Fiore Liberi's Flower of Battle

The experience of last Thursday's class (Feb 10) was the core, heart, and soul of Fiore's transcendence into the modern age. So much more than a warm and heartfelt hello to new students, and a luke warm rerun through all of the Fiore elements to date, this class THE medieval schooling of the sword. The other Zugadore, that is snot-nosed recruits (but we try) weren't able to attend. Whatever their reasoning, I was not overly concerned.

One after another, they showed up: Charles, our Intrusttore, Noah, Senior Scholaro Swordsman, and owner of full knightly harness (sword, armor, the works), and Sean Delany, Senior Compagno of the SSG Boston. To put it in perspective, and not to sound like a girl gone back stage at American Idol, it would be like a night of crime fighting with Batman, Wolverine, Jesus, and Thor, Norse God of Thunder. That's right, justice and titties everywhere! Ha Za!







Yeah, just like that..or something...

The point is, I was studying under the direct tutelage of the masters (we frown upon that term at the SSG because no one can ever really be "master") of the school. There was no frilly nonsense this time. It was all business.

Charles and I had a little Q + A session:

"What poste would you take if I did this (standing in a Tuta Porte Di Ferro)?" he asked

"I would do...this??" said I rather sheepishly whilst throwing my sword awkwardly in front of my body. I had NO idea what stance to awkwardly launch myself into.

I knew it was a test and I blew it. But, I can't really be tested on things I havent learned yet. Right? Turns out, Fiore Liberi had a number of counter-poste for each of the 12 that would give one combatant the upper hand, or at least not sacrifice his position (and subsequently, his life). I was amazed to learn this at first, but then I remebered this was a sophisticated medieval martial art not some spur of the moment sorority pillow fight.

In the "Flower of Battle," Fiore's manuscript, there are excellent illustrations for rookies to follow and learn from. These planned actions, reactions, counters to the reactions, are the corner stones of Fiore's form.







Counterstrike: Mission Accomplished.

It was now time to discover the animal within. And before you get all weird with visions of "Spartacus: Gods of the Arena" - type shenannigans, Fiore developed what are known as the "Animal Virtues" to determine the strengths of each swordsman

• The Lynx - A master of strategy, your counters will be perfectly timed and perfectly calculated. Your tool is the compass.
• The Tiger - You are lightning fast. Your hands move as quickly as your thoughts and your sword clashes against armor, sword, and flesh in one long glorious note of battle. Your tool is the arrow.
• The Elephant - Your legs are unshakeable. Your form is perfect. You are the rock and armies break themselves on you like water. You are the immovable object and keep. Your tool is the tower.
• The Lion - You are a beast! You have the heart and courage to overcome any obstacle with great fervor and energy. You take the fight to your opponent with no regard for death, only victory. You could die at any moment, and in that moment, your life as a warrior would be complete. Your tool is the heart.

I was baffled. I was awe struck. I had heard of signs and symbols before of course, the Chinese zodiac, astrological signs, ect, but never in regard to the sword! What a rush!

The lion. No doubt about it. I was born under the Leo sign. All my life, I have always jumped head long into adversity (sometimes not really thinking it through).

"The Lion!" I piped. "I'm definitely the lion."

"Soon, with our help, you will come to be all four," said Charles with more solemnity than I expected.

Really? Was I a knight templar at that moment? Yes! Was I a samurai sitting with the 47 Ronin? Hellz yeah! Was I at Thermopylae at that one second in time? Aaaa ooo!!! That Miagi-magic was all mine that night. I never could have imagined such a Thursday in Watertown, MA.

A Fond Farewell

Last Thursday’s (Feb. 3) class was interesting because we shifted gears to an entirely new weapon. It was Jarkko’s, one of our senior member's, last night with us in the US until he went off to Switzerland forever where his knowledge of weapons and combat would be utterly wasted on the indigenous population. Coincidently, his weapon of choice is the poleaxe.



Described by Charles and Jarkko as “two swords at once” this gigantic two handed weapon was a splendid mash-up of ass kickery that used a crushing combination of hammer or axe head (sometimes both), sharp, pointed spike, and 6 feet of wooden staff. It was widely used in Europe during the 13th to 16th centuries to overcome the obstacle of heavy plate armor. Infantry needed something to crush the steel shell of mounted knights in heavy plate and not get their heads knocked in at the same time. Naturally, this was the way to go.



The sword didnt have the reach or the stopping power. The spear was meh, ok, but not scary enough to make a noble soak his codpiece. The Pattons of the day figured “What’s more badass than an axe, a hammer, and a spike mounted on top of 6, 8, 10 feet of hard wood?” This thing was the Swiss army knife of disgruntled medieval Europe.

Plus, Fiore was a big fan. So, we learned.

