Singlestick Fencing Drill

Back in the 1980's, I went looking to see if anyone still practised Singlestick Fencing. I found an old man in the village of Willaston (near Nantwich, Cheshire) who taught me the drill in this video. He must have been in his 80's when he showed it to me and said that he used to teach it at the local scout hut. I thought this video might be of interest to anyone that wants to learn about Singlestick.
I've also put some information about Singlestick onto Pinterest:
www.pinterest....

[@elric111]

THANKS, VERY NICE--I LIKE THE LEG PULL BACK TO AVOID LOWER STRIKE --VERY MUCH LIKE ANGELO'S BROADSWORD

[@tarquinbiscuitbox4424]

I learnt the leg pull back from a lesson with Professor Bert Bracewell - a distinguished fencer who was the Scottish national coach. As you mentioned, the connection with Angelo is that he shows this technique in a book that he wrote on Highland Broad Sword in 1799: swordfight.uk/wp-content/uploads/2016/11/Infantry-Sword-Exercise-Angelo-1817.pdf The 'pull back' technique seems to have been taught more to fencers in Scotland, whereas the 'stick in the ground' technique seems to have been taught more to fencers in England.

[@matthewcoates756]

Glad to see someone else enjoys singlestick as much as I do! I have two questions though. #1 Did you make the wicker baskets? If not, where did you get them? The only modern-made examples I've seen are made of leather or plastic. I know wicker could be used but never seen any new ones made. #2 You use ash for the blade - what diameter?

[@tarquinbiscuitbox4424]

I bought the baskets off a fencing coach, but that was over 25 years ago! You'd probably have to take pictures of guards to a basket maker and ask them to create some for you. You'd have to make sure the reeds were quite thick,, or the baskets wouldn't last very long from all the hits. You might even be able to do some business selling them to people on the internet. The sticks are traditionally made from ash. Their thickness depends on whether you want to practise singlestick as a sport, or for combat. If you use thinner sticks, your moves will be faster. This will help you if you practise it as a sport. If you're training for combat, you may want your singlestick to be as close to the weight of a backsword/cutlass as possible. There are no set measurements, but you'll probably be looking for sticks that have a diameter of about 2.5 cm. I'd also say that the best sticks are probably the ones you feel comfortable with. Hope this helps, Jon.

[@matthewcoates756]

I have some polymer baskets made by Purpleheart Armoury in the USA. They seem to fit 22mm - or 7/8 of an inch - sticks.

[@tarquinbiscuitbox4424]

@@matthewcoates756 Excellent! Polymer might be the way to go as I imagine it last longer than the wicker baskets.

[@elric111]

nice, i see despite not mentioning it, you also use the leg withdraw to avoid the ankle hit---what was the time period that this was very popular in? good video

[@tarquinbiscuitbox4424]

I once had a lesson off Professor Bert Bracewell who used to teach Singlestick at the University of Edinburgh. He would simultaneously withdraw his front leg and strike to the head to avoid the ankle hit. His teacher, Colonel Hay, can be seen performing this technique here - i.pinimg.com/originals/fd/e7/cc/fde7cc2048ae8ba4d62b100c23b2b462.jpg I believe that singlestick fencing was popular from the time of the English Civil War, when lots of basket-hilted swords were being used, to the time when the light Italian fencing sabre was introduced in the early 20th century. Singlestick competition in the British armed services seemed to have finished around the mid 20th century. If you're interested, I've put the rules for Singlestick competition from the Gibraltar (Calpe) garrison here - i.pinimg.com/originals/fd/5c/f3/fd5cf3dabe39faaef02d91aff91262ed.jpg i.pinimg.com/originals/e1/41/7e/e1417eeadbf71f4d5f7c02e221e8ab50.jpg i.pinimg.com/originals/90/9a/b9/909ab9a543132cb237d557c62900b1b7.jpg i.pinimg.com/originals/94/29/ab/9429abec59545e1407e37e9560749538.jpg I think it's important to remember that the modern fencing sabre and epee were derived from dueling weapons, whereas the singlestick and foil were used for training in actual combat. Comparing this to oriental martial arts, it's like the difference between Kendo and Kenjitsu. Kendo is a sport, whereas Kenjitsu is for combat. In Kendo, you bounce the sword off your opponents head. In Kenjitsu, you cut through your opponents head because this is what you would do in combat. It's the same difference with the sabre and singlestick. In modern olympic sabre fencing, you are not allowed to cut below the waist because it's derived from the sport of duelling. With a Singlestick, you can cut where ever you want as this is what happens in real combat.

