As many of you know, Flavie has been the cornerstone of our Mounted Combat program. Solid, dependable, and bombproof, she carries our most timid beginners and our heaviest riders, with a trot that's heaven to sit. She's a pro at lessons, horseback archery, mounted games, and sparring, able to turn on the speed or the…
For a better understanding of the daily breakdown of lessons in our Fight Directors Canada Basic certification course, I've prepared this outline. You may find this useful if you're a participant (starting tomorrow) or if you're considering signing up for September's session. (Online registration is now closed, but there are still spots in the session…
Season 6 is upon us, and now's as good a time as any to look back on one of A Game of Thrones' most prominent features - its armor and costuming. The question everyone likely wants to know the answer to (around these parts, anyway) is whether you really could go into battle wearing Jaime…
I love taking workshops with experts who have a lot of experience like Marco Quarta. The value of their coaching is immense, but I get even more from their explanations, their unique perspectives and the insights about why we choose certain movements. Maestro Quarta is an expert in Italian martial arts, especially traditional and modern…
A sword fight is NOT a fight between two swords. Always remember that the two people are fighting to the death, and they're using very effective tools to do so. Otherwise, your fights become dances. I hope in these clips you can see that most of the time, the actors look like they're choreographed because…
Horseback Archery returns to Red Colt Sunday, May 1st. These workshops with Robert Borsos of Borsos Torzs Horse Archery are loads of fun, and there is no experience needed to take the Beginner course. Don’t miss out — sign up today! Beginner Horseback Archery Whether you are an expert rider or archer, or a complete…
In speaking generally about kinds of martial arts and how to compare Bartitsu to other more familiar systems, sometimes we have to clarify our terms and classifications. One way to think about combat practice is to consider where the philosophy that underpins its rules and methods fits on a spectrum. Abstraction vs. Pragmatism One spectrum…
My apologies for the brevity of this edition of Sword Press, but the recent world situation and the concurrent obligations of service took my attention elsewhere for most of the month! Polite Parasols & Prima METRO (Vancouver, British Columbia). 10 March 16. Vancouver workshop offers lessons on umbrella etiquette, self-defence. The home salle (Academie Duello) hosted manners-maven Jason Sarai, supporting…
Read More... from Truncated Sword Press: News for March 2016
Here’s a selection of items of note from the Bartitsu Society of late. Salford Scuttlers Check out this two-part video on the Scuttlers problem of 1890s Manchester: Scuttlers of Manchester 1/2Watch this video on YouTube This is exactly the sort of street violence that Bartitsu was intended to counter. Comparing Vigny and Barton-Wright I highly…
March is heading out like a lamb, leaving us with lovely riding weather and double the opportunities to get in the saddle. Starting this week we will be running extra series of Riding & Horsemanship on Saturday afternoons from 4pm onwards, while the current Sunday series continues through April 17th. In addition there is a…
Recently, the most effective tip I’ve been giving actors again and again is “take a moment”. It’s very easy to go to the next move in the fight choreography. However, there are important times to pause for effect. Laugh Lines You shouldn’t build a pause into your performance expecting that the audience will laugh. However,…
St. Patrick's Day was this week, so let's celebrate the shillelagh, or blackthorn walking stick and its fighting style. As Jon Mills explained in his post, the general Irish term for stick fighting is Bataireacht. The shillelagh itself is a single piece of blackthorn or oak about three feet long. Longer sticks were called wattles…
My blood began to boil, my temper I was losing. And poor old Erin's Isle, they all began abusing. "Hurrah! my boys," says I, my shillelagh I let fly. Some Galway boys were by, they saw I was a hobble in; Then with a loud "hurrah !" they joined me in the fray. …
Any skill you want to keep should be rehearsed weekly. Any skill you want to improve should be practiced daily. Spaced repetitions In the case of learning new vocabulary, or memorizing names, we have a lot of good data from psychological studies. It is well known that there is a certain frequency of reminders that…
Let’s see now; what is "proper" historical swordplay? There are many definitions: Swordplay as it is strictly interpreted from a specific fightbook. The swordplay (tempered with safety concerns) employed by the SCA in their efforts to accurately recreate an overall (family-friendly) "feel" of being in the Medieval or Renaissance period. Swordplay as a martial art-driven, "totally different" fitness program.…
Read More... from Pigeonholed Sword Press: News for February 2016
At our rank exams, we evaluate students by how they demonstrate certain techniques alone and against a partner, as well as their use in sparring. Many students are most nervous about the competitive aspect and not being able to plan exactly what will happen in the sparring component. However, I see more students get reduced…
This post first appeared on VictorianMartialArts.com and is republished with permission. Indian clubs are a quintessential staple of any (real or imagined) scene depicting a Victorian Gymnasium or training hall. As they grow in popularity due to their current revival in fitness circles, it’s easy to miss the fact that these useful tools are not…
In many of our classes at Duello we have a section where students of all levels drill with one another, one-on-one. It’s a great opportunity for inexperienced students to gain from the physical knowledge of experienced partners, for members of the school to meet and connect with one another, and for technique to be tested…
Read More... from How to Help Your Drill Partner, Not Slow Their Learning