Hello everyone, and welcome to week 3 of Duello.TV. I just returned from the Borealis Swordplay Symposium in Ottawa, Canada yesterday. What a superb and fun event. If you were there, be sure to checkout the workshop review area for videos on winning the 5 crossings, as well as Sidesword cutting mechanics and core parrying actions. Outside of workshop videos we also have this weeks' class topics which include stringering with the offhand (level 1 - green), the second assault at sidesword (level 2 - blue), wrestling at longsword (level 3 - red), and use of Posta Frontale (longsword focus).

Longsword Focus

http://duello.tv/featured-videos/this-week-in-class/

As I was away last week in Ottawa we did not shoot a new video for last Mondays topic -- collection in Posta Frontale. However I've put up a video on Posta Frontale from our series on guards. This will give you a great start on the topic and you'll be miles ahead when the Frontale Collections video goes out next week.

Green Cord (Level 1)

http://duello.tv/featured-videos/this-week-in-class/

This week our focus is on stringering the sword of our opponent with both the sword, through finding, and with the offhand itself. The goal of stringere is to get your opponent to move in a way that you can easily defend and that makes your opponent vulnerable to counter-attack. A strong emphasis is given on using the rapier and offhand in union to fully protect one side of the body or the other both high and low. I recommend Green Cord students also look at Blue Cord Offhand/Dagger class 4 for even more ideas on primary stringere with the offhand.

Blue Cord (Level 2)

http://duello.tv/featured-videos/this-week-in-class/

The Second Assault, which we're starting on this week, includes a greater selection of rising attacks as well as combined actions that assault inside and outside, high and low. These assaults are ideal teachers of complex actions where one intention flows quickly and fluidly into the next.

Red Cord (Level 3)

http://duello.tv/featured-videos/this-week-in-class/

When you get close in a sword fight, it's not a sword fight anymore. In this week we begin our exploration of entering in to grapple, beginning with the exchange of the thrust as our initial entering technique.

Giocco Stretto 5: True Fight Wrestlins, Inside

Giocco Stretto 6: True Fight Wrestles, Outside

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.