SWORDDUELING.COM

Michele Yeoh: “Give back that ultimate weapon.”
Ziyi Zhang: “Come and take it.”

Some say the world will end in fire,
Some say in ice.
From what I’ve tasted of desire
I hold with those who favor fire.
But if it had to perish twice,
I think I know enough of hate
To say that for destruction ice
Is also great
And would suffice.

Looks kind of dubious, but on the other hand: HAITIAN MACHETE FENCING! Interesting discussion over in this Bullshido.net thread.

This martial art is Sikh! (that is a terrible pun).
Previous post – http://sworddueling.com/2009/11/02/gatka/

From the Gatka Foundation

Weapons – http://www.gatka.de/SHASTRA.htm
Techniques – http://www.gatka.de/VIDEA.htm

Interesting Gatka weapons:

The Charkram is a flat steel ring from five to twelve inches in diameter and from half an inch to an inch and a half wide, the outer edge is sharp. The thrower stands squarely faceing his objective, takes the chakra between the thumb and first finger of the right hand, holding it low down on his left side. He then turns his body so as to bring the right shoulder as far forward as possible and throws underhand with the full swing of his body. Thrown with sufficient force and accuracy it can cut off a green bamboo three-quarters of an inch in diameter at a distance of thirty yards.

The Katar, the armor piercing dagger which unlike most knives that are perpendicular to the hand, is parallel and projects from fist. These double bladed knives can be up to three feet long and enable a punching style of attack, which can penetrate armor more easily than standard knives. Some katars also provide superior hand protection through guards.

THE SWORD MEDITATION
By Gatka Baij Nanak Dev Singh Khalsa

The sword has been for centuries revered by man as a symbol of his power. It was not until the Sikh Guru Hargobind that a deeper understanding of this was revealed. He taught that the sword was a symbol of both temporal and spiritual power. Later Guru Gobind Singh defined this further by describing ” God fashioned the entire universe with his sword”. For this reason the sword is seen as the primal force of the universe.

The Akali Nihang Singhs worship the sword as a manifestation of God’s power. It is through the Sword Meditation that we are granted its blessings. And by which its immense power becomes the law which governs ours thought and actions.

The energy of the sword is called Shakti, it is a 2 1/2 cycle energy which is the regulating force on the physical plane. Mystery of the Sword Meditation is mastery of all aspects of physical reality.

At the moment of creation the Creator was in a profound state of meditation. Every particle of the universe was shaped by this meditation through the sword. By allowing the Sword Meditation the creator grants to his creatures the power of creation.

Every deed regardless of it significance or superficial value is an act of creation. Every action becomes a Kriya, ( a complete and balanced cycle ) every movement a Mudra ( a posture which expresses a particular energy), every though a meditation, creator and creation are united in action, this is Shakti Yoga.

Do your job with your mind as taut as an iron bow strung with wire. This is identical to Zen meditation.

Use your mind strongly even when you walk down the street, such that you wouldn’t even blink if someone unexpectedly thrust a lance at your nose. All warriors should employ such a state of mind all the time in everyday life.

There is a practice designed to enter the Way of Buddha by means of your profession. You should apply this idea, that a man born in a house of valor, polishing a sword and sporting a bow, should always apply attention strongly, as if he were marching right into an army of ten million men.

The strongest men and the greatest masters of martial arts are born that way, so no effort can attain that; but when it comes to exerting our whole heart and disregarding our lives, to whom should we be inferior? No one should think he’ll be beat, even by the greatest warriors. Why? Because if you back down to such a person, who will back down to you?

Thus you are always on duty, required to apply your full attention firmly. If you slack off, you’re no use.
Read more…

The purpose of fencing is to develop a man with enough self-control so as to make him able to direct his attack with accuracy and avid as much as possible the deadly end. – Jean-Louis Michel

In an age when there were no greater swordsmen on earth than the French, the greatest swordsman in France was an immigrant from Haiti.

When a 11 year old slight boy was offered a chance to resettle in France after Haiti’s 1795 insurrection, Jean-Louis took it and was enlisted in the 32d Regiment.

Sent to the local fencing school, sale d’armes, his devotion to the art (despite his youth and size) led to take his exam for maitre d’armes as the youngest candidate ever, in which he passed with honors.

One of his contemporaries described his style being such that he

omitted everything that was superfluous; the affected salutations, the counter-coups, the capricious pauses, all shocked him and appeared to him unworthy of such a serious art. One admires both his simple, natural, and well-becoming defense, and the development and rapidity of his attack, his sure judgment, his impassibility in the defensive, as also the regularity, even in the most unforeseen circumstances, of all his movements, which followed each other like the rings of a chain.

His most famous fencing feat came on the heels of drunken brawl of soldiers where the 1st Regiment battled the 32d, ending in arrests and injuries. To restore morale a council convened and decided that 15 fencing masters to a side would represent their units and fight duels.
Read more…