Thursday, December 29, 2011

Catching up!

Wow it's been a long tome since I've posted! Need to catch up. I've still been having Saturday classes at my house and attending the KRON get togethers (Classes) at Cal State Fullerton on Wednesday nights. A great group of people with a wealth of knowledge on HEMA. I've got a few videos of some of my sparring matches!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DZqKVSfWSkI&feature=related 11/16/11 vs Jason
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=a2U51GWzP5I&feature=related 11/16/11 vs Jim
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9QcHj7EinDg&feature=related 11/30/11 vsJasonwithflail

I've gotten a couple of new swords from Cold Steel. They had their annual parking lot sale and I picked up an 1860 Heavy Cavalry Sabre (http://www.coldsteel.com/1860cavalry.html) and a Scottish Broadsword (http://www.coldsteel.com/scottishbroad.html). I paid $175.00 for both! Good quality, very sharp! I will do my best to stay more updated and give interesting news and facts. Happy New Year!

Saturday, July 2, 2011

First Class after CombatCon

Today we had a pretty good turnout including two guys from "Kron Martial Arts". William and Ryan practice the German method and brought a lot to the class. We traded techniques, sparred and William brought a bunch of water jugs that we cut with a wide variety of angles. The main Kron group is in Fullerton, (Orange County)so I'm closer for them. This is great because it's not just my interpretation of the techniques, now we'll have a whole new perspective!

Monday, June 27, 2011

Back from CombatCon!

Three days in Vegas working with swords! I even competed in a longsword tournament for the first time and made it to the second round. Italian swordwork, German swordwork, Jogo do Pau, knifework, etc. My brain is full! Now it's time to study the video I recorded. Now I have a better understanding of what I'm doing. The parallels between Japanese and European swordwork and theory is amazing! Made new friends I hope to study with and looking forward to next year!

Tuesday, June 14, 2011

CombatCon

I have been having classes but forgetting to post about them. New training swords and armor have been acquired. All that will wait until I get back from CombatCon http://thecombatcon.com/ !!! June 24 to 26 - 2011 - Tuscany Hotel - Las Vegas
Lots of classes in Western Martial Arts. I'll post pictures and hopefully videos when I return.

Monday, February 21, 2011

Cutting class

Last Saturday (02/12/11)I had a cutting class. (Tameshigiri) The class was much better attended than usual. I didn't have the money to buy the actual tatami omote but pool noodles and filled water bottles work pretty well. First we used my katana which is very sharp and works well even for beginners. Then we tried the two new long swords my wife had gotten me for Valentines day. They were sharp but not sharp enough. I'll need to take a stone to them and try it again. The swords are great quality and we got them for a good price. http://sbg-sword-store.sword-buyers-guide.com/product151.html The deal is good until the end of February. I'll let you know how they cut when I sharpen them more.

Saturday, January 29, 2011

Fiore Dagger Defenses

I was expecting more, but at least I had six students today. I've been wanting to work on the dagger defenses for awhile so we got out the mats and had at it. I used two youtube sites for my main reference. http://www.youtube.com/user/TrilobyteArmoury works from Fiore but http://www.youtube.com/user/ArmeAntica works from Mair. I like the flow of the guy at Arme Antica. He studied the Bujinkan system which is the main art I practice. It's very evident in his movement. We had a good class with more to work on next time!

Saturday, January 15, 2011

Medieval Retro-Class today

Only two folks for class today. :( I'd planned on covering medieval knife work but decided to go over joint locks instead. The same joint locks will be used in the knife defense. Medieval knife attacks are either icepick style coming down or a thrust. Most systems that developed in areas where it got cold used these types of attack to get through thick clothing. The warmer areas developed faster more slashing attacks since you weren't wearing as much. Lot's of good videos on youtube!

Thursday, January 13, 2011

Castles

I am very interested in castles and plan on building one after I retire. Various plans are in the works to enable this to happen. Of course there are lots of castles still standing in Europe and many still being used and some for sale. Two groups of people are building castles using the old methods. No power tools or equipment, all by hand. One is in France, http://www.guedelon.fr/index.php?lg=en and the other in Arkansas. http://www.ozarkmedievalfortress.com/en-us/ I don't need to be that authentic! The stone work is cool but I'm thinking of using concrete faux stone from this company. http://www.redi-rock.com/. I'm not sure yet which would be cheaper, I guess that would depend on where I build. Much more research yet to do!

Saturday, January 8, 2011

Class

We had a good sword class today. Dave talked about balance points and then I worked them into the sword work. Finished the class with knife sparring. Then we went to Victorville High School to watch a fencing tournament. We got there in time to watch the epee. I taken a fencing class in college but it was with the foil. The epee is a heavier sword and the targets are anywhere on the body, including the feet! After the epee was the saber. Very fast. All great for gaining experience with timing and distancing but lots have been lost to making it safe for a sport.

Monday, January 3, 2011

Happy New Year!

Yes, it's a new year with many new possibilities. As far as the sword club, I'm going to revamp the training to account for nobody making it consistently. Somehow I'm going to have to gear the training so I can progress without consistent training partners. I'm also doing a lot of study on the Crusades with the idea of writing a book. I've got a number of ideas that I've started on, just need to do the research.
I've ordered a number of books that hopefully will fill in the gaps of my medieval education. I'll try to share intersting tidbits along the way, as well as keep up with the martial aspects of the club. Hope you're new year is filled with new knowledge and great blessings!