I have very specific ideas of how tournament training should figure into one’s overall martial development. I also don’t feel it is essential for all positive martial development; However you certainly can’t beat ramping up to a particular event, such as a tournament, for its ability to create an intense training environment. In a recent…
Read More... from Sparring Under Pressure: Staying Collected Using Scaling Speed Exercise
Swordplay from the Ground: unarmed grapples Wrestling was a large part of knightly combat, both from the ground and horseback. Not only did grappling provide a non-lethal method of taking hostages, it was sometimes the only option left when a knight had been disarmed, or when an opponent was too close for swordplay. In the…
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As a community We try to remain as true to form in recreating ‘authentic’ swordplay as our understanding of medieval and renaissance fight-books will allow us. Modern technology has resulted in us being able to have access to functional (and affordable) armour and weaponry that allows us to practice techniques with the same ‘heft, feel…
One important component of how we train at Academie Duello is slow work. Slow work is a type of sparring practice where you fence freely against an opponent but at a speed that is slow enough that you can consider and be observant of your actions as you respond fluidly to the situation at hand.…
Swordplay from the Ground - Guards of the Sidesword Our core weapon for Mounted Combat is the longsword, but we use it in one hand when mounted. For that reason it is useful to look at guard positions from the sword and buckler tradition. In the Blue spur we ask that you Demonstrate six core…
Saturday’s Viking Ragnarök follow-on to the Y2K and the Mayan calendars 2012 cataclysmic predictions was similar in effect in that we’re all here together to read this bit. But the recent Viking (non) event did have a HEMA/WMA bonus. We were reminded for a short time of the spirit and fighting techniques of the medieval…
The month of March heralds the start of Spring and an extra hour of daylight! What better time to start learning a skill? Whether you're a practitioner looking to expand your horizons or completely new to WMA, start by checking out our various Beginner's Courses: Fight Like Sherlock Holmes Bartitsu is a complex martial art…
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One of the primary challenges that I see my students face and that I have personally faced over years of practice is boredom. Most techniques take hours of focused time to improve and hone. Yet the mental discipline it takes to put in these hours does not come naturally, certainly not to our rapid fire…
We are super excited to announce a brand new Leather Working & Armour Course at Academie Duello. It has been quite awhile since last we ran this on-going workshop. Instructor and armourer Mark Charke will take you through the steps involved to go from hide-to-finished product in this 6-week course in the art of leather-working. Students…
Read More... from Armouring and Leather Working Course- Back By Popular Demand!
Swordplay from the Ground: methods of attack Whatever your trade, having more than one trick is an advantage, and swordplay is no different. For your Blue Spur we want you to be more than a one-trick pony and so we ask that you: Demonstrate diverse methods of attack and counter-attack. First of all, review your…
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So, why did You take up HEMA/WMA? Fitness? Historical interest? Social leveler? A Pointed Introduction. HA'ARETZ (Tel Aviv, Israel) 31 January 14 Herzl, swords and the Nazi salute: The curious history of Jewish fencers (Shay Fogelman) “Jews were forbidden most duelling groups, and formed their own. And reached a degree of expertise to establish…
People with "dark skin” and “Europeans” are not separate and mutually exclusive groups. There has never been a time when Europeans were exclusively white people. Europe was never a culturally or racially isolated place. Europe has been connected through trade and politics with many different nations where the locals were black, and many countries…
Read More... from Out of Africa: Six Famous Black Figures from European and New World History
A few years ago I was in a very high pressure rapier tournament. It was the largest and hardest fought tournament in the Northwest with a list of 50 fencers who were arguably some of the best fencers around competing. On my way down my travel companion asked me “So how do you think you’re…