WMA on the Atlantic Coast dominates this cull – along with Wes’s wistful musing for the week. Recreating a ‘fun’ death? THE RECORD (Woodland Park, New Jersey) 09 February 12 Swordsmanship on display in Leonia (Melinda Aranda and Carol Karels) WEMA authority, author and stage fight instructor Jack Kirby was recently interviewed about how he…
Doing things wrong
A sometimes-heard phrase around the Academie is "doing things wrong will help you figure out when something's right." This is an often-understood but rarely appreciated concept. Truly understanding when things are most-definitely wrong will provide a deep understanding about when things are right. Think of all the things that you're doing right. Now…
Bartitsu 11-February
This week in Bartitsu: 1. Boxing review: hooks, traditional and modern replies, ring and street 2. Savate lesson: round kick 3. Integration: combinations and measure New format: sparring or conditioning Skipping Heavy bag Abs (all-fours) See you at 3pm!
Sticks and Bumbershoots!
"A halberd (also called halbert or Swiss voulge) is a two-handed pole weapon that came to prominent use during the 14th and 15th centuries. Possibly the word halberd comes from the German words Halm (staff), and Barte (axe) - in modern-day German, the weapon is called Hellebarde. The halberd consists of an axe blade topped…
Some Bartitsu Websites
For my students who would like to do some research and learn more outside of class (and have access to the Internets), here are some sites of note: Forteza Fitness (http://fortezafitness.com/) Tony Wolf's new home with ongoing Bartitsu lessons. The webpage has some great images to show off the various weapons taught and information about…
Academie Duello to be featured in a documentary at the Women In Film festival on March 10th
Academie Duello has the honour of being featured in a documentary by filmmaker Tatiana Balashova that will be screened at the upcoming Women in Film festival at the Vancity Theatre on March 10th. From their program: ARTE, ARDORE, ONORE: THE WORLD OF SWORDPLAY | 10:00 mins 2011, Canada, directed by Tatiana Balashova Arte,…
Safe is sound
Needs of the Horse part III: Security In the first part of this series I stated that horses need food, shelter, and security. At first glace creating a secure environment for a horse seems fairly straightforward. After all, there aren't that many large predators left in most places where we keep horses (though losing a…
Sword … Sorry, Lance Press from the USA
Snap Quiz: What American state has ‘jousting’ as it’s state sport? And why? (http://www.msa.md.gov/msa/mdmanual/01glance/html/symbols/sport.html, http://marylandjousting.com/) OK, pass your papers forward to the front. While We’re marking them, you can start reading ahead with today’s’ offering. For the past two years, those interested in things medieval have been teased with indications that something significant was brewing…
Bartitsu 4-February
This week in Bartitsu: 1. Walking stick review: Preemptive strike from rear guard 2. Boxing lesson: Hooks and uppercuts, traditional and modern defenses in the ring and the street 3. Integration: The unarmed victim vs. the stick, the ruffian vs. the umbrella. Those who are joining us for the first time after the workshop…
Knap Time!
"If you can talk brilliantly about a problem, it can create the consoling illusion that it has been mastered." - Stanley Kubrick Intro to Stage Combat Sunday, February 12, 2012 2pm-6pm In this intensive 4-hour workshop, we’ll cover the basics of stage combat, including: ▪Slaps ▪Punches ▪Chokes ▪Push and fall ▪Sword parries and footwork ▪Sword…
Scenes of Violence
Most actors learn stage combat for a specific role while in rehearsal. My belief that every performer before leaving acting school should have Basic Actor-Combatant certification with Fight Directors Canada does not have widespread support. Therefore, the majority of actors already have a scene to fight to. But actors who are taking the full stage…
Shooting an instructional Rapier DVD
So yesterday we embarked on the adventure of shooting our first instructional rapier DVD. And I can proudly report that we're at least 60% through principal photography and only about 8 hours behind schedule! 🙂 It was actually a fun and successful day, though as with many things you often find yourself at the end…
Archery's new home at Academie Duello
Our ongoing archery class is launching this Sunday (5 February)! Class runs from 5:30 - 7:30 at Academie Duello (412 W Hastings St.). Archery is a 1.0 credit class, just like SwordFit, Mastery, Stage Combat, and Bartitsu. To join the archery class you must have completed our Intro to Archery workshop. Space is…