It’s that time of year again; trees have lost their leaves but gained some twinkly lights. And it’s time to knuckle down to do some serious gift shopping for your loved ones.
This year your friendly neighborhood swordfighting school has you covered. Numerous studies have demonstrated that when purchasing gifts for people one of the best, most lasting presents you can give is an experience. Giving someone this will build memories that will last a lifetime, because let's face it, not everyone is going to get their loved one the gift of swordplay.
UPDATE New Mounted Combat promotion:
Who doesn’t want a pony for Christmas? Give the next best thing with a six-week course of Riding & Horsemanship at Red Colt Farm, where students learn to care for and ride Academie Duello’s gentle school horses. If the thought of knighthood lights up your loved-one’s eyes, include the Mounted Combat Fundamentals course for only $99 when you buy both together with our holiday gift package. Read more about each course, here.
Gift ideas for kids:
Academie Duello’s Knight Camp program (running throughout the Spring and Summer breaks) offers children a unique opportunity to learn the ancient arts of the knight including; swordfighting, heraldry, history and more. You can purchase a gift certificate or sign up now.
Knight camp participants "pose" for a photo on the final day of camp.
Academie Duello also offers some pretty awesome toys in our store, including wooden model kits of Leonardo Da Vinci’s designs, siege engines, and — for the first time ever — a flying pig kit (or pigasus, as they are also known)! Behold the glorious pigasus!
Gift ideas for adults:
We have several great options for people who want to try out swordfighting for the first time. You can purchase a gift certificate for any of our beginners courses (Rapier Fundamentals, Longsword Fundamentals, Stage Combat Fundamentals and Bartitsu Fundamentals). Or you can purchase our Duelling for 2 package, which includes 2 hrs of training for 2 people on the subject of their choice: rapier, longsword, sidesword, polearms, wrestling and dagger fighting. Want to know more about our school's disciplines? Find out here.
Another great stocking filler is one of our Taste swordplay classes, which are 25 dollars each for an hour and a half introduction to both longsword and rapier. These can be sold either as a registration or as a gift certificate.
Gift ideas for swordfighters:
If you have people on your shopping list who are already members of Academie Duello (or you are a member looking for gift ideas for yourself) we offer gift certificates for classes, private lessons, workshops or just set values if you are not sure exactly what is best to support the recipient in their sword fighting journey.
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.