I have noted a phenomenon in sparring, especially when fencing someone who feels themselves to be less experienced or less skilled than me, of someone giving up before the hit is made. Perhaps my point is winding its way toward home, and two inches before it touches I feel their whole body relax and their…
Read More... from Combat Mindset: Fight All The Way to the End
We just came across this delightful video which is so fitting, since we have one of our super fun Umbrella Self-Defence workshops this Sunday October 11th, 1pm - 5pm. Come and learn what an awesome self-defence tool your brolly is! London BrawlingWatch this video on YouTube This Week on Duello.TV It's the beginning of a…
The days are getting shorter, but that doesn't keep us out of the saddle. There is still programming happening into December, so come on out and enjoy crisp autumn sunshine with a sword in your hand and a horse beneath you. Private Classes & Drop-ins There are one or two drop-in spaces available for selected…
Our psychology has a tremendous impact on our performance whether in a competition, or even in practice sparring or drilling. Many people who are perfectly capable performers on one day or in one environment can find themselves falling apart in different circumstances. A large contributor to this is one’s internal dialogue. Mindset can feel chemical…
What makes a technique in swordplay appear graceful, fast, and -- most of all -- effective, is usually the efficiency and precision of the movement. Being able to perform a technique with the least amount of extra movement and in a manner that does the job as directly as possible is essential to high level…
Blue Spur Spear Fundamentals: Basic Attacks from the Ground The second checklist item in Spear section of your Blue Spur guide is Demonstrate the basic attacks and defences of the spear in the extended position. This week we'll look at attacks, and cover defences next week. There are five types of attacks of the spear…
At our Friday night open sparring sessions I enjoy getting in and doing a few passes, just like everyone else. During this time, it’s not uncommon for one of my students (after we’ve fenced for a bit) to ask me for some feedback on their fencing. I’m glad to be asked this question, and I’m pleased in general that…
Read More... from Ask for Sparring Feedback Up Front -- Not Afterward
Our annual mounted combat symposium has come and gone, and what a wonderful weekend it was! The sun smiled kindly on us for the Friday and Saturday of Mounted Combat, Horseback Archery, Classical Riding, Ballet and Mounted Games, and by Sunday those of us competing in the tournament were grateful for some cooler, cloudy skies!…
A specialist martial artist, at their most focused, tunes their training toward a single discipline and a single context. This type of specialization is something that perhaps came first to us in the Western Martial Arts with duels. For these one-on-one conflicts, individuals would train to fight within a fixed set of rules and conventions,…
Read More... from Specialization versus Generalization in Martial Arts
Carosella is almost here! To allow for the long weekend we've held over online registration for another day. Hurry though -- after midnight tonight you'll need to register by phone or in person! Join us at Red Colt farm from Friday through Sunday, 11 - 13 September for three full days of mounted magic. There…
Read More... from Carosella 2015: Online Registration Extended
Setting out to do something and then failing at it is painful. No matter how much you may try to prepare yourself for that eventuality, if you really care about something, and are truly striving for it, falling short is going to hurt. The question is: is the pain worth it? I’d say that pain…
Welcome to the first Historical European Martial Arts Video blog post on the Academie Duello blog! Our new weekly Monday post will feature awesome video content from our school and the broader community. Look forward to sparring videos, performances, great educational content, and more. This Week In Sparring To kick things off with a bang we're…
Read More... from This Week in HEMA Video - 360 Degrees of Awesome
In my last post I wrote about some of the things that Bruce Lee’s martial art of Jeet Kune Do has to offer practitioners of Bartitsu. To be clear, I am not suggesting that Bruce Lee had any knowledge of the articles published by E. W. Barton-Wright, the founder of what we call “canonical Bartitsu”.…
'Dressage' simply means 'training'. The modern sport of dressage consists of tests, which are judged patterns designed to demonstrate a horse's level of training on the flat. Sport dressage evolved from classical dressage, which in turn evolved from military training exercises. As practioners of mounted combat, it is often useful for us to look to…
This weekend was a momentous event for Academie Duello: our first Silver Cord (aka Provost) examination. A provost is one step below Maestro/Master and it represents an enormous achievement. Provosts are expected to demonstrate a high level of effectiveness within the school’s system, a demonstrable and defensible understanding of the school's pedagogy and theoretical approach,…
Bruce Lee needs little introduction to those who are interested in martial arts. Chances are, readers of this blog have seen at least parts of one or more of his movies. In our classes on pugilism, we sometimes talk about the mechanics of his notorious “1-inch punch” as a way of reminding students to use…
I have loosely followed a couple of different conversations that have touched on this topic within the HEMA community. The first is about a Trans woman who has been denied entry into the Pacific Northwest HEMA gathering Women’s Longsword tournament. (In short on this: I am in support of her inclusion. I think that at best…
My Introduction to the Italian Rapier DVD has finished post-production and is on its way to print! This is a pretty exciting moment for me as this project has been three years in the making. It’s being published through Freelance Academy Press and is due to be available within the next two weeks. The DVD is…