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,…
Mimicry: How To Use It, How To Beat It
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…
Have a Horsey Hallowe'en
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…
Autumnal Sword Press News for September/October 2017
“…, 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…
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Burn out: when the fire is gone
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…
Autumn Riding and Swordplay at Red Colt
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…
Ready, Willing, and Able: Changing Your Training Behaviour
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…
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Choosing the Right Rapier for You
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…
Collaborative vs Competitive Practice Environments
Early in my days of swordplay, I remember a common piece of training advice was to "never give anything less than 100% to your training partner". Because the only form of training our practice group really did at the time was sparring, this often lead to situations where a more experienced opponent just hit a…
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Reflective Sword Press News for August 2017
Yes, August. Somewhere following, there are three items that are not necessarily ‘HEMA-heavy’ as they are reflective of some assessments of why people undertake martial arts … including swordplay in various forms. We have one Chinese assessment of what HEMA is, and a Ukraine piece describing how various celebrations of martial arts disciplines can contribute…
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SKIL: A model for learning martial forms
Many martial traditions, including ours, use martial forms (series of attacks and defences for solo or partnered practice) to help train martial precision, flow, and fitness. Having a form that you can practice without a training partner provides structure for improving and maintaining your martial ability when you don't have the option of training with…
Team Riding: Hand to Hand
Before I put swords in the hands of participants on horseback during our Intro to Mounted Combat workshop, I have people high-five each other. I tell them it's the friendly way to start hitting one another. The comment is light-hearted, but the principle and the practice is important. Co-operative riding is a key part of mounted…
WMAW 2017 Event Report
So this past weekend I attended the bi-annual Western Martial Arts Workshop in Racine, Wisconsin. Hosted by the Chicago Swordplay Guild, this is one of North America's oldest European swordplay and martial arts events. The weekend features workshops, social activities, a feast, and copious amounts of free sparring and sharing between attendees. It's also held…