Introduction to London Prize Ring Boxing

It’s been a while since I posted on this blog, on account of my being in a Third World country and all of that jazz. I’ve been slowly but surely getting back on the horse of training, though I’ve primarily focused on my unarmed skills; London Prize Ring era boxing specifically. This afternoon I was looking for a solid introduction on the topic of London Prize Ring (LPR) era boxing, so that I may pass it along to a friend, but I wasn’t able to find anything that laid things out to my satisfaction. With that in mind, I decided to write something of my own. This is by no means a fully comprehensive or final syllabus on LPR boxing but I think it can help clear things up at least a bit.  

Footwork

                The footwork of LPR boxing is generally the same as in modern boxing, thus I shall only mention the more uncommon movements. One such movement is “shift-punching”, which is a series of passing steps in conjunction with blows. For example one could throw a straight left while stepping forward with the lead leg and then make a passing step with the rear leg while throwing a right cross, and this could be followed up with a passing step with the left leg in tandem with a left uppercut. This is not unlike the so-called boxing burst seen in modern MMA. Slipping, common in modern boxing, was present in LPR boxing as well but was sometimes done with a passing step. As you can perhaps already gather, the passing step was used to a greater degree than in modern boxing. Likewise, another forgotten movement is the ability to spin or about-face. This rotating motion is required if you want to throw a spinning back-fist (which I’ll bring up again) or if you grab your opponents head and wheel around to his side (so that you then face in the same direction as him) allowing you to better punch his face at your leisure.

                Potentially the most uncommon movement in LPR boxing is that of the lunging or dropping step. This is something you’ll be hard pressed to see performed in the average boxing gym, as it is no longer very required in today’s boxing ring. The lunging step allows a boxer to rapidly shift his body-weight into a strong left straight, while taking him into and then back out of striking range. We must remember that bare-knuckle boxing was generally all out-fighting, with boxers keeping each other away with extended guards and a larger approaching distance. If the two boxers were to get within in-fighting distance, as in with their bodies close enough to touch, then they would generally commence to grapple instead of stand in front of each other trading bent-arm blows. In a boxing match that prohibits grappling, there is less need for a boxer to quickly lunge in and out of striking distance, hence the disappearance of the lunging step and the so-called “power jab” with it.

Offending 

                Hence follows a short listing of the strikes one would likely see in a LPR boxing match. Bear in mind this is simply a list of possible blows; it is neither a how-to guide nor is it a final list of all possible punches.

                Punches can be categorized, for the sake of ease, into three types: straight blows, bent-arm blows, and unconventional blows. Straight blows tend to be straight-travelling, vertical-fisted blows to the face or to the “mark” (solar plexus). The straight right can be delivered palm upwards with a slight upward angle, which according to Edwin Shaw (a boxing instructor of Harvard), is quite the knock out blow.
                Bent-arm blows tend to be tighter than a “haymaker” (a wide swing) and they usually hit upon the neck, the temple, the ribs, the kidneys, or the chin. These blows, as the name suggests, are done with a bent arm and generally either travel vertically (like an uppercut) or horizontally (like a right-cross counter),so really you can hit any target applicable to those planes of travel as long as you preserve your hands in the process.
                The unconventional blows include the following: the pivot blow, the corkscrew, the chop, and the chopper. The pivot blow is essentially a spinning back-fist with the palm facing downwards and it is the blow that defeated Dempsey. The corkscrew is a blow that, at the last moment, is flicked or turned downwards. The chop blow is a hammer fist; a handy alternative to a back-fist if one so desires such an alternative. Lastly there is the chopper, a blow made famous by Mendoza.  One generally executes this by placing the hand upon the nape of the neck or by putting it near its opposing shoulder, and then firing the back-fist upon the face of the opponent in a piston-like manner. The placement of the fist depends upon the guard used to “arm” it, which I’ll bring up soon enough.

