CombatCon 2014

A great weekend in Vegas!  Met old friends and made new ones, took some very interesting classes and made it to the finals in the long sword tournament!  Got in late Thursday night (almost Friday morning).  Friday morning I took a bowie knife class from Steve Huff.  The bowie is a very useful tool.  I'd like to train in it more.  That and tomahawk.
Then it was off to get ready for the Longsword tournament.  There were 8 pools.  My pool had Wayne Heinz, Keith Jennings and Jordan Hinckley.
Here is my match against Jennings; https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lolF6bHvcO0&feature=youtu.be
Against Hinckley; https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JGR9yYu54wo
Against Heinz;
I beat Jennings and Hinckley so I made it to the finals!
Then there was the sword and buckler.
Against Brian Stewart; https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rfpvmJsw-D8&feature=youtu.be
Against Jerzy Mi (Miklaszewski);  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HKyU3qLVr-4
Against Lindsay Victoria Goodwin; https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZSNE7nZ3xaU
I did not progress
Saturday I took Italian Cane from Paul Macdonald.  Very similar to the French La Canne.  Then on to Against Knife and Dagger with Mishael Abia Lopes Cardoza and Maestro Paul Macdonald.  Practical, combat oriented techniques.  They also showed how you can grab the blade hard and it won't cut you.  After lunch Jonathan and I just walked around talking to people and watching the rapier tournament.
Sunday morning I took Irish Stickfighting followed by Russian Fisticuffs.  Both taught by Ken Pfrenger.  In the fisticuffs we focused a lot on the rounding blow.  It's a type of whipping strike that hits as either a backfist or strike with the bottom three knuckles.  More range than a hook.
Then off to the longsword finals.  First match against John Knoch; https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AXVV_blm_yY&list=UUj9oMAlSKNibbWffk6839Qw&index=5
I lost so I was out.  John fought Dennis Ljungqvist and lost.  Dennis fought Richard Marsden and won the tourney.
Said my goodbyes, packed up the car and drove back to California.  The tourneys are fun and I do better each time....but then I miss classes I'd like to take!

HEMA training in San Diego

It's been a good week for me down in San Diego! Thursday I trained with Scott Farrell and his crew at Swords of Chivalry. http://chivalrytoday.com/services/knight-school-historical-fencing/

I learned some German drills and they let me spar with longsword and sword & Buckler.

Then today I trained for four hours with Brian Stokes of Schola San Marco and his crew. http://scholasanmarco.com/

Brian has really broken down Fiore and continues to amaze me with his extrapolations.  By careful study he shows how the paintings show exactly how to place your feet, the angle of your hips, even how putting your little finger behind the hilt on a certain technique affects your balance and strength!  He has hired guys with PHD's in medieval Italian to translate the original manuals to make sure of the meaning!

My main problem is that I don't make it to KRON in time to learn the techniques and I don't take the time to really study the material.  Jason Taylor has time free during the week and I'm going to try and take advantage of that to become a better technician.

KRON High Desert

The last two classes I've taught hanbo techniques.  The hanbo is a Japanese weapon.  A short staff about 3 feet long.  Very useful and works well into cane work.
Today though I taught sword and buckler.  We covered the basic wards and cuts from the I.33 medieval fechtbuch.
The news though is that we are officially starting KRON High Desert!  Part of KRON Martial Arts which is a member of the HEMA Alliance.

Update 2014

  So after a year of no entries I'm back.  No CombatCon in 2013 but we did have a bigger and better SoCal Swordfight.  I taught cane and helped with the longsword class. We'll be having another one at the end of March. https://www.facebook.com/events/183176325224863/  There will also be another CombatCon in June.
  It's been an interesting year.  Getting used to being retired and figuring out what to do with my time.  Keeping up with my Bujinkan training and trying to progress in HEMA.  I need to get serious and get ready to test for my Godan rank.  We are thinking of moving out of state and if we do, I'd like to open an Ohoko Dojo wherever we end up.
  I've been playing with the hanbo, cane and shillelagh (Irish stick).  Although the weapon systems originated in different areas, there are a lot of similarities.  Since the cane is legal pretty much anywhere and it can be used in a variety of ways, including sword techniques, I feel it is the ideal weapon.
  This year looks to be a very good.  I'll try to do better with keeping up on updates!