I can't say enough good things about my alma mater: Rapier Wit studio in downtown Toronto. FDC Fight Master Daniel Levinson runs the longest-running independent stage combat school in Canada. After taking a one-semester stage combat course in university, I was looking for more opportunities to learn stage combat, and I was so fortunate to…
So I'm away visiting family in Victoria, BC during the Holidays. I enjoy holidays not really as a chance to get away from working but as an opportunity to work on things I don't normally get a chance to focus on when I'm at the Academie. On this trip I'm focusing on writing, editing (I'm…
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In this season of kindness and giving, please remember: don't roast your chestnuts ... ... give them carrots and a good grooming instead. Happy Yule to you and yours!
We’re going to deviate from our usual introduction of the subsequent HEMA/WMA press by going straight to ‘swords as symbols’ … symbols of Christmas actually. Christmas? Fidelity, yes. Strength, absolutely. Honour, generally. But a Christmas related virtue? Specifically, those of compassion, generosity and humility? One version of the Christmas Sword is attributed to the story…
If one approaches Bartitsu as a series of tricks or techniques, one merely has to choose the correct response for the situation. This begs the question: How does one correctly assess the situation? For effective self-defence, a person must not only repeat effective movement patterns, but use them when the time is right. Tactics and…
This year I have been asked to dive into the treasures that the Academie Duello store has and to pick some some of the awesome and unique things that we have available for the young sword fighter (or swordfighter to-be) and history enthusiast on your holiday list. As a youth instructor, I like to think…
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Being a long-term instructor of anything means that you see a lot of students come and go and in many cases come again. It's these returners who often have the biggest challenge in being in the learning environment. These are the students who come back with a great passion and then become quickly despondent and…
Riding Level 2: The Vaulting Dismount There are many ways to get off a horse, but only a few that are deliberate and don't involve pain or embarrassment. When you first learn to ride that ground seems awfully far away, and it takes a while to learn to dismount with confidence and grace. That's why…
From time to time; our community manages to get ‘good press’ by journalists that drop by a salle and participate in a HEMA/WMA program; or they are able to interview an enthusiastic public after a hard fought and dramatic, historical swordplay demonstration. That said, one of the frustrating elements about being interested and active in…
PlayFighting is not play-fighting. Yes, we play fighting: pretend combat. But play fighting is not play-fighting: combat amusement. Well, it is for entertainment, but not for the performers; for the audience. Although staging combat is fun... stage combat is an essential skill for any actor, stage or screen. Because every play is fighting. Drama is…
During the holiday break Academie Duello will be opening our doors Monday nights to allow our students to keep their swordplay skills sharp. We shall be offering two workshops that are free for all current Duello students. BODY MECHANICS Learn how to apply both power and efficiency to every strike, step, cut, and…
1.) The Samurai Servant of God One morning in 2006 when Bishop Kent Hendrix’s teenage son came barging into his bedroom screaming that a woman was being attacked out on the street, the Mormon man did not get on his knees and pray to god for help, but instead took matters into his own…
Read More... from Four Examples of When Bringing a Sword to a Gunfight Was a Grand Idea
I remember a few years ago on a commute into Academie Duello I met a gentleman on the subway who was a researcher and player of Renaissance era music. Our conversation delved into the similarities of our two pursuits from the challenges of making modern interpretations from old written notations, to the changes the instruments…
Read More... from A Comparison of Historical Music to Historical Swordplay