Defending

                A few of the parries for the aforementioned blows follows here. One may blow all straight and bent arm blows to the face by deflection with the forearm. This is not a static blow but a dynamic deflection that forces the offending blow away from its intended target. This is best done with an open knife-hand, so that one can have more grappling options if he so chooses that course of action and to reduce undue fatigue by making a prolonged fist. This method preserves your muscles, as it is not a dead block, and allows you to more easily capitalize on your opponent’s blow as you have now opened up that side of him for trapping or striking.
                 One can also block straight and bent-arm blows to the face with the upper-arm, by pointing the elbow up with the hand touching the nape of the neck. Likewise, one can do a so-called “vampire guard” by blocking straight blows to the face with the elbow in front of the face and the hand towards the opposing shoulder. These bent-elbow blocks are not only painful to the knuckles of the puncher, but also allow the person blocker to give a counter-blow with the chopper or even a palm-down chop.
                Blows to the body with a straight arm or a bent-arm can be blocked with the forearm deflection, but one can also block these by simply placing a braced forearm in front of the intended target. While these more static blocks are inferior to the more active deflection, they are useful in a pinch and are often faster when the opponent is “rallying” (throwing blows consecutively with each side) while closing upon you. The unconventional blows can be defended against by either deflecting with the forearm or by simply getting out of reach. One notable method of blocking the chopper is to take the blow on the thickest part of your skull, thus wrecking the bare-knuckled fist of the would-be chopper.

Milling and Grappling

                No introduction to the boxing of the LPR era could be complete without a brief mentioning of fistic milling and stand-up grappling. As such I will now discuss them here, beginning with the former. Milling is the action of moving the fists to and fro, while on guard. Indeed this is the quintessential movement in the popular mind when it thinks of bare-knuckle boxing! This fistic motion is performed for two main reasons. Firstly it prevents undue fatigue in the arms, which can present itself when one merely keeps the arms static. Secondly the circular motion of the arms throws off your opponent’s ability to gage when you intend to throw a blow at him; it prevents telegraphing your punches. While the value of milling is debatable in modern boxing, I don’t think it to be a wasted movement. If it were, I suspect the boxers in the days of yore wouldn’t have taught it in the first place.

                When a person hears the words “grappling” and “boxing” in the same sentence, it certainly produces great hubbub. But as we can see below, the rules of the London Prize Ring (as copied from Scientific Boxing Together with Hints on Training and the Official Rules by James Corbett) make no mention of prohibiting wrestling:

                14. – That butting with the head shall be deemed foul, and the party resorting to this practice shall be deemed to have lost the battle.

                15. – That a blow stuck when a man is thrown or down shall be deemed foul. That a man with one knee and one hand on the ground, or with both knees on the ground, shall be considered foul, providing always that, when in such a position, the man so down shall not himself strike or attempt to strike.

                16. – That a blow struck below the waistband shall be deemed foul, and that, in a close, seizing an antagonist below the waist, by the thigh or otherwise shall be deemed foul.

                17. – That all attempts to inflict injury by gouging, or tearing the flesh with the fingers or nails, and biting, shall be deemed foul.

                18. – That kicking, or deliberately falling on an antagonist with the knees or otherwise when down shall be deemed foul.

                 In fact, quite a bit of leeway is given to the boxer of this era. While I won’t list all the wrestling techniques here, I will list a few of the common ones. I recommend that if the reader wants a thorough examination of these wrestling techniques, one should purchase Banned from Boxing by Kirk Lawson, which does all that and more. One often reads about tripping, hip-throws, shoulder-throws, and back-heel throws. Just as common was “one handed hitting”, where a person’s head or arm is pinioned or otherwise locked to allow for more convenient blows. Even the guillotine-choke, a form of “chancery”, was utilized. These throws, locks, and chokes were all useful since they allowed the boxer to slowly wear down the opponent in a boxing match without time-dictated rounds. Indeed, the rounds of a LPR battle were dictated by falls, so that a round could only end when a boxer hit the canvas. 

               As I’ve stated previously, this is by no means a final word on everything practiced by the old time boxers of yore. Indeed this writing barely covers the basics. I hope, however, that it is of some use to people trying to get a rough idea of what boxing was like when it was considered the Science of Self Defense.     

