I and my fellow SAFD Certified Teacher, Andrew Dylan Ray, recently completed a Skills Proficiency Test Class at the University of Kentucky. 8 students tested in Unarmed Stage Combat and another 2 in Broadsword. All ten students passed and two students received a recommended pass in Unarmed. Fight Master K. Jenny Jones adjudicated.
The SPT or Skills Proficiency Test allows students studying stage combat to become recognized as proficient in a particular weapon style. Students must train for 30 hrs. with a Certified Teacher of stage combat from the Society of American Fight Directors. The SAFD teaches classes in eight different weapon styles and offers a theatrical firearms safety certificate. More information can be found at the SAFD website.
The stage combat class was the first of its kind at the University of Kentucky. It was coordinated in conjunction with a production of Les Liaisons Dangereux, in which a few students had the opportunity to put their stage combat training to practical use. The introduction of stage combat to the curriculum allows for all students involved in a production of this caliber to understand and appreciate not only the violent nature of a character, but the impact of physical storytelling on an audience. Plans are already in place to test in Rapier & Dagger, Single Sword, and Unarmed again in the spring of 2013.