Our success and strength as a school comes from the diversity of our members. A lot of our drills and techniques depend on trust on our sparring partners, and we want our members to feel included, seen, supported, and safe. As part of commitment to inclusivity, a pronoun patch now forms a voluntary part of our part of our official uniform insignia. Members who choose to have one, can wear it under the chapter flash and school patch with pride.
Due to illness and other commitments we were low on numbers tonight at Swindon. So our students got a special treat as we spend the lesson looking at the rapier as a weapon. We covered the guards, thrusts, finding the blade and the cavazzoni. Considering these were advanced concepts, the students did very well to pick up so much in such a small amount of time.
Our Reading students were practicing for upcoming tournaments this week by holding their very own Sword & Buckler tournament. Using the rule set from the Wessex League, students fought valiantly for the amazing prize of some runner beans. Perhaps unexpectedly, this is not the most trivial thing we’ve ever had as an internal prize. Congrats to the winners! Enjoy your beans!
A very dramatic-looking class tonight in Oxford. Emilia was teaching stepping offline and inquartata or the most impressive move you can pull off in a rapier fight!
Another busy night at our Swindon chapter. Our newly graduated studente continued our work looking at active use of the buckler, as well as starting a look at proto-sports psychology with a look at the four humors.
Two of the three classes in Godalming tonight: sidesword and rapier. We also welcomed a new cohort of beginners who are off to a fantastic start!
It was a busy night tonight in Reading. Josh lead students through some single rapier according to Alfieri whilst matt took the Sword & Buckler block through styles of fighting, understanding yours, reading your opponents and how to change up a fight.
School of the Sword was competing in tournament this weekend with three of our chapters taking medals . Emilia took gold in Women’s Sword & Buckler, as well as bronze in Women’s Longsword; Lenny took silver in the Beginner’s open steel Sword & Buckler, whilst Mike took Bronze. A lot of other students narrowly missed out on medals.
Congratulations to all winners, and we look forward to the next leg which will be held in Taunton.
It was a big night for our Swindon students tonight as they took and passed their safety tests.
After many weeks of hard work learning, Ross, Doug, Chris, Valentina, Jonathan & Darren have shown that they have understood the foundations of swordplay and are now ready to engage in a wider range of training as a Studente.
Congratulations to all of them.
Oxford head instructor, Emilia Skirmuntt, was in Monks Kirby this weekend teaching at the Swordpunk event. She gave a class on Bolognese fencing, aka fighting like a noble!
Swordpunk is an, inclusive, out-of-doors, into nature, outside of the office world alternative festival of edged weapons and circus skills like no other. Their mission is to allow everyone to join in the fun and adventure of learning combat based and circus skills at their own level and intensity.