Physical Culture Club – November 2011

Physical Culture Club – November 2011

Presently, I have only taken a single young person for my so-called Physical Culture Club. His name is Freddy and he is about 15 years old. Currently we are working on only two subjects: Boxing and Stick Fighting. For boxing I am using two books: Shaw’s “Teacher of Sparring” and Hutchison‘s “Boxing”. I have other pugilistic material but I’m only going to break those two out for now, and go into the older material once we do the basic (and more modern) material. For stick fighting I’m using Lang’s “Walking Stick Method of Self-Defense”. While my own stick fighting method is a hodge-podge of longsword, single-stick, and historical La Canne in general (Vigny\Bartitsu), I feel like Lang’s method is systematic and easily grasped (and very effective). Additionally I worked with Lang’s method for some time before leaving the United States, so I am familiar with the material and some of the challenges it presents.

After some more practice I’m going to introduce wrestling days using a mixture of the following: Auerswald’s Ringen, Percy Longhurst’s “Jiu-Jitsu and other Methods of Self Defense”, “Complete Science of Wrestling” by George Hackenschmidt, and material from the Bartitsu Compendium. Although I have completed a couple of five foot staves for Hutton’s “Great Stick”, I think it will be better to wait off for a bit until I feel that Freddy is skilled enough with the walking stick before moving onto that beast-of-a-stick.

So that’s the material I’m working with for now. Here are some notations regarding the training itself. There have certainly been some unusual challenges and the usual ones as well.

The unusual challenges are as follows. First it seems that close-handed striking is not apart of the Zambian culture. I say this because even untrained Americans often know how to throw a punch with a closed-hand, even if that punch is a sloppy haymaker. Zambians, from what I observe, simply don’t have a tradition of pugilism. This probably exists due to the nature of Zambian history, especially when compared with Anglo-American history. Anyway, a large part of training right now is teaching Freddy to throw a proper punch, focusing on technique and speed rather than anything else. He seems to be improving rapidly, throwing straighter blows rather than pawing or slapping with a closed-hand (as he did previously). Another challenge is time\consistency in rural Zambia. Unfortunately “15:00 hrs” doesn’t mean “15:00 hrs” in the American sense, so practicing consistently is an issue. Even when we do meet at an agreed-upon time and day, freak rainstorms are frequent and have prematurely ended our training sessions. The issue of body-size is quite an annoyance also. I am usually a foot taller and at least 30 pounds heavier than most of the people in my village. This makes drilling difficult because of my greater reach and height (teaching the right cross-counter is especially hard in this case).

The usual challenges arise in the following ways. Footwork is an issue, since Zambians don’t always have the greatest coordination outside of playing football (American Soccer). This makes it hard for Freddy to accurately punch and step at the same time. He also has a sort-of “Arms Akimbo” guard, despite my efforts to have him adopt the London Prize Ring era guard or even the tighter, modern boxing guard. These two issues, in addition to the common “Keep those arms up!” problem, are the most frequent. But of course these are quite common when someone just learns how to scrap.

I’ve since devised one method of training, since sparring-proper is out of the question this early on. After we finish an hour of focus-mitt work (with my hands being the mitts) we do a mock-assault. We put on 10 oz. gloves and do three rounds at three minutes each. I let him strike at me to his hearts content but I do not hit him back much at all. When I do hit him, I only hit him fast without much force behind the blow and only in instances where I think he is getting sloppy or dropping his guard too much. It would be quite unfair for me to hit him hard or anything, since he is still very new. But a couple soft punches never hurt, especially when those hits teach him the importance of blocking properly. The goal of this method of training, of course, is to build his muscles and technique in a more Alive manner than punching drills. His endurance is building quickly and I’m proud of the great effort he has been making.

Now regarding the walking stick training. Freddy is progressing much faster with the stick than with his fists. Language barrier aside, he doesn’t have much trouble with the guards or strikes. At least, that is, he only has the same issues that everyone first does when learning Lang’s method. The front guard, being so high, takes a lot of practice before the muscles adapt to it. The strikes similarly require great practice until the wrist stops complaining. Regardless of these things, however, I have little doubt he will be well versed with the walking stick method soon enough.