The experience was entertaining but nothing like the sword. The weapon itself was more cumbersome, unbalanced (I feel), and slower than the sword but more effective for shock-and-awe swings. More reminiscent of the standard issue for inept guards with no name tags, the poleaxe was used more as defensive, unlearned weapon, with little style, and looked pretty in formations. It was and is a blunt instrument meant to attack at a distance, unlike the finesse and acquired skill of a sword that's used to out maneuver your opponent. I’ll wager it gave the sword wielder a run for his money, but it's doubtful that it took ages to master.



After a lot of sneaky, hockey-style hooking moves, fake downward chops, delicious homemade cookies (for the bon voyage party), and running through the poste of the poleaxe, the night was drawing to a close. It was time to say our farewells to Jarkko with a warm handshake and a team photo.

Saying my goodbyes, I didn’t really to know what to think. I didn’t really know my Finnish friend (if he can be called that) too well, but first impressions and the four weeks he spent as one of my teachers told me he was a good guy and well on his way to being a master of the sword. I know that his absence robs us Zugadore (beginners) of vital Fiore teachings and interpretations, and that’s never a good thing. But, much as it tends to do, life continues, and others take the place where they must.

Hopefully, I will be among them...

Recapp

Thursday's class was a rehash of everything we have learned up to this point. I was very happy to see all of the familiar faces at the Schola Meeting (Charles, Jarkko, Matty, and Spencer) but we had some new people too. I'd like to think that the two new guys were there because of the blog, but with eight followers so far it's pretty hard to tell.

However they got there, Sean and Jeramie were the two newest additions to SSG Boston, and a welcome one at that. When you first enter the training grounds of the school, it can be pretty daunting. Charles is an excellent Instruttore, but he tends to move rather fast in his teachings; throwing all kinds of medieval Italian at you, dagger moves, poste, Elephant Plays, the works. If you can sit tight for the first few hours then you can learn the sword.



For myself, I liked the addition of the new guys because it gave me the opportunity to dive into the training with them one-on-one. At one point, Charles said to me and Matt that we should go over the basic stances and movements with them. This was my fourth week and I was getting to instruct two new Zugadore! The experience was excellent! If you can teach someone else, then you're an authority. You can practice, you can wrote memorize all you want, but unless you can teach, how do you really know you know? You know?

With Jarkko, a high-ranking Scholaro and knowledgeable teacher, leaving the country forever in a month, I can only imagine that, should I learn enough, I will be able to teach more and become an important element to practice. At least, I am hoping to fill that role.

At the end of the recapp, which was mostly dagger plays and some sword poste, we played a game. One person would try, at a walk, to get a prize at the other end of the room. The only problem with getting to this prize, were the three other people with (wooden) daggers waiting to "kill you." Oh, and did I mention these people were slow moving, bloodthirsty zombies? Getting to the prize meant disarming, through means of one of the Dagga Plays, 3 people at once, more than once, and learning a real word defensive skill.



Every new student of the sword should get to be a zombie at least once.

The Student

Last Thursday night was one of the most difficult lessons so far in the training.

Having not learned forms and fighting since I was in my 4th grade karate class, learning the movements, and medieval Italian names for these movements, proved to be almost as painful as watching the Patriots choke in the playoffs (which also happened recently.)

My Instruttore, Charles Deily, a Math teacher by trade, was patient enough when giving instruction to myself and to Matt, the other student-swordsman (and only other person there).

"Go over the 12 poste, the 3 volte, and 6 elephant plays (slow motion sword sparring). I'll be over here working with Jarkko on Italian master moves because I'm awesome like that (it's true)."

I tried to remember in my head all that I had learned in my extensive 3 weeks of training (that's 3 lessons as we meet once a week), and translate what I thought it looked like to my oh so coordinated frame.

It was...interesting. As I went through the different poste (positions or poses) with the sword, I looked to Matt for encouragement, and honestly, for answers.

Sometimes you just feel like if you stare at your partner/classmate long enough, when you have little to no idea what you are doing, the answer will just come to you. It helped a little but more often than not it was:

"Charles, we need the 3rd poste low, 2nd poste middle..." and so on...

We eventually got the gist of them.

