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June 12, 2010: Fiore Extravaganza 2010

The Fiore Extravaganza is back! From Saturday June 12th through to Saturday June 19th, come and celebrate the 600th anniversary of Fior di Battaglia by immersing yourself in Italian medieval combat.

Places are strictly limited to 22, so register now to avoid disappointment. Register by email to info@swordschool.com

The theme this year is the player: concentrating on adapting our actions to the opportunities created by the player, as good scholars should. We will cover the basics of all the foot combat elements (wrestling, dagger, sword, sword in armour, pollax and spear) with special attention to the changes in interpretation since last year. These are primarily the circumstances of zogho largo and zogho stretto, and sensitivity to the opponent. Confused? Come and all will be explained...

The proposed schedule (this is subject to change, not least during the event, as we may progress slower or faster):

Saturday June 12th: 11.00-17.00 Introduction, abrazare plays, dagger.

Sunday June 13th: 11.00-17.00 Revision, then longsword, plays in one hand, then plays in two, largo and stretto

Monday June 14th: 11.00-17.00 Revision, remedial work on guard positions etc, sensitivity drills, "choosing the play".

Tuesday June 15th: 11.00-13.30 Revision, putting it all together.

Wednesday June 16th: free day, no formal class. Some activities TBA

Thursday June 17th: 11-17.00 Revision, hafted weapons (spear, pollax)

Friday June 18th: Tactical training: why and when to do what? 

Saturday June 19th: Tournament- put your new skills to the test. The tournament is optional, and will be handicapped to make the outcome unpredictable. So anyone can win. 

Saturday night: PARTY! BBQ if weather allows, bring food, drink and friends.

Cost: 250e

Location: Helsinki salle

April 24, 2010: Germans v Italians April 24th

We will cover the basic tenets of the Liechtenauer blossfechten (shirt- combat- i.e no armour) longsword techniques, and look at how similar situations are dealt with in Fior Battaglia. Given our normal focus, we will spend more time on the German material than the Italian. The day will end with designated German v Italian free fencing, so bring your freeplay kit.

Students are required to have a solid grounding in our basic level material first; either qualified intermediates, or with the permission of your branch leader. If in doubt, ask!

 

Click here to sign up online!

March 20, 2010: Syllabus day and PARTY! March 20th

This is an exciting time for the school's syllabus, with major changes to the basic system. Because of this, this seminar will be cover the new material for the basic syllabus, including the new cutting drill, the new five drills, and minor tweaks to the syllabus form.

Gradings will be made based on the student's general level, rather than specific knowledge of the new material (it would be unfair to hold a student back from intermediate status just because the required knowledge base has changed).

Come one, come all. 

The school will be 9 years old, come and celebrate with us from 7pm at the salle. 

Click here to sign up online!