PhD, Associate Professor V.V. Lobanov^1
1Tomsk State Pedagogical University, Tomsk

Keywords: artistic fencing, patriotic education, sport sociology, ancient heritage.

Background. The study was designed to analyse how the training process with a high priority given to the patriotic education ideals needs to be staged and modelled by the relevant sport groups. The study shows that the ideal image of an ancient citizen-warrior always prepared to defend his Motherland was cultivated in the ancient times when it was natural for every citizen to be highly skilful in swordsmanship to defend their own city in case of foreign aggression. Efficiency of this ancient culture is proved by the fact that the relatively sparsely populated areas of Ancient Greece were successful both in defending from the Persian invasion and in counterattacking in the period of Alexander the Great.

The study data and analyses were intended to verify the primary hypothesis that the efficiency of the education and training process in the artistic fencing sport groups making an emphasis on the team competitions may be improved by the ancient ideals being mobilised for progress in the modern swordsmanship. We believe that this issue has still been underexplored in the relevant studies that are in fact dominated by the historical aspects of weaponry production [4; 8] and progress of the fencing art [6; 7]; whilst the evolutionary logics of the sport groups making a special emphasis on patriotic education are either left aside or addressed in the aspects other than those explored in the present study [2; 3].

Methods and structure of the study. The study methodology was based on the relevant modelling and historical comparison analyses supported by the expert questionnaire survey. Subject to the latter were heads of the artistic fencing sport groups and clubs based in Krasnoyarsk. General subject to the study was the success history of fencing groups in Krasnoyarsk in the period of 1989 till now. The summarised experience and history of the sport group made it possible to offer a few recommendations on how the training process quality may be improved by a special priority being given to the patriotic ideals cultivating in the training process.

Study results and discussion. The study found that the artistic fencing sport history in Krasnoyarsk in the period of 1989 till now may be classified into the following five stages, with the classification driven by the artistic fencing progress and growing independence in the fencing sport process. The progress experience shows that at the first legalisation stage (1989-2008), the artistic fencing club activity leaded by A.V. Bulavkin was increasingly accepted by the local communities as an efficient method to build up young people’s general culture, physical fitness and patriotism. In opinions of the experts surveyed, routines of the A.V. Bulavkin’s trainees were competitive rather than scenic training products i.e. the routines designed by A.V. Bulavkin made a special emphasis on artistic rather than theatrical fencing aspects. It was further found by the survey that the subject activity similar to the modern artistic fencing was known in Krasnoyarsk at that time as the “stage historical fencing”. At this stage, the patriotic ideals and fortitude were cultivated in the young trainees by the swordsmanship culture driven both by the fencing art as such and by the team successes in the relevant social and patriotic events.

At the second testing stage[1] (2009-2012), artistic fencing was formally registered with the Russian Register of Sport Disciplines followed by the Artistic Fencing Federation being established in 2008. As a result, municipal Gryphon Fencing Studio leaded by S.M. Dryannykh switched over to artistic fencing with heavy weaponry. We found that in 2010 Gryphon Fencing Studio introduced Steel Dawn Festival to facilitate the competitive environment building process, popularise the sport discipline and to give rise to the new Krasnoyarsk-based historical and role fencing teams enthusiastic and prepared to practically try and test artistic fencing as a new sport discipline. At this stage, according to expert reports, a few clubs emerged that later on were either disintegrated or disinterested in artistic fencing, namely Winterfell, Arkenston, Kitezh and Lik-In-Yan Clubs. Drama students of Krasnoyarsk State Academy of Music and Theatre also tried their skills and fortune in Steel Dawn Festival events albeit their core interests were always in the stage rather than purely artistic fencing domain. It should be noted that the artistic fencing groups have kept making an emphasis on the social and patriotic aspects of the routines and it was the reason for their growing popularity.

It should be noted that it was since 2010 that the Steel Dawn Festival has been increasingly popular with its special technical and artistic skills refereeing system; and, hence, it provided growing motivations for the career-making fencing competitors who chose artistic fencing. Team leaders and educators have adapted, in their turn, the team training process to the rules of competitions. On the whole, the study found that in the period of 2010-2012 the Krasnoyarsk-based fencing clubs could choose one of the following progress paths:

1) Artistic fencing selected as the core club sport discipline;

2) Activity other than artistic fencing or festivals; and

3) Concentration on exhibition performances.

