Monday Martial Arts: Lua

In October 2008, I was on vacation on the Hawaiian island Kauai. By chance, I had the opportunity to sneak into a conference of the Hawaiian Civic Clubs. A friend of mine was a delegate there from the Midwest, so I was able to enter the hotel where the conference was being held and poke around the presentations and exhibits.

Amid the many shows being put on for the guests was a demonstration of lua - the traditional fighting art of the Hawaiian people. Not to be confused with "luau" that festive evening of food and dance known to many a tourist, lua comprises the armed and unarmed tactics and techniques that native Hawaiians used to defend themselves and wage war, long before their island kingdom was subject to Western exposure and eventual colonization.

The demo was held outdoors near the shore by a group of some thirty or so men (I was later informed that lua is always practiced outdoors and in the varied terrain of the islands - sandy beaches, rocky outcroppings, hillsides, grassy fields, etc.) dressed in nondescript matching black T-shirts and shorts identifying their school. Once they commenced, what I saw was riveting. All the students launched into a group chant, similar in form and appearance to the haka performed by the Maori tribesmen of New Zealand: shouting, stamping and moving their arms in unison. They drummed the ground and beat their chest, letting out yells that I'm sure could have chilled the bone of an enemy across a battlefield.

Afterwards, we were given a short demo of lua and very brief lesson in some basic forms (This was quite a treat because, according to tradition, lua is only taught by native Hawaiians to other native Hawaiians. You need to have some blood in your line or the deal is off). There were similarities to my own martial arts training - keeping your knees and elbows bent, a slight lowering of the head for protection, settling your center of gravity. What was different was the shear simplicity and brutality of the art. Striking was done with firm hammer punches that would send a fighters weight through their arms and into their opponent. There was definitely a greater use of upper body strength (an definite inborn advantage among native Hawaiians) than I was use to. Unlike the East Asian martial arts I was used to, with their centuries of careful technical refinement, this was simple, primitive, direct stuff, and absolutely stunning to experience in the company of these fine students.

Once the class was done, various students took turns expressing their reasons for studying lua. Everything from preserving the culture of Hawaii to finding a positive outlet to steer kids away from drugs and liquor were given. We were also informed that lua training also involved study of traditional Hawaiian medicine (similar to the disciplines practiced in China) and that it was as important to them to learn how to heal as well as how to hurt. We also had an opportunity to look over a table of lua weapons, which include wooden spears and clubs, sometimes adorned with razor sharp teeth taken from sharks.

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Like its counterparts in East Asia, lua was and is seen as a study of spiritual as well as physical discipline.

By definition, "lua" can mean "pit," as "to pit in battle," or it can mean "two," expressing duality (male/female, positive/negative, etc.).

The strike a balance between the various human extremes, Hawaiian warriors toned their bodies by performing gymnastics, wrestling and swimming, simultaneously achieving harmony with nature by going with the surf, for example. To gain spiritual balance, they learned to chant and to hula. They ate a special diet and learned to breathe with measured inhalations and exhalations, much as yoga students do today.

To learn to think quickly and to strategically plan their moves, warrior students practiced konane, a Hawaiian game similar to checkers. They learned balance by kneeling with each foot on opposite sides of a halved gourd-the trick being to avoid breaking the fragile edges of the gourd. To achieve agility, the young warriors practiced weaving their bodies swiftly through tautly strung cords hung a foot apart.

In hand-to-hand combat, the legendary Hawaiian King Kamehameha was reportedly the greatest lua warrior of all. Besides being renowned for courage and strength, history carries tales of the king dodging and catching a dozen spears at once and lifting rocks that no others could. He and his warriors knew perhaps 300 moves that enabled them to break bones and dislocate bones at the joints without the use of weapons. They could inflict severe pain on their enemies by pressing on nerve centers. Similar to some martial arts practiced today, high leaps and kicks were also common in lua. Warriors went into battle with their bodies oiled and their hair cropped short, so they could slip easily out of the grasp of other combatants. Battles usually ended with the death of one of the opponents.

