Swindon had a guest tonight when one of Oxford’s students came to join us in our exploration of all things buckler. Despite some very advanced work, there were good levels of concentration, with everyone showing marked improvement by the end of the session. A good session all round.
Tonight at our Swindon Chapter, our students looked at feints with footwork. A lot of good work, playing with measure and tricking our opponents. We also did some more prep work ahead of Safety Tests next month.
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.
Last night our Ssudents from Swindon were busy practising their best Matrix moves, as we played on the edge of measure with feints of the body. Some excellent voiding by all, and it was great seeing some students able to use the drills to unlock massive level ups that they were able to take into sparring.
Tonight at our Swindon Chapter, students got to look at feints with the sword. Despite some very complex blade work required in the various drills we went through, students picked it up and were then able to utilise it in their boffer sparring at the end of the night.
Tonight at our Swindon Chapter, students continued looking at the various attacks and counters from Guardia di testa as per Manciolino. Despite some complex counters, students showed a good degree of insight and analysis. Brilliant work by all.
Tonight at our Swindon Chapter, we introduced our students to Meyer’s Square, for the intention of improving their sword work and providing conditioning for good cuts.
We also started looking at the attacks and corresponding counters from Guardia Di Testa. Great level of discussion and analysis by all students.
