Yet Another Amazing Toy

OMG, have you lovely lurkers seen the new Nerf N-Force swords??? I want a set of these, really! And they're Nerf, so you know they're made for some serious safe play. Okay, my birthday's in ten days... ~Jenn

Look at Gizmodo's bit on these blades of soft-yet-sturdy fury: N-Force Awesomeness

Fight Clip Club

A classic in the realms of staff fighting. Another fight that needs no introduction, except maybe this: "A toll is a toll, and a roll is a roll. If we don't take no tolls, then we don't eat no rolls. ...I made that up."

Stage Combat Club News

We had elections yesterday for the MSCD Stage Combat club. Remember, you don't have to be a Metro student, you can be a UCD or CCD student to play with us. The new officers in charge of our staged mayhem this year are:
President: Nick B.
Vice-President: Scott M.
Treasurer: Nate T.
Secretary: Geri C.

Congrats, officers! Go get your paperwork done! And blog lurkers, keep your eyes open for our presence online even more! We heard whispers of podcasts, demo events, and the Spring Fling to name a few. And I forgot to ask you guys about T-shirts. We should totally get some made, wouldn't you agree? ~Jenn

Folks who met to pretend to beat each other up on Valentine's Day: Nick B., Nate T., Geri C., Aaron R., Roberto M., Tom G., Paul S., Scott M., Chris D., and of course Jenn was in charge.

Nomination #3

Since it's Darwin's birthday today, of course we have to post an "I've Got a Great Idea" award nomination. Today, it's:

Another stabbing. The infamous Dracula Stabbing in Texas, which opens Chapter One of my book. Anyone have any better ideas? post here or to any earlier nomination entries.

Fight Clip Club

More excellent fight scenes from professionals, local and otherwise. This clip needs no introduction. Jenn always shows this one the first day of Stage Combat class at MSCD, and nearly all the students know it. Part of its appeal is its simplicity--after having learned basic unarmed techniques, students see this scene again and are able to see what's going on. No wires, a minimum of edits, none of them rapid, and of course the fight stars Bob Barker. You can't go wrong.

Time Lapsed Violence

I'm watching the Discovery Channel show called Time Warp today, and they showed some behind-the-scenes of a couple different stunts. The premise of the show is to take high-speed cameras and film cool stuff way slowed down. I have enjoyed this show very much in the past, so to tempt you into catching it yourselves, I have posted three links to clips that have something to do with stage combat and/or the martial arts. ~Jenn

The first is a real slap to the face. Those of you who have read my book will remember the "Unlucky Thirteen" things that can happen to you if you allow your precious face to be slapped onstage. You can see even more clearly in this slow-mo slap clip (hey that's a VoWod!): Time Warp Slap

If you think the slap is bad, check out a punch: Time Warp Punch

And finally, a super-cool katana slice through rolled-up tatami. I believe this is the sword guy from Bugei: Time Warp Samurai

Nomination #2

I can't decide which of these knife debacles to nominate for the "I've Got a Great Idea" awards. Comment here and tell me which one of these two should be in the running:

Vienna Stage Knife Mistake

Et Tu, Brutal Injury?