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VIDEO TRANSCRIPTION – Movie sword training course tip four What are some good cinematic movie sword training drills and exercises, sword attacks and counter attacks with a two-handed long sword. That’s what we’ll answer in today’s video. Hi, my name is Dillon Wilson with CBT stunt Alliance. Train hard, perform easy. We help actors, stunt performers and filmmakers run professional stunt training for use in film tv and live action entertainment. Before we get underway, if you like to add two-handed long-story movie sword fighting training to your current acting or stunt performer skill set, check out our highly popular master course at www.MovieSwordFighting.com or click on the link below this video. You can learn sword attacks, sword counter attacks, cinematic sword draws, a sword choreography, you know sort reactions, how to market your career more. Go to www.MovieSwordFighting.com for more information. You can sign up now and start training now.
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Now before we get underway, if you’re interested in adding two-handed long sword training to your acting or self-performance skill set, check out our highly popular online master course at www.MovieSwordFighting.com. You can learn sword attacking angles, sword counter attacks, sword stunt reactions, even cinematic sword draws, how to market your career and more. Go to www.MovieSwordFighting.com for more information or click on the link below this video.
Okay so we got a lot of questions about movie sword fighting techniques and tips so we’re going to share a few things with you. Now I’m actually an experienced stunt coordinator turned full-time director. This is something I planned from the beginning of my career up to including attending and graduating film school. As a director, along my journey, I learned that being a stunt coordinator made me a better director and being a director made me a better stunt coordinator. Now, how this benefits you is that I can share with you insights and experience from both sides of the camera as well as through all phases of production. When we thought about what would benefit you the most, we decided to do a six part free video series that will teach you some of the basics. So you learn enough about uh movie sword fighting to put together choreography for your real, for upcoming auditions and even your own content for actual performances and highly competitive auditions. You need more training like what we provide in our movie sword fighting master course.
Now why does this work because for self tapes many sword performances and auditions you just have to look like you know how to use a sword. I mean if you’re not the lead or a featured fighter, you’re going to get to throw anywhere from zero to two strikes and you’re gonna get killed anyway. Watch the following clip from the movie Kill Bill. movie sword training drills and exercises, sword fight training movie, Sword attacks and strikes, sword defenses and offense, Dillon Wilson, CBT Stunt Alliance, Movie Sword Master, Movie Sword Expert.
Now, how many attacks did each performer get to throw in that action sequence. Exactly. So in this video, we’re going to cover cinematic sword attacks first and then second we’re going to cover a sword counter attack. So we’re going to share with you seven attacking angles and then some of the most common counter-attack sword strikes used in film and tv. Now, the foundation sword fighting style we use comes from CBT. That’s a foundation system, it’s a system that is very combative and it incorporates empty hand, both striking, trapping and grappling as well becoming experts with all known weapon types. So for us, the culture that manufactures or produces the weapon is irrelevant, it’s the actual design of the weapon itself which is why we can pick up any weapon and know how to use it. So we’re going to show you seven of the uh attacking angles and CBT, they’re actually 15. We cover all 15 attacking angles in our long sword master course. Yet in this video, we’re going to share with you seven and seven is fine to get a start and get a feel for what to do and just so you know, many styles only have seven angles as many European martial arts for storage styles as has seven angles and even for Japanese styles they use seven angles as well CBT just happen to have 15.
