European sword arts?

[someguy]

Two things
1)OK i know there is still fencing but what other types of european sword arts still remain?
2)Why did eastern arts survive better than western ones?

 

[pknox]

As for the 1st question, there are some remaining groups that train in longsword, shortsword, and other "western" bladed weapons. Check this forum for more info, and also do a Google search on "SPATHA" and "ARMA." This forum should also have info on both of those groups:

http://forums.swordforum.com


As for the second one, there is no simple answer there. Perhaps due to the reverence of the sword in eastern culture, and also its use as a marker of social status, one could say that easterners were reluctant to move away from the blade. As an example, when firearms were first introduced, the Japanese did not readily accept them, quite possibly because they felt a mass-produced weapon was soulless, and antithetical to their martial culture (they did get over this rather quickly, however, after seeing how effective the weapons were, and after the Meiji Restoration, the cultural component became less of an issue). It appears western arts did not have the aversion to a change in weapons, and instead focused on the weapon as a functional tool, as opposed to an extension of the psyche. Add to this eastern tendencies to extensively document everything, and you have a great deal of material devoted to eastern ryu...as westerners did not seem to have this inclination, not as much material exists in regards to western schools(note that there are some documents, however, like the Codex Wallerstein, that survive to this day - it's the sheer volume of material that does not compare).

 

[pete]

i did not know fencing was extinct... last time i checked it was an Olympic sport. On what basis is eastern sword arts thriving?

btw, I am personally learning Tai Chi sword form and also have a daughter who fences foil... i see more people in her club and classes than i do in mine.

 

[arnisador]

Budo Intl. magazine often has some material on European sword arts.

 

[someguy]

i did not know fencing was extinct... last time i checked it was an Olympic sport. On what basis is eastern sword arts thriving?

I was meaning excluding fencing.
Whille eastern sword arts are not thhriving by any means they are doing somewhat better than western ones with the exeption on fencing. I say this as many martial arts still have sword forms. There is also kendo out there. Hopefull I have clarified my self somewhat better.
thankkks for the help though

 

[Blindside]

Actually I think it is fair to say that various European martial arts are undergoing a widespread revival. As general categories there is longsword work, which based off of the currently translated treatises may be split into a couple of nationalities.
These treatises cover alot more than just swords, wrestling, dagger, are all part of these systems of martial arts.

Besides longsword are people working on the sword and buckler forms from I.33 and some other sources.

Most of the treatises have not been translated, so just how much material is out there is unknown. What I like about the European manuals is that they are very explicit and generally good illustrations. Of course these motions are open to interpretation, but I think it is alot easier to understand these, than some rather cryptic explanations found in many eastern texts.

Take a look at the previously mentioned ARMA site, it is the largest of the Western martial arts associations out there, and a good intro to the topic.

Lamont