So that is where I am at with Freddy at the Club. In a larger scope, I am working on different angles with the potential of Physical Culture in the district as a whole. I’m in talks with the headmaster at the school I teach at and he is interested in making a boxing club at the school, for both sexes and for the older pupils and teachers alike. Someone there has also expressed the desire for some type of female self-defense class for the local woman’s club that I also teach at. If this works out I think I will use the section on this type of self-defense from Percy Longhurst’s material. Wife-beating is a serious issue in Zambia and the women are much hardier than the men, so a well-trained woman would utterly crush the average Zambian male. This latter observation stems from the fact that women are the backbone of Zambian society and are generally much more muscular (and taller) than the men. This is where I stand currently. Considering the fact that I live in mud-hut in the Zambian rainforest, I am happy with the progress of this month’s work.

Observation on African hardwoods 

I’ve been refining my wood-working skills and I must say I’m awfully impressed by the hardwoods here in Zambia. I’ve made two walking sticks and both are holding up beautifully so far. One is 7/8in diameter with a tapering curve at the end, giving it something like a sabre-edge. The other stick is 1in diameter ball-headed stick. Both are about 42in in length. I’ve been using saplings and tree stumps as pells, and these sticks just carve into them like knives and even cut the saplings apart like paper. These sticks must be as hard as any oak or ash sticks from the States. If only I knew how to identify the tress themselves!

Observation on the stick and raincoat combination

I’ve been ironing out my coat and stick-play quite a bit, and I’m convinced it is a potent combination. Barton-Wright discusses how to use a coat offensively, so I won’t need to repeat his instructions here. These are my personal impressions on the matter. The walking stick should be held parallel and next to the right leg while initially confronted by your foe. This is to prevent the coat from being caught on the coat and it makes the stick appear “out of play”, so to speak. The coat is, of course, worn as a cloak and unfastened prior to being tossed upon your foe. You greet him with your left hand, either as to clam him down with apparent submissiveness or even a friendly wave. You could even reach to your right hip pocket while stating that you shall give him your money, as if you were reaching for your wallet. The left arm being out of the coat allows it to leave your body with greater speed than if the left shoulder was still in the coat. Once you are in range, you then grab near the right sleeve or collar and entangle him with it. The rest of this play is discussed by Barton-Wright, once more. But let’s say you miss him! Maybe he backs up and out of range! No matter. Take a step back as the coat misses and pull your stick up into Front Guard with your right leg forward. Your left arm is simultaneously spiraling about three times in either direction. This makes the coat become drawn around the arm with some of the material hanging down. You are now prepared to fight in the same manner as cloak and rapier, just as detailed by Hutton in his work “Old Sword Play” and those various Renaissance Fight-Books. This is quite simple and elegant to perform, and comes quick with practice. This seems so simple that I’m not sure why I didn’t happen upon this combination and trick before!




Observation on a Zambian "street-fight" at Shop-Rite in Solwezi

I recall seeing a really unusual street-fight (if you can even call it that) in Solwezi about a month and a half ago. It was as curious as it was humorous. It seems that two men had a disagreement over something and things got violent quickly, but in a way that I never saw before. They basically got into a really big slap-fight, by American standards. What made it so odd and funny was that these two men were large by Zambian standards, at least six feet tall. But instead of throwing punches they were pawing and slapping at each other for a solid 20-30 seconds straight. After that amount of time a seemingly random bystander kicked one of them from behind and this confused them so much that they both ran off in differing directions. Overall it left a really bizarre impression on me and only reinforced the notion that most Zambians are not prone to throwing close-handed blows at all.

Keep on fighting!

“Go near, strike with a long spear or a sword at close range, and kill a man. Set foot against foot, press shield against shield, fling crest against crest, helmet against helmet, and chest against chest.” Tyrtaeus

PS: Photos from my village, including those taken of boxing practice, can be found here!

The Essential Fechtbücher for the LongSwordsMan

Like many of my writings, the genius that possessed me to write this entry happened begin enough. I think I was fumbling with and cursing at my new coffee pot for lacking a permanent filter. And then, like all daemonic moments, I was hit with the lightning bolt of inspiration and decided to write. I thought to myself, what resources could I utilize to discuss the fundamentals of using the longsword for the Arte of Defence? If I could choose just a few Fechtbücher to help someone learn the Noble longsword without breaking the bank, which ones would I choose and why?