Low:

• Tutta Porta di ferro (Full Iron Gate)






• Coda Longa (Long Tail)





• Dente di Zenghiaro (Boar's Tooth)





• Porta di Ferro Mezzana (Half Iron Gate)

Middle:

• Posta Breve (Short Stance)





• Posta Longa (Long Stance)





• Posta Bicorno (Two Horns)





• Posta Frontale (Front Guard)

High:

• Poste Di Donna (Lady's Pose)






• Finestre (Window with Wrists Crossed)





• Donna Soprana (High Lady's Guard)





• Posta di Donna Sinestra (High Left Lady's Guard)

Then we practiced the volte (turns). These are the ways in which to turn very quickly to fight multiple enemies with the long sword. These were known to me:

• Tuta Volte (full turn)



• Mezza Volte (half turn)



• Volte Stabile (swift power shift)

After that, we practiced the compass drills. These are a series of movements where you face all of the cardinal points (North, South, East, and West) using fancy sword-guy footwork. Then, in very Kevin Bacon fashion, you use more spinning foot movements to face the intermediate directions (Northwest, Southwest, Northeast, Southeast).

At this point, my head was so crammed with movements and poste that I didn't even notice when we lined up for Elephant plays....

Each practice is 2.5 hours long. In that time, you get to hold a sword (righteous) and cram as much medieval Italian formations into your brain as possible. It is exciting, it is difficult, and it is worth it.

Once you learn all 296 plays, movements, poste, ect, you will be a Maestro and a bad ass with a broom handle. I look forward to the challenge.

"F*ck Yeah!"

That was me last Thursday night.

I had just blocked a wooden great sword, a baseball bat on steroids, being swung at my head as fast as it could go. It struck the cross piece of my wooden practice sword and its momentum died quicker than Carrot Top at the Apollo.

We separated from combat and the very first thing out of my mouth was: F*UCK YEAH! I couldn't help it. It felt amazing. What a rush! I think I was born for this kind of combat.

I have joined the Schola St. George, the sword school from my previous post. Last week was my third week at the SSG Boston and so far it is amazing. Please rest assured, it is not LARP'ing.



Many of you have expressed some concern that I am running around dressed as an elf, or some such thing, throwing fake lightning at people. I am not. Good for them if that's what they're into, but not me.

I feel like there has been some disconnect between myself, my blog, and the people (though few) who read it on the regular. I want it to be more personal. I want people to come on the journey with me while I try to learn a sword art from the 14th century. That is why I have enrolled. I can research and write all I want, but without actually DOING it, I could never call myself "an authority."

So, I am putting my body on the line, cash into someone else's wallet, and my thoughts to the ether of the web, so you all can know and appreciate the effort, time, and dedication it takes to really apply yourself to something, learn a skill, and become a more evolved (and hopefully better) individual.

And because you were so good and read all the way to the end, I present:

CONAN THE MUSICAL!!

Schola St. George: Chivalry: Alive and Well

"Thwack"

The two combatants come together with a echoing report. Solid, sharp, it tells of the strength and purpose in each swing.

"Thwack!"

The swords hit home against head and torso, arm and shoulder. Neither opponent slows, but circles the other with precise steps. Recalling practiced movements, each searches for an opening, searches for that one strike that could give them the edge.

"THWACK!!"

Time!

The battle is ended. The two separate with a salute.

This trial of arms does not take place on the ancient sands of the arena, nor across the smooth stones of a temple's training grounds. The swords are not weapons of death. The arena is a gymnasium in the heart of Watertown, Massachusetts. The two-handed synthetic practice swords are capped with red rubber. This is the combat of the students of the Boston Chapter of the Schola St. George.

This Boston branch of the Schola St. George is school of medieval mixed martial arts and artists who use the teachings of the 14th Century Italian Grand Battle Master Fiore Liberi and his manuscript (the third oldest medieval fighting manuscript in existence) "The Flower of Battle," to train in the ways of the L'Arte di Armizare (Western fighting arts).

"Fiore's work really shows an entire system, from unarmed grappling up through mounted combat, complete with cross-references," said Charles Deily, Instructor at the SSG Boston. "As a teacher, I'm amazed by the pedagogy of his works, and shocked by the efficiency, though I shouldn't be. I've played with other systems (German, Japanese, modern fencing) but L'Arte d'Armizare really seems to speak to me."



In 2006, Deily sought out other members of the European martial arts community over the Internet. He came upon the home page of the Schola St. George and found their training style and their interpretation of Western Martial Arts to be the right fit. Convincing a few of his colleagues to “play with him,” SSG Boston was born.

Under the tutelage of Deily and others, the students of SSG Boston focus on a very specific curriculum from “The Flower of Battle:”

• Sword in Two Hands incorporating the movements of the Zogho Largo (long play with intricate sword movement and body turns) and the Zogho Stretto (Long play with integrated basic falling and locking skills, vital body mechanics, strikes, and guards)
• Fiore’s Daga (Dagger) techniques
  
• Azze (Poleaxe)
• Abrazare (Medieval Italian grappling)

Studying these arts students attain the skills they need to rise in the rankings of the school.

