Rapier
Godalming students started new teaching blocks this week with Luke beginning his lessons on sidesword, looking at the work of Henry de Sainct Didier. Meanwhile Apollon started his block on single rapier by looking at some Capo Ferro. Lynette and April took beginners through their first steps in the foundation of swordplay.
At the end of each training block we have a night of freeplay. Tonight, it was Godalming’s turn. We also held gradings where three beginners graduated to full membership. Congratulations to Jonathan, Jeremy and Michael who rise from the rank of candidati to Studenti
The School of the Sword will be heading to Warsaw, Poland this June, when Oxford head Instructor, Emilia Skirmuntt, will be instructing at the International Rapier Seminar 2023. her workshop is entitled “Rapiers in the dark” learning techniques pairing a sword and lantern as well as complimenting them techniques from sword and cape.
The International Rapier Seminar is a three day event dedicated to the art of the rapier, with great instructors from all over the HEMA world.
Students from our Godalming chapter met up in a local park this weekend to engage in a little freeplay. These sparring sessions are an ideal way to get some weekend exercise as well as practise techniques learnt in class.
Sunday saw our Oxford students gather for a bit out outdoor freeplay. These sessions are always helpful. There’s only so much time during a lesson to learn a new technique and often the best way to practise it is to incorporate it into sparring. There were a variety of weapons on offer this weekend including longsword and rapier, giving students practise with weapons that might not currently be on the training curriculum.
This weekend saw students from our Oxford chapter head out for some outdoor freeplay. Sparring gives them a student to exchange with students they might not have sparred with before, practise weapons that might not currently be in the training curriculum, as well as get some much needed time to incorporate new techniques and tactics into their swordplay.
Our Oxford students were joined today by members of Milton Keynes’ Clashing Steel for their regular sparring session. Fighting against new opponents not only gives you an opportunity to practise your skills, but to see how they stack up against an unknown opponent.
Our Godalming chapter played host to a Freeplay Day where fighters from clubs far and wide descended on Godalming to engage in a day of fun sparring. These events provide the perfect opportunity to experience different sparring partners, some of them learning different systems.
Some of the members from our Godalming chapter spent part of their day enjoying one of our regular open air sparring sessions. These sessions give students the chance to practise the things they’ve learnt in class as well as get in some much needed sparring.
School of the Sword instructor, Emilia, was in Copenhagen this weekend for the International Rapier Seminar.
Bringing together some of the world’s best instructors and practitioners of rapier, Emilia did a workshop entitled “Bringing A Rapier To A Bar Fight”, where she taught attendees about grappling techniques in rapier systems and how to use the rapier in confined spaces.
