113 posts in this category
I'm a big fan of slow sparring as a training tool. It is an ideal way to focus on mechanics and precision, develop strategic and tactical awareness, and work on the necessary relaxation and fluidity...
The idea of pursuing personal excellence is great, but functionally how do you do it? I've written about beating the boredom of repetitive drilling, and promoting an excellence mindset. Yet when you...
One of the awesome things about Historical European Martial Arts is that they come from a rich historical tradition. And this tradition includes a wealth of instructional books written from within...
Last Saturday morning at 5:30am I began a trip from Vancouver to the town of Monroe in Washington state, about 3 hours south of Vancouver, with five of my students from Academie Duello. It was our...
Many martial traditions, including ours, use martial forms (series of attacks and defences for solo or partnered practice) to help train martial precision, flow, and fitness. Having a form that you...
Dear students, friends, and colleagues, Over the past few weeks I have been the subject of a series of coordinated attacks and rumours that are an escalation of a more than 2 year campaign that has...
Sometimes the most you can muster is a single mindful breath. And sometimes that's all the meditation you need. One set of crunches. One line on your manuscript. One walk around the block. We often...
We were all newbies once. We were all the person who worried that our lack of skill was holding others back in their practice. And in some cases maybe we did. It is difficult to manage levels of...
This is a cross-post that I wrote for the Duello.TV and Academie Duello blogs. I have long heard that ballet has its origins in historical fencing. It's a romantic idea and as someone who both...
Recently I was asked in an online thread what I thought constituted a modern master of Historical European Martial Arts and whether I thought there was worth in the creation of modern masters or the...