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SwordFest 2008 this Saturday, 5/17

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Sir Edward:

I forgot my camera. :(

Das Bill:
They just e-mailed me to let me know these photos are up:

http://picasaweb. google.com/ chrestme/ Swordfest2008

http://picasaweb. google.com/ dawsonandoh/ CapitalAreaBudok aiSwordFest2008

There were people video taping. I don't know if that's going to end up on the internet or not.

Sir Edward:

--- Quote from: Das Bill on 2008-05-20, 04:16:43 ---http://picasaweb.google.com/chrestme/Swordfest2008

http://picasaweb.google.com/dawsonandoh/CapitalAreaBudokaiSwordFest2008

--- End quote ---

fixed.

Das Bill:
Whoops, thanks Ed!

One of the things that was really cool for me, in watching the demos, was just how clean and crisp so many of the practitioners were. While you could tell that some of the students more experienced than others, for the most part the various arts were very well executed. While I'd like to think that my execution is on par with several of them (I hope), and while I consider many of my advanced students to be close if not on par with many of them (even slightly superior to a handful of the people I saw), it still reminds me of just how far Western Martial Arts has to go in terms of reviving our art forms. Because if we took every single person in WMA who could move at least as well as the lowest ranking person in any of those JSA schools, out of the entire world, we'd probably only fill my living room. This is not to say that the Japanese arts are in any way superior, of course... but they have the advantage of unbroken traditions, and we have the hurdle of revival. I think we're definately on the right track (and given how much praise they gave our demo, which I'm sure they also gave to Steve and Mike's demos, they clearly recognize the historical European martial arts world as peers), but we've still got a long way to go.

Sir Edward:

I think given enough time, the WMA community will get there. But I think there's another distinction, separate from, but hand-in-hand with the lack of a living tradition. Since it's primarily being pursued by western cultures, I think a cultural aspect comes into it in terms of the attitude people take towards it. What I mean, is that there's a desire to be practical and have fun at the same time, and so by necessity I think it tends to be taught casually (I think we're a bit unusual in that we're at a professional fencing school). People come and go, pick up what they care to, etc (not counting the die-hards, of course).

One huge difference that seems to come out of this is that the eastern arts tend to start with very repetitious drilling of moves and footwork, and sequences of plays, the usefulness of which is often obscure to the beginning student. With the western arts, we jump right in, but this keeps it fun and interesting even at the beginner level.

I don't think one approach is necessarily superior to another. However, I think the eastern arts tend to be a little more prepared to look pretty in a demo as a result, whether or not the students are advanced enough to apply it.

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