European Sword & Dagger
By: James Albert Keating
Over the years I’ve studied with some of the world’s best weapons experts. Almost all taught some form of Asian martial art. My training in the Asian systems was always a clean and highly-organized affair. Attentive instructors in immaculate, well-lit facilities oversaw sophisticated standard-training sets and I followed their instructions to the letter. However, several of my teachers were different. They taught Western methods of fighting and close combat weaponry. Their dojos were backyards and garages. Rather than traditional “karate” dress we wore jeans or work clothes. Sometimes we trained on camping trips around the fire. It was surely a different environment than the studio.
Grounded in both Eastern and Western fighting forms, I have sought to blend these into a progressive, workable, hybrid style. Western fighting arts are beautiful, and as fully functional and deadly as any Eastern art I’ve studied. But, Western weapons arts have largely been ignored, if not forgotten while volumes are written about their Eastern relatives. Some martial artists scoff when they hear of my training and instruction of others in the European or American combative forms. Why? Perhaps because they know so little about the forms that someone else’s expertise makes them uncomfortable. So I have elected to spread a little education around at the request of many. And, I might add, I am pleased to do so.
Throughout the 16th and 17th centuries, the English, French, Italians, Portuguese and Spanish reigned supreme. During these years Europeans conquered much of the world and, in doing so, they brought their methods of fighting with them. Our ancestors in the New World inherited the European styles and systems, slowly developing their own unique, American martial systems as conquest of the Americas took place.
Classical European styles taught the cutlass, the saber, the fencing foil and other variations of the sword. Gentlemen preferred swords, which served as a mark of their role in society as well as a weapon meant for the conclusion of duels and warfare between nations. While firearms were both available and present, they were unreliable and single-shot in nature. Swords and knives had reached a high state of design and manufacture, with training in their use long-established. In New Orleans there is a street called “Exchange Alley”. It was once known as “Rue de Salles d’Armes” and here the Creole aristocrats of New Orleans were taught fencing, knifefighting and pistol craft. The blade-masters of Europe gravitated here from 1840 to 1860 and New Orleans became the dueling capital of the world.
The sword and dueling pistol were also a gentleman’s inclination. The South set aside dueling grounds to accommodate hundreds of such encounters yearly. Arkansas toothpicks – large daggers and bowie knives increasingly became the weapons of choice, stemming in large part from a duel where Jim Bowie used a massive hunting knife to maim/kill several sword-wielding, pistol-firing opponents. Designed by his older brother, Resin Bowie, this unique design immediately became known as a Bowie Knife and replicas and new designs began flowing from the shops of private cutlers. Such knives were soon the choice of informal barroom brawls and chance encounters. Up and down the Mississippi River, in Cincinnati, Natchez, St Louis and New Orleans, knifefighting parlors and social clubs proliferated. Some taught classical swordsmanship and others taught the rough and tumble styles of American knifefighting. Between the 1820’s and 1860’s the heyday of American close combat with a blade was on!
Western blade arts use unconventional footwork and point-first thrusting as an essential tactics. The classical “on guard” position of the Three Musketeers is immediately synonymous with Western swordfighting; however, this classic fencing stance does not represent the reality of European blade combat. The actual close quarters training of the Western weapons master is very similar to corto and serrada styles of Filipino fighting arts. In fact, these arts owe much of their deadly effectiveness to the fact that they were inspired by Spanish invasion fleets that fought the Filipinos in wars of conquest. Western masters recommended the use of the non-weapon bearing hand, or live hand, for parrying or grabbing just as Escrima uses this same hand in the sumbrada range. In other words, as in Kali or Escrima, the practitioners of Western fighting arts faced one another with their shoulders parallel, their weapon-hand floating and their live-hand ready to slap or grab.
The grip for thrusting-oriented styles is called the “saber grip”. Placing the thumb topside, behind the guard and curling the index finger beneath will produce this grip on most swords and knives. The other three fingers snugly grasp the handle. The saber grip is essential for Western bladework due to both body structure (European as opposed to Asian) and weapon design. As these influences literally invaded southeast and Southwest Asia from Europe, such grips and sword/knife designs were altered to fit Asian body structures and weapon designs. Thus, the unique and multi-faceted arts from Indonesia and the Philippines, which also took what worked an improved upon this from the Japanese, Chinese and other invading or peaceful visitors, evolved in these island cultures.
Western fighting styles don’t just stick and poke with their bladed weapons; a slash is part of the thrust and is widely used and encouraged. To perceive the Western slash, hold a knife using a saber grip and observe your wrist’s position. With thumb on top, thrust out your arm. As your elbow nears its full extension, your wrist will naturally snap downward. The movement of the blade tip that evolves through the snap of the wrist is the Western slash. The
slashes are effortless and produce almost invisible cuts that occur at the apogee of the thrust.
