Grooming the horse is one of the most important skill sets a rider needs to have. It allows you to check your horse for injuries, helps increase the circulation to his skin and muscles, prevents chafing from dirt under the tack, improves his appearance, and provides valuable bonding time. As you progress through your Horsemanship…
The art of dying is dying, according to a recent article on NPR: Now 69, Fukumoto recalls landing his first job in the movies as a stuntman and extra with Toei studios in 1959. "When I was younger, our studio had some 400 stuntmen and extras," he remembers. "I wanted to stand out. I…
The quick release knot is item #4 on your Horsemanship Level 1 checklist. There are several methods of tying a quick release knot, and your instructor will teach you the most simple method. For your assessment we don't mind which one you use as long as it tightens when the horse pulls back releases smoothly…
Let's start with an analogy, not only because I have faith that my readers understand analogies, but also because you're guaranteed to understand this one: Jedi is to lightsabre as Steampunk is to Bartitsu Jedi don't have to use lightsabres (in fact, I'm surprised there aren't more who eschew them), it's just appropriate and therefore…
First off a huge 'thank-you' to everyone who came out to the emergency work party on Sunday to dig ditches, attack brambles and fix fences (with extra special thanks to Kat & Tyrel who came out TWO days in a row, having spent Saturday with Andy clearing the ditch around the manure pile -- awesome!)…
The rapier gets a lot of love around Duello being that it's the foundational weapon of our Mastery Program, but those of you who have advanced to the Red Cord or who are part of the Warrior Program or our Longsword Focus program, or are following along at home through our videos, deserve some attention…
Read More... from Some Longsword Love - Drills for Longsword Flow
The second item on the Horsemanship Level 1 checklist is: 2. Enter, approach and safely halter horse in stall or paddock There are a myriad of videos out there, but really, you can't do it much better than this little girl: (Just watch to about 1:35 -- it gets a bit chaotic when her sister…
Read More... from A Horse in Hand is Worth Two in the Field: catching & haltering
My friends Greg Mele and Keith Jennings as well as associated others, including Tony Wolf, have setup a new salle of swordsmanship, Bartitsu and much more in Chicago. The centre is called Forteza Fitness and it is the new home of the Chicago Swordplay Guild and the Bartitsu Club of Chicago. They recently got some…
Read More... from Forteza Fitness in Chicago is doing some cool stuff!
Every Thursday I get together with a few of my senior students and we work on drills, sparring exercises, and body mechanics. Generally I have us stick to fairly fundamental exercises. I personally just love working on fundamentals and have found that this is always where the greatest opportunity for improvement lies, no matter…
Read More... from Thursday Drilling Recap: Rapier Collection Drills
We all have fond memories of this: And recently on Bartitsu.org, Tony Wolf reprinted an article from 1893 entitled "The Kangaroo as Prize Fighter" which discusses the change from the Kangaroo's natural defenses into a human-like stance. It looks like this (not pretty): I think the appaling part of the 1893 article is the closing:…
Last week we looked at the relative merits English and Western saddles. This week we're looking at the much thornier issue of reining style. It's one of the hardest adjustments to make when switching from one type of riding to the other, and proponents of each will often argue fiercely against the other. In dressage,…
Armour serves two purposes, as does most clothing: protection and fashion. On stage and in film, if you can see the armour, it's for fashion, and if you can't, then it's for protection. The Illusion of Practicality From the blindingly reflective plate on Zeus to the leather scraps on orcs, armour should match the character…
I'm often asked why we use English saddles in our Cavaliere program. After all, doesn't the western saddle, with it's high pommel and cantle, better mimic the shape of the medieval jousting saddle? Isn't it easier for beginners to stay secure in the embrace of all that extra leather? The short answer to both these…
A mixed bag of (sometimes barely) equine related frivolity for you this week: Bronies Seriously? When I heard this interview on Q a couple of weeks ago I had to do a reality check to make sure it wasn't actually April 1st. But apparently there's a sub-culture of twenty-something guys who watch My Little Pony…
The overall goal of stage combat, as we discussed in episode 0: The Illusion of Violence, is creating a violent scene that is safe for the actor and believable to the audience in the context of the show. Last time, we broke down some of the ways in which our first priority, Safety, plays out…
Read More... from Stage Combat Priorities 2: Style and Expertise
A crew of twelve braved the wet November weather this morning to duel through the streets of Vancouver in the Grey Cup Parade. In the gallery you can see a couple pre-parade shots. One in gleeful anticipation, the other a view of everyone crowding together for warmth under a shop awning. The parade was…
I don't think I'll be going to see the movie "War Horse". Not because I tend to find most Spielberg movies a bit too treacly, and not because most horse movies make me yell at the screen (why do movie makers think we won't notice when they swap a 16 hand bay for a chestnut…
The UK Pony Club has just launched a new 'Pony Prep' website: http://www.ponyprep.org/training.php While it is quite obviously aimed at the younger set, it nonetheless has some good instructional videos and simple quizzes you can take to test your knowledge: especially useful for those assessing Horsemanship level 1 on the 27th. You don't need to…