Carosella will be here in less than a fortnight! If you haven't registered yet, don't delay — there are only 20 spaces each day for mounted activities. (That said, if you are on the wait list for Mounted, there is plenty to keep you busy from the ground all weekend). You can sign up here.…
Not long ago, I had a conversation (online of course — who talks on the phone or in person anymore?) with my student Xian from Halifax. He asked a question about the nature of longsword fencing as it is often seen now in tournaments and in many videos online: "Why don't we see more play…
In the 1650s, a German speaking student attended the knight academy at Sorø in Eastern Denmark. There he studied under fencing master Wilhelm Schöffer von Dietz, a known student of fencing master Salvator Fabris (whose manual is a core source for rapier instruction at Academie Duello and to the Italian tradition in general). In his…
Carosella 2017 Registration is now open for Carosella 2017, our three day symposium of mounted combat, archery, and games! This exciting event, now in its fifth year, consists of two days of workshops on ground and on horseback for all levels of riding, swordplay, and archery. New for 2017 Interested in learning mounted combat techniques…
At the moment of writing I'm sitting in a plane seat on my way out of Duluth Minnesota. I've spent my weekend at the beautiful facility of the Avalon Educational Institute teaching a combination of sword alone, sword and buckler, partisan, and spadone. I love inter-disciplinary weekends. They're an opportunity to connect students with the…
Historical European Martial Arts are one of the most rapidly growing parts of the Martial Arts world with new groups, sites, and schools opening up all the time in both the West and East. Yet for a new practitioner, even with all this choice, it can be hard to know where or how to start.…
When you attend classes through Academie Duello, you learn a system of fencing, an art, and you learn that system through a particular methodology. Our goal is to help people find the path of mastery. To develop an understanding of the art on a deep and fundamental level in multiple dimensions and to explore those…
"To avoid criticism say nothing, do nothing, be nothing." - Elbert Hubbard Putting yourself out into the world is a surefire way to invite criticism. All who do encounter those who detract. Yet is there really any other way one would want to be in the world? When we embark on a new pursuit like swordplay,…
I consider myself to be relatively lucky in regards to injuries when it comes to martial arts. I have broken some fingers in intense bouting, separated a shoulder while doing armoured combat, and have certainly had my share of sprains and strains. That being said, it has been a relatively healthy career thanks to a…
Read More... from Taped Up, Braced Up, and Strapped Down: Training Through Injury
Summer is here at last! Don't let the beautiful days slip through your fingers ... get out and on a horse this month! In addition to our regular classes we have added jumping and cross country clinics this month. Look for more clinics next month as well ... Summer Courses at Red Colt Jumping Clinic…
Why do you practice martial arts? If it's for fun, once you've achieved a good level of fun, why seek to get better? If it's to win, why does winning matter? If it's for artistic or personal mastery, why? Like getting caught into a conversation with the pedantic child who always asks "why?", down the…
Do you like to put on full protective gear and really feel the rush or high intensity combat? Or, do you simply like the feel of the sword in your hand, weaving through patterns, an extension of your body? Or, perhaps you like the dance, smooth and intricate, collaborative as much as competitive. Martial arts…
Riding Level 4: Stadium Jumping At level 3 we asked you to jump a couple of cross-rails and navigate some poles on the ground. Four level 4 you will have to ride a 13. Stadium Course 3-4 fences. Verticals, spreads, combinations. 2’ maximum. A regular course usually has at least eight jumps, so this is…
I have come to wonder if placing our teachers on pedestals is about elevating them, or if it's really about lowering and restricting ourselves? Elevating our teachers to a realm beyond what is humanly achievable can be a strategy for minimizing our own expectations, and thus our disappointments. If the goal is unachievable there are…
Read More... from The Pedestal: What We Expect From Our Teachers
Riding Level 4: Jumping single-handed One of the skills we ask you to show in the Mounted Combat program that you won't find in most riding curricula is the ability to 12. Jump a small x-rail with single-hand reining This, of course, is a prequel to being able to jump with a weapon in hand.…
The High Cost of Horsing Around We are fortunate at Academie Duello. We are one of the few HEMA schools in the world that own horses. Between our three horses and the horses that other owners at Red Colt Co-op make available to us, we are able to run classes, workshops, clinics, and our annual…
If you feel that you learn best by reading or writing, you are not alone. For many, these are the learning skills that they've had the most practice with since our school system focuses so much on them. This in itself is an important note. It may not be that you are "wired this way",…
Read More... from Reading & Writing Strategies for In-Class Learning
Riding Level 4: Gymnastics In the equine world, gymnastics have nothing to do with leotards, balance bars, or vaulting horses. Rather, a gymnastic exercise, sometimes called a grid, is a line of jumps or poles set with one, two, or no strides (a bounce) between them. Gymnastic lines are wonderful exercises that help improve jumping style for…