Oxford

20 08, 2023

Coming of Age Event: Day 2

2023-08-23T08:07:04+00:00August 20th, 2023|Dagger, Godalming, Longsword, Oxford, Rapier, Reading, Sidesword, Swindon, Sword & Buckler|

It was the second day of our Coming of Age event, celebrating the 21st anniversary of the School of the Sword.  After a hearty breakfast, students jumped into a selection fo workshops taught by instructors from across School of the Sword’s four chapters.

Josh taught some Fabris Rapier & Dagger, Phil introduced students to dall’Agocchie sidesword, Fran ran a Sword& Dagger masterclass, Emilia tackled Longsword disarms, Adrian ran a workshop on introduction to single rapier, and Matt taught rapier and cloak.  We then gave out a bunch of awards before leaving the afternoon for people to pack up their tents and engage in a little sparring.

Thank you to everyone who came.  It seemed the event was a massive success and the perfect way to celebrate our 21st anniversary.  Here’s to the next 21!

20 08, 2023

Oxford Sparring – 20th August 2023

2023-08-23T08:13:05+00:00August 20th, 2023|Dagger, Longsword, Oxford|

Not everyone was at our Coming of Age event this weekend, and for those Oxford students who weren’t, there was still the option of our weekly sparring session.

Sparring gives students a chance to exchange with opponents 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.

19 08, 2023

Coming of Age Event: Boat Trip

2023-08-23T07:54:50+00:00August 19th, 2023|Events, Godalming, Oxford, Reading, social, Swindon|

After a busy first day of workshops and sparring, what better way to unwind than a cruise down the Thames.  Attendees from all four chapters at our Coming of Age event this weekend, boarded a boat and set sail for an evening of food, drink and conversation.

19 08, 2023

Coming of Age Event: Day 1

2023-08-23T07:44:55+00:00August 19th, 2023|Dagger, Events, Godalming, Longsword, Oxford, Rapier, Reading, Sidesword, Swindon, Sword & Buckler|

It was a jam-packed day of workshops on the first full day of our Coming of Age celebration event.  Students from all four of our chapters gathered on the banks of the Thames to partake in a wide range of workshops put on by our instructors.

Lizzie gave an introduction to Spadone, Dan looked at Alfieri humors, Apollon gave a Rapier masterclass, Kirstian taught an introduction to Longsword, Adrian gave a masterclass on use of the buckler, Simon looked at Godhino’s Montante, Luis introduced us to grappling, and Mark gave a workshop on Agrippa.  All were well attended with lots of happy students enjoying the perfect weather.

We ended the first day of workshops with Simon and Josh from our Reading Chapter completing the final piece of their Spadaccino grading.  Spadaccino is the most senior rank in the school and as part of it, they have to engage in a number of fights including a weapon they’ve never used before which in their case were peasant flails.  Congrats to both of them for a well deserved honour. which has required huge number of hours of dedicated training as well as written pieces.

18 08, 2023

Happy 5th Birthday, School of the Sword Oxford

2023-08-23T07:20:02+00:00August 18th, 2023|Oxford|

Given the pandemic and how it messed with everyone’s sense of time, it’s hard to believe that School of the Sword Oxford is now five years old.

Lovingly known as Soxford by our members, School of the Sword Oxford brought a change to our core syllabus and got us to finally embrace longsword as one of our core weapons.

Congratulations to Head of Chapter, Emilia, who has single-handedly built our Oxford chapter to what it is today.  And now with some of her original students becoming instructors in their own right, we’re excited to see what the next five years hold!

18 08, 2023

Coming of Age Event: Friday Night Social

2023-08-23T07:27:49+00:00August 18th, 2023|Godalming, Oxford, Reading, social, Swindon|

This weekend sees our 21st Anniversary celebration with a range of workshops from instructors from all four of our chapters.  However, before the weekend could begin, we needed to partake in a little light liquid refreshment as we made our way into the town of Marlow for some pub food and celebrate the first time that students from all four of our chapters have gathered together.

The food was excellent and the company was brilliant, setting us up for what promises to be an exemplary event weekend.

17 08, 2023

Oxford Training – 17th August 2023

2023-09-02T10:47:11+00:00August 17th, 2023|Longsword, Oxford|

Our Oxford students gathered tonight at our normal training venue for their regular weekly training. Emilia continued to teach sword in armour – half swording or ‘mezza mella’ according to Fiore dei Liberi.  There was a good turn out and a lot of fun had.

13 08, 2023

Oxford Sparring – 13th August 2023

2023-08-17T15:39:33+00:00August 13th, 2023|Longsword, Oxford|

Our Oxford student met up again today for their regular outdoor freeplay session.  These sparring get-togethers provide the perfect opportunity to practise techniques learned in class as well as get experience of fighting against opponents they might otherwise not get regular practise against.

10 08, 2023

Oxford Training – 10th August 2023

2023-08-12T11:59:07+00:00August 10th, 2023|Longsword, Oxford|

Tonight at our Oxford Chapter, Emilia was teaching sword in armour – half swording or ‘mezza mella’ according to Fiore dei Liberi. Sword in armour is fun to teach but can be quite challenging to get right since we don’t use real armour in our training, so students needed to rely on their imagination a little. Either way, everybody did very well and they had fun looking at few interesting guards and drills.

6 08, 2023

Oxford Sparring – 6th August 2023

2023-08-12T12:34:12+00:00August 6th, 2023|Longsword, Oxford|

Students from our Oxford chapter met up this weekend for some extra sparring.  Sparring sessions give students the chance to practise techniques they have learnt in class and work on incorporating them into their personal arsenal of moves, tricks and tactics.

Go to Top