Ronin Aquila
23-12-01, 10:09 AM
Before I begin, I shall clear up my definition.
My definition of Medieval Swordsmanship is the art of fighting with swords that are not of Eastern Origin (IE. Chinese, Japanese) and are of European Origins (IE. German, England, Scandanavian, ETC).
Noir is the first piece of onscreen media since Braveheart to respectfully present Medieval Swordsmanship as an actual Martial Art as opposed to crude, mindless hacking and slashing.
Now, films prior to Braveheart has done much to paint Medieval Swordsmanship as a crude and dirty sport in which brainless beefcakes swing heavy tire irons with edges on them without skill or grace. Conan the Barbarian and Red Sonja are two such regrettable examples.
Not so in its true form. As shown in the Paladin Press Book Medieval Swordsmanship (Available from any good Martial Arts Website), swordsmanship of the west is equally as rich as that of the east. The five basic stances utilised in the Claymore (Greatsword) are practically identical to that of Kenjutsu of Japan, as are the eight basic cuts and parries.
The battle of Stirling in Braveheart is a prime example of the Claymore's terrifying beauty in action. With the chilling grace of his rotating footwork, William wallace spun like a bladed whirlwind across the battlefield, negating every blow upon him with a perfectly devastating centrifugal countercut.
In spite of the monstrous weight of his weapon, Wallace's momentum lent such blinding speed that bade woe to the knave who was on the receiving end of its cascading impact.
Similarly, in Episode 24 of Noir , in which Kirika-Chan and Chole's long awaited duel with bastard swords took place, they fought like warriors as opposed to mere savages. Manuevering like tigers, they stalked, anticipated, and pounced as necessary.
Knowing full well that speed was not the advantage of her ponderous weapon, Kirika-Chan used it defensively as opposed to offensively as a shield, against Chloe's advantage of speed and natural size. Without expending unecessary force, Kirika-Chan efficiently deflected Chloe's onslaught of blows through subtle alterations of the weapon's angle, taking advantage of the security provided by its inherent bulk.
Most impressively of all is Kirika-Chan's winning manuever. In the final charge, she read Chole's tendency to deflect blows with the cutting edge of her weapon, and took advantage of that weakness. As their blades crossed for the final charge, Kirika-Chan rotated her weapon so that the flat suddenly met Chloe's edge. Having made Chloe lose the expected friction, Kirika-Chan then unsetles her balance through a slight lift of her weapon, throwing Chloe to the ground with her own momentum by a practical manipulation of leverage. Therefore, she was then able to sever Chloe's blade in two at her leisure.
Noir is an almost perfect example of Medieval Swordsmanship as a Martial Art. I did say almost : For any self respecting Martial Artist, Eastern or Western, would never parry a bladed attack with the edge of his weapon, lest it blunts the blade and hampers its future effectivness. Unfortunately, Noir has fallen into the Hollywood trap of depicting that foolish defensive manuever.
Now, a friend of mine once retorted that as opposed to true warriors, Noirs are killers who are more concerned over the efficiency and lethality of their attacks over the preservation of their tools of trade. However, as Chloe's preference of recoverable throwing knives show, even in the underworld weapons are hard to accquire, and it would therefore be in a weapon owner's interest to keep his weapon efficient for as long as possible.
Besides that minor flaw, Noir is one of the few wonderful pieces of onscreen media that really show the beauty of Western Martial Arts. And such compliment coming from an Asian Martial Artist should really validate this truth.
Till Next Time Take Care Of Yourselves And Each Other. :kawaii:
My definition of Medieval Swordsmanship is the art of fighting with swords that are not of Eastern Origin (IE. Chinese, Japanese) and are of European Origins (IE. German, England, Scandanavian, ETC).
Noir is the first piece of onscreen media since Braveheart to respectfully present Medieval Swordsmanship as an actual Martial Art as opposed to crude, mindless hacking and slashing.
Now, films prior to Braveheart has done much to paint Medieval Swordsmanship as a crude and dirty sport in which brainless beefcakes swing heavy tire irons with edges on them without skill or grace. Conan the Barbarian and Red Sonja are two such regrettable examples.
Not so in its true form. As shown in the Paladin Press Book Medieval Swordsmanship (Available from any good Martial Arts Website), swordsmanship of the west is equally as rich as that of the east. The five basic stances utilised in the Claymore (Greatsword) are practically identical to that of Kenjutsu of Japan, as are the eight basic cuts and parries.
The battle of Stirling in Braveheart is a prime example of the Claymore's terrifying beauty in action. With the chilling grace of his rotating footwork, William wallace spun like a bladed whirlwind across the battlefield, negating every blow upon him with a perfectly devastating centrifugal countercut.
In spite of the monstrous weight of his weapon, Wallace's momentum lent such blinding speed that bade woe to the knave who was on the receiving end of its cascading impact.
Similarly, in Episode 24 of Noir , in which Kirika-Chan and Chole's long awaited duel with bastard swords took place, they fought like warriors as opposed to mere savages. Manuevering like tigers, they stalked, anticipated, and pounced as necessary.
Knowing full well that speed was not the advantage of her ponderous weapon, Kirika-Chan used it defensively as opposed to offensively as a shield, against Chloe's advantage of speed and natural size. Without expending unecessary force, Kirika-Chan efficiently deflected Chloe's onslaught of blows through subtle alterations of the weapon's angle, taking advantage of the security provided by its inherent bulk.
Most impressively of all is Kirika-Chan's winning manuever. In the final charge, she read Chole's tendency to deflect blows with the cutting edge of her weapon, and took advantage of that weakness. As their blades crossed for the final charge, Kirika-Chan rotated her weapon so that the flat suddenly met Chloe's edge. Having made Chloe lose the expected friction, Kirika-Chan then unsetles her balance through a slight lift of her weapon, throwing Chloe to the ground with her own momentum by a practical manipulation of leverage. Therefore, she was then able to sever Chloe's blade in two at her leisure.
Noir is an almost perfect example of Medieval Swordsmanship as a Martial Art. I did say almost : For any self respecting Martial Artist, Eastern or Western, would never parry a bladed attack with the edge of his weapon, lest it blunts the blade and hampers its future effectivness. Unfortunately, Noir has fallen into the Hollywood trap of depicting that foolish defensive manuever.
Now, a friend of mine once retorted that as opposed to true warriors, Noirs are killers who are more concerned over the efficiency and lethality of their attacks over the preservation of their tools of trade. However, as Chloe's preference of recoverable throwing knives show, even in the underworld weapons are hard to accquire, and it would therefore be in a weapon owner's interest to keep his weapon efficient for as long as possible.
Besides that minor flaw, Noir is one of the few wonderful pieces of onscreen media that really show the beauty of Western Martial Arts. And such compliment coming from an Asian Martial Artist should really validate this truth.
Till Next Time Take Care Of Yourselves And Each Other. :kawaii: