The Paddy Crean Stage Combat Workshop was recently held at the Banff Centre for the Arts in Alberta, Canada during the 2016 winter. Sponsored by the IOSP (International Order of the Sword & Pen) and as a commemoration of their 25th anniversary, the Sawmill was invited to motion capture the masters and their classes for archival purposes as part of an eventual documentary.
This year's edition brought together masters from several genres of stage combat offering everything from historical fencing and swordplay, stunt work, classic bar room brawls, whips, hand-to-hand fighting techniques to spy scenarios.
The "Paddy" is the flagship event held every two years. The goal is to create an educational platform for artists from different generations and broaden an understanding of how movements were developed and enhanced with each successive generation.
The IOSP membership is open to others with the same enthusiasm and includes top professionals representing nearly every national dramatic combat association worldwide. It shares a diverse exploration and exchange of techniques, processes, theories and practices as applied to combat and the martial arts (contemporary and historical) for stage, screen and television.
