Response to Changes...

Greetings,

I have noticed a distinct drop in readership of my articles, and I seriously am thinking whether it is time whether I have said all that I need to say on this blog. This is not a decision that I take lightly considering how long I have been writing the articles on this blog and the number of times that I have heard from people about how they have found this or that article useful. 

My first article was posted on 9 April 2009, which means at the publication of this post, I have been writing A Fencer's Ramblings for 14 years. Overall, I am quite surprised about the number of people who have visited its pages, and the number of people who have found the articles useful. I have always written from my perspective as a fencer. I have always tried to be as honest as I can about my feelings on matters which I think are important in regard to fencing, and fencing of all kinds for that matter. 

I believe there is a bond which holds fencers together. When I say "fencer" to doesn't matter if you use a longsword, foil, rapier, shinai, epee or lightsabre, if you wield a sword there is a connection between you and others who use a sword. Indeed, that community is larger if you include those who use other martial arts weapons. In all cases there are two things in common Time and Distance, we are all affected by it in our Arts. There is even a comparison and connection to be made with all combat arts due to these two principles.

A person who holds a sword, that is a fencer. Matters of politics and religion should be left outside the training space. That is, all matters of politics, that includes social politics thus gender, sexuality and disability, they should all stop at the door of the door of the school or practice hall. They have no place in the practice of the sword or any other combat art. If the person can safely hold the weapon and safely control the weapon in a practical setting, they should be trained. This is my policy in regard to training, this is how I feel on the matter. I hope that I have made myself clear on this matter throughout my articles. Any other interpretation is an interpretation of the reader, not the author.

I have spoken on disability issues because I am a disabled fencer, from this perspective I have spoken from experience and the research that I have performed. I have found fencing to be the thing that keeps me going regardless of whatever else is happening in my life. I hope that I have inspired some other fencers in similar condition to be the same.

I have spoken about some gender issues. Some of these were from the perspective of a teacher teaching people of different genders, and some of these were from the perspective of a fencer playing against a person of a different gender. Of the second, let me make it clear, I do not treat my opponents differently based on their gender; a fencer is a fencer, an opponent is an opponent. Regarding the student, that is an entirely different matter, a person's body is different to another person's body, and a teacher needs to take this into account, more so when it comes to different genders. I have written these articles on the basis of study and experience, I hope that they have encouraged people. 

Mostly, I have enjoyed writing these articles. Some have been written out of frustration for the state of affairs of swordplay in our current era, but most have been on the basis of a spark of interest, something that people might find useful. I hope that people have found the articles interesting regardless of their origins. My intent has always been to write things which are of use to my readers.

I would like to thank all of my readers, you are the ones who have kept me going. I would also like to thank those who have encouraged me along my way, writing special comments, and encouragements. Even criticisms of my work have sparked me to do better, to ensure that I get the right information to people. I thank you all. I will continue to write, don't worry about that. It's just that the posts and articles that I write will arrive in a different format. 

I have found that there are people who derive benefit from my posts, and that fills me with some joy, unfortunately this feeling does not put books on my shelf, nor money in my account, so I can keep my readers up to date. The commercial element which I mentioned some time ago is going to have its sway.

So, some statements need to be made about this blog, some of which have already happened: 

1. "A Fencer's Ramblings" will remain without on-site advertising; 
2. Articles which have been previously published in my book Un-Blogged: A Fencer's Ramblings will be cut, and people directed to the published form. This is to encourage people to buy the published form and thus support my writing. Of note, the disability, and articles about females and fencing will remain;
3. Posts presented here from now on will be less regular and smaller, and will indicate toward a new source of information (see below); 
4. I am going to move to a more fiscally-opportune method of delivery for my information, and an opportunity for those who really enjoy my work to demonstrate just how much they enjoy it, in a fiscal sense, as unfortunately good feelings doesn't publish books or pay for what needs to be paid;
5. I know that there are some people will not appreciate these changes and will make statements of their own about the content, and myself, that is their prerogative, and no care of mine. 

