I love having the opportunity to step into the classes of other HEMA instructors as well as classes offered by my own students. It can be a tremendous opportunity to be opened to new skills and new teaching approaches. However it can sometimes be a tricky thing, especially if you're a more senior practitioner. Here…
Whether you dream of being an Amazon warrior, a knight in shining armour, or swift horse archer of the Steppes, we have a program to help you scratch that itch through Academie Duello's Mounted Combat program at Cornwall Ridge Farm.
Read More... from Shoot an Arrow, Swing a Sword ... from Horseback!
I had the pleasure of attending an event last week called Stickmata put on by Immersion Labs in San Jose, California. The goal of this event (and similar past and upcoming events put on by Immersion Labs) is to bring together martial artists from diverse cultures and traditions. In this case everything was unified by…
Read More... from Making Martial Distinctions: Stickmata Event Report
Looking for more than just a riding camp this Spring Break? Check out our Cavalier Camp for kids!
We were all newbies once. We were all the person who worried that our lack of skill was holding others back in their practice. And in some cases maybe we did. It is difficult to manage levels of challenge within a mixed level group. The needs of the experienced practitioner and those of the newcomer are quite…
Read More... from Getting the Most from Mixed Experience Levels
The idea of pursuing personal excellence is great, but functionally how do you do it? I've written about beating the boredom of repetitive drilling, and promoting an excellence mindset. Yet when you get the opportunity to really up the quality of what you're doing, where do you focus? Below is a piece of guidance material I…
Fans of horses and swords rejoice! We are running another Mounted Combat Intensive from April 8th through 12th, 2019. This 50-hour program offers you the chance to immerse yourself in a full week of mounted combat arts both in and out of the saddle. Throughout the week you will learn the foundation of our approach to…
Read More... from Mounted Combat Intensive Returning in April
Three members of the Academie Duello crew and I visited the February 8-10 Capitol Clash in Washington, DC. This is a well run HEMA tournament event that runs alongside a huge modern fencing tournament all hosted by the Virginia Academy of Fencing (VAF). I had the pleasure of being part of the reffing staff, a…
I have long heard that ballet has its origins in historical fencing. It's a romantic idea and as someone who both teaches martial arts and dance (though not ballet) I certainly find tons of parallels in how they are both taught and practiced. The positions of modern ballet certainly bare some resemblance to classical and…
Read More... from Is There a Link Between Ballet and Fencing?
Excellence is the evidence of diligent, attentive, and purposeful practice. Not all of us will achieve excellence, nor is it a requisite for enjoying or being fulfilled in martial arts. In fact I would say that much of what holds people back from excellence is that in many ways its pursuit can be grueling, repetitive,…
A new student at Academie Duello recently said to me "There's so much to learn, it's like being under a mountain!" It can feel that way. It truly is a mountain of knowledge, practice and craft one must climb to become a master of these arts! The Dunning-Kruger effect, which has gained such popularity of late,…
Recently I was asked in an online thread what I thought constituted a modern master of Historical European Martial Arts and whether I thought there was worth in the creation of modern masters or the use of the master title at all. In short to all: Yes. A Little Backstory on Fencing Mastery Before I…
Read More... from What is a Modern European Martial Arts Master?
Happy New Year! There are big changes in the Mounted Combat program this year. Perhaps the most significant is that the program is moving from being a direct part of the Vancouver school, and to becoming a separate satellite school situated at Cornwall Ridge Farm. This won't have a huge affect on the classes themselves,…
Read More... from Flying Changes Ahead: What's New for 2019 in the Mounted Combat Program