By the end of the 18th century, King Kamehameha had acquired firearms, which brought him victory in his battles to unite the islands without resorting to hand-to-hand combat. In 1820, the old Hawaiian societal system that had insured the passing of Hawaiian traditions for generations past was broken in the name of modernization. Then, when missionaries appeared on the scene, the teaching of lua was looked upon with disfavor, and by the 1840s it was banned. Only a few Hawaiian families continued to practice themoves and pass the secrets of the discipline down to younger members. The art virtually disappeared.

In 1991, the Native Hawaiian Culture and Arts Program, with financial backing from the National Parks Service and from Bishop Museum recognized that lua was a lost tradition. A group of four men who had learned lua from a part-Hawaiian scholar named Charles Kenn back in 1974, began conducting classes on O'ahu, the Big Island, Maui, Kaua'i and Moloka'i. Named Pa Ku'ialua for the ring in which practice takes place, the group of men-Jerry Walker, Richard Paglinawan, Mitchell Eli and Moses Kalauokalani-have taught perhaps 300 Hawaiian men and women the moves involved in lua.

Lack of funding has curtailed some of the Neighbor Island classes, but Pagalinawan, age 61, continues to teach lua to about 65 part-Hawaiian students, 21 years or older on O'ahu at Kamehameha Schools and at the Queen Lili'uokalani Children's Center.

Weapons of war.

Although the martial discipline seems no longer to be in danger of disappearing, few people have the opportunity to observe warriors in practice. Sham battles are sometimes staged at makahiki celebrations, as in days of old, or during special ceremonies held every August that commemorate of the unification of the Hawaiian Islands at Pu'ukohola, the heiau near Kawaihae.

As in ancient times, battle begins with chants that give way to insults, threats and gestures to show strength. The warriors begin their challenging haka, or dance, lunging and dodging from side to side. As the battle commences, unlike those of earlier times, it is not a fight ending in death, but an event that promises life-life for an ancient art that is just one more piece of the puzzle being assembled to save the Hawaiian culture.

Lua video: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1ypVoum_hOg

Shout Out Saturday

Now playing:
The Mystery of Irma Vep
directed by ensemble member Connie Canaday Howard (fight work done by the one and only, John Tovar)
September 23 - October 17
Buffalo Theatre Ensemble
McAninch Arts Center at College of DuPage
Fawell and Park Boulevards. Glen Ellyn, IL 60137
http://home.cod.edu/atthemac/bte

When I'm back to having a proper computer, there will be more in depth posts.

Until then,
Tiny

Think Tank Thursday

Audience Anticipation/Imagination

The most interesting time for the audience is just before the action occurs. It is not the seeing of the action that is stressful but the anticipation of the action. At the point that the action happens stress is already coming down.

If you think about witnessing fights In real life, the most exciting and stressful point is when the two (or more) people are in each others face. When they start to attack you are still excited (in a survival way) but you have established if you are safe or not and are starting to take action.

If the fight escalates there is a new event and a new period of stress/anticipation. Someone pulls out a gun: will they use it? Am I in danger now?  Where will they shoot? Will the other person die? Etc.

The same happens when the fight separates: will they go at eachother again? Is anyone hurt? Etc.

The brain becomes anxious when it is confronted with a question that is hard to answer quickly. Unknowns create stress. This stress focuses the audience to wherever the answer may be. They will be looking at facial expressions, body cues, dialogue, anything to help answer the question of what will come next. They will have an idea of what to expect based on their personal experience and knowledge but they won't be sure until the action starts.

This is why intent in a fight is more important than speed. Without clues the audience will get too lost/stressed and step out of the scene.

If you move too quickly the audience doesn't have a chance to get the information they need that validates or violates their expectation and they get no  pay off.

If you don't vary the rhythm and motivation the audience jumps too far ahead and gets complacent.

The beautiful thing about stage violence is that you always start with the audience very focused and very much on your side. The hard part is standing up to the scrutiny, keeping them engaged, progressing the story and keeping everyone safe.

It's why a lot of people refer to the job as Fight Directing; there is a whole lot more involved than just putting moves together.

Greg

Weapon Wednesday - THE STORY

Hello Fight World!

First of all, I'm really excited to be one of the newest members of the Fight Jam team! I’ve been asked to take over the weapon Wednesday blog posts, and so for my first post I’m going to go outside the box on this one.