Movie Sword Training Drills And Exercises: 7 Attacking/Offensive Angles
Alright, so we’re going to go ahead and get started showing these seven. And one of the things that we like to do if you wish to follow along, get your your prop movie prop training sword. If you don’t have one, you can watch the first video in the series where we show you uh training crop options for movie prop stores, one thing we like starting, all of our people out with is with a piece of PVC pipe for like three or four bucks. You get an eight foot length, you cut it down to about 36 inches to 42 inches and you got a good, a good movie prop training sword. The cool thing is that you can always see it your eyes, don’t lose it when you’re moving, unlike the other ones. Also it’s much safer to practice with by yourself and also with a partner. So go ahead and secure your movie prop training sort now and we’re going to learn the uh seven attacking angles. movie sword training drills and exercises, sword fight training movie, Sword attacks and strikes, sword defenses and offense, Dillon Wilson, CBT Stunt Alliance, Movie Sword Master, Movie Sword Expert
Now the angles of attack are when we initially train, we assign targets to the angle, yet it isn’t so much ultimately. That that’s the target that we attack is just the angle of attack and you can observe it as I do it. So again, if you’re not familiar with the stances and the guards, watch our previous video. We covered it, so we’re going to start now from guard number one and we’re going to be in front stance again weight 95 and 5. So how we’re going to do this is when we launch the strike, we’re going to push, it’s like we had something in front of us and we’re pushing into it right. So that rear foot is going to propel us forward, you know, into the strike and when we finish 95 percent of weight is going to be in the front leg and the the rear foot will have percent and the heel will be up, this heel is up.
Now this heel is up, that’s how we actually deliver the the strike, so the angle one, strike is a 45 degree angle coming down and it’s delivered to your opponent, flashing across, so we’ll say from the left subclavian artery or clavicle, it cuts through that way, right and so that’s what I’m going to do now. So I’ll do the different angle one, do that from the side angle one and each one is designed to flow. So I’m going to flow slowly and you can follow along, so angle one, when you take the initial step, just stay out there, don’t keep stepping. So angle one’s here, angle two is the reverse of that here, right angle one, angle two, angle two finishes about where angle one started. Now angle three, angle three, cuts up forty five degrees this way and angle four is reversed cutting back down in the same direction, right. So how those targets play out? Angle one slashes this way, angle two flashes this way, angle three slashes upwards on a forty five degree angle this way and angle four comes back down that way. So if you look at it, one, two, three, four, one, two, three, four and it forms a figure eight. So again, with two hands on it, one, two, three, four and at four we finish down here. Because angles five six and seven are all thrust. I’m gonna do one through four from this angle so you can see it, one, two, three, four.
Now, from angle four, we’re going to do the first thrust. So remember, are we we’re staying out there already, we’re already stepped a thrust, is the angle five, rather is right to the heart, so four finishes here, five is here, right and the target is going right to the heart. Now six and seven, you gotta pay attention to this because these are angles that come in are very tricky that a lot of people aren’t are find challenging to counter attack, more people are more accustomed to counter-attacking the angle ninety five straight thrust, so from angle five, we do an angle six. If you notice, the arm is not, is that degrees and the sword has crossed my center line, the center line is this imaginary line or root that uh your body rotates on.
That axis that rotates on so the five is on the center line, the six, you see cross at the center line, it’s actually on the sideline, these are your, side lines is your center line, so the sixth is here to the center line and it attacks the right pupil, the right eye, boom. And then finally, angle seven comes in, you see, on the other side line, so five is on the center line, six is on this side line, seven’s on that sideline, five, six, ninety degrees, seven also ninety degrees and the seven comes into the larynx, right. So we’ll do all those again, I’ll do a facing camera and then facing to the side and we’re gonna say it out loud, seven attacking angles, one, two, three, four, five, six, seven and then we’re gonna recover right, we recover by pushing off with the lead foot back out of range. Again, these are the basics, just so you you have the basics to work in. So I’m gonna do it from the side so you can see how it looks, one, two, three, four, five, six, seven and I returned to guard number one. movie sword training drills and exercises, sword fight training movie, Sword attacks and strikes, sword defenses and offense, Dillon Wilson, CBT Stunt Alliance, Movie Sword Master, Movie Sword Expert.
Movie Sword Training Drills And Exercises: Train On BOTH Sides. Be Ambidextrous.
So those are the attacking angles. What we do is we always train on both sides, you’re trying to be ambidextrous, especially if you’re an actor which you learn some stunts or stunt performer starting out or wish to grow your career, uh you want to train ambidextrously, especially if you do any stunt doubling, because the actor that you stunt double may be left-handed. Also, sometimes, the subject doesn’t work from, from a camera from the DP’s perspective and it may need to do on the other side. Stuff happens, so just be ready for it. So I’m going to do this, now the same thing with a different weapon, it doesn’t matter, you know, for us the culture that produces it, it’s the design of the weapon itself. So I’m going to do the attacking angles now with a katana and you’re going to see that nothing changes and this isn’t.
