Swords stolen (again); swords given and swords found. We do live in interesting times, and some of us, more than others. Wes Just another fight day – ‘if’ this was Vancouver! THE COURIER (Warwick, UK) 28 May 12 Rain failed to stop May Day sword play on May Day Rain failed to halt…
My Swordfit Bootcamp Experience - Day 10
Hallo, Finally, a Monday bootcamp to blog about! This morning, I have three videos for you. First: warm-up, including lunges, bum kicks, skipping and crab crawls. Second: the dice game resurrected from Day 2. This time, we rolled the die for ourselves and so ended up doing our own independed excercise. Then, we'd grab our…
[Video] Armoured Fun and Games at the South Hill Festival
This past Saturday Academie Duello was out at the South Hill Community Festival in Vancouver at Main and 49th. It was a beautiful day and was the first opportunity for our Youth Demo team to show off their stuff. Everyone did a fantastic job with showing of their quaterstaff skills and our adult demo team…
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Resources for Newcomers
Hey everyone, We have another guest blogger this week. Ivan Sim has been teaching the Taste of the Renaissance program for several months now.I asked him to put together a blog post directed more towards our newer students though in truth it's just as valuable for veteran students. Catch Ivan Saturdays for some fun sparring and…
Rank Exams Next Weekend!
"If we did all the things we we were capable of doing we would literally astound ourselves." - Thomas Edison. Rank Exams Saturday, June 2, 2012 12:00pm-3:00pm Come one, come all! Academie Duello students striving for their next cord are put to the test! All students are encouraged to participate and a rank exam participation…
[Photo Gallery] Handmade bows from Academie Duello's bowmaking workshop
Today marked the last day of our bowmaking workshop taught by Jamie MacDonald of Ravenbeak Natureworks. The workshop was a tremendous success and I had the opportunity to handle eight beautiful and effective pieces of art. The final day of the workshop focused on final sanding, oiling, affixing arrow rests, striking plates, and wrapping the…
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Stretching Towards Splits
How do you perform high kicks to prove you’re a “real martial artist”? Even educated and experienced stunt coordinators look for leg flexibility when choosing who will perform well in fight scenes. Why? Mostly because the public demands it. So, you have to increase your flexibility to give the people what they want. The Best…
A surprise guest instructor at Academie Duello - Marco Quarta
This morning we had the distinct pleasure of hosting Marco Quarta an instructor from Nova Scrimia for an impromptu instructor workshop. Marco showed up spontaneously in our doorway last week while in town meeting with the Italian Consulate and we roped him into showing us some of how his organization approaches the Italian martial arts.…
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My Swordfit Bootcamp Experience - Day 7
Hi All, Back again from another three day weekend, including a visit to Hell's Gate with Mom. (How wicked was your weekend?) On a less nefarious note- or more, depending on your take on swords- today's cutting was a drill used for last month's feature in Breakfast TV. Mané demonstrates it here: We also experimented with a…
[photo] Bow making workshop day 2 - tillering
[Photos] Bow making workshop day 1
The bows are being shaped from the yew staves with hatchets and files. It sounds like a workshop in here.
Horse Sense
The final item on Horsemanship 1 checklist is: 11. Demonstrate safety and common sense when working around horses This is something our examiners make note of during the whole of the horsemanship assessment. We want to see that you are calm, confident, and sensible while handling your horse. Most candidates are very good at staying…
Maintaining Law and Order - Sword Press
Rats – We’re apparently recycling titles as well as press items now!While Canada has a day of rest and recreation for the ‘(Queen) Victoria Day” federal holiday, WMA enthusiasts might be more au fey with respecting the 102nd anniversary of the passing of Captain Alfred Hutton – late of the King Dragoon Guards and possibly…