[@matthewpham9525]

@@tarquinbiscuitbox4424 One nitpick, the modern saber isn't exactly derived from a dueling weapon. Continental leg rules were indeed used to train for duels, but it was mainly for military usage. The exact reason for prohibiting leg hits is unknown, but it was likely for safety during training.

[@diphyllum8180]

Sikhs use singlestick in playing gatka

[@tarquinbiscuitbox4424]

The term 'Singlestick' also seems to be used in the Filipino martial art of Arnis/Eskrima. I just saw a video on Gatka - it looks like a great tradition.

[@elric111]

I USE THIS to teach my son single stick in my backyard--i am an instructor in filipino stick fighting [arnis, eskrima] and the way you teach in this lesson is short and to the point[no pun intended] it teaches you to learn and pass it on---single stick encourages cane defense for the streets as well

[@tarquinbiscuitbox4424]

I agree with you - it is an easy drill to learn and pass on. This is a huge advantage in times of conflict. Imagine having to teach a martial art to a group of soldiers in less than a day!

[@ruedigerrichter4022]

Seems to be very similar to German Schlägerfechten, still practiced by members of student fraternities.

[@tarquinbiscuitbox4424]

Yes. It does have some similarities... lots of hanging guards with basket-hilted swords. The big difference is that German Schlägerfechten is a sport i.e. you can't cut below the neck, whereas Singlestick was originally intended as training for combat as you can cut where ever you want.

[@Neidzwiedz1]

Verry well done video and demonstration. My daughter and I play Single Stick and it’s always good to find new prospectives.

[@tarquinbiscuitbox4424]

Thank you. That's my daughter in the video.

[@frankheninja1]

Why would you not just skip your front leg if they go for your ankle?

[@VanDiemenStageGladiators]

Thanks for uploading this and your other resources! Fascinating to see the sporting elements (corroborated by primary sources), viz. all the painfully bony bits. Can you recall if he ever mentions how points were scored, I presume only the head counts? What about the "strap" they used to use? And where's the Hanging Guard? Ha, so many questions!

[@tarquinbiscuitbox4424]

Most of the guards in the video are hanging guards - they seem to work well for protecting the whole body, especially the legs. I was also taught that points are scored by hitting any part of the body in single-stick. When you mention the strap, the hanging guard and scoring on only the head, I presume you are talking about the sport of Backswording as shown in this illustration - auntkatefirmin.wordpress.com/2018/02/25/timothy-the-blacksmith/ I've never practised this unusual style - it died out a long time ago. It must have been quite painful to have had your elbow smashed with a stick and would have been completely useless in combat - so I can see why it died out. Interestingly, it bears a resemblance to a type of duelling called 'Mensur' that is still practised in German universities. Here's a video about this style - kzbin.info/www/bejne/oobLZpiud6-LeLc Some people also refer to single-stick play as backswording as it was originally used to train people in the use of the backsword.

[@VanDiemenStageGladiators]

Thanks for the reply Jon. I think I see where the confusion regarding the hanging guards is! Yes I agree, most of the guards you showed are hanging guards, however what I had meant was The Hanging Guard (True Guardant in George Silver, and German Guard in some smallsword manuals) as shown by the likes of Masters such as Angelo, et al. swordfight.uk/resources/ en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Historical_fencing_in_Scotland Yes, when I mentioned the strap and only scoring when hit in the head I was thinking of the sport of Backswording or Cudgeling which was sometimes also called Singlestick. Interesting because it seems while initially the terms were interchangeable, later on they came to mean distinctly different things. At the same time some styles would mix various rules and systems. Interesting stuff. Thanks again.

[@tarquinbiscuitbox4424]

Thank you for the explanation. I got a bit confused when I found some Backswording videos on KZbin and they weren't using the strap & elbow guard. You've helped me to understand that these things are interchangeable. I also enjoyed looking at the excellent illustrations on the websites you mentioned.

[@AlexEnergyHealing]

Thank you so much for this wonderful fencing. I would really like to learn this school of Singlestick fencing if you would kindly teach it. I believe it is very important because you learned it from an older generation practitioner and not a manual or book . What would be the best way to contact you, if possible. ( you can contact me via my email on my channel AlexEnergyHealing, by the way I live in Europe) Thank you very much for your time. Hope to hear from you soon.

