By Starley Murray Live on Friday, February 3, 2013
‘Live by the Sword,’ that has been my life from an early age. I first picked up a sword in Toledo, Spain in 1986, where Maestro Valentino taught me dueling and how to stop a bleeding wound on my face. I have had many Maestros and Sensei’s from around the world since then, in every edged weapon I could get my hands on. But the one who taught me the most about how a sword master should act was lost to the world on January 1st 2012.
Bob Anderson (aka: the man who stabbed Errol Flynn,) the choreographer of the Princess Bride fight scene, and many other Hollywood favorites. I met him after spending many years training all over the world and I had developed a bit of an ego. You know the, ‘I am young and can take on the world,’ thing. When I met him it was like meeting an old friend. He was the most modest man I have ever known. People would approach him all the time and say I love this fight scene or that fight scene, and he would just say, “thank you.”
I spent three years training with Bob, and after all the teachers I have had, he was the hardest. The best way to describe him is that he was a knight of old. In his words, he taught me to, ‘Excel in the arms, to show courage, to be gallant and loyal, and to swear off cowardice and baseness.” He showed me that combat on screen is an art form and can tell a beautiful story when done the right way. The biggest thing he taught was that it is okay to demand perfection for something you love and to follow what makes you happy.
I was lucky to be able to call him a friend and a mentor. Those three years have influenced my fight choreography more than anything else. Yes, I can be a bit of a perfectionist. I like to think it comes from the heart, something that a good friend put there.
JP Dostal is the Owner of Duel at Dusk Combat. He lives in Las Vegas, Nevada. Learn more about JP by visiting his Facebook Fan Page http://www.facebook.com/duelatduskcombat and his website at www.duelatduskcombat.com