This past weekend members were inducted into new ranks in the Academie, we indulged in Nerdy goodness at Nerdfest at the Rickshaw Theatre, and whole crews of new people tried Archery and Mounted combat for the first time.
Rank Exams
Congratulations to Rick, Dieter, and Steve on completing their rank examination for the second rank in the school’s Mastery program: the Blue Cord. They will now have the opportunity to expand their study to sidesword and buckler, rapier and dagger, as well as more advanced techniques with the rapier and abrazare (unarmed).
Adrian tested for the rank of Red Cord (third rank) and put in a superb performance. It’s an exceptional thing to pass to this test on the first try. He’ll be expanding his study to include longsword, quarterstaff, two swords, and various rapier secondaries including cloak, buckler, and baton. Congratulations Adrian!
Nerdfest
The excellent variety show Nerdfest happened for the third time this past weekend. We were there again putting on sword fighting demonstrations for all assembled. It was a grand time and we were proud to be a part of it!
Thanks to all of our volunteer performers and booth staff for their help in making this possible!
Archery
We had a full house for our Intro to Archery on Sunday morning. Much fun was had by all and some talent was shown by many in the group. Kudos to Aaron for handling such a big group in his first time lead instructing this workshop.
Mounted Combat
While arrows flew in the studio, horses hooves pounded the earth at our stables in Richmond. We welcomed a group of 11 people out to the barn including both beginners and seasoned mounted combatants. We worked on wrestling, and sword grappling techniques from the ground followed by attack and defence drills from horseback. It was a beautiful day to be in the saddle.
Bartitsu
Our second Fight Like Sherlock Holmes program began on Saturday. This is a new four week program where students learn the fundamentals of Bartitsu including Jujitsu, Savate, Boxing, and Cane fighting. We also have an Umbrella Self-Defence workshop coming up later this month on the 17th!
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.