Australian Savate Homepage
Defense dans la Rue
Club de gimnasia y esgrima de Bs, Aires
This historical and non-commercial site is dedicated to professor ARTURO BONAFONT, a forgotten Argentinian fencing teacher from Buenos Aires. He was "Maestro de Esgrima" in the prestigious fencing club in Buenos Aires "Club de gimnasia y esgrima de Bs, Aires". This club with a great tradition exists from 1880 until now and has cane fencing - "Esgrima de bastón" still on their schedule today.
For more info click here.
A. Bonafont published in 1930 an excellent book "NUEVOS MODOS DE DEFENDERSE EN LA CALLE CON UN BASTON por ARTURO BONAFONT( Maestro del club de gimnasia y esgrima de Bs, Aires) EDICION ILUSTRADA con SETENTA Y DOS FOTOGRAFIAS ". This manual is very rare and teaches reverse grip ( toma invertida ) street cane method, which allow for an almost instantaneous reaction attack directly from the daily position of grip in all angles of attacks, guards, molinets, thrusts, butts, bar smashes. I have got this exemplar directly from the Argentinian bookstore, that is signatured by the author and dedicated to his student and friend RAYMONDO PAYNE. The author (as attacker) and his son and assistant Roque (as defender) presents street fighting techniques on 72 pictures of this book.
After the end of the Great War streets of Buenos Aires became dangerous. There was an increase
number of assaults, robberies and murders against common citizens and their families. A. Bonafont as self defense expert understood, that elegant academic cane fencing is not enough effective for street survival. His school "ESCUELA DE PALO-BASTÓN" is simple, easy to learn for not trained people and designed for defence in urban places like street, cafe, theater etc. Perfect artistic positions, correct execution of molinets and attacks of cane fencing are replaced by natural guards, simple and dynamic movements of real combat.
There is an excellent review of A.Bonafont´s book on Craig Geminer´s Australian Savate Homepage, written by the jiu-jitsu and cane fighting expert Ralph Grasso, who made popular this rare book, after many years of the omitance, the first. Many thanks Ralph !! Perhaps I can add to this theme some more information. This book is a summary of author´s several years of practice with the cane used like physical exercise and for the self-defense. In his school you can find elements and influence of :
- classical sabre fencing (possible Spanish or French school) - molinete, amago, expulsión, batimiento,
dominación, golpe de tiempo o arresto etc.
- savate and la défense dans la rue (Emile André, Jean Joseph-Renaud)- el punetazo, codazo, cabezazo, rodillazo, puntapié, pisotón, la patada etc.
Guards [guardia libre | guardia recogida]
Footwork [el cambio de guardia o de flanco | giro | avance de flanco o de perfil | retrocesco de flanco o de perfil fondo | salto hacia atras]
Blocks [quites volantes | paradas de recurso | golpes de tiempo]
Simple attacks or counter-attacks at long range [bastonazos]
Simple attacks or counter-attacks at close range [golpes de regaton | golpes con el puno]
Combinated attacks [one or more bastonazos and golpes con el puno]
Multiple attacks [feints and golpes]
Savate/boxing [dirty techniques]
At the end of his book, there is an announce, that another book, about academic cane fencing, written by the same author will be published :"CURSO ACADEMICO DE ESGRIMA DE PALO-BASTÓN MANEJADO ALTERNATIVAMENTE CON LA MANO DERECHA, CON LA IZQUIERDA Y CON LAS DOS A LA VEZ", which will be very recommendable as a sport and an aesthetic art of a physical culture.
"Nadie puede decir : Estoy libre de agresiones ! Y, por consiguiente, todo el mundo deberia saber defenderse con un bastón." - Nobody can say : I´m free from agression. And therefore everybody must know to defend themselves with the cane. This is Arturo Bonafont´s message to our generation.
Contact: Ing. Roman Hliva |
valmer [at] azet.sk