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Stage Combat

Print Sources

• Anglo, Sydney. the Martial Arts of Renaissance Europe. New Haven, CT: Yale University Press, 2000.
• Aylward, J. D. The English Master of Arms. London: Routledge and Kegan Paul, 1956.
• Baldick, Robert. The Duel. London: Chapman and Hall, 1965.
  (Reprinted by London: Hamlyn Publishing Group, Ltd., 1970. 0-600- 32837-6)
• Billacois, Francois. The Duel: Its Rise & Fall in Early Modern France. New Haven, CT: Yale University Press, 1990. 0-300-04028-8
• Boushey, David. “The Art of Stage Fighting,” ATA Theatre News, Vol. IX, no. 1.
• Callahan, John M. “Painless Stage Violence,” ATA Theatre News. Vol. IX, no. 5.
• Castle, Egerton. Schools and Masters of Fence: From the Middle Ages to the Eighteenth Century. London: Arms and Armour Press, 1969.
• Clements, John. Medieval Swordsmanship. Boulder, CO: Paladin Press, 1998.
• ________. Renaissance Swordsmanship. Boulder, CO: Paladin Press, 1997.
• Draeger, Donn F. and R. W. Smith. Asian Fighting Arts. Palo Alto, CA: Kodansha International, 1969.
  Illustrated. Origins, methods.
• Frick, John W., editor. Theatre Symposium: A Publication of the Southeastern Theatre Conference. Volume 7. AL: Southeastern Theatre Conference and the University of Alabama Press, 1999. ISBN 0-8173-0887-3
  Eleven articles covering topics such as Staging Violence, Culture and Violence, Rhetorical and Historical Perspectives, and Violence on the Fringes of Acceptability.
• Garret, Maxwell R., Emmanuil G. Kaidanov and Gil A. Pezza. Foil, Saber, and Epee Fencing: Skills, Safety, Operations, and Responsibilities. PA: Penn State Press, 1994. ISBN 0271010193
  Includes photos and exercises.
• Girard, Dale Anthony. Actors on Guard: A Practical Guide for the Use of the Rapier and Dagger for Stage and Screen. New York: Theatre Arts Books, Routledge, 1996. 0-87830-058-9
  Use of the Elizabethan rapier and dagger (with illustrations), history of swordplay, and technical pointers on buying and caring for a sword.
• Hobbs, William. Fight Direction for Stage and Screen. Portsmouth, NH: Heinemann, 2003. 0-435-08680-4
  Revised Edition.
• ________. Stage Combat: The Action to the Words. London: Barrie & Jenkins, 1980.
• ________. Stage Fight. New York: Theatre Arts Books, 1967.
  Swords, firearms, fisticuffs and slapstick.
• Hutton, A. The Sword and the Centuries. Rutland, VT: Charles E. Tuttle, 1980.
• Jackson, James L. Three Elizabethan Fencing Manuals. Delmar, NY: Scholars’ Facsimiles and Reprints, 1972. 0-8201-1107-4
• Lane, Richard. Swashbuckling: A Step-by-Step Guide to the Art of Stage Combat. Limelight Editions, 1999. ISBN 0879100915
• Martinez, J. D. Combat Mime: A Non-Violent Approach to Stage Violence. Chicago: Nelson-Hall, 1982; reprint, 1992. 0-88229-809-7
  Combat techniques fully illustrated.
• ________. The Swords of Shakespeare. NC: McFarland & Co., 1995. 0-88950-959-2
• Morton, E. D. Martini A-Z of Fencing. London: Queen Anne Press, n. d. 356-154394
• Nichols, Richard. “Empty-Handed Combat in the Actor Training Program,” in Movement for the Actor, Lucille Rubin, ed. New York: Drama Book Specialists, 1980.
• Oakeshott, Ewart R. European Weapons and Armor. North Hollywood, CA: Beinfeld Pub., Inc., 1980. 0-917714-27-X
• Palffy-Alpar, Julius. Sword and Masque. Philadelphia: F. A. Davis, 1967.
• Ratti, O. & A. Westbrook. Secrets of the Samurai. Rutland, VT: Charles E. Tuttle, Co., Inc., 1992. 0-8048-1684-0
• Richards, Jeffrey. Swordsmen of the Screen. London: n. p., 1977.
• Tobler, Christian Henry, trans. and interpreter. Secrets of German Medieval Swordsmanship. n. c.: Chivalry Bookshelf, 2001.
• Suddeth, J. Allen. Fight Directing for the Theatre. NH: Heinemann, 1996.
  Safety, staging fights, acting the fight, arming the fight, stage blood, and firearm safety.
• Suino, Nicklaus. The Art of Japanese Swordsmanship: A Manual of Eishin-Ryu Iaido. New York: Weatherhill, 1994. 0-8348-0300-3
• ________. Practice Drills for Japanese Swordsmanship. NY: Weatherhill, 1995. ISBN 0834803399
  Practice drills with diagrams.
• Swetnam, Joseph. The Schole of the Noble and Worthy Science of Defence. London: Printed by Nickolas Okes, 1616.
• Szabo, Laszlo and Corvina Kiado. Fencing and the Master, trans. by Gyula Gulyas. Budapest: Franklin Printing House, 1982. 9631312755
• Talhoffer, Hans. Medieval Combat, trans. and ed. by Mark Rector. Mechanicsburg, PA: Stackpole Books, 2000.
• Thimm, Carl Albert. A Complete Bibliography of Fencing and Dueling. New York: Benjamin Blom, 1968.
  From the middle ages to 1896.
• Tarassuk, Leonid and Claude Blair, eds. The Complete Encyclopedia of Arms and Weapons. New York: Simon & Schuster, 1982. 0-671-42257-X
• Tarassuk, Leonid. Parrying Daggers and Poniards. Blue Diamond, NV: The Society of American Fight Directors, 1987.
• Turner, Craig and Tony Soper. Methods and Practice of Elizabethan Swordplay. Carbondale: Southern Illinois University Press, 1990. 0-8093-1562-9
• Wise, Arthur. The Art and History of Personal Combat. London: Hugh Evelyn Ltd., 1971.
• ________. Weapons in the Theatre. London: Longmans & Green, 1968.
  Antiquity to 18th century; how to handle scenes of violence for stage, film, TV., etc.
• Wise, Arthur and Derek Ware. Stunting in the Cinema. New York: St. Martin’s Press, 1973.
• Wright, Louis B. Stage Dueling in the Elizabethan Theatre in the Seventeenth Century Stage, ed. By G. E. Bentley. Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 1968.
• Zabinski, Gregorz with Barthomiej Walczak. Codex Wallerstein. Boulder, CO: Paladin Press, 2002

Audio/Visual Sources

• Boushey, David. Combat for the Stage and Screen.
  Three videos covering Medieval Weaponry, Elizabethan Weaponry, and Unarmed Combat. Call 205-290-9973.
• ________. The Stage Fight Director. 1-883779-08-1
  Video. Call 1-800-456-8285.
• Leong, David S. and J. Allen Suddeth. Unarmed Stage Combat Series. Produced by Combat Masters, Intl.
  Three videos: Learning the Basics; Perfecting the Fundamentals; and Mastering the Techniques. Call 1-800-456-8285.

last updated 25 September, 2008