“You see first with your mind, then with your eyes, then finally it is in your body." -- Yagyu Munenori. Family Traditions on the Art of War, 17th century. Stuck In Your Head Whether it’s swordplay, dancing, or driving a car, when you first learn a skill it exists within the conscious learning part of the…
As many of you know, Flavie has been the cornerstone of our Mounted Combat program. Solid, dependable, and bombproof, she carries our most timid beginners and our heaviest riders, with a trot that's heaven to sit. She's a pro at lessons, horseback archery, mounted games, and sparring, able to turn on the speed or the…
For a better understanding of the daily breakdown of lessons in our Fight Directors Canada Basic certification course, I've prepared this outline. You may find this useful if you're a participant (starting tomorrow) or if you're considering signing up for September's session. (Online registration is now closed, but there are still spots in the session…
Season 6 is upon us, and now's as good a time as any to look back on one of A Game of Thrones' most prominent features - its armor and costuming. The question everyone likely wants to know the answer to (around these parts, anyway) is whether you really could go into battle wearing Jaime…
The path to mastery is as little as 25% technical, and 75% psychological. Not to diminish what it takes to learn and apply a martial art physically, but I have met very few students that I didn’t feel were physically capable, with sufficient practice, of mastering their arts. The real barriers to long-term mastery are…
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Horsemanship Level 4: Conditioning pt I The checklist item for Level 4 conditioning read: 7. Work vs. exercise. Warm-up and cooling out, reasons why. This week we will examine fitness, work, and excercise, and then look at warm-up and cool-down next week. Condition Along with his conformation, your horse's condition determines the type of activities…
I love taking workshops with experts who have a lot of experience like Marco Quarta. The value of their coaching is immense, but I get even more from their explanations, their unique perspectives and the insights about why we choose certain movements. Maestro Quarta is an expert in Italian martial arts, especially traditional and modern…
Swords and Hilt Weapons is a beautifully illustrated, introductory compendium of 4000 years of sword and hilted-weapon development as it has evolved in both time and space. Developments from the Bronze Age through to modern times are briefly explored and concurrent areas of geographic or cultural "uniqueness" are featured. And while this book concentrates on European…
Read More... from Book Review: Swords and Hilt Weapons by Connolly, Coe, et al
From June 3rd to 5th, Academie Duello will be hosting the first Vancouver Martial Challenge. This event is part of an alternative type of event I want to promote within the Historical European Martial Arts community: events that focus on combat within the realm of the martial art rather than the martial sport. Here’s a…
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Horsemanship Level 4: Identifying Lameness When you deepen your study of conformation you will begin to look at its effects on a horse's movement, which can tell you much about its ability, soundness, and scope. For Level 4 Horsemanship, we ask you to begin sharpening your eye by identifying unsoundness and distinguishing which leg is…
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A sword fight is NOT a fight between two swords. Always remember that the two people are fighting to the death, and they're using very effective tools to do so. Otherwise, your fights become dances. I hope in these clips you can see that most of the time, the actors look like they're choreographed because…
Provost, what is better: practicing barefoot or in shoes? I prefer and recommend practicing in shoes (keep reading; some students prefer barefoot which is fine). Ultimately, there are pitfalls to be aware of (and avoid) with either. The biggest consideration I make is for personal health. That is, will your decision (shoes or no shoes)…
The route from learning a new skill to pulling it off in combat is not a simple process. Though you can take many skills immediately into combat and make some progress, it is more effective to follow a formal process that targets the skill in a focused manner at each stage of its development. Stage…