Lusie Cuskey

Stage Combat Journal

TECHNIQUES

Unsuccessful Push

Footwork The victim stands with wide stance and low centre of gravity. The attacker
stands with both hands on victim's shoulders.
Technique Victim centres weight. Attacker pushes victim with force equalling resistance.
Victim shifts feet to maintain balance. Attacker pushes with uninterrupted
contact against victim.
Side Coaching Be sure to bend your knees and elbows, and get close to your partner, and take
bigger steps.

Successful Push

Footwork The victim, with a wide stance, faces away from the attacker. Attacker
approaches from behind. (Alternatively, the attacker may approach from the
side, or the victim may be facing the attacker with a wide stance, staggered feet,
and a low centre of gravity.)
Technique For a push from behind, attacker approaches and places hands on back of victim,
utilising a verbal or physical cue; for a push from the front, attacker cues victim
with eyes. Attacker begins to push victim with predetermined level of effort.
Victim shows resistance by maintaining balance. Victim moves with direction of
force, then regains balance.
Side Coaching Isolate the shoulders, and take a number of steps that make sense with the level
of the push.

Unsuccessful Pull

Footwork The victim stands with wide stance and low centre of gravity. The attacker
stands with hands on victim's wrists.
Technique The victim centres their weight, low and grounded. Attacker pulls on victim's
wrists, and victim shifts body weight to maintain balance.
Side Coaching Don't move with baby steps; purposely shift feet to maintain balance and control.

Successful Pull

Footwork The victim stands with wide stance and low centre of gravity. The attacker
stands with hands on victim's wrists.
Technique The victim centres their weight, low and grounded. Attacker pulls on victim's
wrists, and victim shifts body weight to maintain balance. Attacker makes eye
 contact to cue victim, then each take one step in the direction of the force and
regain balance.
Side Coaching Keep tension in the arms at all times, bend the knees.

3/5/7 Drill

Footwork Partners stand facing each other with soft knees and a low centre of gravity.
Technique Attacker cups hands and knaps the chest of the victim as if for a push with levels
of 3, 5, and 7.
Side Coaching There should be a marked difference in the sound of the knaps between the three
levels; you're NOT going to hurt your partner if you're using the correct
technique.

Hair Pull

Footwork Victim stands with wide stance and low centre of gravity. Attacker stands next to
victim, with feet perpendicular to the victim's stance.
Technique Attacker places open palm on top of head of victim, victim pushes hand to head
with both of their (no hospital) hands while attacker scrunches hand. Victim
holds attacker's hand to head as they move through the space.
Side Coaching Attacker should keep tension in the arm so it looks like they're really pulling
them. Be aware of vocal technique, increasing in pitch as you're pulled upwards.

Ear Pull

Footwork Victim stands with soft knees. Attacker stands facing victim.
Technique Attacker reaches out with cupped hand, placing fingertips behind the ear. Victim
presses the attacker's hand to their head with two (no hospital) hands, then hold
hand to head as they move throughout the space.
Side Coaching Be careful, when positioning hand, to not risk actually putting pressure on ear.

Front Choke

Footwork Victim stands with a wide stance and a low centre of gravity. Attacker
approaches victim from the front.
Technique Attacker places hands on victim's chest, with thumbs crossed below the break
between the collarbones. Victim tucks chin to chest, and grabs attacker's wrists,
pressing their hands to their chest. Attacker curls fingers (but places no pressure
with thumbs) and chokes at predetermined level of intensity. Victim reacts
accordingly.
Side Coaching If your partner is shorter or taller than you are, modify your stance to make it
make sense. The closer to the victim, the better. The victim must remember to
breathe.
Front Choke Escape

Footwork Victim stands with a wide stance and a low centre of gravity. Attacker
approaches victim from the front.
Technique Attacker places hands on victim's chest, with thumbs crossed below the break
between the collarbones. Victim tucks chin to chest, and grabs attacker's wrists,
pressing their hands to their chest. Attacker curls fingers (but places no pressure
with thumbs) and chokes at predetermined level of intensity. Victim lifts hands
in air above attacker's arms, and brings open palms down on attacker's
forearms, displacing the hands. Attacker's body falls forward slightly.
Side Coaching Don't “help” each other; wait until your victim/attacker takes an action before
you react to it. Make sure to get out of the way before you get headbutted.