This week’s weapon: THE STORY

Now what the hell am I talking about? I was sitting and thinking about what weapons I enjoy a lot, and what knowledge or opinions I would like to impart to the larger fight community. What is a great weapon to start with that connects to as many elements as possible? What is the best weapon I’ve ever used? What is the most important weapon to master?

It got me thinking about what my favorite parts of Stage and Film combat are in the first place. Anyone who has studied any kind of stage combat knows that at the heart of what we do we have one supreme goal: To tell a story. I mean yeah, we also are majorly concerned with safety and looking badass, but at the end of the day the best fights, and the fights you remember, are the ones where a great story is told.

More often than not, the best parts of any fight (and the parts that elicit the largest reactions in audiences) are the parts that aren’t “fighting” at all! When two mortal enemies square up to duel and there is a long moment of stillness as each one waits for the other to make the first move, the entire audience holds their breath. When in the middle of a fight a combatant is genuinely surprised when suddenly they are holding their opponents weapon, the audience laughs. When a floury of moves suddenly halts and the main character looks down and realizes he’s been run through, the audience experiences that realization with him. Almost invariably the best part of the fight is where no “moves” are taking place.

To illustrate this point I present you with two fight scenes. Neither uses any words to tell the story during the fight. One is clearly from a film, and one is clearly some students doing a fight test. Nonetheless you can unmistakably see the difference in levels of storytelling. Both clips are fight scenes with my favorite weapon, the restoration era smallsword.

Clip 1




Clip 2 from the motion picture: The Duelists




As you can see in the second clip the fight has maybe 6 moves but the story is SO much more fascinating. The moments before the “fight” begins…the sneeze…the fear of the point.

The best weapon we have in the world of theatrical combat is the story. Without it all we have are a bunch of moves, which are cool, but not memorable. In fact now that we’re 5 sentences away from it, do you even remember most of the “moves” you saw in that first clip? How about the second?

The stories we tell in our fights are the reason we do them in the first place. It’s REALLY easy to forget that the moment we put a cool piece of steel in our hands.


Next week I’ll get back to the regular weapons blog post. Until then, stay kosher.
-Zev

Movie Monday - The Legend of the 7 Golden Vampires

Today's post is inspired by two things: One, I writing this post unforgivably late. A result of trying to reconfigure and catch on my life post-marriage and honeymoon. However, writing in the dead of night does fire the imagination. The other is while flipping the dial, I am reminded that vampires continue to be (somewhat annoyingly) everywhere.

However, way back in the days of yore before those pouty "Twilight" folks were polluting the multiplexes with their endless emo-ting, and "True Blood" was dominating cable, there came "The Legend of the 7 Golden Vampires" in 1974.

Now, why mention a vampire movie in a blog dedicated to all things (stage) combat. Well, this one isn't like any other before or since.

"Legend" was the first and only co-production between Britain's legendary Hammer film studio and the Shaw Brothers of Hong Kong. Now, for those non-film geeks out there, plus those too young to remember, Hammer films was a British studio that specialized in sometimes effective, , though often cheesy, horror and sci-fi films through the fifties and sixties, eventually succumbing to changing tastes, a declining British economy and its own creative bankruptcy. But before the end was nigh, it had changed the face of horror cinema, introducing technicolor, gore and sex (initially suggestive, later explicit) to the genre. It also made stars of several Shakespearean actors-turned-horror stars, such as Christopher Lee (who later played Saruman the White in the "Lord of the Rings" films) and Peter Cushing (best known now as Grand Moff Tarkin in "Star Wars).

The Shaw Brothers on the other hand were one of Hong Kong's most prolific producers of chop socky films. There was barely a drive-in or grind house in the US in the 70s whose screen wasn't graced by the distinctive logo and opening fanfare of "SB" (Quentin Tarantino was such as fan, he featured it at the beginning of "Kill Bill: Vol. 1").

During the 70s, with its fortunes on the decline, Hammer decided to take a gamble on a joint effort with the Shaw Brothers to capitalize on the then-hot kung-fu film craze that had sprung up around the likes of Bruce Lee.

