The approach to staged combat that lies at the heart of what we teach, has been used for almost 50 years in the teaching, performing and directing of staged combat and violence.
Unable to find a way to develop his understanding of historical fighting styles, John Waller, with a group of interested friends, began making reproduction weapons and clothing and armour, and to use these as a basis for practical research and construction of how the fighting styles of the past may have worked.
Through this research John formalised the concepts that became known as The Principles as they were found to apply to the various weapons and situations. Once he was able to begin to gain access to more source materials such as historical fight manuals, John found that movements and actions illustrated matched things that he had discovered by experimentation. While concepts matching the Principles and other rules he had discovered were mentioned in the text
Unlike many other stage combat systems and approaches, this is a holistic approach tward learning and skill development. It works not just to give technical competence, rather it seeks to produce a more rounded performer through the focus of conflict. A performer who can then be able to more readily function on stage or in front of the camera dealing with the pressure and stresses that this may produce, whether they are involved in violence or not. It does this by forcing the student to address how they learn, and develop skills within themselves. It also address how they cope with pressure and stress both physically and mentally and to optimise their personal systems, so they may function at a higher standard both on and off stage.
