There's something a little bit artificial about New Years resolutions. Why pick January 1st to start changing your ways, and not any other random day of the year? Granted, we may have a few extra pounds to shed after two weeks of rich food and reduced exercise, but you're probably going to get back on…
The third annual 30 for 30 Swordplay Challenge is just about to start on January 2nd! If you’ve heard of yoga challenges, you know what this is about. It’s like that, but way cooler… there's swords. The challenge: practice swordplay for 30 minutes per day for 30 days in January from the 2nd to the 31st.…
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It’s the first day of the holiday and it’s always a bit confusing when you don’t go about your usual routine. I find myself not at Academie Duello, as I have been nearly every day for the past two weeks, but instead at my in-laws' for the preparation of Christmas Eve dinner. Now we set…
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Blue Spur: Throwing a Spear from the Saddle The final Mounted Games item in the Blue Spear checklist is: Safely throw a javelin from the halt and walk without emphasis on accuracy. Since we don't even ask you to hit a target, this is, (in a sense) even easier than the earlier requirement of hitting…
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We'll have more whip cracking workshops in the new year, and your instructor, David McCormick, spends hours every week plaiting new whips out of nylon paracord. Hand-made paracord bullwhips are durable and have a great crack. The core is filled with steel balls (shot) to give the perfect heft and momentum. The outer 12-plait overlay…
Okay, so everyone got up in arms about the lightsaber with a crossguard from the new Star Wars: The Force Awakens movie set to release this week. The lightsaber, wielded in the trailers by villain Kylo Ren, has spurred a number of arguments -- most of which fell directly into either the "love it" or "hate it" category, with…
This past week I wrote a post about posture and my journey to build it in myself. How we hold, carry, and move our bodies is essential to our practice as martial artists in two ways: Effective Martial Arts Requires Effective Mechanics The heart of martial arts is body mechanics. Every technique you can perform is…
Blue Spur Mounted Games: couching and releasing the lance At the Blue Spur you are not expected to do actual combat with the spear, or even joust against the quintain. However, we do want you to be able to: Demonstrate couching and releasing of the lance. Couching 'Couching' refers to holding the spear in one…
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In many old boxing books, they claim that the first question students ask is "How shall I stand?" but I've never had a student ask such a question. However, it is the first question to ask yourself when you think a fight is about to start -- whether you have just stepped into a competitive…
An assortment of swords and rapiers in the far corner of the dining room… make a brave pretense at being legitimate collections…. -- Byron, Joseph. Photographs of New York Interiors at the Turn of the Century. The Illustrated Directory of Swords & Sabres by Harvey J.S. Withers is anything but a pretense of a collection. …
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Several years ago I wrote a post about how I was working on fixing my posture. You see, I’m a tall guy, and as is the case with many tall guys, I had started to roll my shoulders forward to get a little closer to the world. Also, years of fencing -- and most likely…
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Blue Spur Mounted Games: Block Cutting The second mounted games skill we ask you to demonstrate for the Blue Spur is cutting to the blocks: Cut and thrust four out of five block targets using a synthetic or wooden sword in good form, three times in a row, while at a trot or canter. The…
Mastering a physical skill is a long process. Although most beginners need to learn the fundamental movements and the terminology to identify them, there is a constant development at all levels of general traits and valuable “soft” skills. Despite the lack of attention given to these virtues, they are universally acknowledged among the best performers.…