Getting Out of the Salle Sword Press

We so-o-o envy our European peers!  If their salles are closed for the holidays, they still have a multiple of choices as to where to go to maintain and expand their interests in things HEMA/WMA.  You kids go (sword)play in the backyard!   DAILY RECORD (Ellensburg, Washington) 28 December 12  Medieval swordplay group to offer…

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Marginally Yuletide Sword Press

In chivalric theory, the 12 days surrounding Christmas are times of peace and good-will to all …. the 1460 Battle of Wakefield notwithstanding.  But who among us would begrudge another the chance to engage in a friendly passage-at-arms with cold steel with friends under the stars and in the snow* this Christmas eve?  And besides,…

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Fight Yourself

Victim control. It is an essential element of stage combat, but often misunderstood, and more often performed badly. It means that when there is physical contact between two actors, the apparent victim is in charge. This principle applies to pushes, pulls, grabs, strangulation, hair pulls, and most falls and throws. Tyler Durdan Take a lesson…

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Cutting down (and up, and across)

Swordplay from the Ground: The Eight Cuts In the last three posts I've covered posture, movement and turns of the body, with or without a sword in hand.  Now we'll turn our attention to the sword and look at cutting and thrusting in the next few posts, beginning with the eight cutting lines.   Terminology…

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Awesome Workshops at the Vancouver International Swordplay Symposium

VISS 2013 is approaching, and we’re excited to announce a first look at our workshop lineup! We are proud to offer two styles of workshops at VISS. The first style offers a more in-depth look into various topics, with work that will build across three days of classes. Topics for this style of workshop include:…

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Video Lessons: Defenses Against the Cut; Longsword Thrusts; Cutting Hands

Because of the holiday our last week of curriculum for the year has come a week early. This week we conclude our work on rapier cuts, sidesword cutting, and the core defences of the longsword. In Longsword Focus we look at cutting to the opponent's hands and next week we'll look more thoroughly at how…

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Trifecta Sword Press

Three ‘historical’ swords from three different countries. Respect for, interest in and, at times, adoration of the sword as a cultural or historical symbol is not restricted to any one country or group.  One of the real pleasures that We’ve enjoyed over the past couple of years is the chance to discuss (by phone, Scype…

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Bringing a 500 year old wrestling system back to life

A few weeks ago I was in Eugene, Oregon teaching a seminar at the Northwest Fencing Academy. The day after the seminar I got together with school director Sean Hayes and his senior student Mark Kruger to work with them a bit on an historical intepretation project of a 1537 wrestling manual written by a…

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Taking a Turn

Swordplay from the Ground: Turns of the Body Last week's post on the Mounted Combat Green Spur Curriculum covered moving forward, back and side to side.  This week we're adding turns to menu.  Demonstrate the three turns of the body. 'Volta' is the Italian word for 'turn'.  (Dressage riders will recognize it from 'volte', which…

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Video Lessons: Recovering Cuts, Sidesword Lines; Longsword Defenses and Counter-Cutting

This week we're going to be using the cut to get ourselves out of some challenging situations. With the rapier at level 1 (Green Cord), we're going to be using a cut to regain control of the opponent's sword. At level 2 (Blue Cord) we'll be building our precision and fluidity in sidesword cutting. At…

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Cherished Sword Press

Older swords dominate this week, some of which qualify as gifts to be carefully wrapped and lovingly placed under your modest editors’ Christmas tree! As a historian, We find it ‘scary’ and depressing when We consider just how much history we loose each year as old items decay due to a lack of care; are…

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"Yeah, but when will I use fencing in real life?"

Brilliant stuff today, great for the novice and experienced fencer alike.Occasionally, when I talk to someone about fencing the conversation turns to applicability outside the salle. "It's just good for killing people with a sword. What are you going to do when you don't have your sword?"There's so much wrong with that (besides the grammar).We…

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Out Cold: The Real Danger of Concussions

Here's an infographic related to my previous post: Concussions R Bad. Created by MastersInHealthcare.com, it is sourced from the following: www.cdc.gov/concussion www.silive.com/sports/index.ssf/2010/10/scary_statistics_about-concuss.html www.mayoclinic.com/health/post-concussion-syndrome/DS01020 usatoday30.usatoday.com/sports/hockey/nhl/story/2012-01-23/costly-concussions/52762290/1 Safety in Training and Reality In class, we avoid striking the head, even when wearing protective gear. To be a good partner, we either move slowly, change the target (do a…

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Martial Movement

Swordplay from the Ground: Movement Last week I covered the essentials of a balance and martial stance.  Now we need to add mobility, without losing the effectiveness of that grounded posture, for the second item in the mounted combat checklist: Demonstrate methods of movement The movements we are looking for are: 1. Advance: take a…

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