They say in theory, there's no difference between theory and practice. But in practice, there always is.

In a competitive environment, you probably won't see that obvious, single-intention attack like the treatise seems to show and you drilled so often. But if you're paying attention to what the drill is really teaching you, after all the false starts and feints aborted attacks are done and you find yourself in that crossing, you'll realize, "Hey, I know what to do here—it's just like the drill!"

On stage, knowing what drills are really teaching will allow you to know WHY a particular action is safe, and to keep it that way even though you bury all those safeties under the character emotions and all the distractions meant to hide the cooperation from the audience.

This week, let's discuss how a drill you do in class or a technique you're learning from a treatise will look very different in a bout against an opponent in a bout...and how it should look different than what you put on stage. Different, and yet still theoretically the same.

How is this possible? Stay with me. Out swords and to work withal!

Today on the show, I'm starting a series breaking down my preferred design aesthetic to give you a better sense of where I'm coming from artistically. Specifically, I'll be talking about my distaste for perceived cooperation between fighters, and how Sir Isaac Newton helped me learn to break out of that trap and to design better fights.

Interested? Then out swords and to work withal!

Today on the show, we're talking about things that theatre people wish HEMA practitioners knew about stage combat and things HEMA folks wish stage combatants understood about historical fighting. Notice I say "we" are talking about this, because I'm joined today by Allen Johnson, HEMA-ist, violence designer, stunt performer and produced screenwriter, who lends his unique perspective to the conversation.

We also talk about the time and place for the Hollywood style, how historical techniques may have to change to look right on camera, and more!

"Stage combat is bollocks! It doesn't look like real sword fighting at all!"

"Theatre doesn't have to show reality! We're telling stories!"

These two perspectives often clash when fencers or students of Historical European Martial Arts talk about theatrical fighting with stage combat people. But the "realism" mindset and the "drama" perspective don't have to be mutually exclusive. This episode explores the root causes of some of the friction and suggests ways both sides can compromise for everyone's benefit.

For more violence design discussion, tips, and tutorials, visit www.violencedesignlab.com

For a full transcript of this episode, go to www.patreon.com/violencedesignlab.com

It's no secret that my career focus has always been designing fights for theatre rather than teaching any kind of competitive sword play. But the act of telling fight stories isn't just for theatre artists: it has a broader application for martial artists as well.

In this episode, I call attention to the benefits of thinking of drills and even bouts in terms of story, and I outline the "5-S" process for getting the maximum training benefit from every action you fight.

Check out the episode to hear how to:

1 State the Story.

2 Specify the Signposts.

3 Stage the Scene.

4 Switch the Sides.

5 Subvert the Success.

I think you'll find that this kind of intensive, focused training will develop your opponent observation and reaction skills more quickly and in a less haphazard fashion than just bouting alone.

And a side benefit? You'll also be exercising your fight choreography muscles, and maybe you too can expand your horizons into the world of theatrical violence design!

For a full transcript, please visit my Patreon site at www.patreon.com/violencedesignlab and become a patron!

Fühlen (or sentiment de fer) is the ability to sense an opponent's intention using the various pressures transmitted through the weapons during blade contact. It's the feeling when the swords cross and you can tell if your opponent is hard or soft in the bind, which helps determine your response and next action. Fühlen is important in a real fight, which means it should be visually represented in well-designed staged fights, AND YET it's nigh impossible to express through choreography. So what do we do?

Listen to this episode to hear about the secret weapon you have in every fight that will allow you to show fühlen in action to an audience...

This is the final installment in a three-part series called Crafting a Compelling Fight. In this episode, I go in-depth about stage directions. Those little italicized instructions in a script are vital to the violence designer, but you have to understand where they come from, what information they provide, and where they are in the text in order to follow them intelligently or to deviate from them for artistic effect.

There have been times when I'm starting to plan the choreography for a fight that I draw a blank. Either no choreography is flowing or what I'm coming up with is boring and lifeless. Maybe you've had the same experience. Sometimes, this is a perspective problem: if you only see the characters as "two guys with swords who want to kill each other," you're going to have a hard time figuring out where to start or what the story of the fight is.

In this episode I give you four ways to Find the Difference-- four ways to figure out how your characters are different from each other and how to highlight that difference throughout the fight. Finding the Difference helps you understand the relationship between the characters better and it helps the audience be able to differentiate them in their minds.

Plus, listen to the end of the episode to hear how to get the handy reference sheet.

Kicking off a three-part series on Creating the Compelling Fight. In this first installment, I interview Stuart (StuMac) Macdonald and Marcus Byron of the Glen Lachlann Estate College of Arms in Melbourne, Australia. These guys were amazing, and the design philosophy they've developed is so helpful to create a fight that incorporates not only good technique and the story requirements of the play, but also the specific physicality and artistic choices that the actor brings to the equation, and even to imbuing the weapons with a character of their own! You won't want to miss this.

Kicking off a three-part series on Creating the Compelling Fight. In this first installment, I interview Stuart (StuMac) Macdonald and Marcus Byron of the Glen Lachlann Estate College of Arms in Melbourne, Australia. These guys were amazing, and the design philosophy they've developed is so helpful to create a fight that incorporates not only good technique and the story requirements of the play, but also the specific physicality and artistic choices that the actor brings to the equation, and even to imbuing the weapons with a character of their own! You won't want to miss this.