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…
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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…
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The ever-popular Beginner and Intermediate Horseback Archery workshops with Robert Borsos are back this Saturday May 5th. These workshops happen rarely, so don't miss out! Sign up here. Beginner Horseback Archery Whether you are an expert rider or archer, or a complete beginner at both, this is your starting point. You will spend about…
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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…
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A heads up to all of you with your Riding Level 3 signed off: we have opened a new Sunday class to help you towards Riding Level 4. Due to complex scheduling this six-class series runs over ten weeks, so there are no classes on April 29th, May 13th, or June 13th. Sign up now…
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…
Mounted Combat Arts Intensive New for 2018, we are planning to offer a full five-day Mounted Combat Arts Intensive from July 2nd to 6th. This 50-hour program offers you the chance to immerse yourself in a full week of mounted combat arts both in and out of the saddle. Throughout the week you will learn the…
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There is an interesting phrase pair I have been hearing from a lot of instructors recently. I hear: “Practice makes perfect.” Then an admonishment: “No. Practice makes permanent. So make sure you don’t practice poorly!” The first is a message of hope and resilience. If you practice and stay the course, you can find mastery.…
Red Spur Swordplay from the Ground: the True Fight As a scholar or Blue Spur within Academie Duello you should be already familiar with the the qualities of the true fight. That is, you seek control of your opponent's sword, advancing or striking when you have control, retreating and seeking to regain control when you…
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In light of our upcoming Online Collaborative Longsword Course, I thought it would be a good occasion to revisit this post on the five minutes per day practice regimen. Rhythm is the most important thing to cultivate on the path to mastery. Whether you leverage this course or simply get started with your own practice…
To acquire the first rank of the Mounted Combat program, the Green Spur, you will need to be assessed on the Green Spur Mounted Combat skills. These include Swordplay from the Ground, Swordplay Knowledge, and Mounted Combat Knowledge. The knowledge sections are covered in past sections of this blog, and can be studied on your…
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Due to unseasonably late snow, we have decided to delay starting the Riding Level 3, Jumping and Riding Level 4+, Jumping courses at Red Colt for two weeks. This will give the ring time to recover from its late-season slush and firm up enough for jumping. These courses will now start on Saturday March 17th. Note that all…
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