This past week we launched a crowdfunding campaign on GoFundMe to help support Academie Duello through this difficult time. Since Friday we have raised over $20,000 of our $75,000 goal! Our centre is one of only a few institutions of its kind in the world that are seeking to revive the martial arts of Europe…
Hello to all our Academie Duello students, members and friends! It’s amazing how time flies even when you’re isolated at home. Through this time we have been hard at work delivering online classes and staying connected with our members while also exploring new ways to teach and create community online. Before we share about all…
Long ago in a pre-pandemic world we held the 6th Vancouver International Swordplay Symposium (VISS). If you can, remember back to the beginning of March, oh so many weeks ago, when we could stand close enough to one another to cross swords, or tap feet and elbows in greeting. All the way back on the…
Greetings Academie Duello members, friends, and followers! It’s been a while since we posted to the blog. I’m sure you can understand that we’ve been a bit occupied as have all of you. It’s about time that we reach out to all of you and let you know that we’re still alive and swinging! On…
Good news! For those of you who want more swordplay practice and who can't make it downtown, there are now swordplay classes almost every Sunday at Cornwall Ridge. Mounted Combat Mastery continues to run twice a month, and now Mounted Combat Fundamentals has a twice monthly section open to apprentice level (green cord or green…
Read More... from Double the Swordplay Opportunities at Cornwall Ridge
The Vancouver International Swordplay Symposium is taking place March 6th to 8th, 2020 and this year's theme is our most exciting yet: East Meets West! We're bringing together the martial arts traditions of countries from across the globe in the spirit of collaboration and learning. This year we have 10 intensives in 5 paired tracks…
Classes start up again on January 12th after our December hiatus. If you missed our Christmas playday and therefore haven't been on a horse since November ... or perhaps even longer ... here are some quick exercises and stretches to prime your body for riding once more. Five Easy Exercises for Equestrians Plank. Core strength…
Read More... from Getting Back in the Saddle for 2020: 5 Easy Exercises for Equestrians
Greetings Academie Duello friends and family! I hope that you have all had a wonderful holiday season and are looking forward to a special 2020. It is pretty amazing to me to be moving into the second decade of the new millennium already. Academie Duello marked its 15th anniversary in 2019 and it has been…
The seventh 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 with swords! The challenge: practice swordplay for 30 minutes per day for 30 days in January from the 2nd to the 31st. This requires no…
Sometimes the most you can muster is a single mindful breath. And sometimes that's all the meditation you need. One set of crunches. One line on your manuscript. One walk around the block. We often overestimate what we can accomplish in one day, while we underestimate what we can accomplish in five years if we…
Read More... from One Mindful Breath: Minimum Viable Commitment
This post originally appeared on our online learning portal: Duello.TV. One of the more challenging leaps to make in combat martial arts is the move from a largely symmetrical combat environment (where everyone is largely from the same school and trying to do the same techniques) to one that is broader and more chaotic. This…
Read More... from Learning How to Fight Tactically with the Robot Game
Last week I was an instructor and director (referee) at the South East Renaissance Fencing Open (SERFO) in Atlanta, Georgia. This excellent event was put on by Keith Cotter-Reilly of the Atlanta Freifechters and David Coblentz of Decatur School of Arms and their respective crews. This is definitely one of the smoother and more professionally…
Riding Level 1: Preparing to Mount The first item on the Riding 1 checklist deals with preparing to mount your horse. 1. Adjust stirrups and girth from the ground, put reins over horse’s head Pretty simple, right? And in truth, most people get 9s or 10s in this section. However, until this is second nature…