June Workshops

"Sisu is a Finnish term loosely translated into English as strength of will, determination, perseverance, and acting rationally in the face of adversity. However, the word is widely considered to lack a proper translation into any other language. Sisu has been described as being integral to understanding Finnish. The literal meaning is equivalent in English to "having guts", and the word derives from sisus, which means something inner or interior. However sisu is defined by a long-term element in it; it is not momentary courage, but the ability to sustain an action against the odds." - Wikipedia

Longsword: The Adaptive Fight

Saturday, June 9, 2012 3pm-5pm

In the True Fight the attacker and defender are in a dance of control, seeking positions of strength, withdrawing when they have lost, moving in when they have regained. This is the strategy of the duel.

The Adaptive Fight is the strategy of the battlefield. Time is short and each action must reach an advantageous end. You will learn to proceed forward regardless of the outcome of any given action, seeing each response the opponent may give you, even when it appears to defeat your own, as an opportunity to enter, sieze control, and decisively end the engagement. This is not a fight for the timid.

Students will learn:

- How to make split second tactical decisions based on feel of the blade.

- How to work from losses and ties in the crossing.

- How to adapt smoothly to changing combative situations and maintain a combatively dominant position.

- How to enter into wrestling plays and take a fight to the ground without ending up on the ground yourself.

This workshop is ideal for experienced and inexperienced combatants and will help any longsword wielder increase their confidence behind the sword and their practical combative ability.

Instructor: Devon Boorman

Cost: $60 + HST (15% off for members!)

"Film fight choreography has its own demands. It’s focus, control, timing, and lots of repetition. It’s remembering where you are every step of the way in telling a story and yet playing it as if it’s happening for the first time live. There’s an art to that." - Wing Chun Academy founder Eric Oram, who has been training Robert Downey Jr. since 2003.

Intro to Stage Combat

Sunday, June 10, 2012 2pm-6pm

In this intensive 4-hour workshop, we’ll cover the basics of stage combat, including:

▪Slaps

▪Punches

▪Chokes

▪Push and fall

▪Sword parries and footwork

▪Sword thrusts and cuts

▪Playing wounds

Anyone who performs fights for entertainment needs to know these essentials, whether you’re acting in plays or film, or performing fight demonstrations. It is also a prerequisite to starting the Basic Stage Combat Program.

Instructor: David McCormick

Cost: $60 + HST (15% off for members!)

June Beginner's Courses Starting Soon!

Taste of the Renaissance, an 8-class introduction to Academie Duello's Mastery Program, is offered on three different tracks. Mondays & Wednesdays beginning Monday, June 4, 2012 from 7pm-8:30pm, Tuesdays & Thurdays beginning on Tuesday, June 5, 2012 from 5pm-6:30pm OR from 7pm-8:30pm, and Saturdays (once a week for 8 weeks) beginning Saturday, June 9, 2012 from 11:30am-1pm.

For more info, go here!

Warrior Fundamentals, an 8-class introduction to Academie's Duello's Warrior Program, is also offered on three tracks. Mondays & Wednesdays beginning Monday, June 4, 2012 from 6:30pm-8pm, Tuesdays & Thursdays beginning Tuesday, June 5, 2012 from 6:30pm-8pm and Saturdays (once a week for 8 weeks) beginning Saturday, june 9, 2012 from 10am-11:30am. For more info, go here!