Don’t assume that a fencing instructor can choreograph a sword fight. The techniques of competitive fencing are dangerous to actors and very damaging to the weapons. The fencing instructor will not have the broad knowledge of all of the weapons choices that are now available for stage, and worse will tend to choreograph according to his or her own skills and experience. That experience is in moving quickly enough so that your opponent can’t see the attack coming, which is competitive and not theatrical. For the same reason, most martial arts instructors make very poor stage combat instructors, even when choreographing martial arts scenes for theatre. Their focus is usually to make the moves look crisp, cool and fast, rather than in telling a story to the audience.
Fencers and martial artists learn to do things that are necessary for combat but dangerous for stage. For example, fighters learn not to look at an opponent’s eyes, but rather keep a softer focus on the opponent’s torso, the better to catch quick movements within the periphery. And they must never look at the punch or kick coming at them. In stage combat, both participants work together to create the fight and also to heighten the dramatic tension of the scene, so checking-in to your partner’s face is crucial. And to help the audience follow the fight, we have to throw our focus to the incoming threat and also telegraph our attacks.
Where martial arts can instruct theatre arts:
I’m not against fencing or martial arts. I have studied both and I know that some aspects are excellent training for stagework:
- body alignment – being able to move forward or backward and still maintain a pleasant balanced carriage that doesn’t constrict breathing or movement is something I wish every actor could develop.
- relaxing the body even in moments of stress – allowing the limbs to move efficiently and fluidly without any extra body tension.
- allowing the limbs to move independently of the torso – actors sometimes find in difficult to step back when the arm is attacking, or to step forward while blocking.
- most importantly, looking like a fighter.
Where martial arts and theatre arts diverge:
After having taught and performed stage combat for some thirty years, I went back to competitive karate, something which I enjoyed in my youth but neglected completely in the intervening years as I concentrated on building my career. During the first year back I found that my stage combat work had forced my body into making some interesting choices, much to the detriment of my martial arts skills. My body simply refused to do the following:
- pointing objects at someone’s face – I found that my punches were drifting off either to the left or right, or sometimes went flying above the person’s head altogether. My opponents barely had to attempt to block any of my head-level punches.
- closing distance – when moving into attack distance, my punches and kicks would land a couple of inches short of making contact.
- stepping and punching at one instant – I was telegraphing all of my aggressive moves, stepping in and landing my stance before generating the punch. My opponents simply stepped back long before my punches even began.
- combining hip movement with limb movement – even when I did land my punches or kicks, there was no power behind them, as my hips weren’t generating extra force by turning into the aggressive act.
What a shame for my karate skills, but how wonderful for stage combat! I was performing in a way so as to cause the least amount of damage possible when fighting someone. These are the very techniques that are too often lacking when a fencing instructor or martial artist choreograph a fight, and that is why you should be very leery of hiring them for stage. Even more importantly, never allow members of the Society of Creative Anachronism or similar Renaissance Faire aficionados to lead your fights. They have no qualifications to handle a sword on stage, let alone teach other actors to do so. Stage combat is not stunt work; it is pantomimed acting using a prop. [As a fight director, I usually don’t allow those actors who are SCA members to handle weapons. It’s unfair of me and very prejudicial, I know, but I really don’t care. In my experience they invariably end up hurting someone when they are involved in any way with the fights.]
So for all those reasons, stick with someone trained in the specific techniques of stage combat. If you can’t find such a person, you are better off using a dance choreographer than a fighter.