Popular martial arts YouTuber Chintya Canranaya has wowed the Internet with some impressive feats of skill, conditioning, and speed. But when she made a video on how to literally dodge bullets as a means of self defense, a line was crossed that should never be crossed. Shanghai-based MMA coach Ramsey Dewey comments on this questionable video.
About a year ago, the French Fencing Federation (FFF) was facing an existential challenge: the number of young people interested in traditional fencing was declining, and French kids were more interested in staring at their screens than showing up to like parry a la 16th century dukes.
That’s why the FFF made a very controversial decision: to elevate lightsaber fencing — up to that point a cosplay-esque pursuit of Star Wars enthusiasts — to the same status as Olympic-level fencing.
“We already do artistic fencing,” FFF President Isabelle Lamour told VICE News. “It’s historic. So if we can have ancient fencing, why not have futuristic fencing?”
“We already do artistic fencing,” FFF President Isabelle Lamour told VICE News. “It’s historic. So if we can have ancient fencing, why not have futuristic fencing?”
“Disney is not really welcome, I’m sorry,” traditional fencer Alban Garrouste told VICE News, referring to Lucasfilms’ parent company. “Fencing is a huge part of the French identity, so I think we should stick to [its] values and historical origins.”
“Disney is not really welcome, I’m sorry,” traditional fencer Alban Garrouste told VICE News, referring to Lucasfilms’ parent company. “Fencing is a huge part of the French identity, so I think we should stick to [its] values and historical origins.”
“We’ve got everything to gain,” she said. “It doesn’t take anything away from participants in traditional fencing. It puts our discipline in the spotlight.”
Two martial arts experts. One’s got a knife, the other nothing. We told the unarmed pro to fight off the guy with the blade and escape without getting cut up. Does he? See for yourself what happens. And get ready to take in a healthy dose of reality.
Knife defense largely surrounds the idea of defending against an aggressive but untrained attacker. What happens when that guy is highly trained in bladed arts and has a decent ground fighting game? In the continuation of the Bladed Grappler series, we explore this very scary possibility.