[@tarquinbiscuitbox4424]

Hi Alex. I am quite happy to teach you this style of fencing. It will be the same as what you see in the video, but you will need to travel to a place called Crewe in England. I work in Asia for most of the year and usually return to the UK to visit relatives every March or July. I also have some information on energy healing that you may be interested in. Hope you got the email that I just sent to you. Best regards, Jon.

[@AlexEnergyHealing]

@@tarquinbiscuitbox4424 thank you so much Jon. I will send you an email today. Thanks again for getting back to me. Much appreciated

[@msb1307]

Hi. Where did you get your single sticks from? Also were there other moves regarding attacks and parrys? It is very interesting. Do you know of any other resources to find out more? Kind regards

[@tarquinbiscuitbox4424]

I cut the sticks off ash trees that grow in the fields near my house. If you aren't able to cut your own sticks, you can get them off Ebay. Just type in 'ash shanks' and you'll see people selling them to be made into walking sticks. You can also order them from here - www.highlandhorn.com/natural-shanks/ash-86.html I got my baskets off Professor Bert Bracewell (the national fencing coach for Scotland), but that was over 25 years ago! I can't see anyone selling wicker-basket hilts on the internet, so you'd probably have to get them made by showing some pictures to a basket maker. Go into Google Images and type 'wicker basket singlestick' to get some good pictures. I wasn't taught any more attacks and parries from the one's you see on the video. I did however discover some extra techniques from old fencing books such as Broadsword and Singlestick by R. G. Allanson-Winn and C. Phillipps-Wolley. You can download a free copy of it from here - www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/31214 It's important to remember that while we practise this old sport for fun, it was originally intended as training for the battlefield. Back in the 1640's, the English Civil War broke out and large numbers of men had to be trained quickly. The army would have used single-sticks to train them in the use of the back-sword. The techniques that they were shown had to be easy to learn and effective in combat. They also needed to be able to use a sword after only a few lessons. It was therefore important to keep things simple. I'm glad that you found the video interesting.

[@msb1307]

Tarquin Biscuitbox many thanks.

[@cheapknight1293]

This is really interesting, I study single stick fighting with a friend based on British military saber, yet I haven't seen any guards for the ankles. Thank you for sharing. I suppose that shifting the leg is less common and you are supposed to block strikes to the ankle with the sticking the point in the floor?

[@etik6421]

Thank you. I'm glad you like the video. To answer your questions - There should be guards for the whole body as the whole body is the target in singlestick. You can withdraw (shift) the front leg when your opponent tries to hit your ankle, then strike them on the inside of the wrist or on the head. Here are some old photos that illustrate this - www.pinterest.co.uk/pin/312507661635977031/ This is a good technique that seems to work quite well. The only problem would be that your leg might get hit if you miscalculated the distance, or if your opponent was quite close to you, so sticking the point into the ground should protect you at any range. I'd say that it's less common to stick the point into the ground as I've never seen it in any fencing manuals or on the internet, though I would recommend practising both techniques as each has it's advantages. Hope this helps, Jon.

[@tarquinbiscuitbox4424]

Here are some more illustrations. The third picture shows the front leg being withdrawn and a cut delivered to the wrist - dirkdance.tripod.com/id1.html I've tried this technique and it works well.

[@AlexEnergyHealing]

@@etik6421 Hi Jon. Could you please let me know if you are available for teaching this singlestick art. I am highly interested and available to meet with you at your convenience to learn and practice this art. I can be contacted via my email on my channel AlexEnergyHealing. Thank you very much. Alex

[@tarquinbiscuitbox4424]

@@AlexEnergyHealing (Email sent)

[@tarquinbiscuitbox4424]

Imagine... it's 1645, the height of the English Civil War. A regiment has just been raised and they are needed for battle, so time is scarce. You've been told that you have only 1 day to train them in the use of the sword. It can be done! You just need to show them a simple and effective drill. I only needed one lesson in order to remember the one that is shown in the video and that's all you will probably need. I don't know how old the drill is, but believe that the British Army continued to use sword drills up till World War 1.

[@Odwolf2]

Took me about half an hour to grasp the basics of Hutton saber as a drill. In sparring, served me admirably.

[@matthewpham9525]

Incredible resource, thanks for sharing!

[@tarquinbiscuitbox4424]

Thank you 🙂

[@oldmanstillcan]

Very cool, thanks for sharing.

[@tarquinbiscuitbox4424]

Many thanks 😀