I have set-up a Patreon site for those who are interested in continuing following my writing and fencing exploits. If you want some one to blame, you can blame these changes on the state of economics, the increasing price of food and basic necessities, governments' obsession with money rather than people, and the capitalist system in general, among others. I was happy writing as I was, prepared to write as I have been, but pressures have forced me away from this. To maintain my lifestyle I must find additional means of income, hence, I must change format. If this causes issues with some of my readers, I bid you a fond farewell. I look forward to seeing everyone else in my new venture.

Thank you all again.

Cheers,

Henry.

The Story of Fencing from a Chair

 Greetings,

Some of my readers know me in person, quite a few do not. This means that you do not know where my information comes from, whether or not I have done any experimentation or research, or if I actually hold any sort of even pseudo-qualifications to be telling you about fencing. To shed a little light on at least one part of this, I present my story of fencing from a chair. This is intended to give a little history, to show where it all came from, and that I did not develop the techniques and ideas that I propose for using this technique overnight.

The two primary articles for fencing from a chair, if you are interested in the concept, are:
No Footwork Fencing Or Fencing From a Chair and Etiquette for Facing a Seated Opponent. I will refer to these articles throughout this article, and if you want an idea of what I am talking about, these are your go-to articles. I have written a couple of other articles on the subject, one which proposed the use of the techniques of Fabris from a chair, and others. This subject is really one of my specialties, and you will see why shortly. 

The Beginning

D.A. Girard Actors On Guard, 1996

The first time I had seen fencers with rapiers sitting down was this picture from Actors On Guard by D.A. Girard, about 1997, a theatrical fencing manual which I had used for research purposes, because it had some quite relevant information about the use of the rapier and dagger. This drill concerns ensures that the two fencers remain out of range but can practise their blade engagement and other blade skills. I did not pay it particularly much attention until something happened.

Life has its little twists and turns, as it would have it, I stepped in a hole and injured my ankle. The doctor's prognosis a badly twisted and sprained ankle. Treatment: strapping and as little pressure on the foot as possible, for six weeks. At the time I was in a small group as the primary trainer and this would mean six weeks of no training, because I could not stand... well, only if I had to stand. My thoughts went back to the image above. 

The next week at training, I turned up hobbled out to the middle of the field with a chair. I parked my butt, in much the same way as in the picture and invited my students to have a go. The learning curve was very sharp...

There was no quick retreat step to get you out of trouble; there was a lot more reliance on your hands and accuracy in your parries. On the other hand, your opponent could easily take a step back or even simply lean back; your timing and Distance with your attacks had to be on point. These were two simple things that I learnt from the first training session. My handwork improved over the period, as did my sense of Distance, at least in regard to my sword- and arm-length, with a little body lean. My parries were also a lot more accurate, but there had to be more. This adventure sparked more interest in the subject...

Research Begins

After I recovered from my injury, I noticed that my hand-work i.e. parries, thrusts and other elements focused on the use of the hand had improved, as had my stationary sense of Distance. I had a very rudimentary idea about how seated fencing could work. I figured there had to be more available about fencing from a chair.

I first turned to sport fencing to see if there were any clues there, any answers to be found. While standard sport fencing held no answers, the Paralympics did. Here I found wheelchair fencing, which is essentially fencing from wheelchairs. If you've never seen this, I recommend that you do; it's a real eye-opener. There are some impressive videos on YouTube.

I examined the rules for wheelchair fencing as possible future alternative for myself. Something that I could use later on should one of my chronic illnesses cause me to be confined to a wheelchair, or similar situation in the future. One of the big things that I noticed was that the wheelchairs were angled. In my initial foray into fencing from a chair my body was placed in the chair in its usual manner, much like the picture above. The angulation of the body on the chair at least would change things, and I would get the opportunity to try it out.