Rear Choke

Footwork Victim stands with wide stance and low centre of gravity. Attacker approaches
from behind, ending with feet spread, front foot between feet of victim.
Technique Attacker knaps victim's back upon approach, then puts bend of elbow under
victim's chin from behind. Victim tucks chin to chest. Attacker puts weight on
back foot. Victim leans backwards, placing weight on the attacker's side.
Side Coaching Actually let your partner have your weight. Attacker may hold wrist for a more
convincing picture. Attacker should maintain tension in choking arm.

Rear Choke Escape

Footwork Victim stands with wide stance and low centre of gravity. Attacker approaches
from behind, ending with feet spread, front foot between feet of victim.
Technique Attacker knaps victim's back upon approach, then puts bend of elbow under
victim's chin from behind. Victim tucks chin to chest. Attacker puts weight on
back foot. Victim leans backwards, placing weight on the attacker's side. Victim
lifts upstage hand into air, and brings elbow into own side. Attacker reacts as if
elbowed.
Side Coaching Make sure you're turned so the attacker's body can help mask the elbow.

Slip Hand Knap

Footwork Victim stands with wide stance and low centre of gravity.
Attacker approaches facing victim and centres body over victim's left foot.
Technique Attacker knaps victim's left shoulder, then puts their weight on their back foot
while drawing back right arm level with other hand. Attacker gives visual cue,
then passes hand in front of victim, making a knap by clapping their hands in
front of victim's body while following through with hips. Victim turns head
with punch, then follows through with body and takes a number of steps
 appropriate to level of punch with vocal.
Side Coaching Don't go upwards with the punch; keep everything level. The body should be
loose when getting punched.

Open Hand Stomach Punch

Footwork Victim stands with a wide stance and a low centre of gravity, back to the
audience. Attacker stands with feet perpendicular to victim's and a low centre
of gravity and weight on the further foot.
Technique Attacker pulls back arm level with the victim's stomach, then gives the victim
an eye cue. The attacker moves fist towards victim's stomach, turning hips and
shifting weight to front foot. then opens hand to knap above the victim's belly
button at a predetermined level while the victim flexes their stomach. Victim
reacts accordingly, folding in on themselves, while attacker allows hand to
recoil into a fist more quickly than the initial hit, shifting weight back to back
foot.
Side Coaching Recoil more quickly than you go in. Stand in a way that will block the punch.
Keep eyes on target while punching. Be careful to stay sufficiently out of the
way so you don't get headbutted.

Close-fisted Stomach Punch

Footwork Victim stands with a wide stance and a low centre of gravity, knees slightly
bent.
Attacker stands with feet perpendicular to victim's and a low centre of gravity
and weight on the further foot.
Technique Attacker pulls back arm level with the victim's stomach with hand in a fist,
then gives the victim an eye cue.
The attacker moves fist towards victim's stomach, turning hips and shifting
weight to front foot.
Attacker makes contact over victim's navel with closed fist.
Attacker recoils quickly using negative energy, shifting weight back to the
back foot.
Victim bends at the waist.
Side Coaching Hit with the flat part of your fist, not the knuckles.
Knap will be made on contact – if you use good targeting, you won't hurt your
partner.
Trust your partner to accurately communicate what they're feeling, force-wise.

Back Hand Punch

Footwork Victim stands with a low centre of gravity, knees slightly bent.
Attacker stands facing victim, or at a 45 degree angle to the left of the victim,
with weight largely on left foot.
Technique Attacker pulls right arm with fist across body.
 Victim bends knees to crouch.
Attacker sweeps straight arm from left to right in front of body where the
victim's head previously was.
Attacker's right foot sweeps with arm, turning body 45 degrees away from
victim to the right.
Side Coaching Make sure to keep your eyes where your victim's head was before they ducked,
not where it ends up – your hand will go where your eyes go.
Victim should be sure to duck low enough that attacker's arm can come straight
out from shoulder and pass over them.

