We had a good turnout of nine fencers for free play this morning in Broadwater Park. For those entering the upcoming Wessex League tournaments we held some judged and timed bouts to simulate tournament conditions.
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!
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.
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.
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.
In Godalming tonight we continued our Sword and dagger block with an evening of defence at the stage drills. The longsword class looked at Meyers square and the beginner’s group looked into body mechanics with the aid of spadone.
Another busy night in Godalming tonight as students learned a play from Marozzo as part of our sword and dagger block. Lots of good focus across an enjoyable evening
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.
A thoroughly sweaty and hard working session in Godalming tonight as we continued the Sword and dagger course and began the longsword block.
Our beginner stream continued as well: look out for our next enrollment coming soon for September intake.
Godalming head instructor, Fran Lacuata was at Imperial College London today to give a HEMA taster lesson to a bunch of students.
They were introduced to sabre, sidesword and spadone and were , in Fran’s words. “all absolute champs!”