Rowany 2006 (AS XL)

Rowany Festival is the biggest get together for the SCA (Society for Creative Anachronism) in Australia. In 2006 it was held at the Cross-Roads Campsite which is near Yass, New South Wales. The event is held on the Easter weekend, and is a camping event. I went along to the event and camped, like most of the attendees.

Sleeping in a tent, in the cold (it got down to - 6 degrees Celsius overnight one night), resulted in my fibromyalgia playing up quite severely. The result being that my leg froze up; hip, knee and ankle. I had promised that I would play some Prizes (examinations) the same day, so I suggested I could do them from a chair. This allowed me to put some of my new-found research into practice.

Duncan Bailey and Myself

You will note, while the chair is still mostly facing square to the opponent, my body is somewhat angled to him. The chair is slightly angled but not significantly. There were quite a few revelations made during these Prizes. First, that rapier and dagger is the superior form when fighting from a chair as it gives you both offensive and defensive options at distance and close, while defensive forms are useful, but are hampered a little in close. Second, that fighting with an extended guard while intimidating leaves you exposed should the opponent clear the blade. Third, the Low Line is mostly insignificant and needs little effort to defend. The experience confirmed some previous ideas and gave me more.

The Four Foot Model

Much later on, I went to a seminar about Fiore dei Liberi with Bob Charron. How does this concern fighting from a chair? Just wait and you will find out. In this discussion he discussed "open" feet and "closed" feet, along with "lines of power" in a person's stance. In wrestling, a person was strong where they had two "closed" feet lined up, this made a "line of power"; they were weak where their two "open" feet lined up along the other "line of power". This described a person having four feet. A person was manipulated so the fencer would put their opponent over their "open" foot to destabilise them.

Some years later I was thinking about fencing from a chair and its use, when I realised the blindingly obvious... a chair has four feet. Therefore the chair has four "closed" feet. If the chair can be angled correctly to the opponent, and the fencer sits in the chair correctly, the fencer can also have four "closed" feet and will remain stable in their movement.

The angling of the chair came from the position of the chairs placed for wheelchair fencing. They are bolted in place so they do not move about. I had previously just been angling my body. If the chair was angled too, then there would be more stability, and the possibility of movement of the body. 

So, I sat down on the chair, lined my legs up with the chair legs, then turned my body until I was in profile, relatively to my opponent. More to the point I sat on the chair so I would sit in my guard position with my front toe pointed toward my opponent. If I stood up and the chair was taken away there would be no difference. This is where the true essence of my system of fencing from a chair evolved. 

Angle the chair to the opponent so the front leg lines up with your natural front leg of your stance. Make sure the chair that you are using doesn't have arms, so they won't get in the way. Make sure the chair is stable so you can bend at your middle, should you desire, and remain balanced. Get a chair suitable for your height, so your feet can be flat on the floor. All of these things came with this model.

Revelations

My most recent explorations into fencing from a chair which have appeared in articles on this blog have been the result of experiences, both good and bad of fencing from a chair. There will be time, in the future, where I will, no doubt, write another article about the subject of fencing from a chair explaining my method and how it works, by then I will hope to have some more revelations about fencing from a chair.

I looked at doing Fabris from a chair, because I cannot perform his method standing up. I even wrote a good long article about the subject which appears in my book Un-Blogged: A Fencer's Ramblings. This was more a theoretical exploration rather than a practical one. I have played with it a bit while fencing from a chair, and the on guard position looks intimidating as hell, but I really need to play with it a lot more to get it working properly.

One thing I must put in here, fighting case of rapier from a chair is a little crazy, because once your opponent gets past your points you have a lot of trouble. Fighting case of rapier against another person who is also in a chair with case of rapier, is a little insane, but a hell of a lot of fun. Rotella give you a lot of coverage, but once again, once the opponent gets close you are in trouble, they are also a nuisance to fight around.