The film features Professor Van Helsing (Cushing again) going to China and teaming up with a student (played by Hong Kong star David Chiang) to combat a vampire infestation in a village. Along with a wealthy widow and the student's six kung-fu trained sibilings, they embark on their mission to fight the seven golden vampires. However, little do they know that Count Dracula himself is guiding the Chinese blood-suckers.

As one might assume, this fusion of Western-style horror and Eastern-style action doesn't quite gel (Though interestingly, the "Blade" series of films manage to get some mileage out of a similar concept). The film itself is not the best example of Hammer or Shaw Brothers product, but makes for a passable evening of entertainment. Plus, if you were ever curious of vampires versus kung-fu (outside of Blade or Buffy), check it out.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ah_VJ73Zs2A&feature=related

Hmmm . . . vampires versus kung-fu . . . now there's a fight jam idea.

Fun Fact Friday

Practice makes perfect. But why?

Your cerebellum is to thank for your improvement.

The cerebellum has modifiable neural connections that continuously compare everything they are programmed to do with the results that they are actually achieving. When this comparison does not allow the expected result to be achieved satisfactorily, the cerebellum's activity modifies the sequence of movements in a way that makes them more effective. This procedural memory develops automatically with practice.

Basically, your brain is watching and judging your movements for you and modifying them to try and achieve what you are doing. This is where perfect practice is important.

The cerebellum may be an amazing organ but it is only doing its job. It will code and "improve"  bad technique just as readily as it will good technique. Once that happens you have to reprogram all of the movement if you want to fix bad habits. They truly get hardwired into your brain! So do good habits/techniques.

So practice and practice perfect, your brain is watching.

Greg

Think Tank Thursday

Proximity/Space

The human brain interprets things as belonging to the same group when they are close to another.

This principle can sometimes overlap with the closure principle, discussed in an earlier post, in which oir minds create the most logical picture from the information given.

Our minds have an insatiable need to organize and make things neat. Putting things into groups allows the mind to make broader judgments about more objects/items/people so it can free up space to deal with more stimulus. It is the base drive behind why we stereotype groups of people.

For combat we can use this automatic drive to direct focus, tell relationships, and/or intrigue the audience.

An easy and interesting example is when a man and woman are about to engage in a fight and their relationship is unkonwn to the audience. If the start out extremely close to eachother the fact that they are of opposite sex will cause tthe audience to automatically  assume some sort of sensual or romantic connection. You really pique their interest and focus when you violate thqt expectation and instead have the characters behaving threateningly. Now the audience is trying to guess ahead as to what will happen, how it will happen, and how it started in the first place. Basically, they are hanging on your every word and movement, in large part simply due to proximity.

The audience isn't easily fooled, however. There has to be a justifiable reason to be in that distance and the same trick can't be overused.

When dealing with another actors space be sure to communicate and be respectful. Often In theatre we are thrown together as strangers and asked to do intimate things without any real discussion. It doesn't have to be that way. Safety involves mental health and comfort as well as physical and you have the right to say something anytime you are uncomfortable.

Greg

Weapon Wednesday

Bone!

Bones are 4 times stronger and 40 times more stress resistant than concrete! That is if you take proper care of them of course. If you have ever broken a bone it may be hard to believe but our bones support an amazing amount of force just keeping us standing up straight. That force gets drastically multiplied when we walk, run, jump or fall (sometimes the force gets multiplied too much and you get to see what your bones look like...or bones get bent or twisted which they really don't like). Bone is one of the strongest materials found in nature. One cubic inch of bone can withstand loads of at least 19,000 pounds or close to 10 tons!

We take this strength for granted because it is so reliable. Even if you have broken something at some point, your skeleton has had a fantastic track record of success and safety.

We can turn this wonderful strength into a tool for destruction, however. We have all seen demonstrations of people breaking bricks, boards, concrete, etc. with their hands, head, feet or whatever else. If you haven't seen anything like it, look it up on YouTube, hopefully your first couple of videos are of successes...

It's not muscle that makes this dominance over the inanimate possible. It is focus, speed, gravity, your mass, and your bones.

The smaller the better!

Why not large bones? If you take all the force built up from the rotation of your body, gravity, muscle and/or etc, and transfer the total through a small area of impact you multiply the force. If you have a large impact area the force is dispersed and reduced on contact. It's why you try to make contact with large muscle masses evenly with stage falls as opposed to taking gravitys wallop all in one tiny place. 

