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Salle Green a modern and classical fencing school
Historical Swordplay |
| NOTE TO PARENTS CONSIDERING HISTORICAL WEAPONS TRAINING FOR THEIR CHILDREN: We train with wooden wasters which approximate the weight of actual weapons. Students need a certain amount of physical strength to use these weapons, and must have reasonable coordination to perform the various skills safely. This training is probably not appropriate for children under age 14 due simply to the physical demands of handling the weapons safely. |
WEAPONS TAUGHT:
We teach the use of a variety of Medieval, Renaissance, and Enlightenment period weapons, including both edged weapons and their accompanying systems and hafted weapons. The following table lists the weapons we currently teach as group classes or have available for individual instruction.
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Period |
Edged Weapon |
Hafted Weapon |
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Medieval |
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Renaissance |
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Enlightenment |
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FOCUS AND METHOD OF TEACHING:
The intent of our historical swordsmanship program is to develop a familiarity with the sword and polearm techniques of the period 1300-1800 to meet the needs of: (1) students of period history, (2) fencers and fencing masters who wish to understand the foundations of the modern sport, and (3) students of the history of edged weapons. Our training is not intended to produce sword combatants, reenactors, or stage combatants.
We teach based on original texts or on reputable translations of those texts, with an aim of understanding the conditions of combat and how the weapons were taught by the masters of the day. All lessons are taught with wooden wasters or steel weapons produced specifically for safe use in a training situation. Although these weapons have no sharp edges, their mass creates some potential for injury. Therefore, our teaching technique focuses on non-contact play through exercises (similar to the kata of the Asian martial arts) and scripted scenarios through which the students explore action and reaction.
In our study of historical technique we use four types of scenarios for teaching and skill demonstration:
Solo - a sequence of combat techniques against one or several imaginary opponents, performed by a single person.
Duo - combat performed by two fencers, demonstrating a variety of appropriate attacks and defenses.
Troop - combat performed by at least three fencers.
Synchronized - a display performed by 3 or more fencers simultaneously at the same rhythm, with the same movements.
SKILLS BASED TRAINING PROGRAM:
Salle Green is a fencing school, and to measure skill development we have progression systems in all of our programs. For our historical program we use a four grade system based on the ranks of members of the Masters of the Noble Science of Defence, the guild of British fencing masters organized in 1540. The lower two grades are designed to develop skilled performance in a limited number of weapons and are appropriate for any student; the upper two grades are intended to produce fencers with a breadth of knowledge and skills that allow them to teach the weapons they have demonstrated successfully.