Over the past dozen weeks or so I've written posts detailing the requirements for our Horsemanship Level 1. If you read through those posts, look at the relevant chapters of the Manual of Horsemanship, and attend at least three Horsemanship classes in which you have the opportunity to practice handling, grooming and tacking up, you…
Tag: video
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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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…
My Swordfit Bootcamp Experience - Day 5
Hello all, After an eventful weekend with Mom (archery at Academie Duello, t-rexes at Science World, and a bumpy boat ride on Howe Sound) I'm back for more bootcamp news! Perhaps it was my weekend break, my pre- 11pm bedtime, or my newly confirmed desire for self-awareness and bodily presence that gave me…
What's on the Menu?
There's a lot of news and fun stuff this week, so lets get the lesson over with right away, shall we? Basic Feeding First of all, go and re-read this post from January, which covers basic feeding. There is an entire science to equine nutrition, but for Horsemanship level 1 test we ask specifically about:…
Bourne to Fight
The three Bourne movies are often cited as favourites of modern film fights. Let's take a closer look. The Bourne Identity Fight Summary: This is the one that made Bourne: Pen Versus Knife. Fight Length: 97 seconds Notes: There is time and space given to character choices, but flurries of attacks are fast and close.…
Taking it off
Congratulations & Thanks! Before getting to our weekly topic I’d like to thank everyone who lent a hand at the work party on Sunday. We got an great start on Jack-proofing our fences, replaced several posts, built and installed two gates, and hauled those logs out to the back field to start building new cross…
Another Tacky Post
Now that we know the names of all those pieces of leather and metal that make up a horse's tack, we need to know how to put them on correctly. 7. Tack up (may be assisted) 'May be assisted' means that for Horsemanship level 1 you should know the correct method of tacking up. If…
Unexpected Stage Combat
Here's a recent find that you may have seen on Google+: Installations The idea of an installation is that theatre does not need a building called a "theatre" in order to be a legitimate live performance. When you enter a theatre, you know this: You are a spectator and will not be expected to participate…
On the Right Tack
As with points of the horse, the nomenclature of the saddle and bridle varies from the obscure to the obvious. Item #6 on the Horsemanship 1 test is: Identify simple parts of saddle & bridle While it may seem a nuisance to memorize these terms, it is fairly important to know your billet strap from…
Bellicose Chaps
Are you up to scratch? Ready to "toe the line"? Or are you down for the count? Take a swig of aqua vitae and put up your dukes... Pugilism Some martial artists really love the terminology and the exotic names in foreign languages. Fisticuffs, on the other hand, uses English words for the techniques, but…
The Well-Groomed Horse
Grooming the horse is one of the most important skill sets a rider needs to have. It allows you to check your horse for injuries, helps increase the circulation to his skin and muscles, prevents chafing from dirt under the tack, improves his appearance, and provides valuable bonding time. As you progress through your Horsemanship…
Japanese Tate
The art of dying is dying, according to a recent article on NPR: Now 69, Fukumoto recalls landing his first job in the movies as a stuntman and extra with Toei studios in 1959. "When I was younger, our studio had some 400 stuntmen and extras," he remembers. "I wanted to stand out. I…
The Quick Release Knot
The quick release knot is item #4 on your Horsemanship Level 1 checklist. There are several methods of tying a quick release knot, and your instructor will teach you the most simple method. For your assessment we don't mind which one you use as long as it tightens when the horse pulls back releases smoothly…
Steampunk Fights
Let's start with an analogy, not only because I have faith that my readers understand analogies, but also because you're guaranteed to understand this one: Jedi is to lightsabre as Steampunk is to Bartitsu Jedi don't have to use lightsabres (in fact, I'm surprised there aren't more who eschew them), it's just appropriate and therefore…
Follow the Leader: the horse in hand
First off a huge 'thank-you' to everyone who came out to the emergency work party on Sunday to dig ditches, attack brambles and fix fences (with extra special thanks to Kat & Tyrel who came out TWO days in a row, having spent Saturday with Andy clearing the ditch around the manure pile -- awesome!)…
Some Longsword Love - Drills for Longsword Flow
The rapier gets a lot of love around Duello being that it's the foundational weapon of our Mastery Program, but those of you who have advanced to the Red Cord or who are part of the Warrior Program or our Longsword Focus program, or are following along at home through our videos, deserve some attention…
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