| General Information about Renaissance Fencing and our Rapier classes. |
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- The Rapier itself:
The rapier was a civilian and generally urban self-defense weapon in
Western Europe in the late 16th and early 17th centuries. It was NOT a
battlefield or military weapon.
By the dawn of the Renaissance period, medieval cutting swords had
become far more pointed in shape, and became capable of thrusting attacks
rather than relying solely on cutting. One of the primary reasons for this was
the expanding coverage and protection offered by plate armour. A sword
needed to be capable of thrusting into the weak joints of armour rather than
trying to cut through a metal plate (which doesn't work). From this general shift
towards thrusting weapons, we get the early cut and thrust longswords which
themselves evolved into what we call the Rapier.
Being a civilian weapon, the rapier did not need to be capable of penetrating
armour, and thus while it was still capable of inflicting minor cuts (a capability
which was reduced as the era progressed) it was for the most part, a thrusting
weapon which was significantly longer and narrower than its predecessors.
- The rise of Fencing Schools and the fencing manuals they left behind.
As the civilian populace (generally middle and upper class) of Europe
became armed with rapiers and similar weapons, there was a corresponding
drive to actually learn how to use the things. Several fencing "masters" rose up
to teach their arts, increase their prestige and likely make quite a few bucks.
Thankfully, these masters frequently wrote down their techniques, theories and
practices and some of the texts have survived for us to research today.
There has been a great resurgence of interest and enthusiasm into the
medieval and renaissance periods in the last several decades and this has
spawned a great deal of research and interest in WMA (western martial arts).
Unfortunately, unlike eastern martial arts, western martial arts have generally
not survived the passage of time intact.
Since we do not have a line of direct teacher to student exchanges to
preserve the art, modern practitioners must rely primarily on examining surviving
weapons and interpreting surviving manuals from the period. Thankfully, the
recent revival of interest in renaissance fencing has provided us with a number
of manuals that have been translated into English, from which we can research
our art.
- So, what will we learn in your classes?
Finally, we arrive at the point. My personal interest is in Early Italian rapier
fighting (late 16th century and very early 17th century). As a result we primarily
work from the manuals of fencing masters: Salvator Fabris and Ridolfo
Capoferro.
With that said, in class I teach a hybrid style, a blend of Rapier principles
coupled with modern concerns and sensibilities (If we practiced Fabris' stances
to the letter, we'd all need weekly massage and chiropractor work...)
Our rules, procedures and general styles are very similar to that of the
Society for Creative Anachronism. I must emphasize that we are NOT
COMPETITIVE. My classes are for historical interest, exercise and recreation.
We are very friendly to the body (no sports injuries) and encourage safety and
fun above all else. At the same time, you will sweat, and you will work. The first
few weeks of a beginner class especially consist of a great deal of drill and
repetition. For the most part classes are half drill/lesson and half sparring with
more drill for beginners and more sparring for advanced students.
All students will start by using a single rapier, but will progress onto learn
how to use the Rapier and Buckler (small shield) and the Rapier with a dagger.
- So whats modern fencing then, how is this different?
If we return to our sword evolution story for a moment, the rapier continued
to evolve as the years passed. It generally became shorter and abandoned
cutting ability altogether. A weapon called the Smallsword was developed and
returned to the hands of the aristocracy to become primarily a dueling weapon.
From Smallsword technique evolved classical fencing, (basically modern fencing
without electronics) and from classical fencing we get the 3 modern fencing
styles of foil, epee and sabre. In all of these styles, speed and the thrust are
often emphasized, and the formation of complex etiquette and rule systems
mean that these blades are very lethal in the defined circumstances they were
meant to operate in.
Rapier tends to be more versatile, and free-form than modern fencing.
However it is also not generally practiced to such a high technical degree as is
modern fencing. We have significantly fewer rules and restrictions and the bulk
of those we do have are for safety/insurance.
We stand more square than modern fencers, and also use both hands as
well as additional weapons. Side-to-side motion and body motion are
emphasized as much as blade motion, and efficiency of energy rules the day. In
sparring my classes heavily emphasize the mental aspects of fighting and
general martial principle.
At the same time, I prefer my students to have respect for the lessons that
modern fencing and other styles can teach us, and encourage cross-training
and inter-style sparring.
There is much more to say, but I suppose if you want to know, you will have to
take the class.
