Do you like to put on full protective gear and really feel the rush or high intensity combat? Or, do you simply like the feel of the sword in your hand, weaving through patterns, an extension of your body? Or, perhaps you like the dance, smooth and intricate, collaborative as much as competitive.

Martial arts can be a solitary practice, for you and you alone.

They can be a spiritual practice where you meet your deeper and greater self.

For many there is no richer bond than the one you form when pitted against another in visceral combat.

Maybe you're there to make yourself more fit, or to burn off steam at the end of the day.

Maybe in competition is where you like to really test your metal.

Whatever your outlet, your goal, your practice, it is all martial art.

There is no right way or wrong way to pursue it. And why should there be? For each goal, each set of values, each person, there is a different art to explore and practice.

The pursuit of the "true" way is a fool's errand. Instead pursue *your* way with as much integrity and joy as possible.

Devon Boorman is the Co-Founder and Director of Academie Duello Centre for Swordplay, which has been active in Vancouver, Canada since 2004. Devon’s expertise centres on the Italian swordplay tradition including the arts of the Renaissance Italian rapier, sidesword, and longsword, as well as knife and unarmed techniques.
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