This page is still under construction, and lacks the necessary diagrams and images.
Until I can get them in, please look at this YouTube video. Starting at about 10:30, it fully describes the notation system I use.
This page assumes that you are already familiar with the basic choreographic notation used for a fight between two actors. The numbers still show the sequence of moves, a plus sign still indicates an attack, and a minus sign still indicates a defense. Everything is still described from the individual actor’s own point of view.
The only new problem is that one of our fighters now has two opponents.
For the moment, we will keep the arrangement as simple as possible: one hero against two villains, with each fighter carrying only one sword. The villains remain in reasonably stable positions in front of the hero, and only one attack and defense occur on each count.
The hero’s diagram
The original schematic can be divided vertically, and the two halves pulled apart. One paired set now gives the hero a view of both opponents.
[Illustration: The paired half-schematic for the central fighter.]
The vertical position of each number is read exactly as it was in the original diagram. The number still identifies the high line, low line, or head. Its horizontal position now carries some additional information.
All of the hero’s defensive numbers are written on the outside of the paired diagram. It does not matter which villain is making the attack. For memorization, the hero needs to know only where to place the sword. A minus number outside and to the left means to defend on the left; a minus number outside and to the right means to defend on the right.
Attacks can appear outside the pair or in the space between the two figures.
A plus number written outside and to the left represents an attack against the outside of the villain on the hero’s left—that villain’s right side. A plus number written outside and to the right represents an attack against the outside of the villain on the hero’s right—that villain’s left side.
When a plus number appears between the two figures, it represents an attack toward one of the inside lines. The hero’s diagram does not necessarily identify which villain will defend against it. For purposes of memorizing the hero’s weapon sequence, that information is not needed. The individual diagrams given to the villains will show which one receives the attack.
The villains’ diagrams
The two villains do not need the paired schematic. Each is memorizing a fight against only one person—the hero—so each receives the same original diagram used for any ordinary two-person sword fight.
All three actors share the same sequence numbers. On any given count, the hero and one villain will ordinarily have the matching attack and defense. The other villain will have no weapon action.
We could simply omit that number from the inactive villain’s diagram, but doing so would break the shared count and make the missing number look accidental. Instead, the number is written in parentheses and placed in the center of the diagram:
(3)
The parentheses indicate that the weapon is silent on that count. The actor neither attacks nor defends, but continues counting with the other fighters.
A silent weapon count does not mean that the actor freezes. The count may be used for a slow preparation toward the next attack, a prolonged withdrawal from the previous defense, a change of focus, or whatever continuing action keeps the actor visibly involved in the fight. The weapon is silent; the actor is not.
This is particularly important in a two-against-one fight. If each villain simply stands still while waiting for the next turn, the audience will immediately see the orderly structure beneath the supposed danger. Both villains must remain active even when only one of them is exchanging attacks and defenses with the hero.
Reading the three diagrams together
In this simplest version, every count will normally appear in all three diagrams:
- The attacker receives a plus number.
- The defender receives the matching minus number.
- The temporarily inactive villain receives the number in parentheses.
For example, on count one the villain on the left might attack while the hero defends and the villain on the right remains silent. On count two, the hero might attack one of the villains while the other has a silent count. On count three, the villain on the right might attack while the hero defends and the villain on the left remains silent.
[Illustration: The same short sequence shown on the hero’s paired diagram and the two villains’ ordinary diagrams.]
The three diagrams together provide a complete record of the phrase, but no actor needs to study all three. Each performer receives only the information needed to memorize that individual part of the fight.
[Worked two-against-one phrase to be added here.]