It's been just over a year since we launched our Mounted Combat Membership program. Here's what some of those fees have paid for: Keeping Jack's tender toes happy with giant shoes Chiropractor visits for Tilly Making horse use and stall rental free of charge at Carosella 2017 Orange-bin rental for our renolition party this summer…
I'm partway through writing part 2 of my series on training in multiple weapon disciplines, but sometimes the craziness of running a sword school holds you up. So while that gets finished, I thought I'd reach back to a post from 2014 that I was reminded of today. This post explores how our desire to…
The Mounted Combat Skills curriculum for the Red Spur comprises six sections: Swordplay from the ground Swordplay from horseback Sword and shield Spear versus sword Mounted Games Knowledge In the next few months of this blog we'll be looking at the first section, swordplay from the ground. Red Spur: Swordplay from the Ground For this…
Recently, I was asked why we teach rapier and longsword together in our Instructor Intensives. The questioner postulated that it was like teaching sky diving and skin diving in the same program. Sure rapiers and longswords are both swords but aren't they as distinct as these two types of "diving"? I think it's a great…
Read More... from An Argument for Training with Diverse Weapons, Part 1
In September, I posted on the importance of team riding to develop mounted combat skills and delved into how to make successful hand-offs. Today I'm focussing on precision over speed as we look at drill team riding. Riding Level 4: Team Riding, pt II For Riding Level 4 you will need to demonstrate: 15. Simple…
Greg Reimer is an Academie Duello Provost (our most senior student level) and the Director of Sword Fight Canada in Valemount, BC as well as my partner in crime for our online video mastery program Duello.TV. He just got home a few days ago from an epic cross Canada trip where he visited many clubs,…
Ever sparred with someone really good and felt like you were at your best, then right after sparred with someone less experienced and felt like you got as sloppy as they were? Mimicry is one of the brain's most powerful tools for both learning and fitting in (an important tool for survival). Jared Diamond in…
Thank you to everyone who hung out and helped tarp the hay barn roof on Sunday. Even if you were just passing hammers and nails up from the ground, we couldn't have done it without you. Happy Horsey Hallowe'en! Autumn Riding, Horsemanship, and Mounted Combat There are still one or two spaces available in…
“…, Burton, in his Sentiment of the Sword …, tells us how the Italians adhered to their old practices, such as training outdoors (in contrast to the French, whose custom was to practice only indoors).”[1] Tis Fall now, and in most of Canada the temperatures are cooler and the ground is dry and firm. It…
Read More... from Autumnal Sword Press News for September/October 2017
Sometimes, I have hated swordplay. This is something I truly love and has been an enduring passion of my life. But when the fire is gone a sense of resentment, frustration, or anger can remain in its place. It can bring a tremendous feeling of loss; when something that has so readily fed you before…
With the evenings getting shorter, its time to switch the hours of our Riding & Horsemanship classes back to Sunday mornings. This is your last chance to get a series of classes in before our winter break! Autumn Riding, Horsemanship, and Mounted Combat Youth Riding & Horsemanship This course for kids aged 6-13 will introduce…
This past Friday, Jon Mills, a member of the Academie Duello instruction team and the principal fitness trainer of Black Dog Strength and Nutrition here in Vancouver, lead a workshop on coaching practices for the Duello instruction team. One of the central themes was Motivational Interviewing as a tool for helping students move toward behavioural…
Read More... from Ready, Willing, and Able: Changing Your Training Behaviour
I am asked routinely how to choose the right rapier for practice. This article, cribbed from my forthcoming Introduction to the Italian Rapier book, looks at the range of historical rapiers and my opinion on how to best select a modern reproduction. The Real Thing Historical rapiers varied in dimension both throughout their evolution from…