Fencing & Stage Combat Techniques : Choreograph a Stage Fight

Learn tips on how to choreograph a stage fight scene in this free video clip on stage fighting.

Expert: Amy Boyle
Contact: www.amykboyle.com
Bio: Amy has been a fencer and swordswoman for eleven years. She fenced for the University of Southern California and the University of Northern Colorado and has taught fencers of all ages.
Filmmaker: Nili Nathan

Category:

Sports

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[paulogarcia8]

Right... because artistic fencing or stage fencing is not real fencing. My master in this discipline defends that one should keep safety distances, never point the tip of the blade at the face (as high as the shoulders or above the face, but never at the face). But the movements should be technically correct.

[ANBUKakashi575]

@UltimatePlayList Right, cuz when ppl sword fight on stage they run off to put on their masks and then take them off for the rest of the play. I see it all the time... looks so believable and real!

[UltimatePlayList]

Despite you guys are "experts", fencing without your masks shows the lack of judgement you give to your viewers. Oh, and your stupidity

[paulogarcia8]

Yes, you are off course correct. One shouldn't point the tip towards the face or body as one does in a real fight (with masks and kevlar). However, terça e quarta (tierce and quarte in Portuguese) in a "real" fight are usually executed with the tip to the face or body to defend yourself and preventing the opponent from advancing. Thus, when stage fighting, I tend to simulate this by having the tip lower while keeping a safety distance. 

[murrayro]

@paulogarcia8 Actually for stage fighting, the idea of pointing the tip of your blade at your opponent can be very disconcerting to your opponent, so the idea is to keep your tip either towards the sky in tierce and quarte, or towards the ground if you're parrying prime, seconde, or septime. Now, learning from Anthony DeLongis' teachings, the idea is to get gravity to work in your favor and lift or drop the hand to bring your parry to bear and utilize skeletal alignment to strengthen the parry.

[magicadam2]

yep she really sucks at fencing ^^

[nasurdan]

LOL she really sucks at fencing, but she not to bad at teaching noobs the basics... also she has a nice lil bum.

[paulogarcia8]

There are many differences in style and technique according to place and age being represented (when its historical fencing), although I prefer show to merely reconstitute the past ;-)

As you seem to live stage fighting check up some of my work here in Portugal (in my acount) ;-)

[paulogarcia8]

Being a professional, you should give importance to some technical aspects that lack here (the tip of the weapon should be pointing at your opponent in most defences instead of pointing at the sky, you shouldn't bend the wrist to defend, the hand position comes from a slight rotation of the forearm, etc.). You should also keep displacing, to add to the choreography drama :-)

[paulogarcia8]

You should restrain strength but you can go full speed if you know the stage fighting rules and practice a lot (which means study and work as hard as a professional).

Sport fencing and stage fighting are very different with many different safety and technical concerns and rules.