Besides breaking inanimate things you can also break faces, tissues, and even other bones!

Many martial arts incorporate bone strikes in their blocks to create damage to the attacker while defending themselves. Again, why we use muscle mass to muscle mass when blocking in stage combat.

Using bone strikes can be vicious in choreography and audiences always cringe if you simulate some sort of bone break. No one likes to hear bones really hitting something, however. The bone impact sound against any surface makes people nauseous and concerned for your (or the actors) safety.

Makes you think twice about how badass of an animal we are!

Greg

Tech Tuesday

Aluminum.

Or Aluminium depending on which side of the ocean you are on. One story attributes the name difference to scientific tastes of the time. European scientists simply liked their elements to end with the -ium ending! Science wasn't always (and in many ways still isn't) just cold hard facts, it used to be a social fashion.

Back to the element at hand. If you have picked up a broadsword with a steel blade you know how heavy they can be, especially after wielding the weapon in class or rehearsal. Some people like the weight and the extra reality it brings. Steel is also very durable and trusted.

Then you lift an aluminum blade. Aluminum broadswords are about 1/3 the weight of their steel cousins. This is wonderful for some people. They are also shinier, they make a louder, clearer ring when clanged together, and require less maintenance since the blade won't rust or corrode. The lightness of the metal also helps to make wider smallsword blades to give those weapons more stage presence.

So why doesn't everyone have weapons made of this miracle metal?

One big challenge is incorporating aluminum weapons into a world of steel. Steel beats aluminum every time and often badly. Nobody wants their shiny new toy destroyed!

Aluminum can be tough on itself as well. Almost all aluminum products are alloys of some sort, even aluminum foil is mixed with other elements to improve  strength, luster, etc. One of the stronger aluminum alloys is aircraft aluminum which has the same tensile strength as low grade steel. The stronger you get, however, the heavier the metal gets and the more the cost goes up. Aircraft aluminum is the best bet for stage and Film though.

Now we have a strong alloy, its going to last right? Sadly, aluminum will always fail at some point. Engineers working with the metal have to plan for a finite life span.

This makes the lower maintenance level a blessing and a curse. Hopefully when you clean your weapons of minor destruction (you do clean them right?) you are checking for burrs on the blade, rust, or stress fractures/cracks in the tang (the metal section the grip covers) and shoulders (the area at the top of the hilt where the tang meets the blade). If you don't check these areas after use or long term storage, you can miss potentially dangerous warning signs of an upcoming blade failure. Since the aluminum blade most often comes as one piece that doesn't need to be welded, the failure will most often be at the threads that attach the pommel. This is where the stresses of impact will gather and because aluminum is a soft metal, over time the stress combined with turning/tightening the pommel will strip the threads and cause the pommel to come loose or fall off.

The intent is not to dissuade anyone from aluminium, it is still a valuable piece of tech in our trade. The info is meant to give a broader understanding of the positives and negatives besides the obvious weight, shine, and ring.

If you have questions, leave a comment or send an email to fightjamchicago@gmail.com and I will be happy to help!

Greg

Movie Monday: Fist of Legend

Back in those faraway dark ages known as the 90s, a fellow student at the University of Chicago introduced me to the world of modern Hong Kong cinema. Like most of the mainstream American moviegoing audience, my awareness of filmmaking out that Chinese territory by the sea had pretty much stopped dead with the 70s, Bruce Lee, etc. However, luckily for me, the UofC's DOC Film society (still one of the best on-campus film societies around) ran a block of recent Hong Kong blockbusters every year. It was there my eyes were blasted wide open by Jackie Chan's acrobatic derring do, John Woo's blood-soaked gunplay, and last but not least Jet Li.

Course all three of the above are now pretty well-known Stateside, but back then was a different story. Other than DOC films, I'd have to hunt down badly dubbed or equally ineptly subtitled copies (frequently grainy or washed out) on VHS in some dingy Chinatown shop. Which was too bad, because the 90s (as I date myself) were something of a Renaissance for Hong Kong cinema. Jackie Chan did some of his best work ever and never to be topped in films like "Drunken Master II", John Woo redefined gunplay with "The Killer" and "Hard Boiled," and director/producer Tsui Hark produced film for both of the above, as well as producing and/or directing some great Chinese fantasy films like "A Chinese Ghost Story" or "Swordsman."

