On Sunday students from both Reading and Godalming got together for a morning of sparring.
Not only was this a good opportunity to get in a bit of additional sparring and training, but it was also a good way to practise ahead of a number of upcoming competitions.
A number of our students attended the May Melee in Bath at the weekend. With a mix of sparring, classes and two mixed weapon competitions the event has seen a growth in popularity.
We’re pleased that our very own Jay Maxwell managed to take silver in the Steel Open competition. By all accounts it was a fun weekend and even those who returned without any medals said they had a brilliant time.
A busy night in Godalming on Wednesday when our students gathered for another night of training,
Beginners worked on voiding and movement. The bolognese training stream carried on with work on tempi whilst the rapier group focused on the cavazioni.
A busy night in Reading on Monday night with three streams of training for our students to choose from.
Stewart continued his stream on Giganti rapier for beginners, whilst Lorcan lead the bolognese stream through counter attacks from Manciolino. Meanwhile, Fran worked with the beginners working toward their safety test.
On 21st May Winchester freestyle martial arts hosted an interclub sparring day, featuring members from the School of the Sword, KDF Bournemouth and Portsmouth British Martial arts club.
It was a great day with nylon and steel, lessons and sparring, and a host of different weapons. There was a very friendly atmosphere and everyone learned something new. We look forward to attending future events.
Another busy night in Godalming on Wednesday with three simultaneous training streams running.
Beginners worked on voiding and movement. The sword and buckler group carried on with their tempi work whilst the rapier group worked on perfecting the cavazioni.
It was the final week of our 6 week beginners’ course this week who’ve made such excellent progress since they started.
Lorcan continued with his Bolognese stream on counter attacks and Stewart ran his second week of the basics of Giganti Rapier.
Obviously, for practical reasons, we don’t fight with sharpened blades. The bladesmiths that we use are renowned for making their weapons feel and handle as close to the real thing as to be almost indistinguishable. However, there really is no better way to test your cutting than by cutting with a sharp.
On Sunday a number of our students attended a seminar hosted by our good friends at Waterloo Sparring Group. The Cutting Clinic was lead by Tristan Zukowski, a HEMA longsword instructor from New York who had students from a number of local schools testing their cutting against tatami mats.
Thanks to WSG for a great event!
Our regular Sunday sparring got swapped to a Saturday this week due to another school’s event on Sunday. Students from both our Godalming and Reading Salles came together to spar and practise for upcoming competitions and tournaments.
The School of the Sword is Proud to Present: Ilkka Hartikainen Seminar – On the Bolognese Single Sidesword
Saturday 27th August 11am-5pm, Godalming.
The School of the Sword is proud to announce this one day seminar, delivered by Ilkka on the Bolognese single sidesword, drawn from several sources with a particular focus on the Anonimo Bolognese. Ilkka is recognised as a world-leading exponent of Bolognese fencing, and will be presenting his work for the first time ever in the UK.
This event will be open to students from other HEMA schools.
Ilkka Hartikainen began studying historical European martial arts in 2001 and discovered the rich early renaissance fencing tradition of Bologna in 2007. The Bolognese sidesword soon became his main focus and since 2010 he has taught regular classes in Helsinki, where he is the head instructor at the Espoo Association for Historical Fencing. Every year Ilkka travels around the world to speak and teach on 16th century Italian martial arts.
Currently multiple groups in Finland follow Ilkka’s method and he is working together with other enthusiasts of Bolognese tradition to bring the style back to life. Recently he has concentrated on creating an accessible core system for the sidesword based on the works of Achille Marozzo, Giovanni dall’Agocchie and the Anonimo Bolognese. From here his focus will shift to the other weapons and disciplines in the texts, looking at the tradition as a unified, complete martial art. Ilkka is the founder of Marozzo.com, a website project dedicated to sharing information on Bolognese fencing, and works as a user interface specialist when not training or teaching swordsmanship.
Registration and payment details will go live in June. Please keep an eye on the website or the Facebook event page for more details as they go live
