James Lafond

Modern Agonistics James Lafond

Publisher Marketing: Modern Agonistics is not a style, art or system. It is simply a format for training, experimentation and competition with weapons. The goals of the participants range from cross-training, self-defense and thrill-seeking, to craftwork [like weapon and armor fabrication] and attempts to reconstruct extinct fighting arts. Practitioners of over two-dozen fighting arts have utilized this format since 1998 without sustaining serious injury. Participants have been both male and female, and have ranged in age from 11 to 65; in size from 75 to 375 pounds, and in experience from novice to professional. Most participants have been males in their late teens and early twenties. We have no dues, rituals, traditions or barriers. This is simply a network for combat weaponry enthusiasts. We are just a curious group of fighters. If you want to participate you are welcome. Our motto is "as real as you want it." Agonistics is an ancient Hellenic term that translates as "contest-preparation." The root is Agon meaning "contest." The English word agony was borrowed from the ancient Greek term for "contestant's suffering" referring to the trials of a combatant. This is admittedly a terrible term to use in modern America, as virtually everyone misreads agonistics as agnostics which is also from the ancient Greek and means "no knowledge" and is used as a self-descriptive term by people who are not sure about the existence of divinity. My favorite misreading of agonistics was when the Baltimore City Paper ran our ad for a seminar at Sifu Clark's in 2005 as Modern Antagonistics. Some guy called me and wanted to know if we were a network for hate groups. Contributor Bio:  LaFond, James James LaFond works as a night laborer in Baltimore, where he has been documenting the violent underside of the human population and the relationship of ordinary aggression to contemporary martial arts studies since 1966.