This past Friday, Academie Duello held a rank exam with 14 students across both adult and youth programs examining for Scholar and Free Scholar levels. We had a tremendously full house with somewhere between 60 and 70 fighters on the floor and dozens of observers. Exams are challenging affairs and we are not afraid to put…
Riding Level 4: Mounting, Dismounting, and Stirrups The second item on the Riding Level 4 assessment is 2. Mount - Dismount. Adjust stirrups mounted. Obviously, by the time you've reached level 4, you already know how to mount and dismount. However, now we expect you to do so smoothly and lightly. Mounting You may use…
I am a big fan of Adorea Olomouc, a stage combat troupe from the Czech Republic. I've shown their YouTube videos to Academie Duello's Demo Team for both stage combat training goals and filming sword fighting. I have to apologize to my regular stage combat students that I didn't direct you to them sooner. What…
When you’re working with a partner and you see them making an error it can seem like the right thing to give them a correction in order to help them improve. However, unsolicited help is often not help at all, it’s harm. The Problems with Unsolicited Help It’s disempowering 90% of learning happens in absence…
Bartitsu's fusion of martial arts has jujitsu at its core. "Jujitsu" mean "The art of suppleness" in Japanese, and focuses on core "soft" techniques such as: Joint locks and chokes Takedowns Ground fighting However, there are strikes in jujitsu which are called "atemi" in Japanese. These strikes are almost identical to the techniques in katate,…
"Just the facts, ma'am," Attributed to Detective Sergeant "Joe" Friday Are Longswords Larger in Texas? DENTON RECORD-CHRONICLE (Texas) 30 October 2016: The members of Denton’s ARMA group are working hard to prepare themselves physically and intellectually for their bi-annual meeting on the medieval martial arts. The article describes their aims and intentions. It also features…
Read More... from Factual Sword Press: News for October 2016
"Teacher teaches best what they most need to learn.” A friend of mine shared this bit of wisdom with me many years ago and it has stuck firmly with me. I have often found as a teacher that the topics I am most adept at sharing with my students are often the ones that I…
Riding Level 4: Turnout Just as we start marking you for your turnout in Horsemanship Level 4, we are expecting a minimum level of grooming and presentation in Riding Level 4 as well. Turn Out. Horse & Rider. AD shirt, boots, breeches, helmet, gloves We're not looking for shadbellies or show jackets, but at this…
My approach to stage combat has three priorities: Safety, Simulation, and Story. This is a small but important departure from the standard Fight Directors Canada version that students will see in their glossary: safety, storytelling, and style. Here is why I believe simulation beats style and gives us a clearer understanding of what we do…
New for this year is Dr Jeffry L. Forgeng's translation of the recently discovered Fechtbuch ‘The Art of Sword Combat’[1] by Joachim Meyer. This new offering is thought to pre-date Meyer’s famous work, ‘The Art of Combat’ (1570) by two years. Dr Forgeng is well qualified to handle an original, old work. He’s done research…
Read More... from Book Review: “The Art of Sword Combat” by Meyer
"That is a really inefficient way to attack. What are they doing?" I think as my opponent winds up some particularly arduous looking strike. "Ah. Hitting me." This is a scenario I have encountered on many occasions in my development. I've entered into combat with an opponent expecting a particular type of response, only to have…
Our new Mounted Combat memberships are live starting today, which means members are now able to sign up for practice rides and our new Mounted Combat Practice nights. But, you ask, what exactly happens at a Mounted Combat Practice? Mounted Combat Practice Basically, these Monday evenings are the MC Program equivalent of Open Floor: an…
Read More... from New! Mounted Combat Practice nights are here
The first rank exam a student of Bartitsu faces is to test whether an apprentice who wears a green sash is ready to progress to the scholar level and wear the blue sash. We hold this evaluation every four months or thereabouts, and a Bartitsuka must have at least three months of instruction to qualify…