Ours is a martial art rich with words. Words that describe foot positions, body orientations, sword positions, sword relationships and angles, directions of movement, tactical principles, strategic ideals, and more. We also use a vocabulary that is full of unfamiliar words from the Italian language (some of them even unfamiliar to modern Italian speakers) and…
Read More... from Glossary of Academie Duello's Terms of Swordplay
Horsemanship Level 2: Equine Warning Signs Take a look at this painting by George Stubbs. Who is the angry looking bay in the middle threatening: the happy bay in front of him, or the oblivious human and palomino behind him? (Answer below)Reading your horse's moods is one of the most important skills you can develop. …
Welcome to Duello.TV for the week of June 3rd. The sun in shining in Vancouver and its a great time to train outside. I know that many Academie Duello students are getting into some extra time at the sword as they participate in the 30 for 30 Swordplay Challenge. If you haven't joined, it's not…
Are you... ...looking for a fun, engaging workout? ...in the market for an awesome new hobby? ...searching for a great social environment to support your goals? ...preparing for a Zombie Apocalypse? If you answered "Yes!" to any of these questions, look no further, Academie Duello's Beginner's Courses are for you! Both our Beginner’s Courses, Taste of the…
Welcome to Duello.TV's videos for the week of May 27th! This week 'practice' has been on my mind. Capo Ferro says that swordplay is made up of Nature, Reason, Art, and Practice. Practice being the disciplining of the body to enact the principles of art, that have been identified through reason, and governed by the…
Horsemanship Level 2: Grooming By the time you are testing Level 2 you should be able to groom your horse quickly and confidently. On the checklist for Level 2 is: 5. Groom horse; three reasons for grooming; common sense around horse. Grooming, and the reasons for grooming are pretty well covered in this level one…
It's common sense that if you want to get better at something, you need to practice. But practice takes time and commitment and setting a new habit can be challenging. That's where your friends can step in to help you. This June I am challenging you to join me and many others at Academie Duello…
Horsemanship Level 2: Leading at the Trot At level 1 we asked that you demonstrate how to safely lead your horse for the simple purpose of moving him about from stall, to cross-ties, to arena. You can review this here. For level 2 you will also need to demonstrate leading at the trot. 4. Lead…
Happy Monday everyone. In Canada we're celebrating Victoria Day today -- seems like a good time to do some swordplay! This week at Duello and on Duello.TV we have a very interesting mix of classes. Green cords are working on getting out of situations where they have lost control of the sword. Blue cords are…
Read More... from Training Videos: Rapier recovering, Sidesword Covers, Longsword Precision
This Monday, Academie Duello was the proud recipient of one of 100 new reproductions of the I.33 Fechtbuch produced by Extraordinary Editions in cooperation with the Royal Armouries of the United Kingdom. I.33 is a very important manuscript as it is the earliest surviving European sword fighting manual, most likely dating to sometime in the…
Horsemanship Level 2: Routines of the Horse There are many different equine lifestyles for the domestic horse, from grazing loose on the range 24/7, to kept in a barn with a variety of supplemental feeds, and everything in between. At level 2 we don't expect you to be able to descibe all the various horsekeeping…
There's been a lot of news in the world of Canadian Stage Combat in the past week, so here's what's worth noting. In proper news style, here's a rundown of the headlines: No 2013 Nationals Montreal Regionals Casey's Youth Class Rapier Wit Motion Capture Vancouver Certification Intensive No 2013 Nationals Nationals is cancelled. Paul Gelineau,…
On Sunday we welcomed Borsos Torzs Horse Archery Club to Red Colt for our first ever Mounted Archery clinic. The weather was gorgeous, and, judging from the smiles on everyone's faces a great time was had by all! Here's a summary of the day. Prior to the start of the workshop we tacked up nine…
The sun is shining and I'm getting excited for a warm summer of swordplay. This week we are stepping into a new selection of topics. Green Cords will be working on techniques for receiving the opponent and inviting them into error, Blue Cords will be adopting the refused rapier posture, Red Cords are working on…
Fight scenes are first of all scenes, and we'd all prefer to act in well-written and exciting plays. Here's a selection of plays that have fight scenes, in no particular order. And it's certainly not exhaustive. They're not categorized by weapon, since you can often substitute weapons without ruining the meaning of the conflict. I…
Horsemanship Level 2: Identification Part II: Points, Colours and Markings Last week we looked at breeds and types, which is the most general way of identifying horses. This week we'll narrow down and look at more specific identification. Points Your horse's anatomy forms an important part of his identification and is helpful in communicating with…
Welcome to bonus week on Duello.TV! What does this mean? Well our curriculum at Academie Duello works on a month by month 4 week rotation. This means that every few months there is a bonus 5th week. During this week we focus on integration and tactical exercises, applied combatives drills, and review. To fit this…
Everyone has heard this one. You need to drink at least 8 glasses of water a day. Every health source will tell you that. So, do you drink that much water? I didn't think so. But this is the single most important nutrient you ingest every day, and the single easiest way to cleanse your…