Day Seven Today is poleaxe day! My excitement abates slightly when I discover that we don’t actually get to use real ones. Adrian insists that our waivers do not cover that level of damage. The trainers we use are just as heavy with nice hardwood poles and tough rubber end bits to pierce and crush…
Cavaliere Assessments this Sunday
Cavaliere Assessments are coming up this Sunday. Please note the later-than-usual start time of 4:00pm to keep us out of the mid-day heat! Cavaliere Assessments Sunday 5 July 4:00 - 7:00pm cost: $50 (single assessment); $80 (both Riding & Horsemanship) This assessment is for Riding and Horsemanship only. If you plan to assess please contact jennifer…
Warrior Fundamentals - Week 3
Day Five I have a confession to make. I was neither able to attend Class 5 nor was I able to take advantage of the evening classes to make up for it. What’s a sword-fighting student to do? Thankfully, my trusty blade-wielding comrades filled me in on the general content for the class, and, wonderfully,…
How respect may be holding you (and your training partner) back
This piece could have also been called: "Punching women respectfully; a guide" or, "How to be a douchebag by not hitting girls." I’ll frame this a little first. I am writing this as a man, drawing on two perspectives that are largely and unfairly male-dominated. The first is martial arts. The second is security work.…
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Okichitaw: Canada's only (Ab)original Martial Art System
Canada Day is fast approaching and as our country celebrates its 148th birthday, it is important that we as Canadians recognize that this birthday is based on Canada’s post-colonial history. On July 1st 1867 Canada became its own self-governing dominion within great Britain (and originally only included the provinces of Nova Scotia, New Brunswick, Ontario…
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Do the Wrong Thing Right
To any action in combat there are typically multiple responses that can functionally deal with that action (for example you can parry it, control it, strike into it, and so on). The choice of responding action is generally dictated by overall strategy or tactical needs. There are times when you want to strike into an…
Spend Summer in the Saddle
The weather is gorgeous, the footing is good, and the grooming is easy. Make the most of our glorious summer by spending at least part of it on the back of a horse. We have a whole line-up of clinics and classes over the next two months for both experienced riders and complete beginners. Refine…
Warrior Fundamentals - Week 2
I have pledged to do better this week. I am inspired by my latest Cornwell book, as well as by the lovely bottle of mead I was presented with by one of my shield mates. He offered it in exchange for a promise that I would not overly bludgeon him during our training. Day Three…
Beginners' Courses July 2015
Just like the sun, we are coming back with our beginner's courses! Enjoy your summer with three different ways to approach to Western Martial Arts. Bartitsu is a complex martial art with many interlocking skills and is still very useful for learning practical self-defence today. Its introductory course, Fight Like Sherlock Holmes, runs once a week for four weeks.…
Battle of the Sexes: Staged Violence between Men and Women
The emotional appreciation of staged fights depends primarily on the perceived balance of power. It doesn’t take much for us as audience members to feel that the scales are tipped heavily in one direction -- one versus many, injured/ill versus healthy, female versus male --– and there is something within us that always wants to…
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Book Review: "Deeds of Arms" by S. Muhlberger
“They are stories about stories.” [1] It does my heart good when I hear competent people say that they’ve recreated the essence of some medieval martial art event to the best of their ability, because they followed the descriptions of medieval combat "exactly" from period texts. It’s a good ... start. But what if the…
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Questions and Secrets; Understanding Martial Art
No matter how many classes you come to you will never fully discover my art this way. The art is not contained within a syllabus or a curriculum. I’m not saying there isn’t value in classes and teachers. There is tremendous value. Without them there would be nothing. It’s simply that classes are only the…
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Jumping Basics
Riding Level 3: Jumping position and small courses For Level 3 Riding you will need to: 13. Trot poles to a small jump showing good position and mane or crest release. and 14. Jump a small cross-rail course (18” high) of 2 jumps and 1 or 2 sets of poles. When we are looking at…