A History of European Swordsmanship: An Invite-Only Seminar

This seminar will be an overview of historical European swords through the ages. These weapons were used in Europe for hundreds of years to fight wars, duels and in personal combat.

A variety of swords will be covered beginning with 15th century Germanic Longsword all the way through 19th century Classical Dueling Sabre. This will include:
Germanic Longsword
Germanic Shortsword
Quarterstaff
Italian Sidesword
Italian Rapier
Spanish Rapier
French Smallsword
Northern Italian Duelling Sabre

We will focus on the historical usage instead of the romantic expressions commonly seen in film/tv. By gaining a better understanding of how swordplay was an integral part of European history you will see how to better incorporate these weapons into your projects.

You will not only learn the history, but get on your feet to practice fundamentals of these systems as well. Guard, footwork, attacks and defense will be focused on and you will be doing drills that hit each other.

Weapons will be provided. Pizza lunch is included as well.

Participants will need a notebook/note taking device and are expected to ask questions throughout the seminar.

Participants should have a pair of gloves and fencing mask at minimum. A fencing jacket is needed, but something with padding can be utilized. Email me if you need to buy gear and I will send you links to appropriate items.
Some loaner equipment is available on a first come/first serve basis. Email me to confirm.

A followup seminar will be offered later this year only for those participating in this one. That seminar will look at the dual wielding options for most of these systems (e.g. Sword & Dagger, Sword & Buckler, Sword & Cloak, etc).