Last weekend, I had the opportunity to see some swordsmanship. A friend is part of the Chicago Swordplay Guild, which bills itself as a “modern school of traditional European martial arts”, and was in a friendly tournament open to the public. I thought it would be a fun thing to watch, but also an opportunity to take some action shots, something which I always struggle with.
The tournament was held in the guild’s gym, a rustic loft space in Chicago’s Ravenswood neighborhood. The lighting wasn’t great, and I had to fiddle with my camera’s setting to find a decent compromise between shutter speed and image quality, settling on 1/100 second at ISO 6400. The sword fights commenced, several taking place at once on different rings marked off on the gym floor. I tried to find a decent vantage point and started snapping away.
The sword fighting seemed to be (to my untrained eye) the heavy-duty cousin of fencing. As in that sport, the matches are very quick, and there is the distinctive lunging footwork. But the sword, being much heavier than the epee used in fencing, allows for the cutting and slashing motions that make the entire sport more, well, fun to view as a spectator. Adding to that, and in keeping with the renaissance fair vibe of the whole thing, some competitors wore colorful doublets complete with heraldic symbols. Overall, a good way to spend a couple hours on a snowy afternoon. Hope you enjoy the photos!
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T A B U L A R A S A photography 