Uppercut

Footwork Victim stands with wide stance and low centre of gravity.
Attacker approaches facing victim and centres body over victim's right foot
with weight on their back foot.
Technique Attacker draws back right arm with a fist,
Side Coaching

Right Cross (Blocked)

Footwork Victim stands facing upstage with wide stance and low centre of gravity with
knees slightly bent.
Attacker stands forty-five degrees to right facing victim.
Technique Attacker pulls back right arm in fist.
Attacker brings right arm up and around towards victim's head.
Victim lifts left arm with arm bent at a 90 degree angle, blocking attacker's
punch – they should connect at the meaty part of the forearms.
Side Coaching The block should not be effortless – there should be force in the block, and it
should feel like a reaction rather than knowing the punch is coming and
anticipating it.

Slip Escape

Footwork
Technique
Side Coaching

Reversal

Footwork
Technique
Side Coaching
Bite

Footwork
Technique
Side Coaching

SAFETY TECHNIQUES

Cueing Cueing is when the attacker lets the victim know, in a way not directly
noticeable by the audience, that they are going to attack. There can be visual
cues (making or breaking eye contact), verbal cues (a certain line), or
nonverbal physical cues (a certain type of touch.)
Proper Warm Up Warming up properly is incredibly important for making sure actors can fight
safely.
Equipment Having proper equipment, like knee and elbow pads, is essential for making
sure actors can fight safely.
Distance Setting distance before a move is performed and being aware of how far you
are from your partner – and how far away you need to be to be able to execute
a move correctly – ensures safe and aesthetically pleasing fights.
Compartmentalisation When learning a technique for the first time, it's important to break it down
into very small, individual sections and master them each slowly before
putting them together or increasing the speed.

WARM UP TECHNIQUES

Head Rolls Rolling the head gently from shoulder to shoulder warms up the neck and
prepares it for the rapid movements required in reacting to slaps and punches.
Arm Swings Rotating the arms in a circular motion warms up the arms and shoulders and
prepares them for fighting.

VOCAL TECHNIQUES

Vowel Sounds Different parts of the body are associated with different vowel sounds, moving
from a “ha” in the face region down to a “hu” in the lower stomach and groin
area.
Intensity Sound = intensity = pain, so the sound should correspond appropriately with
the level of the attack.
In Hair Pull Pitch and volume should increase as head is pulled upwards.
In Choke Short, staccato noises that decrease in volume, pitch, and frequency as death
occurs.
Texture The quality of the pain (sharp and fast vs. more broad, for example) affects the
texture of the sound.
PARTNERING TECHNIQUES

Weight Sharing Balancing with your partner so you are each supporting the other; especially
important in unsuccessful pushes and pulls where the unit cannot move.
Don't Help It is important to react only to what your partner actually gives you; “helping”
them by reacting before they've actually touched you or completed the
movement isn't helpful at all.
Make Them Look Your goal should always be to make your partner look good. When both
Good partners are looking out for each other, the fight becomes an effective, cohesive
whole.
Trust Your Partner Just as your focus is on making your partner look good and being a responsible
combatant, it is imperative to believe that your partner is also working at those
goals to make a safe, aesthetically pleaing fight.
Physical Awareness In techniques like chokes and headlocks that require partners move together,
both must be aware of where their partner is in space and move in a way that
allows them to keep up.

REHEARSAL TECHNIQUES

Compartmentalisation When learning a technique for the first time, it's important to break it down
into very small, individual sections and master them each slowly before
putting them together or increasing the speed.
Go Slow! Everything should be practised very slowly and deliberately before moving up
to speed.

