Hello all swordfighters and swordfighting spectators! Cascadia North is proud to announce the first annual Dogwood Tournament, taking place this coming Friday, April 20th, from 7pm 'til midnight at Academie Duello. This event involves tournaments for the rapier, the longsword, and archery. We will also hold a voting contest for the winner of our potluck…
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Now that we know the names of all those pieces of leather and metal that make up a horse's tack, we need to know how to put them on correctly. 7. Tack up (may be assisted) 'May be assisted' means that for Horsemanship level 1 you should know the correct method of tacking up. If…
I wanted to write today on the interplay of speed between two people drilling together. Occasionally when a pair of students work on a set play at slow speed one of the pair may opt to move quicker than their partner. There are several reasons why this may occur: they're already familiar with the technique…
Here's a recent find that you may have seen on Google+: Installations The idea of an installation is that theatre does not need a building called a "theatre" in order to be a legitimate live performance. When you enter a theatre, you know this: You are a spectator and will not be expected to participate…
Armizare Academy is an invitational event hosted by the Chicago Swordplay Guild for schools which practice within the Italian Swordplay tradition from throughout the world. This year Academie Duello has the honour of being invited to join in and be a part of this great meeting of teachers and students. The event takes place at the beautiful and historic…
The Internet has been a great boon to us as historical swordplay practitioners. 15 years ago access to resources regarding historical fencing were much harder to come by and generally required actuallyvisiting repositories of historical manuals. Now through the power of the Internet you can have high quality copies of nearly any manuscript and the ability to connect and…
As with points of the horse, the nomenclature of the saddle and bridle varies from the obscure to the obvious. Item #6 on the Horsemanship 1 test is: Identify simple parts of saddle & bridle While it may seem a nuisance to memorize these terms, it is fairly important to know your billet strap from…
Toronto and jousting items dominate this Easter offering. Toronto – swords ‘and’ jousting … who knew? Of more important note though, our community recently suffered an accident that deserves a moment’s consideration to ensure that we’re doing everything possible to take care of weapon safety during training, displays or competitions. Wes A Centre for…
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Are you up to scratch? Ready to "toe the line"? Or are you down for the count? Take a swig of aqua vitae and put up your dukes... Pugilism Some martial artists really love the terminology and the exotic names in foreign languages. Fisticuffs, on the other hand, uses English words for the techniques, but…
Examinations this Friday Rank Examinations are coming up this Friday at 7pm. As of writing we have 4 people ready to test for the rank of Blue Cord (our second level). If you've never been to a rank examination it is a great opportunity to see the Academie in action, and if you're a member,…
It's always a very cool thing to see several varieties of swordplay in action at one time.
Read More... from [Photo] German Messer and Italian Rapier on Tuesday Night
Grooming the horse is one of the most important skill sets a rider needs to have. It allows you to check your horse for injuries, helps increase the circulation to his skin and muscles, prevents chafing from dirt under the tack, improves his appearance, and provides valuable bonding time. As you progress through your Horsemanship…
Back in mid-March, David McCormick lamented the loss of opportunities for stage combat in his piece ‘Theatrical Combat without Theatre’. However, he did give a nod to the fact that “Filmmaking will go on” and thus – the stage-&-safety trained Western Martial Artist will have a place to display his/her craft and add to the…