This week in Bartitsu: 1. Boxing review: hooks, traditional and modern replies, ring and street 2. Savate lesson: round kick 3. Integration: combinations and measure New format: sparring or conditioning Skipping Heavy bag Abs (all-fours) See you at 3pm!
Category: Programs
Some Bartitsu Websites
For my students who would like to do some research and learn more outside of class (and have access to the Internets), here are some sites of note: Forteza Fitness (http://fortezafitness.com/) Tony Wolf's new home with ongoing Bartitsu lessons. The webpage has some great images to show off the various weapons taught and information about…
Safe is sound
Needs of the Horse part III: Security In the first part of this series I stated that horses need food, shelter, and security. At first glace creating a secure environment for a horse seems fairly straightforward. After all, there aren't that many large predators left in most places where we keep horses (though losing a…
Bartitsu 4-February
This week in Bartitsu: 1. Walking stick review: Preemptive strike from rear guard 2. Boxing lesson: Hooks and uppercuts, traditional and modern defenses in the ring and the street 3. Integration: The unarmed victim vs. the stick, the ruffian vs. the umbrella. Those who are joining us for the first time after the workshop…
Knap Time!
"If you can talk brilliantly about a problem, it can create the consoling illusion that it has been mastered." - Stanley Kubrick Intro to Stage Combat Sunday, February 12, 2012 2pm-6pm In this intensive 4-hour workshop, we’ll cover the basics of stage combat, including: ▪Slaps ▪Punches ▪Chokes ▪Push and fall ▪Sword parries and footwork ▪Sword…
Scenes of Violence
Most actors learn stage combat for a specific role while in rehearsal. My belief that every performer before leaving acting school should have Basic Actor-Combatant certification with Fight Directors Canada does not have widespread support. Therefore, the majority of actors already have a scene to fight to. But actors who are taking the full stage…
Archery's new home at Academie Duello
Our ongoing archery class is launching this Sunday (5 February)! Class runs from 5:30 - 7:30 at Academie Duello (412 W Hastings St.). Archery is a 1.0 credit class, just like SwordFit, Mastery, Stage Combat, and Bartitsu. To join the archery class you must have completed our Intro to Archery workshop. Space is…
Gimme Shelter!
Needs of the Horse part II: Shelter In respect to last week’s topic, food, and this week’s, shelter, humans and horses are opposite. Horses eat and drink an enormous quantity compared to us, and the consequences of going hungry or thirsty are potentially more serious (ulcers, colic, and other digestive upset) than they are for…
Bartitsu 28-Jan-2012
This week in Bartitsu: The Introduction to Bartitsu workshop: Fight Like Sherlock Holmes Then, the ongoing class, featuring: 1. Jujitsu review: Standing locks and holds 2. Cane lesson: Bayonnet drills 3. Integration: Locks and disarms with the walking stick Don't miss it!
What do Horses Need?
Like all mammals, equines have three core needs: food, shelter, and security. In the grasslands of Eurasia, where the modern horse evolved, these needs were met quite differently than they are for most domesticated horses today. A wild horse lives in a herd, travels many miles each day, grazes constantly, and seeks shelter from whatever…
Bartitsu 21-Jan-2012
This week in Bartitsu:1. Review of Boxing: straight punches, dynamic motion 2. Jujitsu Lesson: entry to standing holds 3. Integration: chancery and escapes See you at 3pm!
The Versatile and Deadly Umbrella
On Sunday, one of our most popular workshops debuts for the new year. Here's a smattering of what we'll learn: Fairburn-Style Javelin-Style The London Riots (no laughing matter... feel free to chuckle, though): Penguin-Style (not Linux, you geeks!) Batman: Umbrella Attack (Flash game) http://dcbeyond.kidswb.com/games/umbrella-attack Poppins-Style If you can find one, I'd recommend the Poppins, which…
On the path of mastery; savour the plateau.
Last week I posted about the 10,000 hours it takes to master an activity and how you must savour the journey and not the destination. One of the biggest challenges that people face in putting in their 10,000 hours of mastery is the feeling of the plateau in learning. Where you don't feel like you're…
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English or Western, part II
Last week we looked at the relative merits English and Western saddles. This week we're looking at the much thornier issue of reining style. It's one of the hardest adjustments to make when switching from one type of riding to the other, and proponents of each will often argue fiercely against the other. In dressage,…
Connect the dots
Today's topic: where to make adjustments. This is one of my big secrets; you're in for a treat. One of the novice fencer's greatest challenges is getting used to the posture. Toes and knees tend to point every which way other than the way they're supposed to face. I chalk this up to the…
Fantasy and Practical Stage Armour
Armour serves two purposes, as does most clothing: protection and fashion. On stage and in film, if you can see the armour, it's for fashion, and if you can't, then it's for protection. The Illusion of Practicality From the blindingly reflective plate on Zeus to the leather scraps on orcs, armour should match the character…
Mastering an activity - Putting in your 10,000 hours
Malcolm Gladwell in his book Blink states that it takes approximately 10,000 hours at an activity to master it. So if you commit one hour a day to practicing an activity, it's going to take you 10,000 days to find mastery, or about 27 years. Woah, that's a lot of years. Fortunately we can probably…
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English or Western?
I'm often asked why we use English saddles in our Cavaliere program. After all, doesn't the western saddle, with it's high pommel and cantle, better mimic the shape of the medieval jousting saddle? Isn't it easier for beginners to stay secure in the embrace of all that extra leather? The short answer to both these…