One thing I’ve noticed among my Vancouver-based foreign friends is that so many of them have good, workable, English, but not great English. Many of these people have been speaking English for more than 20 years, they’ve put in tons of hours of practice, yet they’re not getting any better — one friend told me…
Read More... from When Getting Better Stops -- Overcoming Plateaus
I’m excited to announce that Academie Duello has set dates for our next Historical European Martial Arts (HEMA) instructor training program. The 50 hour Rapier and Longsword Instructor Intensive will be starting up with an intensive from June 20th to 24th, 2016. The last intensive filled up in less than a week, so I wanted…
Before I get into more conversations about mastery, and what this means when I apply the term to swordplay, I want to share some information about our next instructor course, which I’m very excited about. Registration for our next Instructor Intensive (taking place from June 20th to 24th) will be opening on April 10th at…
Read More... from June Instructor Intensive, and Some More Thoughts on Mastery
The arts that fit under the umbrella of Historical European Martial Arts or Western Martial Arts are still young in their return to the world. It has really only been about 20 years that there has been earnest pursuit and only in the last decade has there been a serious increase in practitioners. There is…
One of the slowest ways to build a new combat skill is to try to practice that skill in combat. Yet I have many people who take a class from me in my school or at a workshop, and then attempt to bring that skill into their repertoire through sparring alone. The problem is that…
Not at all. Whether you approach your practice as a martial sport or a martial art, defeating your opponent can be a useful measure of your ability. However, it's the wrong place to be looking until a fair ways down the path of setting a martial foundation. There are many techniques, tricks, and traps one…
Read More... from How Much Should I Worry About Winning At The Beginning?
In many of our classes at Duello we have a section where students of all levels drill with one another, one-on-one. It’s a great opportunity for inexperienced students to gain from the physical knowledge of experienced partners, for members of the school to meet and connect with one another, and for technique to be tested…
Read More... from How to Help Your Drill Partner, Not Slow Their Learning
This week I have been leading an instructor training intensive at Academie Duello. 50 hours of instruction in Italian swordplay technique, theory, and teaching methodology. So far it is living up to its name — intense — for both the students and the teachers. That's not a statement of distress, simply one of fact. The…
Over the month of January Academie Duello and I hosted a training challenge that set a goal of 30 minutes of swordplay training per day for 30 days. Whether this was over and above your usual training quota or simply reporting on it was up to each participant. Specific additional training goals could also be set…
Read More... from The Conclusion of the 30 for 30 Swordplay Challenge
This past Tuesday night, I got home from the school at about midnight. After class, which ends at 10pm, I spent another hour and a half with Greg committing more rapier and sidesword exercises to video. This is our third week of shooting this particular content. To support this month’s 30 for 30 Swordplay Challenge,…
Read More... from How to Create Tangible Results from Martial Arts training
We're one week into the 30 for 30 swordplay challenge and here are a few things I’ve been reflecting on: The appeal of swordplay is broad. Participants who have been reporting to our group have been from all over the world including Russia, Serbia, Germany, France, Spain, New Zealand, Australia, Ireland, N. Ireland, Brazil, and…
Read More... from Reflections from 30 for 30 Swordplay Challenge Week 1
The third annual 30 for 30 Swordplay Challenge is just about to start on January 2nd! If you’ve heard of yoga challenges, you know what this is about. It’s like that, but way cooler… there's swords. The challenge: practice swordplay for 30 minutes per day for 30 days in January from the 2nd to the 31st.…
Read More... from 30 for 30 Swordplay Challenge: January 2016 Edition!
This past week I wrote a post about posture and my journey to build it in myself. How we hold, carry, and move our bodies is essential to our practice as martial artists in two ways: Effective Martial Arts Requires Effective Mechanics The heart of martial arts is body mechanics. Every technique you can perform is…
Provost, I feel like I need to get more practice in but I don’t have much time outside of the classes I do. What do you recommend? I think the solution here is to strive for quality over quantity. That is, make every minute in class or open floor be devoted to practice. Here…
Read More... from Ask Clint: Tips for Making the Most Out of Class!
Tricks and secret techniques have been a part of sword fighting since the beginning. From masters who advertised their “botte segrete” to teach for a special price, to those who ever only taught the one or two techniques they felt would get you out of a tight corner. Even more expansive writers such as Ridolfo…
Read More... from Learn the Language of Swordplay -- Not Just Its Tricks
With one instructor intensive behind me and another coming in February, I've been thinking a lot about what it takes to be a great instructor. There are many false roads along this path and I've certainly had my share of internal struggles. I thought I'd share a few pieces of advice that I have found valuable.…
Read More... from Five Rules for Being a Great Martial Arts Instructor
You already know that I’m an advocate of slow speed fencing. However I also know that slow fencing is often difficult for new adopters who frequently jump in speed and tension as their attention swings around inside the encounter. Today I want to share an idea that can help you stay slow and develop your…
Read More... from Using Curiosity to Stay Slow in Slow Sparring
Fencing competitively at all times is tiring and restricting. You cannot view every pass that you have with someone as a life or death encounter. If you do, you’ll never allow yourself to bring new material to bear. Experimentation without consequence is an essential part of opening up your swordplay. It is one of many…