Traditions maintain a core method, philosophy and approach, but they also adapt, refine and test themselves, or else, they become a fossil. In the long run the student should not have to content himself with my choices, instead he should, assuming he wishes it, be able to develop himself freely. A student should train without fear of needless pain and injury. Especially in the beginning, students discover that constant pain can contribute to an inability to act freely, constantly fearing that further pain is inflicted.
Sword swallowing
Once technical safety has been achieved, you then can confidently go back to wood, and the occasional pain teaches, rather than inhibits. These training aids are outstanding, especially for actions directed at the weapon-bearing arm that require a great deal of practice. Many years have passed since my initial forays on this topic, since the start of this passion and this research. I met many teachers, saw different approaches and interpretations, heard multiple stories.
All these teachers in the course of this chapter I will only name those who still influence my school or those whom I still work , as well as all my long-term students have supported me on this fencing journey. They helped me to recognize both the correct the wrong steps and how to better differentiate between the two. Above all however — and that sounds almost absurd — my journey to the Southern Italian knife schools started not in Southern Italy, the traditional home of these arts, but rather in the North of the bel paese.
In actual fact I did not really start down this path alone. At the start, we were a small group of conspiring German enthusiasts, but because I spoke the language, I was the one who undertook most of the initial travel.
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My initial companions provided me with analytical, financial and moral support because it was not always easy to find teachers, convince them to teach, or navigate old rivalries or cultural conflicts of which I was unaware. My colleagues and I met up after each trip to go over the knowledge I had gained, analyze the techniques and record it.
Many of those companions who supported me with word and deed and sometimes accompanied me on my travels are still with me today. Storia e tecnica The Italian art of the short blade from to This first teacher introduced me to the general principles, of both military and civilian knife and stick fighting.
From him I received my first teaching diploma for Italian knife and stick fighting in December Based on his lessons I changed my perspective away from the cut, for example, as is taught in many Filipino and modern styles, to focus on the thrust. Ultimately, Merendoni changed my perspective in regards to the required scope and structure of a system: Somehow those years had something romantic about them. We were pioneers, virtually plowing along on our own. In , my next stop was Genovese stick and knife fight, the bastone genovese.
I was taught by Claudio Parodi, the last remaining Maestro of that tradition, and author of the book Bastone genovese, coltello e gambetto.
Contest to kill 100 people using a sword
I, too, am now a licensed a teacher of this art. The tradition from Genoa was important to me because I was born not far from there, and it was therefore an art from the land of my ancestors. Consequently, my mentor in that tradition was also the first real traditional fencing teacher who taught me. Didactically, however, there was no appreciable difference between my initial experiences in Ravenna and this tradition from Genoa. Both teachers structured their lessons in a similar manner and with a consistency, logic and simplicity that had been unknown to me until then.
That same year the opportunity arose to study the Apulian fencing school of knife and stick from Manfredonia.
How Sword Swallowing Works | HowStuffWorks
This South-Italian tradition, does not actually have a specific name, but is called by some the School of the Knights of Humility Cavalieri di Umilita and by others Fioretto foil , was my introduction to the secretive and also more complex methodology and didactics of the southern traditions. In regards to the Manfredonian school, I was able to gain experience with diverse instructors, and experienced different interpretations of a single art, revealing a more differentiated picture of what was the core of the art, and what was individual preference.
I built my foundation by training with a small group of conspiratorial enthusiasts. After that, I went to one of the traditional knife families still residing in Manfredonia today, where I received further instruction. This branch is based on the teachings of the deceased Maestro U Sardun. Simply put, he was the one who conclusively decoded the subtleties of the Manfredonian tradition in its entirety for me see Chapter 6 , even though we will see that this branch deviates somewhat from the previous ones in technique, didactics and terminology.
And this is an important lesson as well: Maestro Scarcella is a teacher who, with a single movement of his armed hand, can demonstrate at exactly the right moment how and why your actions were ineffective. He was the first who showed me that a simple thrust is more than it appears. It is due to him that I became familiar with the true Sicilian knife. Maestro Scarcella has six decades of fencing experience and clearly demonstrates that.
Almost parallel to my Sicilian training I began learning the peasant tradition of defense with knife and stick, the system of heaven and marvels, Cielo e Meraviglia , from Canosa in Apulia. I trained with one of the few remaining masters of this art see Chapter 8.
He made accessible to me this system of close-quarter combat with the knife, which appears lost, or rather less trusted and emphasized, in the fencing schools focused on dueling conventions. Therefore, the many system-specific, close-quarter combat bindings improved my ability to quickly turn a conflict from defense into offense without having to act from wide measure. As we will see, every fencing school focused on knife dueling uses the same progression: Depending on the tradition, these individual lessons sometimes develop into extended solo forms.
The insegnamento also includes, tactics, tricks as and use of the strategic use of the various fencing guards. This traditional procedure has, of course, been adopted in TIKF and is part of how we insure the core spirit and method of the art is preserved. The last step connects the three key points — play, defense and attack — so that one flows into the next, or rather, so that there is no longer a clear dividing line: However, this goal can only be reached through simplification and pragmatism.
Here I follow a guideline from Nietzsche, which he expressed as follows in his Anti-Christ:. Enter your email address to subscribe to this blog and receive notifications of new posts by email.
Sword of the People: Corrado Tommasi-Crudeli, La Sicilia nel , Florence, This book introduces readers to the path of traditional Italian knife and stick fencing schools, with the hope to thereby contribute to their conservation. Twitter Facebook Google Tumblr Email. Post was not sent - check your email addresses!
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Archaeologists believe the well-preserved year-old weapon likely belonged to a knight. Six hundred years ago, an unlucky knight may have fallen into or lost his sword in a bog filled with peat. A construction worker who had worked in the area for the past 15 years stumbled upon the late 13th or mid 14th century weapon while using an excavator to drain the bog. Aside from the hilt, the sword had been preserved almost entirely and has since been donated to the local Stanislaw Staszic Museum. This 14th century sword measured 47 inches long cm , and weighed a mere 3. Bartlomiej Bartecki, director of the museum, told Polish science journal PAP that the two-handed weapon is a "unique find in the region" but years ago, would have been a typical weapon for knights.
The region was a part of the Kingdom of Poland starting in The exact location of the bog is not being disclosed to prevent looting. Museum researchers estimate the nearly four-foot sword weighed just over three pounds at the time it was made. In an interview with National Geographic, Bartecki clarified that while museum archaeologists are yet to discover the identity of the sword's owner, an isosceles cross in the shape of a heraldic shield on the sword's rear bar would have effectively served as the blacksmith's brand mark.
At the time the sword was used, the mark would have been covered by a hilt made of wood, bone, or antler. See a reenactment of how this sword would have been used. The sword has been sent to Warsaw where it will be analysed and renovated. Researchers hope further markings might reveal more about the identity of the sword's owner.
In the coming days, a team of Polish archaeologists will return to the discovery site.
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No bones were initially found near the sword's location, but the team hopes to find any possible artefacts or other belongings from the knight. The rear bar of the sword features an isosceles cross inscribed inside the shape of a heraldic shield, which was probably made by the blacksmith. National Geographic showcases leading explorers, scientists, environmentalists, film makers and renowned photographers.