The other one, I use the black one, was a double edged sword, this is a single edge sword right, so we do the same thing. We’re going to start in guard one, right in front stance, move back a little bit and I’ll go slowly, I’ll do it this way first and I’ll do it towards, maybe a three-quarter view, towards camera. One, two, three, four, five, six, seven. Then recover. I’ll do a three quarter view and you see nothing changes. I’ll do the same thing with a a long sword. another double edge long sword. it looks the same. Ready, seven attacking angles always say what you’re about to do before you do it. One, two, three, four, five, six, seven and recovered. So those are the seven attacking angles and when you’re, when you’re learning choreography, if you’re working with a professional, a movie sword master or a stunt coordinator, if they’ve had training, they’re going to have a system on how to teach you the choreography.
For what I’ve always done in other members of our stunt team, when we teach choreography, we, we use a theatrical CBT so we use a numbering system, which makes it much simpler. So I can say, okay bring in angle one and angle two, that’s going to be your attack and I’ll tell one stunt performer, one after that so they automatically know it’s gonna be an angle one, and angle two, that’s gonna be their attack. I could even email them so here’s your attack combinations, you’re going to bring in angle one, angle two and angle five, angle ten and they automatically know because we’re on a common numbering system. So it makes it easy to learn to one design choreography and also easier to uh to learn it and remember it. So go ahead and stop the or pause the video now and try get your practice sorted and try attacking angles one through seven. movie sword training drills and exercises, sword fight training movie, Sword attacks and strikes, sword defenses and offense, Dillon Wilson, CBT Stunt Alliance, Movie Sword Master, Movie Sword Expert
Alright. Also to help you visualize where the strikes are going, we’re going to show you where they land actually on a fighting, uh man dummy or a actually a mannequin, right. So these are where the angles are landing if you’re, if you have the sword you’re uh and a right handed lead right, so this is angle one, you see it slashes across 45 degrees angle two flashes up 45 degrees and finishes about where angle one started. Angle three, kind of drops down from angle one and hooks up here, and slashes upwards 45 degrees, finishing up here which is where angle 4 starts, which comes back down. And this is, like we, I said before, where the subclavian artery or the clavicle is and cuts back through. So one, two, three, four, right,.
The next one is angle five, which comes in straight to the heart, angle six comes this way and hits in the right pupil and angle seven comes this way, and hits an alarm so those are the targets when you’re uh, when you’re actually learning them, when you do it in the left hand, it reverses same thing, you’d be surprised when you do this, you’ll pick it up, very quickly actually help, you learn better angle. One is the clav, this clavicle, angle two are the floating ribs, here angle three are the floating ribs there angle four is the other clavicle angle five is a heart angle six is to the left pupil, this time and angle seven is to that larynx, right. And so it doesn’t change up and so now, at least you understand where the strikes are going when we, when we actually are learning uh we actually fit in with something, so that’s why if you don’t, if you have a partner you spend it with your partner, if not then the uh you know you can use the fighting man dummy or a mannequin or something like that which will, which we’ll cover later on. So if you have something like this, go ahead and pause the video now and fit in with it with angles one through seven on both sides.
Movie Sword Training Drills And Exercises: Fit In With Your Strikes
Now, one of the things that we always recommend with our students is that they fit in with their strikes. This is why, we you start everyone with with uh PVC ideally and they may for protective gear, if they’re fitting in with a partner, then each one will wear protective eye goggles and a protective cuff. If you’re practicing by yourself with PVC, you can still put on the protective eye goggles, you don’t need a protective cuff, yet you want to fit in with something. If there’s a person that’s that’s great, if it isn’t, then you can use a fighting man dummy. The reason why is because you need to learn how to act out your strike, you need to know what it’s like what it feels like to make contact with a target and also how to act out your strikes, because when you’re actually doing choreography or filming tv, you’re virtually never making contact with the blade, there are some rare occasions where they might wish to get in certain shots or other things and you know they’ll be, you know, little devices, a piece of board or protector or something. Here, you know if they want to get a shot closer or something like that, otherwise, though the sword is always about three feet away from the person, sometimes a foot, yet it’s very much like empty hand stunt fighting for camera, so you’re not actually making contact.
