[HN Gopher] Destreza
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       Destreza
        
       Author : pepys
       Score  : 25 points
       Date   : 2023-04-03 02:17 UTC (20 hours ago)
        
 (HTM) web link (en.wikipedia.org)
 (TXT) w3m dump (en.wikipedia.org)
        
       | realworldperson wrote:
       | [dead]
        
       | mankyd wrote:
       | > [The sword fighting technique's] precepts are based on reason,
       | geometry, and tied to intellectual, philosophical, and moral
       | ideals, incorporating various aspects of a well-rounded
       | Renaissance humanist education, with a special focus on the
       | writings of classical authors such as Aristotle, Euclid, and
       | Plato.
       | 
       | Is there a specific term for the way people like to romanticize
       | martial arts? I don't mean this to be dismissive of "Destreza" -
       | I've only just learned of it - but I find it to be a common theme
       | that people associate all sorts of strange fantasies around how
       | best to hurt other humans. From the way people compare martial
       | arts styles and the practitioners thereof, to the way guns are
       | talked about, it seems a distinct phenomenon.
        
         | mkl95 wrote:
         | _Bullshido_ is probably the term you are looking for
        
         | rcoveson wrote:
         | > Is there a specific term for the way people like to
         | romanticize martial arts?
         | 
         | "Romantic" works pretty well if you consider the values of the
         | Romans.
        
         | EthanHeilman wrote:
         | I don't think it is just martial arts. Any sort of knowledge or
         | product being sold attempts to associate itself to the high
         | status ideas at that moment in time. You are trying to sell a
         | book on swordmanship to the sort of people with money and time
         | to buy and read books. You want to explain to them why this
         | book is better than other books they could buy.
         | 
         | * "Tang! The space-age drink"
         | 
         | * Better Living Through Chemistry cookbooks
         | 
         | * "Quantum Diet Supplements"
         | 
         | * Infinix will also feature an aircraft-grade aluminium finish
         | 
         | * Pants that "mimics the surface of a lotus leaf using
         | nanotechnology"
         | 
         | * "The Czinger 21C is probably one of the most technologically
         | advanced cars. Not only for what it is but, rather, from how it
         | was made - with the help of A.I."
         | 
         | * Firewalls that use ML to detect threats where ML is usually a
         | simple pattern match
         | 
         | * The defensive driving techniques in this course are based on
         | recent advances in science of the human brain...
         | 
         | The martial aspect enters into it because violence is often
         | view as a low-status activity. This is because violence
         | requires working with your hands, which the middle classes in
         | most societies sees as beneath their social standing. For
         | example see how middle class families in the US value a college
         | education vs education in a trade school. This isn't just a US
         | phenomena. The middle and upper classes value a humanist
         | (liberal arts) education over trades or crafts. A fencing
         | master selling a book on fencing is going to want to convince
         | these people that the book isn't about hurting people but about
         | self-improvement and having a well rounded humanist education
         | based on universal humanist principles. See also how Summer
         | camps, Karate schools and various ofter sports market
         | themselves as teaching "self-discipline" and "confidence".
        
       | 082349872349872 wrote:
       | Consult _La Verdadera Destreza_ if you want a high ratio of
       | theory to pragmatism with your swordplay; consult _Jeet Kune Do_
       | 's channeling of Nadi et.al. for the opposite ratio.
        
         | EthanHeilman wrote:
         | Salvator Fabris also takes the pragmatic position, writing in
         | his preface:
         | 
         | "We have written in our mother tongue, Italian, dispensing with
         | flowers of rhetoric and elegance of style, not thinking shame
         | to acknowledge our little learning, or, following the example
         | of a very famous captain of our age, to declare that in our
         | youth we could not wield both the sword and the pen. [...] We
         | have shunned the use of geometrical terms, although
         | swordsmanship has its foundations more in geometry than in any
         | other science. Simply and as naturally as possible we have
         | tried to bring the art within the capacity of all. "
        
       | EthanHeilman wrote:
       | I attended some lessons on Thibault's Destreza [0] and it was
       | fascinating. Thibault seems to be one of the more approachable
       | Destreza systems.
       | 
       | Most of texts on Destreza are near unreadable. This had lead to a
       | theory that some Destreza texts are cover texts for occult
       | practices or alchemical recipes. Such claims were remarked on
       | both during the time the texts were published and in the present
       | day.
       | 
       | [0]: https://wiktenauer.com/wiki/G%C3%A9rard_Thibault_d%27Anvers
        
       | mkl95 wrote:
       | > Avoidance of movement directly toward the opponent
       | 
       | > Use of an initial distance that is as close as possible, while
       | remaining out of reach
       | 
       | > Extension of the sword arm in a straight line from the shoulder
       | to obtain maximum reach
       | 
       | Modern boxing shares a lot of principles with destreza, including
       | the ones I quoted above. Some of the similarities are almost
       | uncanny, particularly when you compare it with the Soviet school
       | of boxing.
        
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       (page generated 2023-04-03 23:01 UTC)