We’re always a touch perplexed when We search the Italian (and Spanish) press for HEMA/WMA related items – they’re few and far between, notwithstanding what appears to be very active swordplay communities there. And given that most of our Renaissance techniques and studies centre on the fight books of those two nations, it’s inexplicable why…
I had an interesting conversation with my student Dieter last night after class. Dieter is a Green Cord (first rank in our mastery program at Duello) who recently challenged and did not pass his test for Blue Cord (second rank). Not passing the Blue Cord test is not uncommon, our philosophy at the school is…
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Greetings everyone! It's the second week of October and the tracks of awesome swordplay continue, though one of them is only a slightly different course than last week. Greg and I posted up videos for Rapier Cutting for Green Cord (level 1) but as many of you let us know, that was completely incorrect.…
Tony Wolf, author/editor of the Bartitsu Compendium I and II, has posted some Barititsu videos from Forteza Fitness in Chicago. Bartitsu Stick Sparring From the 2012 Bartitsu School of Arms. Read Tony’s blog post regarding the sparring format and the stick choice: Bartitsu.org Bartitsu stick sparringWatch this video on YouTube Milling the Fists Just in…
The geese are flying overhead, the days are getting shorter and the horses' coats are getting longer. But that won't keep us out of the saddle! In fact, our Mounted Combat weather luck has reasserted itself, and we had an absolutely gorgeous balmy day for riding and swinging swords last Sunday. However, there are a…
“It is a very sad thing that nowadays there is so little useless information”. Oscar Wilde We’ve nothing significant in HEMA/WMA press this week … so we’ll go straight to the Snippets. And hopefully, we’ll find some small note that is worthy of the time you spent visiting this weeks’ page. Snippets A Little…
Until this weekend we had an unbroken streak of good weather for Mounted Combat. In the two years we've been running the Mounted Combat workshops we've had stunningly good weather, with maybe a sprinkle of rain at the beginning or end of the day. However, when our weather luck failed, it failed spectacularly, and chose…
No lecture today … just press. Enjoy the break while We catch our breath. Gummi Sword! WESER KURIER (Bremen, Germany) 30 September 13 Mit dem Gummischwert aufs Pferd (Karsten Hollmann) Arne Koets and the staff of the Prince’s Riding School of Bückeburg are instructing a small number of student in the chivalric art of historical sword…
The Western Martial Arts Workshop (WMAW) for 2013 is over. Another satisfying year of this great event put on by the Chicago Swordplay Guild at the Dekoven Center in Racine Wisconsin. For those who are unfamiliar with the WMAW, this event started in 2001 and is one of the oldest workshops of Western Martial Arts…
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Injuries happen on all sorts of entertainment projects. Don't be lulled into complacency because a big budget does not mean "safe". Watch this video on YouTube Here I'm quoting directly from the Wikipedia article pulled on 25 September, 2013: Five people have been injured while working on Spider-Man. After two stunt doubles were injured during…
As I was flying out to the Western Martial Arts Workshop (WMAW) in Racine, Wisconsin this past weekend, many articles began whirling around the Internet about the demise of beloved sword fighting game initiative - Clang! I have been following this project closely as Neal Stephenson is a good friend of mine and a colleague…
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With just a few days left till Carosella 2013, here are the logistics, and some practical tips to help you make the most of your weekend. Getting There All the activities happen at Red Colt Equestrian Farm Co-op, at 12320 No 2 Road, Richmond, south of Steveston Hwy, at the junction of Andrews. Bus: take…
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We’ve always found it fascinating to discover how our peers come to sword play, and to what specific discipline within it. We all know of someone of Spanish or Scottish background who is a dedicated student within the oriental martial arts and techniques of kendo, gumdo or jian shu. Within the Academie Duello, we have…