LLL
07-12-2003, 02:58 PM
“Of Western Martial Arts”
by Richard Lionheart Johnson, Ph.D., Head of The Institute for the Preservation of the European Martial Arts (T.I.P.E.M.A.)
It has long been thought that the people of the western hemisphere did not have their own fighting methods, depite them having conquered nearly the whole world and killing anyone they liked, but due to the studies of our Institute, we have recently discovered that Martial Arts DID, in fact, exist in Europe. Not only this, but we have also found out that the techniques generally depicted in these arts are by far superior to most of the eastern ones, both those practiced at that time, as well as those of today, in nearly every sense. In this light it is difficult to understand why these Arts are not practiced any longer today. One can only wonder if it is the lack of ‘fighting spirit’ in today’s western people, that these arts have been lost in time. The Institute for the Preservation of the European Martial Arts (T.I.P.E.M.A.) is dedicated for the preservation of these fighting skills of our ancestors.
First of all, it must be stressed that none of our members, be it instructors or students, have anything to do with such activities as ‘role-playing’, or ‘historical re-enactment’. What we teach in our Institution is a Martial Art, based on the authentic teachings of such Masters as Long John Silver and Robin of Locksley.
Some people consider these skills of the European swordsmen a long since lost tradition. This is not true. The author of this text, for example, received lessons in longsword and backsword from his great-grandfather at the age of five.
It is true, however, that these arts have not been practiced for centuries, and that anyone who ever even knew they existed died at least a hundred years ago. But they did write manuals. You have to remember also that this happened a long time ago, when there was no shortage of money. Thus these manuals are an accurate representation of the Arts. For in the old times the Masters wrote, not for money, but for the students. Just compare this to the travesty of today’s ‘masters’ selling their videotapes to anyone with money! In the old times, you would have first to become an apprentice, and then, maybe, after decades and decades of study you would be ready to open your own school. THIS is the old spirit that T.I.P.E.M.A. represents.
Some people have claimed that perhaps these books are not a good enough source for finding out what the old masters were trying to teach, and that it is difficult to decipher the techniques from a piece of Middle English text. However, the instructors in our Institute can READ. They can look at the three, albeit extremely badly drawn, pictures in the book, and reconstruct the true techniques that these Masters of their Art were teaching 200 years ago. It is true that Universities have studied these texts for years, aye, but we can only laugh at such frivolous attempts. Naturally, one must study the Arts, and align oneself with the spirits of the old. No mere studies can do this; it is a style of life; the life of the true European Warrior.
Find the genuine Western roots of both yourself and the true European fighting spirit. T.I.P.E.M.A.
by Richard Lionheart Johnson, Ph.D., Head of The Institute for the Preservation of the European Martial Arts (T.I.P.E.M.A.)
It has long been thought that the people of the western hemisphere did not have their own fighting methods, depite them having conquered nearly the whole world and killing anyone they liked, but due to the studies of our Institute, we have recently discovered that Martial Arts DID, in fact, exist in Europe. Not only this, but we have also found out that the techniques generally depicted in these arts are by far superior to most of the eastern ones, both those practiced at that time, as well as those of today, in nearly every sense. In this light it is difficult to understand why these Arts are not practiced any longer today. One can only wonder if it is the lack of ‘fighting spirit’ in today’s western people, that these arts have been lost in time. The Institute for the Preservation of the European Martial Arts (T.I.P.E.M.A.) is dedicated for the preservation of these fighting skills of our ancestors.
First of all, it must be stressed that none of our members, be it instructors or students, have anything to do with such activities as ‘role-playing’, or ‘historical re-enactment’. What we teach in our Institution is a Martial Art, based on the authentic teachings of such Masters as Long John Silver and Robin of Locksley.
Some people consider these skills of the European swordsmen a long since lost tradition. This is not true. The author of this text, for example, received lessons in longsword and backsword from his great-grandfather at the age of five.
It is true, however, that these arts have not been practiced for centuries, and that anyone who ever even knew they existed died at least a hundred years ago. But they did write manuals. You have to remember also that this happened a long time ago, when there was no shortage of money. Thus these manuals are an accurate representation of the Arts. For in the old times the Masters wrote, not for money, but for the students. Just compare this to the travesty of today’s ‘masters’ selling their videotapes to anyone with money! In the old times, you would have first to become an apprentice, and then, maybe, after decades and decades of study you would be ready to open your own school. THIS is the old spirit that T.I.P.E.M.A. represents.
Some people have claimed that perhaps these books are not a good enough source for finding out what the old masters were trying to teach, and that it is difficult to decipher the techniques from a piece of Middle English text. However, the instructors in our Institute can READ. They can look at the three, albeit extremely badly drawn, pictures in the book, and reconstruct the true techniques that these Masters of their Art were teaching 200 years ago. It is true that Universities have studied these texts for years, aye, but we can only laugh at such frivolous attempts. Naturally, one must study the Arts, and align oneself with the spirits of the old. No mere studies can do this; it is a style of life; the life of the true European Warrior.
Find the genuine Western roots of both yourself and the true European fighting spirit. T.I.P.E.M.A.
