I had to be careful with the title of this week's post. Didn't want it turning up in the wrong sort of searches,* as the next item on the Riding 1 checklist is: 9. Show correct way to hold a whip/crop This is one of the skills we ask for in our level…
Category: Programs
Rapier Receiving, Sidesword Guards, and Longsword Thrusts
Welcome everyone to another week of Duello.TV. This week we have videos on the rapier receiving, sidesword guards, and longsword pressure sensitivity and we'll be continuing with all three weapons throughout the month. This week at Academie Duello several of our instructors are preparing to go to Armizare Academy in Racine, Wisconsin. Devon Boorman will…
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Who's gotta practice?
We had rank examinations in the Mastery program just this past Friday. Congratulations to all who tested, whether you succeeded or not. Congratulations to you because you have each put in a lot of effort to achieve level that you're at. For those readers not aware of how the Mastery program works: students must meet…
Closure: Collapse the Possibilities, Go All In
Keeping your options open is an attractive concept and feels like freedom. It permits room for debate, changes of opinion and forgiveness. In most circumstances, I believe that the gentleman and the rational person avoids taking sides until the most information is analyzed. I believe in science. I wanted to get that messiness out of…
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Compassionate Demand - Pushing your boundaries and enjoying it.
Last night in class I brought up this idea of being a combination of demanding and compassionate with yourself when learning something new. If you want to become an excellent practitioner of something (and that is a worthy goal) then you are going to need to call on yourself to do something you can't yet…
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[Videos] Rapier, Sidesword, and Longsword oh my!
It's September already! Many of our students in Vancouver are heading back to University for their new year and many old faces return after summer vacations. It's a great time to get back to fundamentals. This week we are focusing on rapier movement fundamentals, cutting technique with the sidesword, and core skills of giocco stretto…
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Competition Stage Combat
Taking inspiration from Major Wes' post on this very blog called Staged Sword Press, let's talk about competitive stage combat. Art Contests In sporting competition, there is obvious scoring with the ball kicked across a line, or touches with a sword tip. Artistic expression has its own competitions, but they must be scored by a…
Randy on.... sparring
Randy's at it again. This time some really good notes on why sparring is important to the development of the Art. There certainly is a difference between the theory of the art and its practice (Capoferro talks about it thus too). The lesson that I want to point out is that putting your theory into…
Bartitsu Bootcamp
This week, I'm taking over the 7am SwordFit Bootcamp, and naturally, we're using Bartitsu skills as the foundation of our movements. One-hour Class Outline Welcome and Salute Warm Up: Jogging Jump rope (Jumping Jacks for those without rope) Medicine ball toss and catch with joint rotations Boxing: Preparation: Shadow boxing Free punching focus pads Lead…
Duello.TV: Recovering with Cuts and Refused, Double Sword Defence, & Longsword Cutting
Welcome to your training for this week at Academie Duello and on Duello.TV. Green cords continue their work on cutting, in this week using cuts to recover from bad positions; Blues recover from disadvantaged positions by passing back into refused; and Reds will be using two swords to cover against powerful cuts. Green Cord (Level…
A model way of practicing
I'm blogging at your from beyond the internet....... oooOOOoooOOOooo! heh heh. Today I was going to write about the differences inherent in each of us (I thought I wrote about this but I couldn't find it). Take a look at this article. It's wisdom though needs to be somewhat massaged for fencing. Basically the message…
The Amateur-Professional Divide
I just read an article by Isaac Butler on the difference between amateur and professional theatre in the USA. It was inspired by a blog post about the same topic in photography. In the era of cheap(er) high quality cameras and Photoshop, the quality of the amateur's work is often comparable to professionals, and so…
Don't look down!
Back from holidays and back to business. This week our riding skill is: 8. Walk and trot over single ground poles and a group of 3-4 trot poles Riding over ground poles is the beginning of learning how to jump, but is also a useful exercise in and of itself for improving a horse's way…
Video Lessons: Rapier cuts, refused, and two swords plus longsword thrusts
The core theme of this week across all class is strategic constraint. In Green cord (level 1) we explore the constraining capacity of the cut with the rapier, in Blue (level 2) how to create dominant positions when the sword begins from a withdrawn position, and in Red Cord (level 3) we explore how to…
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Practicing on the pass
Learn how to strike on the pass (aka passing lunge). I find that practicing some finer movements in slow practice can be very challenging with lunges. There's a point in a lunge where you lose all control until you stop lunging. This makes it very hard execute techniques that occur close to the start of…
Bartitsu Fitness
Training the fighting skills of Bartitsu can help with your fitness goals, but skill development should be your main focus in class. We set aside some time in class for strength and conditioning, and you should continue this work outside of class for the best results. Warm Up Always begin your physical activity regimen with…
Being internal
Another link to Randy's blog today. I know that I start thinking internally a lot during my practice. Personally I do it more when playing with sideswords and longswords due to the many methods of moving a sword on an arc (cutting). I find that being attentive to how my body feels when practicing greatly…
Fight Choreography and Rehearsal
The Fight Director will arrange or choreograph a fight for specific actors on a specific stage. This is an important aspect of safety, because setting choreography early and repeating it often in rehearsal will give actors the consistency and confidence to perform safely in front of an audience. The better they feel about the safety,…