Which brings me to "Fist of Legend." Hitting Asian screens towards the end of the 90s kung-fu film period in 1994, "Fist" was a remake of Bruce Lee's 1972 classic "Fist of Fury," starring Jet Li in the Lee role. The plot of both films is essentially the same: Chen Zhen, a student of real-life kung-fu master Huo Yuan-Jia (later played by Li in "Fearless") seeks vengeance against the Japanese martial artists and government officials who conspired to poison and kill his master in 1920s Shanghai. Tensions are high, as martial arts rivalries collide with the anticolonial resentment of local Chinese against the Japanese and British occupiers who have carved up the Chinese territory.

Directed by ace Hong Kong director Gordon Chan, "Fist" boast some fairly high production values for a Hong Kong film of the period. The 1920s Shanghai setting is well realized in both costumes and sets. The film also improves greatly on the plot of the Bruce Lee original, complicating the simple 'Chinese vs. Japanese' conflict by providing Li with a Japanese love interest, and a surrogate mentor in the form of a Japanese martial arts master (played by 70s Japanese Karate star Yasuaki Kurata).

But the heck with the plot - what makes "Fist" stand tall among the many kung-fu films out there is the choreography, and it is outstanding. The fight scenes are fast, complex and truly brutal, with very little wirework (though there is a decent among of sped-up camerawork). Jet Li has and still gets a lot of criticism in some circles for the amount of wire effects in his films, despite the fact that he (unlike Jackie Chan) received formal martial arts training in Wushu and was a competitive champion in the People's Republic of China. "Fist" however puts all doubts to rest as to his abilities. He really has never looked as good as he does in this film.

It should be no surprise that the man behind the action is the legendary Yuen Woo-Ping, whose work graced all three "Matrix" movies, as well as "Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon," "Kill Bill" and "Kung Fu Hustle." In fact, it was watching "Fist" that convinced the Wachowski brothers to hire Yuen Woo-Ping, setting his Hollywood career in motion.

The film is also a massive love-letter to Bruce Lee's life and work. An early scene in which Jet Li challenges a Japanese master in his dojo apes a lot of the moves and camerawork from Lee's classic films, in including an overhead, multi-kick shot that should impress any viewer (and if you aren't, then stop reading and go away). Later on in the film, while facing defeat during a match, Jet Li even adopts a formless, stanceless fighting style consistent with Lee's concept of Jeet Kune Do (the martial arts philosophy he invented), and fantastic outdoor match between Li and Kurata ultimate becomes a conversation on the meaning of combat written in human movement.

If you haven't seen "Fist of Legend," you're really in for a treat. I highly recommend it. And now is the best time, since the Dragon Dynasty label has released a wonderful new DVD loaded with a clean picture, good subtitling and lots of extras. (Beware of the mid-90s DVD release which removed the original music score and adding dubbing that substantially altered the meaning of the dialogue!).

And if you don't believe me, check this out: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7p2YmjZ6FRY

The Sunday Special: Why We Fight... At SAFD Workshops

Have you ever been to an Society of American Fight Directors workshop?

If you’re answer is no, and you have a interest in stage combat and staged violence, and since you’re reading this blog I’m going to assume that you do have, at least, a passing interesting in stage combat and stage violence, I have one word of advice – Go.

No, wait, two words - Go now. I hear there’s on in January that’s supposed to be pretty cool.

If you’re answer is yes, you know why I have given the above advice. If you’re answer is yes, you’ve probably have just been to a workshop, waiting til your next workshop or are at a workshop right now. If you answer is yes, you know the mixed feelings of excitement for you just learned, motivation to pursue new ideas, and loss of the new friends you have made within the larger SAFD family.

If you can’t tell I have recently returned from the workshop. And it was a blast! …well almost. And this makes my point.

Three of the four days were great. Filled with friends and fighting. I got to take some amazing classes including Denise Hurd’s First Folio Fighting, and Pick It Up Quick with the amazing Ian Rose (next time you're at a workshop where those offered, take them). At nights I got to see old friends, drink and be merry.

