Classes
Few May Be Found
eric lowe ⚔︎ crossroads swords
Achille Marozzo says that "few may be found" who know how to employ his two-sword system. But the principles of Bolognese dual wielding are not hidden. In this workshop, Eric Lowe breaks down the fundamental movement patterns and tactical goals that underpin the use of two swords in the Bolognese style.
This workshop is targeted at those with some familiarity of one-handed swordsmanship but who have never used two swords simultaneously or have never explored two swords from a textual basis.
Gear requirements: two swords (preferably of matched length), mask, and gloves.
(Two swords)
of the weak and the strong
jorge puentes pucheux ⚔︎ living steel/miami historical fencing academy
The eyes perceive a threat or an opening with a 250ms delay. The hand… 150ms. That means the blade can sense intention long before the eye can confirm it.
This lesson teaches how contact becomes a source of information, how even the smallest pressure shift, stutter, or press can reveal what your opponent is truly doing. Students will learn to distinguish strong from weak, committed from relaxed, real threat from bluff. Through guided exchanges, this class will explore how to let the blade’s feedback choose the next action. By the end, fencers understand that winning does not come from forcing the fight, but from feeling it.
(smallsword)
Combat and Cornering:
Keeping a cool head when someone wants you dead
Alec Martinez ⚔︎ crossroads swords
There is art and science to bringing yourself and your fighters into an optimal mindset for stress and pressure. How should you breathe, what should you think about, what cues can change a behavior mid match, and how do you tune into what the opponent is doing to create the right change at the right time?
Alec isn't great at art, but science is his jam. In this session, "Combat and Cornering (Keeping a cool head when someone wants you dead)", explore the sports psychology of finding "the zone" and how to coach someone to get there, as well as some of the keys to ring mindset, both in how to center yourself and how to refocus someone else.
(fight psychology)
Rapier and dagger, the reason god gave us two hands
keith hamm ⚔︎ bold city longsword
How to make your offhand matter without becoming a tangled mess. An Italian rapier driven look at using the dagger as more than just an accessory. a breakdown on proper poise, posture, coordination, and how to make the body move in harmony.
(rapier & Dagger)
Historical Training with the sources:
Real Deadly Meyer
victor rodriguez ⚔︎ living meyer
The Living Meyer Historical Fencing Schools presents: Historical Training with the Sources: Real Deadly Meyer
Using proven historical rules to link-up the lessons found in our 16th century sources to produce identifiable skill advancement, Victor, a Director of Assaults with LivingMeyer will instruct a chain of events to produce enhanced reaction times in all fencers regardless of their current proficiency levels. This series of historical best practices includes ample thrusting, and a real rose of our system, the mysterious Rosenhauw or RosyCut. We call this the ‘Durch’ Drill.
(longsword)
dynamic measure - Adaptive Measure
charles boda ⚔︎ leviathan historical fencing
Otherwise perfect techniques often fail through no other fault than being performed 2 inches too close or too far. Measure (or distance) is a just spatial relationship between two things – Like all relationships, there is no single solution to making it work. Every fight has a wide range of variables that make the circumstance unique, often changing from moment to moment. Knowing these variables and how to adapt to them will ensure that your actions aren’t only perfectly performed, but perfectly placed.
This class will cover how measure affects parries, voids, cuts, and thrusts; and how to adapt for height and weapon disparities. Demonstrations will use single-handed swords but many key concepts translate to two-handed or two-weapon fighting..
(one-handed sword)