forever.
The word we use has failed us, in short.
Hello,
ReplyDeleteActually, in the case of a tempo, it is a relative or fluid period of time rather than a concrete, one meaning that it can be longer or shorter as required. For the purposes of fencing terminology it serves the purpose it was designed for.
The problems that you have pointed out in the use of the word are also its advantages, especially considering the same action can take a varied amount of time depending on the fencer's physical characteristics and also skill level. It is also much shorter than having to explain "in the time of his action" or something similar all of the time.
The use of "tempo" in the manuals is designed to give the reader an idea of when an action should be performed against an opponent rather than how long the action should take. For this particular purpose, so long as it is read in this context, it serves quite well.
Cheers,
Henry.