Then Saturday came around…

Like all SAFD regional workshops I had been following the steady code of ‘Fight. Drink. Repeat.’ So by the time Saturday rolled around I was a little slow getting out of bed. This caused me to decide not to get breakfast considering I did have a bag of almonds I had purchased just the other day. When I got to the workshop I quickly checked to see what I had to do, as it was not much, I filled my water bottle and opened the bag of almonds. Big mistake. About a minute before the first class began I started to feel the soles of my feet were itchy. Not only that but I felt my face was a little bit swollen. I quickly to the bathroom to see for myself and sure enough I was swelling up around my eyes. Walking back and into the armory/staff room I was quickly asked, “Adam, are you alright?”

“No.” I quickly replied, “I think I’m having an allergy attack.” Being allergic to cats, horses, penicillin and now apparently almonds, I kind of know the feeling.

Now I had recently experienced another massive allergy attack like the one I was having a few months prior. At that time I was alone in my apartment and definitely freaking out a bit, so much so that I manage to jam an EpiPen into my thumb. This time, surrounded by friends, a few who had medical experience, I was quickly cared for and got some benedryll into myself. All would be well… eventually. Of course I would have to go through the phases of looking like Rocky and I had just gone 12 rounds, having the desire to itch every part of my body at the same time for a couple of hours, and having my skin resemble a ripe tomato... but all would be well.

You maybe asking yourself, ‘Why the fuck did he eat those almonds?’ This would be an excellent question had I known I was allergic to almonds in the first place. Having a second but similar attack with raw almonds as the only constant I discovered I was allergic to almonds. Don’t worry, you’re not the only ones. I had this conversation several times:

Person X – Oh my god, you look awful!

Me – Yeah, I know.

Person X – What happened?

Me – I’m having a massive allergy attack.

Person X – From what?

Me – Almonds (side note: I probably could have been clearer here)

Person X – Oh man, what’d you eat that had almonds in it?

Me – (pause) Almonds.

Person X – Why did you eat the almonds?

Me – seriously?

Okay, so I didn’t say that last line. I had a number of responses. But having the same conversation again and again, well, it made me chuckle, cause I was happy to have that repetitive conversation. Even though the day sucked it was much better than the previous allergy attack because of who I was with. That and I didn't get EpiPen in the thumb. So that was a plus.

The benedryll finally kicked in and totally kicked my ass out for the day but I came back on Sunday and closed out the workshop strong. There’s something to be said for a place you can go, have a major allergy attack, and walk away feeling great. I really did have a blast. And it was because I with fellow friends and fighters when the almonds came to destroy me. It was because I was at a place learning the craft I loved surrounded by those who love it just as much as I. The community and family that is instantly created and reinforced workshop after workshop is the real reason people keep coming back.

Stage Combat is not a unique craft to the SAFD. There are a number of other societies, teachers and choreographers not affiliated with any society. No matter where they are, or who they are affiliated with, all good stage combat instructors and practitioners have something to offer the craft. What we get offered with the SAFD is more than just the craft. It’s the community and family as well. A fight family.

Just another simple reason why I fight and why I fight with the SAFD.

Fun Fact Friday

The human ear and the Threshold of Hearing.

As much as we may think we have a disadvantage with hearing, our ears are an amazing little collection of  bones, fluids and tissues!

Take our average Threshold of Hearing. The average is a sound with an intensity of 1*10-12 W/m 2 atmosphere. Sound is a pressure wave made up of a high pressure area that displaces air particles, followed by a low pressure area as the particles settle back to their original place. It's like dropping a pebble in water and seeing the big waves followed by the valleys.

A sound with an intensity of 1*10 W/m corresponds to a sound that will displace particles of air by a mere one-billionth of a centimeter.

Again, our ears can sense the pressure change in the air made by air particles, particles that can't even be seen by microscopes, being moved from their position by 1 billionth of a centimeter! That is a thing we can't see moving a distance we cant comprehend.

