I just read that Bridgeman Savate teaches not only the traditional stick and cane as part of their curriculum, but they also teach chair. So I got curious, and did a little YouTubing. Here’s a vintage karate demonstration: And here’s a jujitsu one: Not to be outdone, the ninjas of To Shin Do show chair […]
“You actually want an element of disorientation—that’s what makes it exciting,” Murch says of his approach to splicing together a fight. “So you put the focus of interest somewhere else, jarringly, and you cut at unexpected moments. You make a tossed salad of it, you abuse the audience’s attention.”Dark Knight, Christopher Nolan, and the rise […]
3 Hours of Unarmed Stage Combat 3 Hours of Sabre for the Stage Stage Combat Fundamentals in One Day To perform fights on stage, there are two elements: performer safety and the illusion of violence. When you want to look like you’re trying to kill someone, it’s a bad idea to improvise. The fight looks […]
I’ve been away from the blog for a few weeks, at the FDC National Workshop in Waterloo, then the process of moving from Toronto to Vancouver. In the meantime, there have been a few news items about stage combat, and I’ve picked three for you today: The Good, The Bad and the Ugly. As is […]
No Method Acting Many characters suffer and die in plays and films. Some actors consider it to be the most fun scene, others think it’s the most challenging. How do you play a realistic death? Well, you don’t do it like that scene from Enter the Ninja. So how do you research? I would not […]
I taught bartitsu and neo-bartitsu this past Sunday at Academie Duello. This was an all-day workshop from 10am to 5pm. Although the day was hot, and we had to share the salle with the secondaries workshop happening concurrently, I consider it a success. Attendance We had 6 participants, which was an ideal number for this […]
Here’s some fun stuff about the upcoming Sherlock Holmes movie with Robert Downey Jr. and Jude Law as Watson. As usual, let’s get right to the excellent video right away. Kung Fu Cinema: My New Bookmark KungFuCinema.com: Guy Ritchie’s ‘Sherlock Holmes’ knows bartitsu is a great article about the fighting in the upcoming film. It […]