Fleet of foot and sharp with his weapon, D'Artagnan takes the gold medal for his TV sabre-rattling, says fencing champion Karim Bashir
It would be easy for a fencing purist to look at this TV show, based on Alexandre Dumas's The Three Musketeers, and criticise the swordsmanship. There are certainly big differences between modern fencing and the fighting we see on screen: the musketeers' duels are conducted in large, swashbuckling swipes for maximum entertainment value – unlike the light, quick moves used in the sport.
But there are some similarities. At the most basic level, fencing boils down to two areas: footwork and managing your weapon. We get good demonstrations of both in these fights. D'Artagnan is light on his feet and excellent at changing direction. He gets the gold medal from me.
Fencing today uses three different weapons: foil, épée and sabre. All three have their roots, like the sport itself, in the art of duelling and the swordfighting tradition of medieval Europe. When the musketeers fight on their feet, they use techniques that are close to the foil and épée styles – keeping their opponent at a distance with the blade. On horseback, they're closer to the slashing sabre style: that's no surprise, as the sabre in fencing grew out of cavalry fighting.
Fencing, of course, is not a fight to the death – but then in reality, neither was duelling. A gentleman would usually only draw blood and, in so doing, prove a point of honour. We don't draw blood in fencing, but the point system reflects this tradition: when a fencer is hit, the weapon retracts, and a score is recorded electronically.
Historically, swordsmanship was very much a male preserve, but the number of men and women in modern fencing is roughly equal. I hope this very enjoyable programme will draw many more people to the sport. After all, we saw a massive spike in interest in fencing after the Madonna scenes in the Bond film Die Another Day.
Karim Bashir works for British Fencing.
The Musketeers is on BBC1 on Sundays
Reading on mobile? Watch the fencing scene from Die Another Day here Reported by guardian.co.uk 17 hours ago.
It would be easy for a fencing purist to look at this TV show, based on Alexandre Dumas's The Three Musketeers, and criticise the swordsmanship. There are certainly big differences between modern fencing and the fighting we see on screen: the musketeers' duels are conducted in large, swashbuckling swipes for maximum entertainment value – unlike the light, quick moves used in the sport.
But there are some similarities. At the most basic level, fencing boils down to two areas: footwork and managing your weapon. We get good demonstrations of both in these fights. D'Artagnan is light on his feet and excellent at changing direction. He gets the gold medal from me.
Fencing today uses three different weapons: foil, épée and sabre. All three have their roots, like the sport itself, in the art of duelling and the swordfighting tradition of medieval Europe. When the musketeers fight on their feet, they use techniques that are close to the foil and épée styles – keeping their opponent at a distance with the blade. On horseback, they're closer to the slashing sabre style: that's no surprise, as the sabre in fencing grew out of cavalry fighting.
Fencing, of course, is not a fight to the death – but then in reality, neither was duelling. A gentleman would usually only draw blood and, in so doing, prove a point of honour. We don't draw blood in fencing, but the point system reflects this tradition: when a fencer is hit, the weapon retracts, and a score is recorded electronically.
Historically, swordsmanship was very much a male preserve, but the number of men and women in modern fencing is roughly equal. I hope this very enjoyable programme will draw many more people to the sport. After all, we saw a massive spike in interest in fencing after the Madonna scenes in the Bond film Die Another Day.
Karim Bashir works for British Fencing.
The Musketeers is on BBC1 on Sundays
Reading on mobile? Watch the fencing scene from Die Another Day here Reported by guardian.co.uk 17 hours ago.