This progress stage was finalised by the Gryphon Studio leaders’ (S. Dryannykh and A. Naymushin) wining the 2012 World Championship in Portugal, with the Krasnoyarsk fencers since than being highly motivated for further progress by their success stories.

At the third determination stage (2013 till now), the Steel Dawn Festival has evolved to the pivotal event and element of the Krasnoyarsk artistic fencing community. This tournament is now ranked second only to the Russian Championship with its multiple routines, free workshops and master classes from the leading athletes and coaches; and it could not but gives rise to new artistic fencing schools, clubs and sport groups in the city. Since 2013 the municipal artistic fencing sport has evolved both intensively and extensively with a number of new Krasnoyarsk-based clubs emerging and using the Steel Dawn Festival as a foothold for their establishment and sport excellence projects. It should be noted that the Krasnoyarsk youth communities are still active in forming new artistic fencing groups, and this enthusiasm may be due to the Krasnoyarsk artistic fencing school mission and success being popular with the high priority given to the social, educational and patriotic aspects by the sport clubs and studios.

Our analysis of the design models applied by the artistic fencing groups making a special emphasis on the ancient citizen-warrior culture as a basis for the training process generated a dynamic classification of the relevant Krasnoyarsk-based artistic fencing sport clubs and studios: see Table 1 hereunder.

Table 1. Dynamic classification of the Krasnoyarsk-based artistic fencing sport clubs and studios

The study was not intended to provide the strict timing of the above design models since their evolution was not linear in fact and could go back at times. Kamelot Club, for instance, went through models 1-4 and turned back to model 3; and Factory Group that initially was established as an artistic fencing school (model 5) later on evolved to a multidisciplinary club to combine a variety of fencing styles (model 4). It was found, however, that backtracks in the club activity are rather occasional in fact. Thus Krom Club went in its progress through models 2-4 and, after its merger with Pulsar Studio, opted for model 5. Gryphon Fencing Studio was initially designed in model 4 format but later on opted for model 5. It should also be mentioned that in the peak-popularity period of the Steel Dawn Festival, the newly established clubs (like Alia Terra and Simuran Clubs) opted for model 5 since their maiden days.

The study found, on the other hand, that a significant proportion of artistic fencing clubs and groups are more or less designed in model 3 format with fencing being viewed as one of the core methods for their military, patriotic and social education process focused on adolescent and young people. This finding gives the grounds to state that the ancient patriotic education values in their modern versions may be actively applied among the high priority ideals pivotal for success of the modern artistic fencing teams.

Conclusion. The study data and analysis gave the means to offer the following recommendation on how the efficiency of the artistic fencing group/ club activities may be improved:

First, the teams and their leaders must understand the process logics with its legalisation, testing and determination stages and consider the factors of crucial importance for the progress from one stage to the other.

Second, the team leaders must bear in mind that those artistic fencing clubs/ groups that give the highest priority to the patriotic education aspects in the training process normally accumulate the highest development resource. The conscientious acceptance of the ancient citizen-warrior ideals in this case helps not only improve the training process efficiency for the individual/ team competitive success but also facilitates the state requirements to the civic education of adolescent and young people being met by the military/ patriotic/ competitive education prioritising sport groups.

References

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Corresponding author: danvelur@rambler.ru

Abstract

The study considers the patriotic-education-driven sport group/ club formation stages and development forms. Subject to the study was the success history of Krasnoyarsk fencing groups in the period of 1989 till now. The author shows that the practical progress of these groups excelling in the modern competitive and artistic fencing is facilitated by the high priority being given to the values and motivations of a citizen-warrior close to those of the Ancient Greek citizens defending their city. Modelling methods, comparative historical analysis and expert surveys made it possible to identify the factors of influence on the certain world outlook being formed dominated by the following two mindsets. First, it is only natural for a fencer to defend the honour of his team in competitions, and this aspiration is much similar to those of the ancient citizens defending their Motherland. Second, a fencer should be naturally disciplined in the training and competitive process so as to conscientiously give the top priority to the team goals at sacrifice of the personal ones, and this was also typical for a citizen-warrior of an ancient city.