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We're All in this Together
by Rod Fleming
In whatever area I search, in whatever subject I study, for whatever reason, there is this fascination with the sword that will not let me go. Whether I look at their methods of construction, their use, their development through time, their cultural significance… I could go on and on. There is nothing about this single weapon that I do not consider engrossing. What’s more, there seems to be a revival of interest in at least certain types of swordplay. I don’t know what’s causing it and I don’t know where it will end, but I do know that whenever we go out on public exhibition, we generally gather an audience and they pay attention.
This brings me to the next topic. There is a proliferation of organizations and special interest groups that are also studying the sword in one aspect or another. Some of these groups are quite serious and have done incredible amounts of research into their particular topic. Other groups are not quite so serious, but approach the idea of sword combat with a lusty sense of fun. With the advent of the Internet, we now have access to all of these groups and we can know, with great certainty, where their interests lie and how they feel about others with either dissimilar or similar interests.
This brings me to the third and central topic. It seems to me that no single group does anything but heap scorn on the rest of their fellow aficionados and I am at an utter loss to explain why. Literally every group adopts a superior attitude with respect to the other schools of thought and it is to the detriment of us all that this practice continues. This brings me to my intended position. We need to stop this sort of thing and stop it now. There is absolutely no reason for the continuance of this abrasive and deleterious situation and we could all benefit from an overhaul of our attitudes.
We have all felt these attitudes at one time or another. I once had an SCA person tell me that “Strip fencers are dancing masters.” This was done with a sneer and an attitude that I was quite willing to take on at that moment. Fortunately I was with a cooler companion and was escorted away. I have heard similar snide comments from the strip whenever any SCA people come over to practice with Olympic style groups. “They can’t really fence”. “They need to stop the role-playing nonsense and get a life!” “Those people are so clueless about the weapon!” This goes on and on and eventually, the SCA contingent gets the impression that they aren’t wanted around “serious” fencers and they leave.
I have seen the same kind of attitude in the historical combat groups that are starting to spring up. I went to a seminar and overheard things like “Olympic fencers don’t handle REAL swords.” The historical combat folks sneer at right of way rules and legal target areas. Those of us who fence Olympic style eventually get the hint that we aren’t “real” swordsmen and we leave.
The point of all of this is that it is absolutely senseless to continue with these attitudes. The fact is that we all need each other and if we don’t start getting our houses in order, we’re going to miss some big opportunities. We should be cooperating with one another. We should be collaborating on things. We should recognize that mutual support and respect for one another will make us much stronger and able to do things we would never have dreamed of.
Now, lest you say that I’m exaggerating or being excessively strident, I would like to remind all Olympic fencers that the IOC is about two games away from eliminating fencing as an event. That disastrous idea has been floated a couple of times and while it hasn’t caught on, it won’t be long before the TV sensitive Olympic games will drop us in favor of something more telegenic, regardless of our long and noble history at the Games. I know it’s a stupid idea but the Olympic Games are a business regardless of the protests of the IOC. They aren’t about to invest capital in a sport that they see as an Edsel.
The USFA isn’t helping here, either. It’s probably not their fault. They have had a mind set for years that they should support and train the best athletes they can find and send them to the Olympic Games, hoping that they can bring back medals and thereby increase the popularity of the sport. The problem is that this approach hasn’t worked in the past and it won’t work in the future because there is a fundamental flaw in their model. They don’t train the best athletes they can find. They train the best athletes they can get. Athletes, especially the best, are going to go to where there is the best opportunity for advancement. There are obscene amounts of money available in pro football or basketball and there is far more public recognition in sports like Track and Field, Boxing, Swimming, or Skiing. I have the very strong suspicion that if you handed the American Olympic basketball team epees, they would wax everyone else who fenced them.
Fencing needs to be overhauled at the grass roots and the USFA isn’t the organization to do it because they don’t have the funding support and, more importantly, they just aren’t capable of looking long-term at the problem. The primary reason that the Europeans whip us is that their kids get introduced to fencing at an early age and the introduction is broad based in terms of the population. The reason more kids don’t take up fencing is not because they don’t have an interest, they just don’t know where to go to get training and the public schools don’t know near enough to even think about offering it.
What could groups like the SCA do about this sort of thing? Well, generating public awareness for one. In case anyone hasn’t noticed, there are a lot more SCA members and hangers on than there are Olympic fencers. Add to that, the SCA has a lot more contact with the public at places like Renaissance Festivals and the like. When it comes to swordplay, their basic techniques are exactly the same as ours or at least should be. They could urge the public to a better understanding of our sport and how it meshes with their own forms of fun. They could but they probably won’t because they don’t see anything in it for them. We certainly haven’t helped ourselves in that regard.
The historical combat groups are a new wrinkle in this mix. While currently small, they are certain to grow. As soon as Mom finds out just how good the exercise of swinging a broadsword really is, I predict that they will start popping up in aerobics classes. As strip fencers, we generally don’t handle heavy weapons so the historical groups will access the public in that way. Besides, the historical combat organizations do us a great service by illuminating the past. As long as they do good, hard, honest research and stay away from outlandish theories, these groups deserve support and recognition. If they do good science, I for one will accord them the highest respect. They have already done us one enormous favor. They have put an end to the idea that Europe never developed the sword as a martial art. While that fact was out there all along, as witnessed by the exquisite blades and complex texts found in museums across Europe, no one could come out and say that Europe produced a martial arts form the equal of anything from the East with any certainty. That has changed and it is all to the good.
I for one believe that there is room for all of us at the table. I believe that we should somehow begin an outreach program to make what we do much more inclusive. We need to find out how to help each other in tangible ways. Being an incurable optimist, I’m sure a synergy of good ideas will pour out of these efforts. While it’s doubtful that rapier and dagger will ever become an Olympic event (and there isn’t a single one of us who doesn’t relish that particular little fantasy) there is the possibility that we might garner more interest in the sport across the country. At the very least, we will all learn, and that, boys and girls, was why we took up this sport to begin with.
I present the challenge to all groups. Let us meet together. Let us leave behind our prejudices and act in a mature and tolerant fashion. We all have something to offer the others and we all stand to gain from other experiences and ways of thinking. Let us at least beat some of the swords into plowshares and see what benefits can accrue from alliance and cooperation. A ready ear and an open mind cost little.
What say you?
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