Bruce Lee’s Fencing Mistake
Bruce Lee’s Fencing Mistake and boy is it Huge
I think it is high time to discuss fencing and the analysis of fencing. Let’s go ahead and pay tribute to the fact that Bruce Lee brought many martial artists to look at fencing (the sport) as a means to change the mind set in unarmed fighting. That is all well in good, isn’t/wasn’t it?
Actually no.
First Bruce looked in the wrong place. He looked at the sport instead of the combat. This was a serious flaw–didn’t he want a scientific street fighting system? Then why in the hell would you look to a sport? To compound the error of looking at a sport, he looked at a contrived weapon. The foil is not a real weapon–it’s an absurdly light training device that has as much isomorphic trade off to real swords as do toothpicks to fighting sticks.
The foil because of its light construction can be used in ways that real swords cannot. The limitations of the Sport (only linear movements with “right of way” observed for scoring attacks and the over use of the lunge [no one did this in duels]) all set Bruce up to pattern himself after a complete non sequitur. That is to say, the footwork for Sport linear movement is not close to the actual footwork for dueling which is apt to be angular, circular and linear.
Let’s move forward. Foil fencing has been analyzed fairly heavily–almost like Modern Chess. The changes in equipment (the electric scoring system, grips, foil blades, etc.) have all made advances in how attacks are done. Now, these advances are very specific to the sport. And it means using these non realistic weapons in non realistic movements. There are no circular movements–you cannot slash block or slash attack, the entire body is not a target. And the methods are ONLY applicable with a foil in this very limited setting. So, if you want to go to the Olympics in foil then don’t read what I write–however, if you want to know about combat fighting pay close attention.
The more specific you make a tool or a movement the less application it has in the macro world. Did that lose you? I will make it simple: if you have a socket wrench and have metric bolts to take off then using a metric socket wrench is the best tool. Actually, it is pretty much the ultimate for that situation–now, however, what if you have to use it not only for Metric but for English bolts that aren’t metric? Well, it won’t work. You can try it–but you will end up stripping the threads and heads. You need a more universal tool–one that will work in more settings. So what will work besides another specialized socket for English bolts? A set of pliers. In fact, pliers will work for a variety of tasks–they have a lot more application ability than metric socket wrenches but they are not as good as a metric socket wrench in that one situation. However, just because they are not the best for metric don’t forget that they can be used for metric bolts. And because they have almost universal application they are the superior tool.
So Bruce took a metric socket wrench and tried to use it in situations where you find more than Metric bolts. That is he tried to use it for English bolts, wing nuts, etc. The reality is that if it is specialized for only one situation, then it can’t handle other diverse situations. It’s easy to empirically prove that you cannot survive using a metric socket wrench to solve problems involving bolts of different types. You need to use a more universal tool for all of these diverse situations. Basically, it is rather easy to empirically prove that you can solve problems involving Metric, English and odd bolts and nuts with pliers. So to put that back into the combat analogy: you better damn well have what amounts to pliers to solve diverse combat situations.
To say it again, Bruce did not look at dueling and it was a huge mistake. Dueling was the real secret. The blades used were real. The goal real. The outcome not a game but life and death. To this end, the dueling movements were constrained to high percentage moves and not risky moves that were literally “Do or Die” moves (that are only found in Sports where you won’t die). Furthermore, the weight of the blade changed everything about how you used it in offense and defense. The length of the blade changed everything from footwork to arm work and hand position. This wasn’t a set of metric socket wrenches that could be used in a World where you had more than metric socket wrenches. The reality that Spanish and others dueled with cut and thrust swords nearly 4 feet long and considerably heavier than a sport foil along with a 2 foot (19cms) dagger in the left hand made the duel nothing like foil sport.
Dueling is an incredibly complex pursuit. In fact, it is the the most complex coordination and agility event I have ever been engaged in. Two weapons of different lengths working in horizontal, vertical and oblique planes through a 360 degree (or nearly) manner with geometry that would confuse Euclid. That is the reason the Spanish considered it both an art and a science. To master the blade took both art and science–one without the other wouldn’t “cut it,” as it were.
There is much to say about this interface and juxtaposition of dueling to combat science and combat mindset; however, this article is not meant as an exhaustive study of dueling–it is merely a wake up call to those that blindly think Bruce Lee was always onto the best sources. He was not. For example, he also missed the boat, as it were, on another fighting system that would have rocketed him forward many years in his approach. (That is another topic for a different article, though.)
I leave you with one look at the analysis of Foil–please keep in mind that you are looking at a set of Metric Socket Wrenches made only for Metric Bolts. It is good to understand it on the theoretical level–but it is only the empirical level that makes it useful. And that is one aspect that Clugston Combat Systems has always done–gone from the theoretical to the empirical. Furthermore, the Tiger Clan lives and breathes by this fact. So put away your metric socket wrench and pick up your pliers==because you’re going to be in more than a linear, contrived sport setting in real combat.