As of the new year, we have a new schedule for the next round of beginner's courses! Prepare for swinging swords and pulling punches. We offer three different courses which cover three separate avenues of Western Martial Arts. Bartitsu is a complex martial art with many interlocking skills. Our four-week Fight Like Sherlock Holmes course gives students an in-depth…
Being able to mechanically conduct a technique is important for establishing a combative base. However, being successful with a given technique requires a much greater level of understanding of its application. Every combative technique must be placed into its proper context with an awareness of time, space, and feeling (not intuitive but physical). To successfully strike…
Read More... from Cueing and Consequence: Creating a More Accurate Training Environment
Over the next few months this blog will cover the Riding Level 3 curriculum. A Level 3 rider is one who rides safely and with confidence, is comfortable at walk, trot and canter with good position in all three, is beginning to jump cross rails and small vertical jumps, and can ride with precision in…
There is a saying that "a tool is only as good as the person using it" but sometimes, it can be the other way around. Thanks to the wonders of technology, almost everyone has a camera on their cellphone that can record and post the instances where both tools--and the people who wield them--fail hilariously.…
This is one of our biggest barriers to growth. Who doesn’t fear looking like a failure in front of judging eyes? Who doesn’t see all eyes as potential judges? Even brand new students who have never held a sword before share experiences of feeling like they look stupid during their first class. Many resist ever…
More information on the new Cavaliere Program courses: Mounted Combat Playday An opportunity to put your skills to work. The term 'playday' usually denotes mounted games and other fun events on horseback in a semi-competitive format. This day will include informal competitions as well as opportunities to practice mounted games, sparring and horseback archery. Assistants…
A poorly constructed house will not stand the test of time or the elements. Without being built on solid foundations that only then are added to, the home will be nothing more than a shoddy frame unable to do its job. The building of a good, strong and sound house is not unlike the path…
Read More... from Rapier: Body Mechanics and Control Workshop
To be grabbed or pulled can induce panic even if it isn't painful. You are trapped and it feels like a violation of your freedom. When an attacker grabs you, they have intent to follow that up with some other action. It may be to bring you with them, control your motion to make you…
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