Well now I can wonder no more and go back to the important task of yelling at coffee makers. If I were to help someone learn the Noble longsword, it would be these three Fechtbücher: the Codex Wallerstein, the Kinghtly Arts of Combat by Sigmund Ringeck, and the Flos Duellatorum by Fiore dei Liberi. I am choosing these three Fechtbücher both because they satisfy general requirements and very specific ones pertaining to their contents.

The general requirements of a great Fechtbüch for the longsword, as far as I am concerned, are the following:

1. Does it cover fighting without harness (Bloßfechten)?
2. Does it cover fighting with armor (Kampffecthen)?
3. Does it cover grappling (Kamfringen)?
4. Does it cover fighting with the dagger?
5. Is it fairly easy to acquire these manuals?

These four requirements are vital for someone wanting to know the longsword. Though fighting without armor is probably going to be the primary method of fighting for the fencer, you never know when it could be useful to understanding fighting with armor. And, of course, when it comes to close-quarters fighting it is very useful to know how to throw a man and stab him to death (regardless of time period). Additionally, the ease of acquisition is something overlooked by many. I personally see no point in telling people nowadays to learn something by reading a manual in a language they don't understand and that is nearly impossible to get a copy of. I will post links to places you can get these manuals shortly. Presently I will go into the specific features of each manual that make them stand out to me from other Fechtbücher.

The Codex Wallerstein

• Aside from satisfying the above requirements, the Codex Wallerstein has a lot to offer the longsword fencer. It shows how to wind well, half-sword, strike safely from the bind, tricky ways of hitting people and taking their weapon, and how to wrestle with the sword. The main thing that stands out in my mind, however, is the vast amount of grappling material this manual contains. The Codex Wallerstein possesses over 95 plates involving grappling, with or without weapons. Fencing with the longsword requires a strong understanding of wrestling, due to the proximity of the fighting and the size of the weapons involved. If you cross swords with another fencer, be prepared to close the distance and engage in grappling to put him down on the ground with certainty.
  
  
  
• Bonus: besides offering a lot of great throws the Codex Wallerstein also discusses the fundamental principles of grappling (reach, speed, etc.) as well as when to apply a Mortstöss (Murder Strike), how to defend yourself against someone who offends you with his fists or his dirty mouth, and how to rob a peasant. All good things to know, I suppose.
  
  
  
• Downside: while this may be a very good manual all-around, it does have one big flaw for new fencers: it doesn't discuss wards or specific strikes. This manual assumes you know how to throw strikes and from what wards to throw them, though this doesn't strike me as being the fault of the composer. If you are new to the longsword, this probably shouldn't be your only manual on the Arte.

The Knightly Arts of Combat

• Did you buy a copy of the Codex Wallerstein and suddenly discover that it doesn't discuss the raw basics of striking with a longsword? Well fear not my knightly fighter, for there is the Knightly Arts of Combat! This is possibly the best manual for learning the longsword in the German tradition. It covers the main strikes, footwork, advice for fighting in a manly fashion, the wards in which you throw your strikes, what strikes defeat what wards, and other vital areas of combative greatness. These no-nonsense strikes hit hard, fast, and without mercy. When practiced faithfully, the teachings in this manual will allow you to trample, bludgeon, and hew apart everyone you cross weapons with.  
  
  
  
• Bonus: our Knightly Meister has some fantastic advice on wrestling that is very important for the longsword fencer. He discusses what the Mortstössen are and how to use them when wrestling, how to wrestle people without giving them chances to protect themselves, and even a section on how to stop someone from pinning you on the ground. These are not only good for the fencer but they are useful in modern times as well, so they are doubly of value to me.
  
  
  
• Downside: unfortunately this manual has been printed in two separate pieces, meaning you need two books for something that really only needs to be one book. The money is worth it but this is a big annoyance for someone on a budget.

