When Violence Is the Answer: Learning How to Do What It Takes When Your Life Is at Stake

by Tim Larkin

Joseph Bologne, Chevalier de Saint-Georges, but not for the reasons you’d suspect. Born in the French West Indies in the second half of the eighteenth century, Saint-Georges was also known for being a duelist and champion fencer. Early in his career, while other fencers practiced fast footwork, elaborate strikes, and clever distraction techniques, Saint-Georges spent most of his time going through a peculiar training routine. He would draw three dots on the wall and spend an inordinate amount of time slowly and deliberately poking each dot with his sword. He’d step in, and thrust. Step in, and thrust. Over and over again.* It was a regimen that earned him continual mockery from people who had never seen him duel. When they did, the mockery disappeared. In duel after duel, Saint-Georges would dispatch his opponents with uncanny accuracy and lightning-fast efficiency. He was so good, so accurate, so effective, that even in social situations it was said that he could flick the buttons off the shirt of any man within his sword’s reach. It was an incredible feat—not only of dexterity, but of consistency—and one for which he was given the nickname, “The Button Man.” Saint-Georges understood the importance of precision. With most his time spent on just three simple targets, Saint-Georges certainly wasn’t having as much fun as his rivals. His had to be the most tedious, most basic training technique of any of them. It was also the most effective.