We were all newbies once. We were all the person who worried that our lack of skill was holding others back in their practice. And in some cases maybe we did. It is difficult to manage levels of challenge within a mixed level group. The needs of the experienced practitioner and those of the newcomer are quite…
Read More... from Getting the Most from Mixed Experience Levels
The idea of pursuing personal excellence is great, but functionally how do you do it? I've written about beating the boredom of repetitive drilling, and promoting an excellence mindset. Yet when you get the opportunity to really up the quality of what you're doing, where do you focus? Below is a piece of guidance material I…
Three members of the Academie Duello crew and I visited the February 8-10 Capitol Clash in Washington, DC. This is a well run HEMA tournament event that runs alongside a huge modern fencing tournament all hosted by the Virginia Academy of Fencing (VAF). I had the pleasure of being part of the reffing staff, a…
I have long heard that ballet has its origins in historical fencing. It's a romantic idea and as someone who both teaches martial arts and dance (though not ballet) I certainly find tons of parallels in how they are both taught and practiced. The positions of modern ballet certainly bare some resemblance to classical and…
Read More... from Is There a Link Between Ballet and Fencing?
Excellence is the evidence of diligent, attentive, and purposeful practice. Not all of us will achieve excellence, nor is it a requisite for enjoying or being fulfilled in martial arts. In fact I would say that much of what holds people back from excellence is that in many ways its pursuit can be grueling, repetitive,…
A new student at Academie Duello recently said to me "There's so much to learn, it's like being under a mountain!" It can feel that way. It truly is a mountain of knowledge, practice and craft one must climb to become a master of these arts! The Dunning-Kruger effect, which has gained such popularity of late,…
Recently I was asked in an online thread what I thought constituted a modern master of Historical European Martial Arts and whether I thought there was worth in the creation of modern masters or the use of the master title at all. In short to all: Yes. A Little Backstory on Fencing Mastery Before I…
Read More... from What is a Modern European Martial Arts Master?
Happy New Year! There are big changes in the Mounted Combat program this year. Perhaps the most significant is that the program is moving from being a direct part of the Vancouver school, and to becoming a separate satellite school situated at Cornwall Ridge Farm. This won't have a huge affect on the classes themselves,…
Read More... from Flying Changes Ahead: What's New for 2019 in the Mounted Combat Program
Registration for the fifth Vancouver International Swordplay Symposium (VISS) is now open! The event, which takes place from April 5th to 7th, is a conference focused around intensive three-day programs with an aim to help people along the path of mastery in the many disciplines of Historical European Martial Arts. This year the theme is This…
Read More... from Vancouver International Swordplay Symposium 2019
For your Red Spur swordplay from the ground, we not only want you to have a full understanding of and ability to operate in the true fight, we also want you to be able to continue with a successful play even if you have lost the advantage. This is where the adaptive fight comes in.…
Read More... from The Adaptive Fight: when to hold and when to fold
Not irregularly I have had people say to me: I'm looking forward to starting into swordplay, I just need to get in shape first. This makes me very sad. Not only is swordplay a wonderfully fun and fulfilling physical activity, it is also a great way to build physical health and to do so in…
A good friend of mine is a special forces combatives trainer. I asked him how much of their training is devoted to full-speed and full-contact simulated sparring. He told me "no more than 5%". For him it was a matter of balancing value and risk. Full speed, full contact sparring has the value of exposing…
What workshops, courses, clinics, and intensives do you want to take in 2019? Take the survey and tell us what you want!
Read More... from What's Ahead in Mounted Combat in 2019? You tell us!