What is a florysh???

[JohnDemick]

What is a florysh anyway? It seems to resemble a lot like an Asian Martial arts form or kata. Unfortunantly, when i seached "florysh" on the internet, all i got was about 7 results (and only one of them related to the florysh you guys are doing). So, what is this "floysh"? Whats its purpose and is it found in the old fighting manuals? Is it something you guys made up? or can it be found in the "fightbooks"?

[Randall Pleasant]

John

You will find the definition of Florishe on the Definitions & Study Terminology of this site. I think the single biggest difference between a florishe and a kata is that in the Eastern Arts highly structured katas are used to teach techniques while many who practice the Western Arts perform free-form florishes as an expression of the techniques they have already learned. Rarely will you see a florishe performed the same way twice.

[John_Clements]

Yes, we've been advocating its importance for years. It's something over looked by many students and practitioners today, but it is essentialy a form of mirror-fighting or shadow fighting, combining your cuts, thrusts, and footwork with fients into movement sequences. It is not set or preplanned or arranged (as in Asian styles), yet is coordinated and structured. References to floryshing with a sword and exercising in this manner is found in much period literatature. A florysh is not something you do to learn, but something you do to practice what you've learned. A major research article on it will appear here in the future.

JC

[JeffGentry]

We were discussing this at our meeting/practice on sunday and i was wondering in a combat situation if you approach your oppenant with a flourish if it is reasonable or prudent to do so in my mind if i come at you with my sword already moving you are naturaly going to go to a defense and i already have momentum on my blade and the opposition does not know where i am going to strike, is this reasonable or am i mistaken, would nappreciate any thought's or insight's.

[JohnDemick]

ahh, i see, thanks for the info guys.

[Webmaster]

Jeff,

Jake Norwood was telling us in New Orleans a couple of months ago that Joachim Meyer says you should flourish into your opponent, throw a few strikes, then jump back out, preferably with a retreating attack. If you haven't already killed him by then, this gives you a chance to reset. I believe the idea is to temporarily overwhelm your opponent, then get out and start over before he catches up. Fortune favors the bold, but just standing there trading blows is stupid, so either grab him and wrestle or get out. I like this theory and need to practice it more myself.

[JeffGentry]

That is my exact thought on it but just wanted confirmation from some one more experienced than myself and i tend to be a little too aggressive. Sometime's to my own detriment.lol

[Allen Johnson]

Wasnt he German? That seems to kind of go with the generic view that the German schools were much more offence oriented as opposed to the Italian school which was a bit more defence first.

[Webmaster]

Yes, Meyer's definitely German. As for that generic view, it's basically true that the Germans thought that offense is defense, but the debate over the Italian philosophy is more difficult to define and has taken up quite a bit of space on other threads here, so let's not hijack this one.