In February 1969, Henry Marshall, Master at Arms of the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art, and William Hobbs, who was then the Fight Director at the National Theatre, convened a meeting in a small flat in north London of those who regularly engaged in directing fights in the British theatre as well as people who regularly taught at drama schools that offered stage combat - or “Fencing” as it was called and practised. The result of this assembly was the formation of a body of specialised practitioners dedicated to the development of dramatic combat as a professional discipline. Thus was born the “Society of British Fight Directors” (SBFD).

The founding members of that small society, which was to become the grandfather of all the stage combat societies of today, were: Henry Marshall; William Hobbs; Charles Alexis; B.H.Barry; John Barton; Roy Goodall; John Greenwood; Ian McKay; Bryan Mosley; Derek Ware; Arthur Wise; Philip Anthony; Patrick Crean; Hans Mater and John Waller.

The aims of the society were twofold:

‘Fight Director’ was a new term coined by William Hobbs to describe the craft of directing dramatic combat as a performance discipline that incorporated historical accuracy, technical flair and rigorous safety.  Previous terms that had been applied such as swordmaster or fight arranger were inadequate and did not reflect the true nature of this emerging art form.  At worst, no credit was given at all.

To help achieve the first aim, a fight test was introduced at drama schools comprising a fight that combined the techniques of Rapier & Dagger, Pointwork and Unarmed Combat to a set Shakespearean text. To aid the second, the society became a clearing house for professional work and when one person was unable to do a job the Society would contact other available fight directors. In order to disseminate information about the art and practice of fight directing, the first magazine of the society was published in the autumn of 1973 which rightly advocated that it was “the first issue of the first magazine in the world devoted to the art and profession of those who create and direct stage fights”.

Teaching

Such was the overall success of the society that SBFD fight directing members were teaching at most of the major drama schools. A syllabus had evolved that covered every aspect of theatrical combat to give students as many opportunities to study the art as possible. From this, a series of grades was designed to accurately reflect the abilities of the successful students which were recognised by the theatrical profession and were used as a guide by theatre directors and fight directors as an aid to casting. Indeed, the Advanced certificate was recognised by British Actor’s Equity as the first of the qualifications required to become an Equity registered fight director.

Fight Directing

The SBFD had created a specialist body within Equity, recognised by the various Theatre Management organisations as The Equity Register of Fight Directors. The Equity Council asked the register to form a committee within the union structure to represent the professional needs of the fight director and to act as an advisory body to the council. The committee could now negotiate with Theatre Management organisations for a contract for fight directors.

The society was asked by Equity to create a structured training scheme for the training of future fight directors. The SBFD also set the standards within the industry by publishing a Health & Safety advisory document for itself and Equity which contained information regarding the safe handling and maintenance of weapons in training and performance.

Henry Marshall's vision had, by this time, materialised into two very positive streams of action. But another quite unexpected development occurred - the society had also become an inspiration and model leading to the formation of other groups overseas including the following:

A Period Of Transition

Within the SBFD things were changing as new people joined the society and brought fresh ideas and challenges. Now that the formation of the Equity register had addressed the need to raise the status of Fight Directors it appeared that one half of the Society’s original aims had been realised. In 1991 Jonathan Howell succeeded Henry Marshall as chairman of the SBFD and was also elected Chairman of the Equity Fight Directors committee.

It was evident, however, that the emphasis of the society’s work had shifted towards the teaching of Stage Combat which focused attention on the second of the stated aims of the society.  Although the SBFD had resisted using the term ‘fight teacher’, as some of the original members felt that all teachers should be fight Directors, there were now members of the society who, by virtue of their status as apprentice, had assisted their fight director masters and who had now begun teaching in their own right. Debate was fervent but it became clear that the prevailing sentiment was to change the name of the society to reflect more accurately the work being done by the majority of its members. 

In 1996, 27 years after the foundation of the Society of British Fight Directors – the society voted to change its name to The British Academy of Dramatic Combat (BADC).

For the next decade the BADC was concerned with establishing clear, rigorous and relevant qualifications assessed according to industry-standard criteria.  The BADC emerged as a lead body within the performing arts and entertainment industry for the provision of professional stage combat training.

The BADC has developed a range of syllabi for weapon systems and unarmed combat styles leading to a range of certification examinations from Foundation to Advanced level, most of which are compatible with the Higher Education Funding Council’s examination criteria and marking systems.  BADC fight performance certificates are recognised throughout the theatrical world as standards of excellence in stage combat proficiency.

The BADC has developed structured training schemes which allow progression within the academy from basic actor/combatant to fight teacher as well as the assessment and training of fight directors for the Equity register. All teaching members of the BADC have undergone a rigorous training programme and the examining members of the BADC are highly qualified, experienced professionals with a tradition of working in theatre, television and film productions.

The BADC currently examines over 1000 students a year in Drama Schools and training centres throughout the UK and overseas.  The Academy also has fight teachers working in most of the major drama schools in the UK and influences the modern execution of stage combat around the world.

In 2003, Nicholas Hall succeeded Jonathan Howell as Chair of the Academy and elections of BADC Committee members take place every 2 years to ensure that the democratic principles of the organizations are maintained.  The current committee is committed to navigating the next phase of the Academy’s work which will see the enhanced provision of support for its teachers and an expansion of the membership base, coupled with a consideration of the emerging needs of stage combat training within theatre and new performance media.