Style Guide: Kung-Fu
Kung-fu translates to "any study, learning, or practice that requires patience, energy, and time to complete" (Wikipedia), but in the West it tends to be an umbrella term for all Chinese Martial Arts. Writing a style guide for all of Kung-fu is a bit misleading as...
Style Guide: Judo
Judo is known for throws and take-downs. Through a mechanical lens, check out the aggressor uses incoming energy -- whether provided by the victim or whether caused by the aggressor -- to initiate the action; look at how the aggressor uses leverage, balance points and...
Advice on completing the workshop
It can't be repeated enough: this workshop is the beginning of something new. After you recover from this intensive, you can pick it right back up and continue, whether your purpose is to simply maintain your fitness, continue learning and become a leader in the...
Style: Wing Chun
Part of preparation for TMA is observing some of the various styles of Eastern Martial Arts. Today's clip is an excerpt from Ip Man, displaying a stunning example of Wing Chun. In particular note the moves from 1:50 to 1:55. You get a good look at Wing Chun's...
Unarmed Martial Arts For Actors
In less than a month I'll be teaching Theatrical Martial Arts* (TMA) at the Nordic Stage Fight Society's Summer workshop. The next couple of weeks will be featuring some suggestions for how to prepare for this kind of movement. One of the common difficulties in this...
working out at home with rags
Back to maintaining fitness. Here's a series of workouts you can do in a relatively small space, with no equipment other than some rags or washcloths! Have fun! ... and be mindful of your structure! You want quality over quantity. ...
Bring it! part 2: how to practice in class
Yesterday we talked about the importance of committing to your goals within the scene. Now, this doesn't mean that you make the choreography as fast as humanly possible with as much viciousness as you can manage. If all you're doing is trying for fast and vicious,...
Bring it!
One of our tasks as actors, arguably the prime task, is to commit. "What am I fighting for?" is a more passionate re-phrasing of "What's my intention?". The purpose of the re-wording is to remind the performer that it's not enough to know what you need. You must...
review: Line Learner (app)
There's several apps out there for helping you to learn your lines, but Line Learner is my favourite. It's $4.59 and incredibly good value. Even the free version, Line Learner Lite, is extremely useful and will give you a sense of how the paid app works. In the Record...
Beginning the #FightLife!
FDC's National Workshop begins tomorrow! How are you feeling on your way into the workshop? I hope you're brimming with excitement, and are ready to adapt to any and all curveballs. I know I'm excited and I totally wish I could be there with you! Remember to find the...
Approach to learning
Always come from a place of curiosity. Yes, we want to get every detail down correctly. But it's too tempting to be hard on ourselves, particularly in the intensity of a rehearsal or workshop situation. Too often we think, "I should be able to get this", and become...
the Kicktionary
Who's taking Theatrical Martial Arts (Eastern Martial Arts for Stage) this summer? You'll want to watch this video: The Kicktionary by Eric Jacobus https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Qylxk4pTcno Not that you'll be asked to do each and every one of these, but it's good...
100 no-equipment workouts
Oftentimes, our obstacles to working out regularly include the following: we don't know what to do we don't have access to a gym or classes we don't want to or are unable to purchase exercise equipment we think we don't have the space to work out at home. Here's a...
Preparation Time!
Hello friends and colleagues! The summer is well upon us, and with it, the stage combat workshop season. I hope you've been doing all your prep work: eating well, keeping your joints healthy, keeping an eye on your alignment, getting into fighting shape... (start here...
Soapbox: Retractible Knives
Inspired by a theatre company's request for retractible knife recommendation: In fight direction circles for stage, retractible knives are generally considered extremely dangerous and unnecessary. It's one of those things, like contact slaps, that most people don't...
Book Review: Mastering the Art of Arms, Volume 2: The Medieval Longsword
I knew I this book would be well-written, having read other work by Guy Windsor. However, I didn’t expect that I would be so inspired by it! First, the information is so well-presented. The text is easy to understand, and the photos are absolutely clear, sometimes...
Crossing Borders
We spent this weekend visiting our dear friend and mentor, Dwight McLemore and his lovely wife, Jeneene (she makes a delicious peanut soup, by the way!). During this trip, we remembered a few key things about driving across borders, so I thought it would be helpful to...
Stuff You Need: swords and more
Missing the fightlife? Committed to furthering your training in stage combat? You may want to invest in a sword so that you can do some solo work at home (if you get a companion to it, you might just interest someone nearby, too!). It's one way you can keep your...