|
|
 |
THE MARTIAL ARTS OF MIDDLE EARTH
(Cont'd)
TW: I can't remember offhand ... I think it was eight different cultural styles, and a variety of
sub-styles.
SFI: Tony, there are various people who watch and have voiced their opinions on the fighting. Many have said
the fight scenes are simply astounding. Some practitioners of historical swordsmanship have pointed out that Aragorn's
fighting was very large arcs and swings that could tire out a warrior. How "real" were you trying to get the fighting
styles? And regarding Aragorn, were his highly pronounced arcs in fighting for dramatic effect, or was that done by the
choreographer rather?
TW: I'm glad people enjoyed the action. I want to stress that my role here was to contribute the fighting
styles as templates. Individual performers, choreographers, directors and editors created the specific choreography. You
could compare fighting style design to conceptual artwork, in that it was handed off to other departments and each of them
had their own "take" on the material.
SFI: How much of your style design was based on John Howe's weapons design, or vice versa? Or did both
co-develop as you both talked?
TW: John and I had a couple of get-togethers to discuss the styles. This was very early on in
pre-production, in 1998 I think. John is a very keen re-enactor and we had some fun sessions with swords in hand.
SFI: Were the fighting styles you designed merely for reinforcing the characters and the nature of their
cultures, or do you see there potentially being some martial effectiveness? For example, there is a fan-following of Jedi
Knights from the Star Wars phenomenon, that try to define a martial arts involving light sabers based on some Japanese
swordsmanship.
TW: I can very easily foresee a similar cult following for Elf swordplay, in particular. I wanted all of
the styles to be "believable" as battlefield fighting arts, which is not to say that human fighters could necessarily
employ Elvish swordplay, for example. The Gondorian and Rohirrim fighting arts are reasonably close to historical European
models, though again, the intention was not to present the historical truth of, say, Medieval German longsword fencing.
Each style had its own aesthetic, and some were better suited to certain physiques, experience levels or temperaments.
SFI: How did the performers adapt to the fighting styles?
TW: The stunt people who were heavily into martial arts really enjoyed the Elvish style. One of the
stuntmen, for example, was a champion amateur wrestler and had an ideal Orc physique — short and very powerful. The
Elf
style was best suited to tall, slender performers with extensive dance or martial arts backgrounds. It was a case-by-case
thing.
SFI: Tony, your role in the film trilogy's pre-production is most unique. You have a familiarity with the
Tolkien mythos, and you have had significant exposure to various martial arts styles. From an artistic standpoint, what in
your background and experience have helped you the most in this unique roll of Fighting Styles Designer?
TW: That's complicated...!
SFI: (laughs). Sorry about that!
TW: It's a good question, just give me a moment. I suppose I have an anthropological perspective on
creating action. When I look at any martial art, or movement system, I tend to see it as a unique combination or
application of certain fundamental principles. This is a system I developed for performance combat, but it can be applied
to anything from a specific martial art to a dance style, or to un-codified movement. The ability to break the different
source materials down into neutral fundamentals, then re-construct them in a way that fit the aesthetics of each culture
... does that make any sense?
SFI: Perfectly. It's almost like those who study cultural dance or art history.
TW: Yes, or ethnomusicology. It's also a matter of understanding the common features as well as the
distinctions between different systems. I love drawing connections between these things — you can trace connections
between
pro-wrestling, Aikido, contact improvisation, swing dancing, chi sau, and so on forever. My performance combat system
isolates six fundamental principles, which can be learned through exercises and games. These provide a neutral foundation
for teaching, learning, directing and performing literally any type of fight scene. Then you start to notice that virtually
every physical art, including martial as well as performing arts, embodies these same principles, just re-combining them in
a unique way.
SFI: So there is a science behind the art!
TW: "Any sufficiently advanced science is indistinguishable from magic."
SFI: Splendid. Tony, on behalf of Sword Forum International and its readers, I'd like to thank you for
taking the time in sharing with us!
TW: Thank you.
Special Thanks
... to David Sankey of the UK for these wonderful inspired renderings of the Lord of the Rings movie characters.
Photos of movie reproduction prop Elvish swords courtesy of United Cutlery.
Click HERE
for the beginning of article
|
|
Copyright © 2003 by Sword Forum International · See our Legal Information
|
|
