I revisit the question “Why do swordplay?” on a regular basis. Many people ask me what my reason is for practising something that is arguably esoteric and a few centuries past its true usefulness. The answer may not be what people are expecting. At the end of the day, I feel that hundreds of years past its…
Happy New Year! With our winter program hiatus the New Year is a great time to re-examine, refresh, and renew. As our program evolves, the needs of our students change, and we are continually nudging, tweaking and adjusting our courses. For this fifth (yes, fifth!) year of the Cavaliere Program we have some larger program…
For the past two years, Academie Duello and Bard on the Beach have produced a one-night-only showcase of swordplay and Shakespeare, called "Fight Night". The evening begins and ends with an address by Christopher Gaze, the Artistic Director of Bard on the Beach. Duello's founder, Devon Boorman, explains historical weapon use in Elizabethan England as…
The new year is upon us and 2014 is winding to a close. This past year we celebrated our 10 year anniversary, welcomed a whole new team of staff at the front desk, saw our first second-level students in two programs (Youth and Bartitsu) put on some awesome performances, and made our way through some…
[Updated - Fixed link so it goes to correct facebook group - Dec 30, 2014] In the summer of 2013 I created a challenge, primarily for myself and a few senior students, to practice 30 minutes of swordplay each day for 30 days. The challenge went from my small initial group of invitees to a…
Read More... from 30 for 30 Swordplay Challenge 2015 Edition
Today is the first day of Kwanzaa. Many of us know of Kwanzaa, but not many of us know its origins and how it is celebrated. Today, I would like to talk about what the holiday truly means, and how we can apply its core principles to our lives as martial artists and practitioners of…
Read More... from The Seven Principles of Kwanzaa and How to Apply Them As Martial Artists
Merry Christmas to all the wonderful practitioners of swordplay and all of our martial arts brothers and sisters. May your year be filled with the ringing of steel, the feel of a good blade in your hand, and the embrace of brethren at arms. I hope that before you are both the challenges that make…
Our equine friends at Red Colt wish you all peace, goodwill, and carrots in your stockings ... See you in 2015!
One of the things about swordfighting that I soon realized after I started practising Western Martial Arts is that not every swordfight stays strictly to being a swordfight. Sometimes you and your opponent get in close to each other and the game changes. Maybe your opponent decided to rush you, hoping to gain an advantage…
As discussed in my previous post on Stage Combat Trends, swordplay for the stage (and the mainly French terminology actors and stunt performers use) came initially from sport fencing. The first fight choreographers in film were fencing champions, and fencing was a part of most private schools and professional actor's training. The lineage looks like…
Regular practice is more important than quantity of practice. 5 minutes a day can be more profound for your long-term growth in a skill than 5 hours, once per month. Keeping a new skill in the active portion of the brain allows you to return to serious study of that skill (for example in a…
'No hoof, no horse,' goes the common saying, which indicates how vital hoof care is to the soundness of your horse. For this reason, in Horsemanship Level 3 and up, there is at least one lesson in the curriculum (and a section of the exam) devoted solely to the foot and farriery. For level 3…
Our four-session introduction to Bartitsu includes the four component disciplines of the art: Jujitsu, pugilism, savate and walking stick self defence. However, there is a critical fifth component: the mind. Your brain directs your body in voluntary actions, and control of your focus, awareness and choices is critically important in dangerous situations. Your assailant likewise…