Category Archives: Weapons

French Sailors Practice Sabre Salute

Posted on November 14, 2015 by S

The Lumiere brothers captured vignettes of daily life between 1889 and 1900 on motion picture film. In this montage, French sailors are seen practicing a sabre salute on deck. The salute starts at  29:15. Our thanks goes out to Rodney … Continue reading →

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The Flamberge

Posted on July 16, 2015 by S

Related to the German flammenschwert (flame sword), the flamberge (flame blade) was a rapier variation named for its undulating blade. Found among the upper class in the 17th Century, the flamberge variant is also seen in the transitional rapier, the … Continue reading →

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The Urumi of Kalaripayattu

Posted on March 2, 2015 by S

And now for something completely different, and your cross-cultural moment of the day… Kalaripayattu is the martial art from Kerala, India — located on the extreme southwest edge of the subcontinent.  A weapon used in Kalaripayattu is the urumi.  The … Continue reading →

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The Cavé in French Swordsmanship

Posted on February 12, 2015 by Patrick

French fencing masters wrote about the cavé (pronounced cahv-ay) as a distinct fencing action. In French, caver means to cave in or collapse. The cavé thus described how a fencer would change or position his wrist or body to create a sharp angle—“caving in” from, … Continue reading →

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Angelo on Mounting and Choosing a Blade

Posted on February 8, 2015 by S

Domenico Angelo’s L’Ecole des Armes Several historic texts on small sword and classical fencing have withstood the test of time.  Few have resonated as well as Domenico Angelo’s L’Ecole des Armes, originally written in French and published in London in … Continue reading →

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