So the benefit of fitting in is that you learn how to act out your strike, so they look realistic and if you have a partner practicing with you, that they’re learning how to react to it. So if I’m delivering a sword strike, I know my body knows from years of fitting in how it should be when you deliver the strike. Also from years of fitting in, I know how to react when I get hit, even if if I’m if they’re fitting and they make contact, I know how to react and if they pull the strike in front a foot in front of me, I know how to react. It’s the same exact thing, so that’s why the fitting in is so important. I’m going to show, you we’re going to show you a way of fitting in, uh that you can do in your own. Again, with a fighting fighting man dummy in our master course, we show you how to make these, we show you, you can get them for, for pennies on a dollar or actually make them from stuff you have around your house, you take, you step by step on what to do.
So if I’m going to do the seven attack angles, when I’m fitting in angle one, angle two, angle three, angle four, angle five, angle six, angle seven, now switch leads, angle one, angle two, angle three, angle four, this will be to the heart, yeah I’m going to take it to the side, angle five, angle, six angle seven, and you notice what happens is, I’m more focused. My body’s more focused now on leaning into those strikes, right, plus, you also learn range because if you don’t have someone in front of you and you think you can hit someone from this range and here you’re only back here and you do it and you’re too far away, you haven’t learned train yeah when you’re used to fitting in, you know where the sweet spot is, on the sword that you wish to hit with and your, your everything is different. So this is why we always recommend using a fighting mannequin or fighting hand dummy, uh when you’re actually training. It will take especially in the beginning, it’ll take your training to the next level and you’ll progress so much more quickly.
So now, we’re to mix it up and take it to the next level, make it a bit more challenging for you. Now that you’ve learned, you know seven attacking angles, uh we’re going to do some combinations of strikes. As we mentioned earlier in the video, if you’re not the lead or a featured fighter, you’re going to get to launch anywhere from zero to two strikes before they kill you, right, and if you are the leader you’re making for your own content, you need to know how to make form combinations anyway to make to craft a compelling fight performance. So we’re going to share with you, uh for the four or five of these combinations. The first one is going to be right one, right six, this is why it’s important to know these angles.
So I’m going to do an angle, a right one and a right six, I’m going to do it in the air first and do it on the mannequin, right one, right six, right one, right six. So I’ll do it on the mannequin, right one, right six, right one, right six, right. That’s the first combination. Again, in the fight, the choreographer or if it’s you would determine what’s happening to them, if those strikes actually hit them or if they’re, if they’re counter-attacking them, you know, if they’re moving, you know, that sort of thing this is the attack, you know, from the first person. Uh the next one will be right four, right seven. I’ll do this in the air. right four. right seven. Again, right four, right seven. So we’ll do it on the mannequin, right four, right seven, actually I put seven here. Again, in the beginning, keep the targets the same, later on, they’re just angles. You could do a seven to the pubic symphysis or to the heart, yeah.
For this one, we’ll keep it the larynx, right four, right seven, right four, right seven. One more time, right four, right seven. Again, these are basic combinations. We’re gonna do a couple of more and then we’re gonna, you’re gonna pause the video and try it yourself. So the next combination to try is right five, right one. So demonstrate first the camera, right five is a straight thrust of the heart, right one, you see this the clap goes up craving already. Again, right five, right one. Now to the mannequin, right five, right one. These are a two beat combination. Each strike and in choreography is referred to as a beat so you could have a 100 beat fight, you know a 30 beat fight, a 15 beat fight, a six beat fight, this one we’re saying is two beats.