Here are some useful links:
www.sca.org - The Society for Creative Anachronism.
www.eastkingdom.org - SCA again, Specific info for the Northeast.
www.thearma.org
http://www.aemma.org/
http://www.salvatorfabris.com/
The rapier was a civilian and generally urban self-defense weapon in
Western Europe in the late 16th and early 17th centuries. It was NOT a
battlefield or military weapon.
By the dawn of the Renaissance period, medieval cutting swords had
become far more pointed in shape, and became capable of thrusting attacks
rather than relying solely on cutting. One of the primary reasons for this was
the expanding coverage and protection offered by plate armour. A sword
needed to be capable of thrusting into the weak joints of armour rather than
trying to cut through a metal plate (which doesn't work). From this general shift
towards thrusting weapons, we get the early cut and thrust longswords which
themselves evolved into what we call the Rapier.
Being a civilian weapon, the rapier did not need to be capable of penetrating
armour, and thus while it was still capable of inflicting minor cuts (a capability
which was reduced as the era progressed) it was for the most part, a thrusting
weapon which was significantly longer and narrower than its predecessors.
- The rise of Fencing Schools and the fencing manuals they left behind.
As the civilian populace (generally middle and upper class) of Europe
became armed with rapiers and similar weapons, there was a corresponding
drive to actually learn how to use the things. Several fencing "masters" rose up
to teach their arts, increase their prestige and likely make quite a few bucks.
Thankfully, these masters frequently wrote down their techniques, theories and
practices and some of the texts have survived for us to research today.
There has been a great resurgence of interest and enthusiasm into the
medieval and renaissance periods in the last several decades and this has
spawned a great deal of research and interest in WMA (western martial arts).
Unfortunately, unlike eastern martial arts, western martial arts have generally
not survived the passage of time intact.
Since we do not have a line of direct teacher to student exchanges to
preserve the art, modern practitioners must rely primarily on examining surviving
weapons and interpreting surviving manuals from the period. Thankfully, the
recent revival of interest in renaissance fencing has provided us with a number
of manuals that have been translated into English, from which we can research
our art.
- So, what will we learn in your classes?
Finally, we arrive at the point. My personal interest is in Early Italian rapier
fighting (late 16th century and very early 17th century). As a result we primarily
work from the manuals of fencing masters: Salvator Fabris and Ridolfo
Capoferro.
With that said, in class I teach a hybrid style, a blend of Rapier principles
coupled with modern concerns and sensibilities (If we practiced Fabris' stances
to the letter, we'd all need weekly massage and chiropractor work...)
Our rules, procedures and general styles are very similar to that of the
Society for Creative Anachronism. I must emphasize that we are NOT
COMPETITIVE. My classes are for historical interest, exercise and recreation.
We are very friendly to the body (no sports injuries) and encourage safety and
fun above all else. At the same time, you will sweat, and you will work. The first
few weeks of a beginner class especially consist of a great deal of drill and
repetition. For the most part classes are half drill/lesson and half sparring with
more drill for beginners and more sparring for advanced students.
All students will start by using a single rapier, but will progress onto learn
how to use the Rapier and Buckler (small shield) and the Rapier with a dagger.
- So whats modern fencing then, how is this different?
If we return to our sword evolution story for a moment, the rapier continued
to evolve as the years passed. It generally became shorter and abandoned
cutting ability altogether. A weapon called the Smallsword was developed and
returned to the hands of the aristocracy to become primarily a dueling weapon.
From Smallsword technique evolved classical fencing, (basically modern fencing
without electronics) and from classical fencing we get the 3 modern fencing
styles of foil, epee and sabre. In all of these styles, speed and the thrust are
often emphasized, and the formation of complex etiquette and rule systems
mean that these blades are very lethal in the defined circumstances they were
meant to operate in.
Rapier tends to be more versatile, and free-form than modern fencing.
However it is also not generally practiced to such a high technical degree as is
modern fencing. We have significantly fewer rules and restrictions and the bulk
of those we do have are for safety/insurance.
We stand more square than modern fencers, and also use both hands as
well as additional weapons. Side-to-side motion and body motion are
emphasized as much as blade motion, and efficiency of energy rules the day. In
sparring my classes heavily emphasize the mental aspects of fighting and
general martial principle.
At the same time, I prefer my students to have respect for the lessons that
modern fencing and other styles can teach us, and encourage cross-training
and inter-style sparring.
There is much more to say, but I suppose if you want to know, you will have to
take the class.
Here are some useful links:
www.sca.org - The Society for Creative Anachronism.
www.eastkingdom.org - SCA again, Specific info for the Northeast.
www.thearma.org
http://www.aemma.org/
http://www.salvatorfabris.com/