STAGING TECHNIQUES

Masking Though the mechanics are different for each technique, both combatants
should always be careful to make sure they are positioned in such a way that
allows for knaps to be masked, or hidden from the audience.
Facing Upstage For certain punches (slip hand knap, open hand stomach punch), it is necessary
for the victim to be facing upstage.
Visibility When turning away from the audience to mask a knap isn't necessary, both
combatants should make an effort to keep their faces visible to the audience as
much as possible.
Knap A knap is the sound of the hit, which makes it believable to the audience.
Knaps can be created by the attacker, the victim, or both working in tandem.
Negative Energy Negative energy is the idea of recoiling after a hit faster than you went in for it;
this creates the illusion that the attacker used more force than they really did.
Spatial Awareness Make sure to be aware, in situations where you are struggling in the heat of the
 moment, that you can end up facing where you're supposed to be facing and
are where you should be.
Cheating Out When it isn't otherwise necessary to be facing away for masking purposes, it's
important to make sure the actor's face and reactions are visible to the
audience.

ACTING THE FIGHT

GOTE A fight is a scene – therefore, each actor must have something he or she wants
to accomplish (a goal), an obstacle coming from the other person, they must
use tactics, and they must expect to win; since the scene escalates to a physical
fight, the actor must make sure they have sufficient stakes for their character to
be provoked into a physical encounter.
Less Talking, More Generally, once you get into a scene, there should not be long breaks of
Fighting! dialogue during the fight – if characters are sufficiently provoked to get
physical, it's unlikely repeatedly deescalating the situation is going to be
justifiable.
Stakes Fighting is a big deal for normal people – there have to be incredibly high
stakes for people to be willing to fight, and especially kill each other, so stakes
must be sufficiently high for the actors to have a reason to fight and reasonably
make the choice to begin a fight anew each time.

FIGHT NOTATION

Unsuccessful Push/Pull Combo

A B
Facing SL (at CS)
Unsuccessful push @ 1
(stay in position)
Successful push @ 3
(1 step forward)
React
(back 3 steps)
A grabs B
(by wrist)
Unsuccessful pull @ 6
(stay in position)
Successful pull @ 6
(1 step backwards)
Foot stomp
(apprach B)
Facing SR (at CS)
--------------------------------------> React
(stay in position)
--------------------------------------> React
(1 step back)
<-------------------------------------- Successful push @ 5
(approach A)
B grabs A
(by wrist)
--------------------------------------> React
(stay in position)
--------------------------------------> React
(1 step forward)
--------------------------------------> React
(2 steps SL)
A grabs B B grabs A
(by “hair”) (holds hand to head)
Hair pull --------------------------------------> Reach
(SR until off stage) (off stage SR)

Graded Fight

A B
Facing DS (at UR) Facing SR (at UR)
Unsuccessful push @ 1 -------------------------------------->
(stay in position)
Unsuccessful push @ 3 -------------------------------------->
(stay in position)
Successful push @ 5 -------------------------------------->
(1 step forward)
A grabs B
(by wrist)
Unsuccessful pull @ 6 -------------------------------------->
(stay in position)
React <--------------------------------------
(two steps back)
Running choke -------------------------------------->
(four steps forward)
React <--------------------------------------
(bend over)
React <--------------------------------------
(grab hands, follow B)
Open hand stomach punch @ ? -------------------------------------->
(stay in position)
Uppercut @ ? -------------------------------------->
(follow through)
Slip hand knap @ ? -------------------------------------->
(follow through SL)
Backhand punch @ ? -------------------------------------->
(turn, remain in position)
Right cross @ ? -------------------------------------->
(remain in position)
React <-------------------------------------- Close-fisted stomach punch @ ?
(bend over)
React <--------------------------------------
 (go US with B)
React <--------------------------------------
(stay in position)
React <--------------------------------------
(turn around, 3 steps DR)
React <--------------------------------------
(forward fall)
Get to kneeling position
(stay still)
React <--------------------------------------
(grab arm)
Slip escape -------------------------------------->
(stand, move slightly UR)
Rear choke -------------------------------------->
(turn B to face US)
Block <--------------------------------------
(stay in position)
Throw to ground -------------------------------------->
(follow through 1 step SL)
Rest
(stay in position)
Side kick @ ? -------------------------------------->
(take 4 steps SL)
Pounce on B -------------------------------------->
(move DL to B)
Front choke -------------------------------------->
(remain in position)
React <--------------------------------------
(roll SL with B)
React <--------------------------------------
(struggle DL, die)