I will leave you with what seems to be a pre cut of our recent appearance on Agence France Presse (the link to which I have provided below). At 2.15 you can see Lignitzer's first play.
If you wish to watch the other clip, go here.
Wednesday 31 December 2014
A very happy new year to you.
It has been a fantastic 2014 for the school. I get to teach and train with a lovely bunch of people who are quite inspiring in their efforts. Have a great 2015 and of course, be excellent to each other.
I will leave you with what seems to be a pre cut of our recent appearance on Agence France Presse (the link to which I have provided below). At 2.15 you can see Lignitzer's first play.
If you wish to watch the other clip, go here.
I will leave you with what seems to be a pre cut of our recent appearance on Agence France Presse (the link to which I have provided below). At 2.15 you can see Lignitzer's first play.
If you wish to watch the other clip, go here.
Tuesday 23 December 2014
A new London Longsword Academy scholar.
Saturday the 6th, saw our Charity Bash, & the long overdue Scholarship prize fight of Luke Rose.
So how did it go?
As usual I spent the days building up to the event fretting that barely anyone would show, that people would drop out at the last moment and that possibly, just possibly, everything would catch fire and burn to the ground. None of these things happened.
24 fighters joined the competition and a large contingent of guests, all of whom put into the pot for the charities we chose, amassing an excellent £600.
All of the effort and toil of sorting pools was taken out of my hands by the great help of Nancy and Helena (and of course Barney who turned up with all the pool forms in the world). All of this help meant that we were in and ready to roll within an hour.
On the whole, folks were ready to fight on time and, in order to allow free choice of weapons, had communicated their choice and level of protection to their opponent before the bout began. This meant we were able to mix dussack, longsword, rapier, sword and buckler, even sickle. all into the same pools, all judged by the same rules (to see the rules have a look at the posts from the last few weeks. I will repost them soon with notes).
For many of the fighters, yesterday was a steep learning curve, but my, they did rise to it well and it was lovely to see how folk adapted, either making a passive form more assertive, or calming a flail upon realising such vigorous blows and parries left them prone to facial battering. Their potential cover vanishing leaving them unable to do anything but watch the oncoming, inevitable blow. Hard learning that was received with much grace and good humour by all.
The judging overall was excellent (the only slight niggle possibly being Sally, whose strikes seem invisible). The rules seemed to work exceptionally well, allowing for simple and effective calls. There will hopefully be some more pics and videos of the event up soon, so I will save overall commentary for those. But well done, some great fights and of course a well earned congratulations to our winner Tim Fuke.
Luke Roses's Scholarship.
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Nothing short of fantastic. I know that Luke has spent a long time practicing for this, a lot of time spent in hot rooms, in full jacket, gloves and headgear so that the heat would not be an issue. His stamina was never in doubt, nor was his will to fight.
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However, I think Luke would admit that it was much more punishing than expected, the adrenaline, concentration and a somewhat uncooperative (as it should be) opponent, exerting a far greater toll than shadow sparring alone could ever do. But that endurance practice payed off and despite the strain, even the final painful, grating ten minutes - those harsh extended moments where his opponents started to press him more with more determination - he remained resolute. And I am happy to say he passed. I never had any doubt he would, none of us did, and we are all massively proud of him. Luke Rose is now a scholar of the London Longsword Academy.
So how did it go?
As usual I spent the days building up to the event fretting that barely anyone would show, that people would drop out at the last moment and that possibly, just possibly, everything would catch fire and burn to the ground. None of these things happened.
24 fighters joined the competition and a large contingent of guests, all of whom put into the pot for the charities we chose, amassing an excellent £600.
All of the effort and toil of sorting pools was taken out of my hands by the great help of Nancy and Helena (and of course Barney who turned up with all the pool forms in the world). All of this help meant that we were in and ready to roll within an hour.
On the whole, folks were ready to fight on time and, in order to allow free choice of weapons, had communicated their choice and level of protection to their opponent before the bout began. This meant we were able to mix dussack, longsword, rapier, sword and buckler, even sickle. all into the same pools, all judged by the same rules (to see the rules have a look at the posts from the last few weeks. I will repost them soon with notes).
For many of the fighters, yesterday was a steep learning curve, but my, they did rise to it well and it was lovely to see how folk adapted, either making a passive form more assertive, or calming a flail upon realising such vigorous blows and parries left them prone to facial battering. Their potential cover vanishing leaving them unable to do anything but watch the oncoming, inevitable blow. Hard learning that was received with much grace and good humour by all.
The judging overall was excellent (the only slight niggle possibly being Sally, whose strikes seem invisible). The rules seemed to work exceptionally well, allowing for simple and effective calls. There will hopefully be some more pics and videos of the event up soon, so I will save overall commentary for those. But well done, some great fights and of course a well earned congratulations to our winner Tim Fuke.
Luke Roses's Scholarship.
Nothing short of fantastic. I know that Luke has spent a long time practicing for this, a lot of time spent in hot rooms, in full jacket, gloves and headgear so that the heat would not be an issue. His stamina was never in doubt, nor was his will to fight.
However, I think Luke would admit that it was much more punishing than expected, the adrenaline, concentration and a somewhat uncooperative (as it should be) opponent, exerting a far greater toll than shadow sparring alone could ever do. But that endurance practice payed off and despite the strain, even the final painful, grating ten minutes - those harsh extended moments where his opponents started to press him more with more determination - he remained resolute. And I am happy to say he passed. I never had any doubt he would, none of us did, and we are all massively proud of him. Luke Rose is now a scholar of the London Longsword Academy.
Monday 1 December 2014
A little bit about the charities we are supporting at this weekend's bash.
The charities:
Shelter; a housing and Homelessness charity.
LAUNCH which is a year-long project for 16 to 25 year olds from disadvantaged areas of Haringey who show promise in the arts and have expressed a wish to consider theatre as a career.The Bash: The bash is an interclass competition held to celebrate an upcoming scholar's prize fight. Each attendee be they student or guest, fighter, judge or spectator pays to attend. Every penny, without exception is given to the charities we have chosen. That commitment is made possible by the added generosity of our host venues, who are often willing to provide the space for the event free of charge (in this case Jacksons Lane). This is our way of saying thank you to the community we are part of and in the case of shelter, aid something increasingly vital. If you wish to attend, we will have a few spaces for spectators. PM me for details.
Don't forget that all this week there is no need to bring anything other than protective gear to training. I will be along with flags and sashes to prepare you for the competition. :)
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