Those two strikes, angle five, angle one, right. So that’s the third, third combination and the fourth one will be the opposite and you see how we’re putting it together, these are basic combinations. It teaches you how to flow and you notice how my body moves very naturally with it. I’ve been doing it for a long time, you’d be surprised when you train the way we’re sharing with you, you’ll look very natural as well in a short period of time. So we’re gonna do a right five, right two, so you’re first towards the camera, right five, right two, right five, right two. Now to the mannequin, right five, right two, right five, right two. And you see the seven is right, there as you start doing these, you see how all the angles are designed to work together. So go ahead and pause the video now and try some of the, the basic sword attack combinations that we just shared with you.
Now, one other thing about uh fighting man dummies, people are great to train with. If you can get a person, you know, another, a partner. Some performer, actor, actress who wishes to learn and you can practice together, that’s beautiful, yet they can’t always be there when you’re available to train and when you want to train. Sometimes it’s like you know, 10 o’clock at night, you just saw some movie or tv show that you like and it was some cool scene. You want to get up there like let me try some of this movie sort fighting stuff, right and there’s no one else around, right and sometimes doing it in the air is fine, yet it always helps when you have a training partner or some kind of you know, a fighting manikin or fighting man dummy or something and so ideally, having both is what you want, a human being to practice with and then a fighting man dummies.
Yet it doesn’t always work out that way, you may be in an area where there are no other stunt performers or actors around you, you’re it yeah when you know how to make these kind of things, you can become very good as a beginner by having just a, a one or more fighting man mannequins or fighting man dummies that you built to train with. So we show you how to literally build your own training partner multiple ways where you can actually buy them for cheap, I mean pennies on a dollar or actually make them from things you have around the house. In the videos, we show them step by step even how to mount them to a door or mount them somewhere else, we’ve walked the same path you’re walking, you understand you’re not the first one who’s going to encounter these things, the challenges that you’re going to encounter, other people have, before, we’re just going to share with you the solutions that we came up with. So take a moment and check this out. So we’ll worth the investment if you’re serious about learning two-handed long-story movie fighting.
Movie Sword Training Drills And Exercises: CounterAttacking / Counter Offense Against the 7 Angles
So to finish up, here’s a simple two-step formula for doing cinematic sword counter-attacks with your sword fight team partner. Step one, attack their, attack with an angle one or angle four. Step two, reply with a combo of your own so let’s see how that plays out. So let’s say. you know. I’m your your fight team partner, movie tour fight team partner and I bring in that angle one and angle two attack for you, right, so now I’m you, that means my sword would hit you here, angle one and then hit you here, angle two. As you, if you’re doing choreography or you’re fitting in, you’re going to observe that really angle one and angle four cover a lot of stuff so if they brought it in angle one, here’s the angle one, attack and here I’m gonna bring angle one.
I can intercept that they bring it to angle three, I understand it with angle one, see that, so if they bring in angle two, I can intercept that angle two with angle one. If they bring an angle four, I can intercept that angle four, with angle four. So just know that if you’re putting together choreography is the simplest way or is to do angle ones and angle four and as default, use angle one and angle four to pretty much intercept. Most of the things you’re gonna, they’re going to uh, to bring in. Now you see, these are some methods that you could use to practice on your own even having you know, sometimes even wedging you know a piece of PVC in your closet door, you know, in some coats in your closet in a coat pocket, you know in some bushes or a tree and this is how people do in the sword, schools too, by the way, they have mannequins that just have or fighting man dummy that does have you know, the source sticking out like this or we have source taken out from the wall or a beam in the wall. This is, these, these uh these are time tested experience improvement ways of becoming good with sword fighting. So you can do the exact same thing. So regardless of where you are in the world, you should be able to improve and get better with your movie sword fighting skills.
Now this formula is one of a bunch of ways of counter attacking. We cover a lot more in our movie long short master course. Now, have fun flowing through your own sword attacks and counter attacks and combinations. Watch yourself in the mirror when you do them or even record yourself with your camera phone. We always encourage all of our students to do that, you learn a lot more that way.
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Lastly, if you like more information on our highly popular 2 handed long sword master course go to www.MovieSwordFighting.com or click on a link below this video. Again my name is Dillon Wilson with CBT Stunt Alliance. Train hard, perform easy. Don’t miss our next video, we share with you another movie sword fighting tip. See you next video.