social

16 06, 2024

Godalming Cutting Party – 16th June 2024

2024-07-22T00:05:27+00:00June 16th, 2024|Godalming, social|

Students from our Godalming chapter as well as some from other chapters gathered for an afternoon of cutting things with swords.  Whilst we don’t use sharps in our training for obvious safety reasons, it’s a useful part of our training to get the experience of cutting at inanimate objects to see just how good our blade alignment really is.  And so sideswords, sickles, spears and more were set to task against objects such as milk bottles, fruit, clay and even a birthday cake.  A lot of fun was had by all.

21 04, 2024

SotS Cinema Night – 21st April 2024

2024-05-07T22:53:59+00:00April 21st, 2024|Godalming, social|

Tonight, our Godalming Chapter  held our latest SotS Cinema: John Boorman’s classic Excalibur 1981. Before the screening for our members and their families, we had a brilliant demonstration of jousting Armour from Jedd, one of our instructors. It was a wonderful evening with fantastic moments.

9 12, 2023

Oxford Xmas Meal – 9th December 2023

2023-12-12T20:26:17+00:00December 9th, 2023|Oxford, social|

Our Oxford students had a rare occasion to meet up today without any weapons as they enjoyed a Xmas meal together at a local pub.  It’s been a fantastic year for the chapter filled with great fencing, tournaments and swords, and they are very much looking forward to welcoming new beginners in 2024.

19 11, 2023

The Princess Bride Social – 19th November 2023

2023-11-20T23:22:12+00:00November 19th, 2023|Godalming, social|

Our students from Godalming (and other chapters) gathered in Chilworth Village Hall tonight for a special private screening of The Princess Bride (1987). There was an introductory talk on the swordmaster Agrippa prior to the film given by Godalming instructor, Mark Sains.  This was followed up by instructor John Waller, showcasing a number of local blades made locally by Alan Meek.
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.

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.

4 12, 2022

Oxford Chapter Xmas Dinner – 4th December 2022

2022-12-27T09:50:33+00:00December 4th, 2022|Oxford, social|

It’s not all swords, bucklers and daggers! Members from our Oxford chapter took time to socialise and enjoy a festive meal this evening.

30 09, 2022

SOTS Summer(ish) Social

2022-10-19T07:25:09+00:00September 30th, 2022|Godalming, Oxford, Reading, social|

What with the pandemiic it’s been a long time since the school had a proper social. That all changed on Friday night when members of all chapters gathered in Reading for a night of food, drinks and sword related chat. It was good to catch up and meet members from other chapters we’d not encountered before. Thanks to Josh and Jubie for opening their house to us all.

28 05, 2022

School of the Sword Cutting Party – 28th May 2022

2022-07-01T17:49:21+00:00May 28th, 2022|Godalming, Oxford, Reading, social|

After not having seen a lot of each other over the pandemic, School of the Sword held a cutting party in Godalming this weekend with attendees from all our various chapters. Armed with milk and soft drinks bottles, we got to see how rusty our cutting had got using sharp swords against them.

There were lots of photogenic splashes, a few flying bottles and a whole lot of fun.

22 06, 2018

Annual Awards 2018

2018-06-22T11:45:48+00:00June 22nd, 2018|Dagger, Events, Godalming, Reading, social, Uncategorized|

Recently we held a summer social event consisting of a potluck and test cutting session, it was a lot of fun and a great opportunity to get the students from Reading and Godalming together. Lead instructors Fran and Matt, of Godalming and Reading respectively, took the opportunity to announce the annual awards:

The Scholarship Award

This is given to the student who has stood out for their research and interpretive work on historical fencing texts. This can be someone at any level but given that the Laureando and Spadaccino gradings both contain a written submission it tends to be students at these stages in their careers who are eligible. The prize is cash to be spent on fencing books or manuals, and the nominees (pending receipt and review of their written laureando pieces) are:

Kasten Harris
Simon Bowers
Josh Davis
Dan Skellon

 

The Endeavour Award

When a student reaches a certain level of competence: demonstrates good all round skill with weapons, applies themselves in class and demonstrates an adherence to the texts and techniques taught, they are eligible for the Endeavour Award. We grant this to the student who demonstrates all of the above and who we believe will make an excellent ambassador for the School. The prize is cash towards travel, accomodation and entry to an international event.

This year’s Endeavour Award goes to:

James Barker

 

The Dagger of Honour

This is our highest honour. The Dagger of Honour is the oldest award within the School and it is given to the student who has stood out in their services to the School, this can be in any number of ways.

This year’s winner has worked incredibly hard on the behalf of SotS: whether that’s travelling to teach workshops, to participate in tournaments (and win!), or arranging sponsorships and fantastic prizes with suppliers for the events that the school is involved in organising. The English Sidesword Open was the brainchild of this individual, and we thank them for their vision, passion and enthusiasm that inspired us to make it such a successful event, and we plan to repeat in years to come.

The winner of the Dagger of Honour 2018 was an easy decision, and that person is Jay Maxwell.

Well done to all the winners and nominees!

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