From Vancouver to Asia: Duello Armizare on the Road

Academie Duello is the home of Duello Armizare, the Italian swordplay system now taught by schools and instructors around the world. This fall, our founder and Maestro d’Armi, Devon Boorman, is teaching it across China, Taiwan, and the Philippines.

When you pick up a sword in a class at 412 West Hastings, you’re learning more than a local martial art. The curriculum taught here in downtown Vancouver is the foundation of Duello Armizare, an international community of schools, instructors, and students who train in the system we’ve built over more than 20 years.

Vancouver is its headquarters. The curriculum, the rank system, and instructor certification all start here. We’ve trained more than 300 instructors through our certification programs. Some now run their own schools, some teach in clubs around the world, and many teach right here in Vancouver.

Right now, Devon is in Asia, teaching the system to new groups of martial artists. Here’s where he’s been and where he’s headed.

Italian Swordplay in Beijing

The trip began with a weekend workshop in Beijing at a school that trains in both HEMA (historical European martial arts) and bohurt (full-contact armoured combat).

The school mainly practises the German tradition of swordplay, so the weekend was a chance to show what our Italian approach brings. The group worked on control, on how to shut down double hits (when both fencers land a strike at the same moment), and on feints that either take control or turn an opponent’s control against them. These ideas are at the heart of how we train in Vancouver.

The school’s training space is inside an indoor mall, and it comes with a board game café. If you’ve had a coffee at Cafe Duello before class, that formula will sound familiar. As Devon put it, “It was fun to see a little of the Academie Duello Vancouver playbook reflected halfway around the world.”

Taipei: Our First Instructor Intensive in Asia

From October 23 to 27, Devon is in Taipei with Sakura Sanguines, the Duello Armizare school led by Tai Lee. The five days cover rapier, longsword, and instructor development. It is the first Duello Armizare instructor certification intensive ever held in Asia.

Instructor Intensives are how the art grows without losing its depth. Five full days together let experienced martial artists go much further into the technical, tactical, and teaching sides of swordplay than a weekend workshop allows. We run the same program for future instructors here in Vancouver. (Learn about Instructor Training)

The Taipei intensive builds on years of connection in the region. Last fall Devon presented at the Chi Mei Museum in Tainan, home to an extensive collection of arms and armour, and taught workshops in Kaohsiung, Taipei, and Taichung. Soon after, Duello Armizare held its first Scholar (Blue Cord) exam in China. That is the same rank our Vancouver students test for after one to two years of regular training. This spring Devon taught a two-part seminar in Nanjing, at the Nanjing Wall Museum and Nanjing Axon Martial Arts.

Where Devon Is Teaching Next

• October 29, Taichung: a workshop with Cold Steel Lab
• October 31, Tainan: a return to the Chi Mei Museum for exhibition tours and two weapons workshops
• November 7, Taipei: a public workshop on fighting with two swords
• November 8, Taipei: the two-handed sword of Achille Marozzo, the 16th-century Bolognese master, from the fundamentals through to his solo form, the “assault”
• November 16–20, Cavite, Philippines: a five-day Level 1 Instructor Intensive in rapier and longsword

Know swordfighters in the region? Registration and details for the intensives are at duelloarmizare.com.

Train at the Source

You don’t need a plane ticket to train in this art. Its home is downtown Vancouver.

The principles Devon is teaching in Beijing and Taipei are the ones our instructors teach every week at 412 West Hastings. Every student begins with our beginner courses in rapier or longsword. The ranks you work toward here are the same ones Duello Armizare students test for around the world.

Train Along From Home

Want more between classes? Devon has added new bonus lessons to DuelloTV from his workshops at this year’s Western Martial Arts Workshop (WMAW). They cover fighting with two swords, sword and rotella (a round shield), and deceptive rapier fighting. Anyone with a free DuelloTV account can watch them until December 31.

Watch the WMAW Workshop Reviews on DuelloTV

Devon is sharing more stories from the road on his blog, Path of the Sword.

Start Your Own Journey

Every swordfighter in Beijing, Taipei, and Vancouver started with a first class. Yours can start here.

Book your free trial