The requirements of service may have your paperboy posted near immediately into Stuttgart until the New Year, so We thought that we’d take a look in at what’s going on over there with swordplay, WMA/HEMA and related events.
Full Metal Impact … in two directions!
BADISCHE ZEITUNG (Freiburg, Germany) 05 July 14 So wie die alten Rittersleut’
Full contact, competitive jousting will occur 10-12 July on the Swiss grounds of Schaffhausen’s Museum of All Saints as the ‘Knights Tournament’ gets underway. The draw here is that “the best dressage riders from all over Europe compete in jousting and sword fighting on horseback”.
The tournament is part of the local museums celebration of jousting history and culture.
Guards on Guard.
BADISCHE ZEITUNG (Freiburg, Germany) 04 July 14 Fachkunde gehört zum Spiel dazu
Lecturer Gregor Schopka has the dream job for an instructor of medieval swordplay – he get to teach the art to real ‘castle guards’. Schopka priority seems to be to instruct on proper historical form and technique appropriate to the middle ages milieu.
Talk to the Sword.
KREISZEITUNG (Syke, Germany) 26 June 14 Mit Schwert in der Hand (Anja Nosthoff)
‘Heinrich Hoff Dicker sees the sword fighting as an allegory on life’ and uses historical swordplay to emphasize life lessons with his ecumenical working group.
“It quickly became clear that a sword blade without discipline is extremely dangerous to themselves and others."
The Great Game
FRANKFURTER ALLGEMEINE (Germany) 16 June 14 Ritterkampf in Spanien - Mögen die Spiele beginnen (Tin Fischer)
One journalists’ impression of the last months ‘Battle of the Nations’ and some of the personalities, and politics, behind it.
Lost & Found.
BOYENS ZEITUNGEN (Germany) 26 June 14 Stichwaffe wird restauriert
Found: 16th century sword … or main gauche.
Owner can identify it in person at the Schleswig Archaeological State Office.
Hungering for Stage Combat
OSKALOOSA HERALD (Iowa) 01 July 14 Stage fighting choreographer visits Youth Theatre Camp (Duane Nollen)
Jason Tipsword teaches stage combat to Iowa youth – with an emphasis on safety, story-telling technique and choreography. Sword play, knife fighting and quarterstaff use were all integrated into the students planning their own ‘Hunger Games based, stage fight presentation – not quite your fathers’ theater camp swordplay staple!
Vermillion, 12, of rural Oskaloosa, is a veteran of Tipsword’s classes.
Snippets
- Become filthy rich and world famous overnight! Teach swordplay!
(Of 1830's fencing masters in New Orleans ) " New Orleans was hog heaven for fencing masters. They were the rock stars of their day. Small boys followed them around town, agog with admiration. Like rock stars though, they weren't considered quite top-drawer, and however you worshiped your fencing master, you wouldn't want your sister to marry him."
Holland, Barbara. Gentlemen's Blood - A History of Dueling from Swords at Dawn to Pistols at Dusk. Bloomsbury , New York . 2004. pp 156-7
- Spear Throwing. That’s it.
- And how does one become a believable Scot warrior-woman … in Austria?