The first goal of knifefighting is to keep the enemy’s blade out of your body. Secondly, you wish to put your blade into the enemy as quickly and efficiently as possible. Western fighting styles accomplish these goals by following two principles: The first is to control the enemy’s blade. The second is to strike with accurate, lightning-quick precisely-timed and correctly-structured attacks. Western systems intentionally seek blade-to-blade cohesion. Why? The goal is to gain control of the enemy’s blade by contact~! Now do we see where blade-catchers come from?
Blades, whether swords or knife, are divided into two parts: forte and feeble. The feeble, which includes the tip and top curve of the blade, does the cutting and stabbing; whereas the forte is the bulk of the weapon less the feeble. In other words, to control your opponent’s blade you oppose his feeble with your forte. Not eh genius behind the bowie knife’s design features can be truly appreciated. A massive cutting edge, strong, large point (the feeble) and equally massive bulk for control (forte) makes this knife an awesome weapon in the hands of a skilled Western-style fighter.
To illustrate further, imagine a friend and yourself holding long, wooden kitchen-spoons. Place spoon against spoon at the spot
where the necks of each are protruding from your hands (forte to forte) and press against one another. Each should be in nearly equal
control of the other. Now place the spoons tip to tip (feeble to feeble). Again, despite some wobbling, you should both enjoy nearly equal control. But wait! Now one of you places your spoon (forte to the tip (feeble) of the other’s “weapon”. Who has control as you push your spoons up and down?
So it is that you can impose your will on to your enemy’s blade by using your forte against his feeble. The following moves: beat and thrust, encircle and thrust, stir, grab and strip are all of the techniques that can control or displace the enemy’s blade for the split second requir3ed to puncture his body. It is vitally important to have a knife with a solid guard in Western bladework. When blades meet, they slide against each other. The Western fighter used the junction at the blade and handle – or guard – as a control point in order to manipulate his enemy’s weapon. Without a guard, the opposing blade can, and most often will slide down your knife and into your hand. Far too many “knife experts” writing today discount this aspect of both Western knife-design and combative application simply because they are not cultured in the fighting arts and, therefore, haven’t the faintest notion of what they’re talking about.
The second Western principle is sophisticated body motion. For example, let’s look at the thrust. This classic motion extends the
body, punching the blade out with one hand and counter-balancing with the other. It is a very direct and linear strike, much like a bullet leaving the barrel of a gun. The point travels with power and speed to a very specific target on the body. Used and executed correctly, the physical structure of a thrust will tag an enemy without allowing him an effective response.
Thrusts give European and American methods astonishing speed and deception. Both are critical where proper timing is concerned and, indeed, are a product of timing. By proper timing I mean advanced body mechanics. In 1599, George Silver wrote “The Paradoxes of Defense”. Here the proper times, according to Silver, are given:
THE TRUE TIMES BE THESE:
The time of the hand
The time of the hand and body
The time of the hand and body and foot
The time of the hand, body and feet
Combine proper body action with precise timing and targeting and the thrust will find its mark. By body actions I mean the positions of evasion and attack. Along with the thrust, these actions include the “In Quartata”, the “Volte” and the “Demi Volte”. They are difficult to grasp using only pictures; seek reputable instruction for your safety and success.
Domenico Angelo wrote “The School of Fencing’ in 1787, a text about a variety of fighting methods for street use. His methods include “Sword and Dark Lantern”, “Sword and Dagger”, and “Cloak and Dagger”. Each technique is easily translated to today’s streets if you understand and respect he Western arts. For example, “Sword and Dark Lantern” becomes “Knife and Flashlight”. “Sword and Dagger” readily adapts to “Collapsible Steel Baton and Knife”. “Cloak and Dagger” is “Jacket, Gym Bag or Briefcase and Folding Knife”. This is a simple evolution of each concept; given proven knowledge these concepts cannot die – they can only be forgotten or ignored.
The masters of the Western sword and dagger made their arts feared and respected around the world. Domenico Angelo speaks of the timeless dance of attack and defense. Yet the only visible remnant of Western edged martial art today is fencing. While modern fencing has its roots in the older, more combative style, it has lost its value as a viable martial practice and becomes a sport. Nevertheless, modern fencing does have certain techniques and underlying principles worth our study. It is common knowledge that Bruce Lee was a fan of Western fencing. He freely incorporated many European blade concepts n to his Jeet June Do format. Why? Because Lee understood Western blade attributes such as speed, accuracy and deception.
Close no doors to knowledge of war. Respect those things that have resulted in victory. Cling to the truth and discard those half-truths that hamper your progress.
