LearningSwordplay
Why Do Martial Arts
Martial arts have been a big part of my life since I was a child. I started first with Kung Fu then Arnis/Eskrima and then I began my longest-term exploration, Western Martial Arts. I am often asked...
Blog
Thoughts on swordplay, mastery, coaching, teaching, and living with intention.
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Swordplay
The Stages of Ignorance in Mastery
Mastery—the pursuit of something to a high level of proficiency—is a challenging and hard to plot journey. Our capacity to stay on the road and move through its various stages is highly connected to...
Swordplay
3 Injury Prevention Tips for Rapier Fighters
One of the things I focus on in my recent book Introduction to Italian Rapier is healthy bio-mechanics. These are important not just for performance but for your long-term health. Martial arts done...
LearningSwordplay
Why Is the Rapier Part of Our System?
Recently, I began a blog series answering, in broad form, why we teach the rapier and longsword as part of one system at Academie Duello. I started in the first post by looking at the historical...
Uncategorized
Training to Relax for the Very Tense
Being relaxed is a key component to good fencing. Relaxed muscles are quicker to respond, easier to adapt and change, and more capable of feeling connections through your weapon. Yet, so many of us...
CoachingLearning
Three Things to Say to Yourself and Your Students
I no longer teach students. I teach teachers. I say this not because I only teach people who intend to share the art with others. I say this because over time I have realized that every student is a...
Learning
Revisiting A Post on Help and Failure
I'm part way through writing part 2 of my series on training in multiple weapon disciplines, but sometimes the craziness of running a sword school holds you up. So while that gets finished, I thought...
Swordplay
An Argument for Training with Diverse Weapons, Part 1
Recently, I was asked why we teach rapier and longsword together in our Instructor Intensives. The questioner postulated that it was like teaching sky diving and skin diving in the same program. Sure...
Swordplay
Mimicry: How to use it, how to beat it
Ever sparred with someone really good and felt like you were at your best, then right after sparred with someone less experienced and felt like you got as sloppy as they were? Mimicry is one of the...
Swordplay
Choosing the Right Rapier for You
I am asked routinely how to choose the right rapier for practice. This article, cribbed from my forthcoming Introduction to the Italian Rapier book, looks at the range of historical rapiers and my...