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 be close enough to study at Rapier Wit for years thereafter.
An Introduction
Recently, Daniel has released some great video about Rapier Wit. Here's a film/trailer/ad that communicates the atmosphere and the skills developed there:
Performance Videos
Daniel has also posted videos of Advanced Actor-Combatant scenes for the first time. These are filmed from a fixed camera to record a live performance. They are great examples of what we can achieve without resorting to film tricks and stunt crews. For those unfamiliar with Fight Directors Canada grading, Advanced is the third and highest level that an actor achieves before becoming a teacher. This usually takes at least three years and over 240 hours of instruction.
https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCKsmCEUfk_Hcp-mltuxhAcw/videos
- Found Weapon
- Shield with Sword and Spear
- Rapier with Secondary
- Martial Arts Weapons
- Advanced Smallsword
The videos and more information can be found on the Facebook group: https://www.facebook.com/Rapierwitcombat
A Gift For You
To celebrate the holiday season, here's something (completely unrelated to this week's topic):
FDC Certification January
A gentle reminder that it's time to register for our Combat Acting Course at Academie Duello, which is a 7-week FDC Basic Certification course starting 20 January, 2014.
Head of Stage Combat at Academie Duello and certified Instructor with Fight Directors Canada. Head of Bartitsu at Academie Duello, the longest continuously running Bartitsu program in the world. Read more from David McCormick.