The biggest revelations when it comes to fencing from a chair were: the angling of the body and the chair; the use of the body as "footwork" and for voiding; the use of various off-hands, rapier and dagger being the superior form; and finally, the Low Line is minimal, be careful not to hit yourself when you cover it.

What's Next?

Quite frankly, I don't like fencing from a chair. I only do it when I have to, or when I teach it, or when my opponent invites me, because they are fencing from a chair because they have to, or because I have been legged and I don't want to sit on the ground (I don't kneel, it hurts too much). This is a method that I devised so I could continue fencing when my legs decided to pack it in and not work.

The most important thing about fencing from a chair is that it is not a gimmick. It is a real option for those with mobility issues of a permanent or temporary kind. Indeed, when I originally wrote this, one of my students was fencing from a chair; he was a couple of weeks out of hip replacement surgery.

 

Fencing from a chair is also good for training. Concerned that the actions of your hands are not what they used to be? Want to check them out? Fence from a chair and find out. It is also a good way of utilising limited space to a premium. Think of how many fencers you could have fencing from chairs in the same space you have standing. Push that idea further, an indoor tournament, all the fencers fence from chairs in the middle of the hall while people sit around watching. That's a small list field.

I have fenced from a chair in some form or another for about 15 maybe 20 years now, and I have experienced some good and bad from fencing from a chair. I have also seen good and bad as a result of others fencing from chairs, and it is not always a person who is standing who is in the wrong. Everyone can have their effect om the situation for good or for ill.

I have seen standing fencers snipe at their maximum range while the seated fencer cannot reach them; and close to where the seated fencer has no chance of withdrawal. I have also seen seated fencers move from their chairs to gain a little extra Distance, close to launching themselves from their seated position. I have seen standing fencers turn a seated fencer around in their chair to gain advantage over them. I have seen shots land that were claimed to hit the chair, where it actually hit the seated fencer. Both standing and seated fencers can do ill for the game that is played, but they can also do a lot of good as well.

Always consider your opponent, and consider the fencers who will come after you. The trick that you pull today may look cool, but it might ruin things for people after you. Consider whether the act that you perform will earn you renown or notoriety in its performance.

I will keep researching and finding new ways to improve the techniques for fencing from a chair, and hopefully more people will begin to understand this method of fighting. It has taken quite a while to figure things out, and is still a work in progress. I will continue to share my findings as well.

Cheers,

Henry.

Advertising: "Un-Blogged: A Fencer's Ramblings"

Greetings,

Well, after some writing, collating, and quite a bit of editing I have created a book version of several of the posts which have been made here. Some people asked me to do this as they found that the articles were quite useful and they would be even more useful in a book format. Well, you got your wish. The book was published on 15 March 2019, you may have seen the advertisements at the bottom of some of the posts for my GoFundMe to raise money to get the book published. These will give you an idea of some of the articles which appear in this book. If you have enjoyed reading my posts you will enjoy reading my book. It includes a Foreword by Keith Farrell.

"“A Fencer’s Ramblings” is a blog which was started in May 2010 to spread knowledge about the subject of Historical European Martial Arts, and indeed fencing in general. While there is a definite bend toward particular areas, nationalities, and forms, this blog has covered many differing subjects. What is contained within this book is a selection of the articles which appear on this blog, along with some extra articles of interest by the author. These have been updated and slightly re-written to suit their normal format, but they still retain their original purpose, to inform and educate the reader about various elements of the subject of fencing, which in and of itself must be taken from a broad point of view. Some of them are conversational others are written from a more academic point of view, this selection contains something of relevance for anyone who is interested in swords or swordplay."

This book is available from Book Depository, Fishpond, Amazon, Waterstones among other retailers. At my last check, they can get the book delivered to you cheaper than I can.

An electronic version (pdf) is available also: https://buy.stripe.com/fZecP419c7CB9VKeUV