Flos Duellatorum

• This one has it all! Strikes, wards, techniques, amusing commentary; what else could you need? This Italian manual is an all-around excellent resource for the longsword fencer. It boasts an impressive list of varied techniques for nearly all forms of combat presented in a streamlined, straight-forward manner. Fiore does a great job of telling you what to do and how to defend yourself from harm, and all of the techniques fit in nicely with the German tradition so you don't need to worry about any wild divergences. I don't think you will find another manual with the same number of sword-grapples and disarms, and they will certainly come in handy against people unfamiliar with this work.
  
  
  
• Bonus: apparently the person drawing this manuscript is a genius, since he devised something that I haven't seen in any other manuscript. On each of the plates the artist has put a golden crown or band around the person executing the technique, which dispels a lot of the confusion that arises from attempting to read these Fechtbücher without said illustration method.
  
  
  
• Downside: hard copies of this work are more difficult to acquire than the other two works I have discussed previously. Due to copyright issues you basically have to buy a translation of the text and then print out the manuscript's images from online sources, or use some other online transcription of the work...or you could drop a large deal of money and get the Getty's finely printed copy of the manuscript, which is vastly problematic and unnecessary. 

With these manuals and a group of fellows, you will be on the path of kicking ass medieval style (literally) in no time at all. Fight earnestly, fight with power, and remember that pain is an excellent teacher.

Robbing a peasant - gotta get that monies

Resources for these Fechtbücher:

Hard copy of the Codex Wallerstein

The book set of the Knightly Arts of Combat

Hard copy of Flos Duellatorum translation

Transcriptions and Translations of Flos Duellatorum

Tips for Unterhalten

Ground Fighting - Medieval Style

I love Unterhalten! If you are going to practice some form of grappling on the ground, it might as well be this. Unterhalten can be transcribed as "Hold Under" or as we would translate it in modern English, it refers to the methods of pinning someone down for whatever reason you choose in combat. If in friendly combat, then you pin to score points or to show your friends how much they suck. If in serious combat, then you pin them so you can stab them to death or hold them for eventual ransoming. I'll really only be the discussing the latter usages (murder primarily).

Unterhalten is very similar to wrestling on your feet, in that the more points of control you have the better your pin will be. A problem I use to have with Unterhalten was that my natural inclination was to simply jump on top of the person's stomach and try to stab my opponent that way, which seems like a good idea until you get into a strength-match with the person under you. Now I'm not saying this pin is bad (the so-called high mount or also the low mount) but it is certainly not the most effective. So I began to look into the manuals for more Unterhalten pins and eventually I worked out some interesting recurrences.

• The pinning person is just as often standing or crouching as he is entirely sitting or laying on top of the other person.
• Strangles\chokes do not appear at all to the best of my knowledge.
• The legs and knees are used for pinning just as much as the hands.
• Arm-locks and full nelsons (with variations) appear frequently.
• Side-control appears only when the pinning person already has the dagger drawn and\or when the pinning person is crouching.
• North-South position occurs but only with daggers and only when crouching.
  
  

These recurring themes struck as me as very interesting for a couple different reasons. First they illustrate a method of ground-fighting very different from what we see in Jiu-Jitsu or other Asian ground-fighting methods.  Second they are very reminiscent of the ways you see police officers cuff or pepper-spray people on the ground. Lastly they all seem to be very efficient, no-nonsense ways of making sure someone doesn't move while you attempt to draw your side-arm and finish them off on the deck. So I decided to work some of these   tricks into my training and I found some interesting results that I will share here.

1. Knees are very effective for controlling people's arms and body. At first I was worried about their arms slipping out from under my knees, but with body weight on top of the offending limb people generally won't free the limb in time. For example, securing the left arm with your right knee works very well as you secure the other arm with your free hand. Placing the knee on the person's neck, testicles, or solar plexus work very well as well. If the person is face down then you put your knee on the person's lower back as you grab his hair or fencing mask with your free hand and stab with the other hand. The knee is especially good for securing someone because you upright yourself as you push them down, which is very useful for buying you distance and time in order to grab your weapon.
   
   
2. The full nelson works really well on someone wearing headgear, which will most likely be the case if you are fencing with someone. You can do it the standard way, around the neck, but that is not the only way you can do it. If the person's mask falls off you can do the same full nelson grip on his nose and eyes or his chin, all of which can be pretty painful and can buy you a moment if you need to grab his knife from his belt. This is also a good way of buying yourself a second or two to grab your own knife with your right hand.
   
