I'm not a fan of brutality in modern martial arts practice. Aggression brings unnecessary risks and injury, overvalues intensity over grace, and makes martial art less accessible to the unarmoured (both physically and psychologically). Wasn't Real Historical Fighting Brutal? I won't argue that there is no historical precedent for brutal, cruel, and ruthless martial art…
There are many types of partners you could end up sparring with. For example, if you had a sparring partner who always, consistently, threw cuts right as you stepped into their measure and stopped when you stepped out, then you could know that you could always go to them to practice your parries. Or, if…
This post originally appeared on Duello.TV, Academie Duello's online learning and training blog portal. At our recent Instructor Intensive, the topic of "training so hard that you lose the joy of it" came up. The people who come out to intensives are hard workers. It takes a lot of drive to come out to do…
While I was doing some research for another article I came across this video, on the Funker Tactical youtube channel, that includes some advice from a Vegas police officer about close quarters covering and entry. WHY BLOCKING IS USELESS! A Las Vegas Cop Issues a Challenge and Teaches Some LessonsWatch this video on YouTube There…
Read More... from The Three Defensive Principles, A Cross Martial Approach
Years ago, I had the pleasure of riding in a boat with Canada's Olympic rowing coach while he coached members of our Olympic team and some more casual rowers like me. One of the most compelling things about this experience was how little he gave to each of his students yet how impactful some of…
Read More... from Practice Pinpointing Your Coaching Corrections
At Academie Duello we have an ambitious goal: Make 1000 Masters. The challenge is that at this moment, we have yet to make our first. What is a Master? Within most European martial traditions, a master is someone who not only practices their art with a high level of proficiency but more importantly is able…
In an online conversation with members of our instructor training program this past weekend, an interesting question came up, one that I encounter on a regular basis: How do I make the other people in my group drill and do exercises? The short answer is that you don't "make" them do anything. Their training is their…
If you want to improve, put improvement on a schedule. Don't expect the schedule to stay the same forever. It's normal and natural for a rhythm that worked last month to not work now. Life changes and renewal gives new energy. Here are some rhythms that work for others and might work for you. Train…
A slightly different type of how-to topic for today—though it still involves swords! This past weekend we held a charity event at Academie Duello called Duelling with Cause. It featured a tournament, swordplay demonstrations, and a lot of cool audience participation. One of the things that the attendees got to try out was sabering a…
I'm a big fan of sparring games and other exercises that help bring a skill from drilling into a more fluid and combative environment. The Five Things Exercise is a sparring game that allows you to focus on five different techniques or ideas with just this goal. Exercise Structure Set a timer for a period…
There are two ways that I love sparring these days: With a simple jacket, light or padded gloves, gorget, and mask. In a full suit of plate harness. What I like about both of these environments is their close relations to how the martial arts we teach and practice were performed traditionally. A bulk of…
Read More... from Why Fight Light? Using Less Gear When Sparring
Over this past week, I have been working on a post about understanding who you are as a practitioner and using that self-knowledge to help you find the training strategies that work to help you keep motivated and achieve your mastery goals. Well, it's proven to be a more interesting and challenging post to create…
This past weekend, I had the special honour of seeing one of my senior students, Matheus Olmedo, elevated to the rank of Provost (the fourth level, just before Master). I wrote about what was involved in this gruelling two-day ordeal in last week's post. It was a superb thing to be a part of, along…
This Saturday (May 5th, 2018), we have an exciting event occurring at Academie Duello in Vancouver BC, an examination for the rank of Provost. Matheus Olmedo, who has been a student at Academie Duello for the past 8 years, has been diligently preparing himself. Everyone in the school is excited to witness and support him…
Feeling in a bit of a slump in your sparring? Perhaps overwhelmed or under-challenged? Sparring games, where you create restrictions and alternate objectives, can be a great way to up the strategic challenge and interest or allow you to focus on a smaller subset of skills. The first batch of games I'm presenting are all…
Read More... from Sparring Games: Alternate Target Objectives
One of the awesome things about Historical European Martial Arts is that they come from a rich historical tradition. And this tradition includes a wealth of instructional books written from within the period where those arts were most actively practiced. Picking up a 15th-century fighting manual is by no means necessary to learn, practice, and…
Read More... from Eat the Book: A Process for Understanding Historical Sources
Classes are a great place to learn, but proficiency comes from learning in between sessions by practising on your own. Here are five ways you can make the most of your personal practice time: Keep your commitment small If you're new to home practice, make a commitment that you feel very confident about keeping. In the beginning,…
I'm a big fan of slow sparring as a training tool. It is an ideal way to focus on mechanics and precision, develop strategic and tactical awareness, and work on the necessary relaxation and fluidity required for high-speed combat in a more manageable setting. The main challenge with slow sparring is that it is difficult to…