The halberd, a combination of spear, hook, and axe, is one of the most deadly weapons of the battlefield. It also provides one of the best full-body workouts of any weapon of war from history to modern times. It is also one of my personal favourite weapons.
After Jason Smith from Les Maitres d'Armes came to VISS 2013 and taught his Burgundian poleaxe track, many Academie Duello students fell in love with this versatile, skillful, and deadly weapon. Since then our own school has added poleaxe classes (every Tuesday from 7pm- 8pm) to our weekly program and we are excited to offer workshops, like this one, coming up in just a few weeks!
About the Halberd
The halberd is an extremely versatile weapon. The axe is used to cleave and split a knight at the weak points in his armour, or batter his most defended places, crushing the man inside. The hook is a cruel tool for hauling men from horseback, pulling down shields, hooking and tearing weapons from the hands and limbs from the body. The spear drives through weak spaces in the under arms, beneath the chin, and under the aventail, attacking deftly and assuredly at distance. Get too close and the haft of the weapon is an effective tool for throwing and binding the opponent and forcing them to submit, where ransom may be a more economically advantageous ending to a bout than death.
What You Will Learn
Join us and get a spectacular workout as you learn how to handle one of the most formidable weapons of battlefield! By the end of the workshop, you will know how to:
- Use the poleaxe to strike, crush, thrust, and grapple
- Deal with close plays and counter the weapon's weaknesses
- Strike with every surface of the weapon
- Use your poleweapon against armoured, unarmed, and mounted opponents
This will be a strenuous (but fun) workshop that should both entertain and challenge martial practitioners of all experience levels and backgrounds!
Registration Details
To sign up you can call the front desk at 604-568-9907, you can register online, or you can pay us a visit at our downtown Vancouver location at 412 West Hastings street.
DATE Saturday, December 13th, 2014
TIME 3:00 pm – 7:00 pm
PRICE $60.00
LOCATION Academie Duello
Devon Boorman is the Co-Founder and Director of Academie Duello Centre for Swordplay, which has been active in Vancouver, Canada since 2004. Devon’s expertise centres on the Italian swordplay tradition including the arts of the Renaissance Italian rapier, sidesword, and longsword, as well as knife and unarmed techniques. Read more from Devon Boorman.