   
3. There are risks to consider when jumping on top of the other person instead of simply crouching down. One risk is that you can try to stab the person and he can wrench the knife from your hand. Another risk is that he can shove your knife into the ground as you try to stab him, which can buy him a second or two to grab his own knife. A more prevalent risk in today's MA world is that you can be arm-barred if you aren't careful. You can avoid these risks by going down on one knee to pin him instead of jumping on him. You can more easily secure the person's free hand so he cannot defend himself. You can create distance to avoid arm-bars and disarms. You can defeat a person's speed or skill by simply putting your other hand over his nose and eyes, or by putting your knee upon his neck or chest.
    
4. Choking a man is a good way to get him to tap out. Stabbing him to death with a dagger is a good way to make sure he never offends you again.

There you go, I hope this wets your appetite for fighting on the ground with daggers!

Quotes on Self-Defense from Percy Longhurst

                

Writing that last article wetted my appetite for blunt-object fighting and I decided to browse some of my various manuals for more stick fighting goodness. Sure enough, I found myself with my copy of Jiu-Jitsu and Other Methods of Self-Defence by Percy Longhurst. While this gem from 1906 is mainly concerned with Jiu-Jitsu, it does have good tips and tricks for people who don’t do JJ. Check this and other historical manuals out here here. While I did not find anything that was specifically related to the stick techniques used by Fiore, I did find some utterly fantastic quotes that I want to share.

A good knowledge of boxing, of wrestling, or of fencing is of inestimable use to a man in any chance encounter. It will invariably give him the advantage over a single opponent, even if the latter be much bigger and stronger than himself, and will even enable one successfully to contend against several; for, if one assailant be badly hurt, knocked senseless by a well-directed blow on the point of the jaw, or thrown hard on the pavement by a clever stroke, the moral effect on his companions is immense. This moral effect is a point which must not be overlooked : it is not always the actual damage inflicted which makes the greatest impression; it is the instilling into the minds of one’s opponents a disagreeable fear of what you may do to them which is to be reckoned on.

Not only this, but the consciousness of being able to take care of himself will give him an increased confidence and courage, a display of which will frequently carry a man unarmed through what might otherwise prove a serious matter. Courage invariably produces a demoralizing effect upon cowards, and many cases might be quoted wherein a defiant attitude and courageous demeanour have saved a man from great danger.

“The best defence is to attack,” and the man who hits first, hits hard, and keeps on hitting, will demoralise his assailants far more than he who simply defends himself, with no thought of retaliation. There are two ways of meeting an enemy, says Sir Francis Drake in “Westward Ho!” “One is to hit him first and say ‘You touch me and I’ll do that again’; the other is to wait until he hits you, and then say, ‘If you do that again I’ll hit you’”; and the man who is suddenly accosted in a threatening manner by one or more individuals will do well to bear this advice in mind.

And there you are. Even 100+ years ago, an Englishman knew that audacity was vital for any martial artist. If you don't have audacity, what the hell is your excuse?!

The Off-Hand Stick

I came across an interesting website while Googling information about Zambia this morning:

Zulu Stick Fighting: A Socio-Historical Overview

One thing that really stood out to me was the idea of using a long stick in the off-hand to ward off blows. It kept reminding me of something that I couldn't place my finger on until just now...Fiore! Fiore has two techniques that involve a stick in the off-hand and he pairs the stick with the dagger instead of a club.

Zulu Stick Fighting
 (http://www.warthog.co.za/dedt/tourism/culture/warriors/menu.htm)

Using a long stick or spear to block a strike while attacking with the dagger. (http://wiktenauer.com)

Warding with a club while attacking with a dagger, after having cast the other club. (http://wiktenauer.com)

There are two items of interest worth noting:

1. Compare the image of the Zulu fighters with the fighters in the first Fiore image. You'll observe that the Zulu blocking stick is used in conjunction with a small, buckler-like shield whereas the long stick from Fiore is done bare-handed. You'll also notice that the long stick is, in fact, lacking a spearhead. This could either be because it is just a stick or the artist got lazy about drawing the spearhead on it. Assuming the former is the true answer, this seems to imply that the long stick is an impromptu weapon rather than a weapon built specifically for warfare. This could be a walking stick or some random stick he was carrying around at the time, for example.
   
