We’ve written before on technologys' effect on our discipline, and We’ve another snippet that has real potential for adding to the production of period hilts and blades … or at least practice-only resin ones. We’re fully for any modern advance that can be worn under helmet, gorget or body armour that allows us to be…
Bartitsu may be approached for historical authenticity, or as a practical method for self defense that happens to have interesting historical roots. Sometimes, the practical modern gentleman's defensive tactics are only different from the historical as a matter of preference, of efficiency, or focusing on different expectations. Here, we'll be talking about self-defense, not sport-fighting.…
Greetings everyone to the first fine week of September. This past weekend many Academie Duello members as well as friends from abroad including Paul Wagner of the Stoccata School of Defence in Australia and Samantha Swords from New Zealand joined in the annual Cascadia North Accolade Tournament. This year the event took place on the…
I have finally managed to come down a bit more to earth since my return home from the Cascadia North Accolade Tournament this past weekend. Of course in classic Devon style, on the day of my return I went to the school, completely unloaded our trailers and trucks, headed home to do the same, then…
Read More... from Home from Cascadia North Accolade Tournament
This is the time where the long spring and summer of training comes together for our annual Knightly Games Tournament. And if you haven't been riding and training as much as you'd like or feel you ought to have been, September is the chance to get that last push in while the weather's good, sign…
We were intrigued by a quote from a following article: “I am not a master; nobody certified me”. How do we as a community ‘know’ that our various schools and ‘Fechtschules’ are in fact teaching an authentic form of HEMA/WMA? And who ‘accredited’ the institution – if in fact accreditation as a HEMA/WMA study centre…
David McCormick shares recent news and upcoming events: Hamlet David worked this summer with Bard on the Beach on Hamlet. The show has received excellent reviews, and there's still time to see it. David is credited as the Fight Consultant, under the auspices of Fight Director Nic Harrison, and received a Canada Council grant to…
The last week has been an interesting week in Western Martial Arts. The Audatia sword fighting card game being spearheaded by Guy Windsor of the Helsinki Sword School has well surpassed its funding target on IndieGoGo and is into some cool stretch targets. This project is absolutely worth funding so I recommend you follow the link and…
Read More... from Duello.TV for this Week and a Few Updates on the World of WMA
Riding Level II: Single-handed Transitions and Turns As you progress through your riding for mounted combat you will eventually want to be able to guide your horse without reins. In the interim, you will do most of your fighting with one hand on the reins. At level two we check on your ability to guide…
One of the advantages of our art is that we get to ‘stand up again’ after a mistake … or after meeting a better fighter. Yes, one does improve in fitness, reactive muscle memory, swordplay technique and ‘tactical thinking’ as one ‘spars’, practices and drills … but we must never lose sight that in medieval…
A couple of our instructors have been highlighted online in the last week, though in two quite different forums. Jennifer Landels was asked by Alex Waterhouse-Hayward to do some writing about herself to accompany a beautiful photograph he took of her around the time of the Shakespeare's Rebel event. It's gracefully written and gives you…
Read More... from A peek inside the world of two Duello instructors
The next 4-hour workshop in the fundamentals of Victorian self-defence will be on 9 September. This will be our final Introduction to Bartitsu workshop. To better integrate students and improve the learning process, the introductory work will be spread over a month of Saturdays starting in October. Each week, two hours to Fight Like Sherlock…
Don't miss our next round of Beginner's Courses, starting the first week of September! Whether you join our Taste of the Renaissance or our Warrior Fundamentals program, prepare to get a unique workout that engages both your mind and body. Take it from student Tris H, who found the classes so valuable that she immediately…