So, combat. Basically, protect you precious, amazing ears. Something that sensitive does not like sudden high pressure spikes from slaps gone awry and boxing the ears, or loud noises/yelling right in the canal. If your ears have to work extra hard to make sense of pressure waves they wont have the energy/resources to decipher the finer layers and qualities of human speech.

Greg

Think Tank Thursday

The Gestalt theory of vision principle of completion.

The image above has four examples of completion at work. Our brain fills in the negative space created by objects in close proximity to one another to create shapes or objects that should logically be there.

To compensate for the overwhelming amount of stimulus and data our brains have to process, the mind will guess ahead as to what something should be based on previous examples.

Example a) looked like a white triangle even though the only objects in the area are three pac man things. B) makes an S; c) makes a 3D looking star or spike ball; and d) makes the Loch Ness Monster (or some variation of a snake like thing...).

Our eyes not only do this with drawings on paper, we also see shapes in the clouds, animals in wood patterns, Jesi (plural for Jesus) in pancake syrup, etc. Our observation and pattern detecting abilities are amazing when we aren't even trying. When we are actively looking for information its mind blowing what we can create in our grey matter.

Not everyone may see the same thing at first, but the power of suggestion, combined with the social need to not be the only oddball who doesn't see the pancake savior (our those Damn hidden image posters! How many people lied about actually seeing those? I know I did!) makes it likely that over time everyone will be seeing the same thing.

Theatrically this means we can create shapes and moods with our bodies. I am not talking about wallkng around awkwardly trying to be modern; instead we can use body positioning and relationships to suggest tension, relationship, or violence itself. An easy and often used example is when lovers kiss and the negative space of their bodies makes a heart shape.

Put two enemies locked in combat and you can make a hate shape!

The outcome is subtle and sometimes difficult to work into the choreography or scene. The biggest thing in our corner though, is that the audience is working hard to see what we are trying to show them and their brains don't care if information comes subconsciously or directly as long as there is something to process.

Greg

Weapon Wednesday

Knives!

This is the only weapon not attached to our body that we use every day. Rightly so, many people have a deep fear of knives, even the regular kitchen variety.

The basic knife was most likely the first edged weapon used by humans and it probably didn't look too much different than some around today (mostly the prison variety...)

Knives are great for stage because they are shiny (grabs audience focus), dangerous  (audience focus), fast (holds suspense/intensity), relatable (everyone has used a knife, not everyone has used a flaming whip for self defense), and intimate.

The intimacy of knives  is what I enjoy most. There is no way to live in a middle ground with this weapon. You are either scared beyond reason for your life or you want nothing more than to cut a bitch. Ideally and realistically you rapidly switch back and forth. You can't half ass cut someone, you would die.

Then there is the act of stabbing. Studies on the brain show a strong correlation in the areas of the brain that process sex and violence. The brain activity/processing  occurs in almost the exact same place! Not only that but thrusting a Sharp pointed object into another person has the obvious visual similarities of sex (especially for people with sharp pointy genetalia).

Basically, when a knife is pulled out onstage it is extremely interesting. Even with mediocre choreography, the proximity of the combatants is exciting and engaging. Cap all that with a stab filled with meaning, story and emotion... disturbingly delightful.

There lies the pitfall, however. If the stab or cut or end is lame then the audience is really disappointed, all that build up and no climax? Shameful.

Dive into the gory details, they are plentiful and challenging. It should feel just as, if not more, intimate as having sex. If you aren't comfortable with this or feel unsafe please know that it is ok, knives and fighting with them (even pretend) is intense.

Greg

Tech Tuesday

Well, maybe Wednesday, but we are going to pretend its Tuesday while reading this.

Above is a large and beautiful metal lathe.

These machines are pretty cool normally, but this one stands out because it is over 100 years old, still runs off of belts made of leather (one is a chain made of leather links instead of metal!) and operates as if it were new.

Why ate they cool? Well, they are one of the few machines that are entirely self replicating. You can make every piece of the lathe with another lathe or itself.

It's cool for combat because its what is used to make custom and regular pommels, grips, hilt pieces, anything really.

Typically its a machinists tool and when well used they can be very precise. They come in different sizes for different jobs and have a bevy of interchangeable parts to best suit the job being done.

It's an unassuming piece of equipment but extremely valuable and fun to use.

Greg