• Compagni (Beginner)
• Scolaro (Student)
• Magistro or Instruttore (Teacher or Master)

But like any martial art, the journey to Magistro (Master) take takes years of practice and perseverance. The tests are difficult and sometimes dangerous, as Deily has reported occasional wrenched arms and a hairline fractures, but what students get in return is not only a mastery of a deadly martial art but also the mastery of themselves.

“I've learned a lot about myself doing this,” said Deily. “It’s not just how bodies move and attack, but how lines of strength and lines of weakness relate, how to train calmly to deal with stress, how minor adjustments can make the difference between something failing and succeeding, and how to just be a better person.”

As students transform themselves into warriors through Western Martial Arts, they attribute their improvements to the essence of what is known as the chivalric code. In ancient days of the medieval knights of Europe, the chivalric code was a set of moral standards that a warrior would live by while he developed his dexterity in arms. Chivalry embodied the ability to steer dangerous people toward a social good through ideals such as courtesy, generosity, and valor. The SSG Boston encourages its students to develop their own code of combat through fair fighting, control of their weapons, and diligent study of not only the form and movements, but the language of Fiore as well.

But not everything at the SSG Boston is grueling martial training and tests, semi-hazardous swordplay, and knightly lessons. The members of the SSG Boston know how to have a great time both in and out of the gym. They spend nights out with one another, become friends, and form bonds that can often only fighters-in-training can know.

“Fiore uses the word "Compagno" (companion) for your training partner, which is literally someone you'd share bread with, and we try to think of our partners positively,” said Deily. “We do hang out together, often over dinner, or an evening resting and rehydrating our tired bones. I usually feel at home with people from other Schola groups as they are like-minded people, in less than five minutes. But having successfully tested with someone else just increases that bond.”

The SSG Boston invites everyone, men and women, to come be a part of the experience. Lessons cost $10.00 per session, $35.00 annual dues, with loaner equipment available for the first few lessons. Meetings are held every Thursday night from 7:00pm to 9:45pm at 57 Stanley Avenue, Watertown, MA, 02472 and at various times on Saturday mornings at Robbins Farm on 53 Eastern Avenue, Arlington MA.

Next time someone says chivalry is dead, tell them “No, it’s living in Watertown at the Schola St. George.”

Higgins Armory Museum: Ale and Mail

On September 25, 2010, a wonderful thing happened to me that I never could have imagined. No, it wasn't winning any lottery, nor some promotion at work, nor getting to jam out on stage with the boys from Aerosmith (yes, they are STILL touring). No, it was something more magnificent. The Higgins Armory Museum in Worcester, MA had their 10th Annual Festival of Ale!



As soon as I heard of this glorious event, I purchased a ticket. No friends asked to go, no checking on other plans, no thoughts of how much the tickets cost, just "thank you for your purchase." I was in. Alone, with someone else, I was in. Sweet.

So you all don't think I am some kind of lush or some LARP kid who has to talk up his killer alternate persona



I'm going to shed a little light on what the Higgins Armory means to me. When I was a sprout of about 5 years old, I picked up my first toy swords and went into my back yard to play. Oh what times I had. This naturally evolved into my obsession with action figures, when I learned you could exchange money for useless pieces of plastic, and had them ALL. My favorites were small toy metallic knights that could ONLY be purchased at rare times in very rare places. Higgins Armory was one of those spots (the other was the Keller House in NH).

So, as most good fathers will do, mine took me to Higgins bi-monthly to spend his hard earned cash on things I could potentially swallow and end my own life with.

Thanks pop!

My love for the sword, warriors, and all things martial grew exponentially every time and I knew Higgins would always be one of the most righteous places I could go to celebrate my nerd-dom without fear of reprisal. So yeah, I'm Old School.

When we arrived, my friend Brendan, a right and honorable gentleman with a taste for ale and adventure,

and myself, it was everything I had hoped. All 4 floors of this magnificent homage to steel were open to the public. The Great Hall was filled with beer (and weapon) connoisseurs and all the great breweries from Massachusetts and beyond were present.

Some of the All Stars included:







And many, many more.

Now, at this point in the story, I must give a word of advice. Whether it be purchasing swords, drinking at heavenly ale festivals, or anything that you enjoy, do it in moderation. This isn't the pulpit. This isn't my electronic soapbox. I'm saying that I have learned that moderation can be a great thing. No one gets too nuts. No one loses thousands. No one gets kicked out the Higgins Armory Ale Fest for trying to ride the fake horses or pull down the very real weapons on the walls or wear the real, and very expensive armor.



They make unforgettable memories:













Now, after all this, if you're still like, "Wow, these kids are huge dorks" (which is super cool of you for accepting people's diverse tastes), remember this thing was sold out, served beer all night, as much as we wanted, AND we were enjoying the event amongst fine people like our lady friend here.



What were you doing?

See you at Higgins in 2011!