Rising Sun: Issue 6

Learn Kai Weaponmastery!
by skarn
edited by Lawrence Ritchie

OK-you've read your Lone Wolf books, seen the Conan movies, and want to fight like Maximus from Gladiator. Only problem is, there is no WMA (Western Martial Art) centre near you.

Hang on, help is at hand!

It is possible to learn European arts anyway, thanks to the wealth of information available. Here are 10 points you can follow...

Step 1

First of all, you have to set a goal. Select a time period you like. About 200 year intervals work for me. My focus is England about 1150AD - 1350AD. This means I'm smack bang in the middle of the Crusades, so the main weapons I learn are the longsword, the spear, and of course, the sword and shield. I do a bit a staff work too, since the staff has always been used.

You certainly do not have to stick to this all the time, but it does give you a focus.

Step 2

You have to get a waster. A waster is basically a historically accurate sword, made from wood. It is possible to make your own, but I buy them from Purpleheart Armoury (http://www.woodenswords.com).

Step 3

Read! This is a very, very important part of WMA. I would suggest Medieval Swordsmanship by John Clements to be a very good starting point. Amazon.com sells this book.

Step 4

Browse! The internet is a wonderful thing for the WMA student. I would advise to look for as many web pages on WMA as you can. Most smaller groups have web sites, and while these sites may not be the be-all-to-end-all, they will mean you won't have to "reinvent the wheel":

The Historical Armed Combat Association (http://www.thehaca.com): The HACA is the net's leading resource for WMA essays and material. Whilst the Forum can sound a bit intimidating for the newbie, they have a detailed glossary of WMA terms and techniques, and an absolutely brilliant Essays & Articles page. I especially like the "Knight versus Samurai" article.
Sword Forum Inernational (http://www.swordforum.com): SFI is a very well done e-zine, "Dedicated to the Art, Forging, Collecting, and Practitionary Use of Swords of Various Cultures and Time Periods."

Obviously, the focus here is more on swords than swordplay, but there is still a huge amount to be learnt here. They have a General Forum, as well as several specialized ones, all of which are renowned for their friendliness and dedication to educate people. SFI is not exclusively centred on a particular era or country, but European stuff does come up a lot.
Netsword (http://www.netsword.com): Netsword web site is similar to the forums section of SFI, but with an exclusive European slant. This gives them more room to have very specialised forums, such as Weapon Performance etc. There are nine forums in all.
The Stoccata School of Defence (http://www.mgw.com/ab/stoccata.nsf/): This is one example of a WMA group web page. These guys are based in New South Wales, Australia, and have some very nice pictures.

Step 5

Research! There is one very important thing that the European Martial Arts have that is unique: detailed fighting manuals from as far back as the 13th century! These are the life works of such masters as England's George Silver with his Paradoxes of Defence from 1599, and Italy's Fiore Dei Liberi's Flos Duellatorum in Armis from 1410.

You can access these from the HACA web site.

Or you can buy the book Medieval Combat : A 15th Century Manual of Sword Fighting and Close-Quarter Combat from Amazon.com.

Step 6

Steel! Now you're ready for the real thing! You're going to need a blunt replica sword and a sharp replica. In the end, a steel weapon is necessary to give the exact idea of Western Swordsmanship. A blunt sword is better here for safety reasons. The sharp sword is essential for test cutting. After all, what's the point of doing a cut that won't land properly? Test cutting will teach you how to angle the blade to hit correctly, as well as helping you find the ideal way to make your hits work. Where to get them from varies, since import tax and freight can be murder!

For those lucky enough to live in the US, the best dealer is probably Albion Armourers (http://www.albionarmorers.com).

Step 7

Practice! The rest of the stuff here is important, but without regular, intense practice, it isn't going to make any difference. Try to find people who you can trust-after all, a wooden sword can still kill. Practice as much as you can.

Step 8

Cross-train. Fighting with your chosen weapon(s) against others will make you a better fighter. Use your sword & shield against spears, staves, katanas, or whatever you can.

Step 9

Exercise. Stamina training and strength training are important aspects of any martial art, and WMA are no difference. You don't have to run or exercise for long periods of time, just often.

Step 10

Have fun! Seriously, the only real point of learning how to decapitate someone with a Longsword is for personal enjoyment! If you're not having fun, what's the point?

A Brief note on the Asian and Western Martial Arts

Whatever the reason, popular opinion seems to portray the Asian MA as being the ultimate in fighting arts, while Western MA are scorned. Hollywood is partially to blame here (the images of knight being winched onto warhorses since makes my blood boil). Contrary to popular belief, Medieval swords did not weigh 12 pounds (they averaged about 2-3 pounds), and there was a lot more to them than the"wham, hack, slash" that seems to be in the movies.

Basically, we are talking about different perspectives here. Asian MA are usually very spiritual and promote self discipline, tradition, and a stylised, but effective approach to combat. The WMA take a different path. For them, combat is simply about killing, and not getting killed. WMA tend to be very scientific, and more "freestyle" than their Asian counterparts. They had their Christian faith for spiritual reasons, and the two rarely mixed. A good comparison is the Japanese art of Karate, and the more scientific, Western approach that the US Navy Seals might take. Is one better than the other? No. Both will teach you to kill. One might argue the Western way is more efficient because of the lack of style, but Karate will teach you different perspectives and approaches that the Western way will not.

In the end, you should ignore popular opinion as to what is the best, and choose what you like the most.

Have fun!

skarn (skarn@mac.com)

Contact: TheRisingSun@bigfoot.com http://www.crosswinds.net/~therisingsun/November2000/