On Thibault

[Kirksey_Dave]

I am curious to see who has worked through or read Academy of the Sword by Thibault, and thier thoughts. I find it interesting and very in depth. I honestly have never much thought about rapier combat; gravitating more towards the longsword and weapons of that era. What I have read in my recently purchased translation of Thibault's book has certainly changed that.

I do, unfortunately, live in an apartment and my space is very limited, so so drawing out his circle is not really possible. I am interested to train from it and am wondering if any other apartment dwellers out there have figured out a way to do so. I am currently pondering a way of setting up a mat I can take with me and drop somewhere that can provide me with sufficient space. I suppose it is possible to simply just visualize it in my mind, but at this point I feel I may benefit more by seeing the circle at my feet. Your comments are all welcome.

[Jaron Bernstein]

I am curious to see who has worked through or read Academy of the Sword by Thibault, and thier thoughts. I find it interesting and very in depth. I honestly have never much thought about rapier combat; gravitating more towards the longsword and weapons of that era. What I have read in my recently purchased translation of Thibault's book has certainly changed that.

I do, unfortunately, live in an apartment and my space is very limited, so so drawing out his circle is not really possible. I am interested to train from it and am wondering if any other apartment dwellers out there have figured out a way to do so. I am currently pondering a way of setting up a mat I can take with me and drop somewhere that can provide me with sufficient space. I suppose it is possible to simply just visualize it in my mind, but at this point I feel I may benefit more by seeing the circle at my feet. Your comments are all welcome.

You could just go to a local basketball court. The floor markings are already in place. I can't speak on Thibault though. There are only so many hours in a day.

[John Farthing]

For many outdoor surfaces, chalk works quite well and can easily be washed away after your workout. This makes it unobtrusive in public areas.

For a portable floor segno, have you considered cardboard? It's lightweight, inexpensive and easily obtainable. Your circle (or other footwork patterns) can be easily drawn in marker on cardboard as well!

Another possibility is masking (or similar) tape. This method makes circular patterns difficult but, can be used for various directional lines, etc. Masking tape 'comes up' clean from most surfaces and generally leaves behind little to no sticky residue.

Failing all else, simply scratching a diagram or pattern in the sand at your local park is a quick and easy idea.

I hope this helps and, good luck!

[Vincent Le Chevalier]

Indeed Thibault is a very interesting work. It is actually one of my favorite manuals (the fact that I can read it in the original French is a bonus ).

That being said I've run into the exact same problem, so my knowledge of Thibault has remained theoretical (not to mention I also lack a practice partner ). In my opinion it's not so much the circle that is a problem but simply that fighting with swords of this size needs a lot of space, especially with Thibault's method that involves a whole lot of side-stepping.

If you don't have access to a training place where you can put permanent marks on the ground (that is, marks that last more than one training session), I think a form of mat is the way to go. Unfortunately, it will also have to be heavy if you don't want to slide around, or you'll have to be able to fix it to the ground. If you train outside, you can draw the circle on a plastic cover like those they sell for camping (not sure of the english word for it) and then "nail" it to a grass space.

Drawing the diagram at each training session is a pain; Thibault has too many lines for that. You could look at a simplified version of his diagram as shown on the engraving of the fencing school at the University of Leiden. It's easier to draw and the main lines are common.

Good luck!

[Kirksey_Dave]

Thanks all for you input thus far. I have yet to price the various materials I am pondering. I believe I am going to look into rubber mats after I measure as told by Thibault. I will most likely have to store them in my car, so I am actually wondering how multiple sections would work. I hope to use only two main sections which can (hopefully) be rolled up and stored. I plan to draw out the circle with a paint marker for something similar. As for the smaller circles, I will get smaller mats that are going to most likely be rolled up with the larger ones. My biggest concern is going to be figuring out a way to keep them together. I suppose some industrial strength duct tape may do the trick unless something else comes to mind. For winter training (it gets bad in MI) I may just keep it to unroll in my parent's pole barn. Again thanks for the info and ideas and keep them coming, I am excited to see how it turns out.

[Vincent Le Chevalier]

As for the smaller circles, I will get smaller mats that are going to most likely be rolled up with the larger ones.

I'm getting slightly confused at this point: Thibault does not have small and big circles, the circle has only one size... though it's not one-size-fits-all