   
2.  The other interesting item is in the second Fiore image, which is the usage of a dagger instead of using both sticks simultaneously. I find this very interesting because of the implied mindset of the person throwing the club. If you have two large clubs in your hands, why not just bum rush the person attacking you with the spear with the two clubs? Why use a dagger instead of the club already in your hand? I believe this implies a preference for an edged weapon rather than a blunt one. This makes sense because even though blows from a blunt weapon can do a lot of damage to a human body, it is the blade that most quickly ends another person's life. Why take a risk by being merciful to your attacker?

So all things considering, knowing how to defend yourself with blunt weapons (sticks\clubs) in your off-hand does seem useful. I can see using the long stick in the off-hand would be very useful for people who fight with staffs and for people who have big walking sticks when they go hiking. While just out-right stabbing someone to death with your other hand is probably not the best action legally, it can at least save your life. In fact I think I will try this method of blocking the next time I do sparring with my staff.

Protecting your hands

After being approached by a friend who wants to learn stick fighting, I sat down and started to think about the most common problems for a beginner. A couple pints and some Ladytron later, I began to remember how much I used to get hit in the fingers and how often others got hit in the hands as well. The problem of protecting your hands is an issue for all fencers and it can plague people regardless of weapon. Of course, some weapons protect your hands better than others but no amount of protection can substitute skill. If hand-hitting is a well known foe to you, try some of these tips for protecting your hands.

1. Be aggressive. One of the most natural and prevalent problems in defense is the lack of aggression in its operators. For this post, let's go ahead and say that aggression is synonymous with violent intent. Violent intent is a vital, yet overlooked or even demonized by some martial artists. Why is violent intent important for your hands? There are two reasons. First if you are aggressive you will extend your arms while you strike. An extended strike is a safe strike. Extending your arms when striking is what puts the blade\stick of your enemy aside, it gives you reach, and it allows you to properly utilize your hilt. The second reason is simple: if you hit your enemy before he hits your hands, your hands will be safe. Don't wait for him to attack you! Remember, offense IS defense.
   
2. Be smooth and graceful in the bind. This is something that can only be learned through sparring. It is easy for you to exaggerate your motions if you only do drills or solo work, and you won't even realize it until you get your fingers cut in sparring. If you exaggerate your winding in the bind, you won't properly use the hilt. Be smooth and have the grace to only do the minimum required to use your hilt while winding. Move simply and you won't get nicked while winding!
   
3. Be rapid. Don't linger around in the approach distance and don't do unnecessary stalking. A fight with weapons shouldn't take very long; weapons are force multipliers for a reason. Size up the situation rapidly and gain the initiative! Don't muck about and give your foe additional time to make plans. This is especially important because lingering in the approach distance leads to chicken scratching from a "safe" distance, and as chicken scratching increases so does the likelihood of a random hand hit. Close the distance and take your foe down, don't dance!
   
4. Be aware of your hands. This is going to be an unpopular opinion in this age of padding, but here it goes. Don't train with gloves and spar with the absolute minimum of hand protection. BUT OH NOES HOW ELSE CAN YOU FIGHT IF YOU DONT HAVE STEEL MITTENS ON?!?! This isn't field hockey and gloves don't replace skill. You will never learn to be aware of your hands if you always wrap them up in protective gear. Train without gloves and you will learn to protect them; what hurts teaches.
   
5. Be aware of your weapon. Being aware of your weapon means that you utilize all parts of the weapon for offense and defense. Aside from using the hilt and the flat, you do have another part of the weapon to defend yourself with: the handle. Blocking with the handle is seen in fencing with the longsword and quarterstaff, and in stick fighting with krabi krabong sticks and Irish sticks (which you can see a bit of in the video below). 

If all else fails, train with the quarterstaff for a while. It will teach you to be aware of your hands, your grip, and blocking strong blows between your hands. Fighting with the quarterstaff will teach you how to keep your digits safe, even if only through perpetually aching hands.