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Main => The Courtyard => Topic started by: Das Bill on 2010-09-18, 06:49:05
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Dear friends,
Tom Leoni and I invite you to attend the National Historical Swordsmanship Convention (NHSC) 2011.
When: April 15-17, 2011
Where: Virginia Academy of Fencing (located just outside Washington DC)
2011 Theme: Must-know Fundamentals and Terminology
The NATIONAL HISTORICAL SWORDSMANSHIP CONVENTION (NHSC, pronounced “Nisk”) is a new, 3-day special event bringing professional-level instruction in early-Renaissance European swordsmanship to fencers of all experience levels. NHSC will provide a cohesive, focused approach that will have classes covering body mechanics, unarmed combat, the use of the langes messer (long knife) and single handed sword, the Bolognese sword and shield, German longsword, the Italian spadone (the great 16th century two handed sword), and the use of pole arms.
HOW IS THIS EVENT DIFFERENT AND UNIQUE?
Rather than offering a “menu” of unrelated classes spanning various subjects, NHSC is a cohesive, full-immersion course focusing on the basics and advanced basics of early-Renaissance swordsmanship. From body-mechanics and footwork to unarmed combat, from sword to different weapons, each class builds off of the next so that students will not only gain exposure to different weapon styles, but also develop a stronger level of proficiency and competence as a martial artist.
There will also be talks on historical context, with an opportunity for participants to handle authentic period swords as well.
INSTRUCTORS AND CLASSES:
• Bill Grandy, Director of Historical Swordsmanship of the Virginia Academy of Fencing. Bill has taught historical European martial arts professionally over the past decade and has been invited to teach across the country for various schools and events, including at the Western Martial Arts Workshop and Chivalric Weekend. He will be teaching 15th century German swordsmanship (Liechtenauer tradition).
• Tom Leoni, founder of the Order of the Seven Hearts and one of the principal Historical Swordsmanship instructors of the Virginia Academy of Fencing. Tom is one of the leading researchers of Renaissance Italian martial arts. He has published some of the top translations of historical fencing treatises, and has taught historical fencing around the world. Tom will be teaching 16th century Italian swordsmanship (Bolognese school).
• Guest instructor Brad Waller, founder of the International Order of the Sword and Pen. Brad is an internationally renowned fight choreographer who brings realistic martial arts to the stage. Brad is well known in the Western Martial Arts world for using the 16th century European arts to teach students proper form and movement for both unarmed and armed combat. Brad will be teaching body mechanics and historical unarmed combat.
WHY ATTEND?
All - Understand and accurately perform the “must-know” fundamentals of early-Renaissance swordsmanship
Instructors - Learn how to develop stronger drills and leverage efficient terminology
Fencers/historical fencers - Gain new perspectives on training and application of the arts
Novices - Experience the practice of historical swordsmanship under the attention of professional teachers and coaches
WHO CAN PARTICIPATE
NHSC is for both the novice up to the experienced instructor. Age 14 to adult. Minors must have signed permission of a legal guardian.
EQUIPMENT
All participants at minimum are required to have a fencing mask, gloves, jacket, and practice weapons. Participants must wear long athletic pants and non-marking athletic shoes. Equivalent historical clothing and protection are acceptable. Equipment is available for purchase on site at the Virginia Academy of Fencing.
LOCATION
Virginia Academy of Fencing, 5401-B Port Royal Road, Springfield, VA 22151 just outside of Washington DC. Easily accessible from Reagan National airport or Dulles International airport.
We will shortly post additional information on preferred hotels conveniently located near the event.
CONTACT INFORMATION
E-mail NHSC@yahoo.com or contact the Virginia Academy of Fencing at (703) 321-4922. For more information, please visit our website at www.vafinc.com/NHSC
Also, please find us on Facebook for updates!
REGISTRATION
The cost of NHSC is $289 per person by 2/1/2011. Cost rises afterward. Register here: http://askfred.net/Clinics/Prereg/prereg.php?clinic_id=12956
We Hope To see You There!!!
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For all of you who often say, "Man, I wish there was a Western Martial Arts group in my area," you *NEED* to come to this event. You will gain so much out of this one weekend, and it will really give you a jump start into forming your own group. Books and videos are great, but nothing beats hands on instruction.
(Oh, and FYI, the website is still a little bit under construction at the time of this posting... We promise to upgrade it and update it with more information very soon!)
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wow really exciting. I'll pass the word. not sure if it conflicts with MTT in Glen Dale or not. I think that is but if not I will try to be there.
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Are you telling me I'm going to miss MTT *again*?
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Awesome! If my schedule at school allows, I'd LOVE to make that one! *drool*
I might be doing a practicum or internship... ;D
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tell ya what, if it is, I'll skip sunday and you skip saturday hahaha jkjk
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I guess I'm not scheduling my wedding for that weekend then. :)
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Perhaps. My schedule will bee a lot more open in 2011.
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I guess I'm not scheduling my wedding for that weekend then. :)
ahaahaaaa
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I'll do what I can to make it.
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Das Bill, how are things shaping up for you here?
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Things are moving along very well behind the scenes... in fact, it's funny you post this. I'm about to meet with Tom to hammer some things out that we plan on posting publically, most likely tomorrow (or soon after). Stay tuned. :)
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And so we shall!
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Bill,
I am enroled in the January 8th beginning sword class at VAF. Would the convention be a good thing for me to attend?
Thanks
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Jan 8...I think I could swing that as I'm interested in that very same class, Sir Ancelyn. Bill, any openings left?
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Man, I still need to sign up.
Ancelyn, I would think it's fine. They're trying to target a wide range of experience levels, such that the classes build upon one another and lead you through the material.
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I just signed up.
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Bill,
I am enroled in the January 8th beginning sword class at VAF. Would the convention be a good thing for me to attend?
Thanks
Definitely. There will be both VAF people attending as well as people coming from out of town to attend. This is going to have a lot of material that will benefit people from all levels of experience.
We'll have class descriptions up soon. Probably after the weekend!
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Jan 8...I think I could swing that as I'm interested in that very same class, Sir Ancelyn. Bill, any openings left?
I'm pretty sure that it's still open. If it filled up this early, we'd still have enough time to find another time for an additional class.
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Oh ok, that's awesome. Thanks, Bill!
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Class schedule has been updated on the site:
http://www.vafinc.com/nhsc/index.html (http://www.vafinc.com/nhsc/index.html)
I'm all signed up.
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:( have fun hehe
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I was just logging on to announce this. :) Thanks, Ed.
As Ed said, we've got our basic schedule and class descriptions up. We've also got a deal with the Hilton Springfield, where if you mention VAF (Virginia Academy of Fencing), you can get a special rate for that weekend at $89 per night, Friday through Sunday, and $171 per night Monday through Wednesday.
This is going to be a hell of an event. Sorry you're going to miss it, Sir Wolf!
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A question came up on myArmoury about whether or not participants will a different weapon for every single style being taught. I replied, and thought my reply might be useful to copy and paste for others:
Hi Bryan,
Yes and no. You need something to simulate a single hand sword, but that can be as simple as a hardwood dowel rod or a cheap shinai. Likewise, for the spadone, you can get away with a 5' staff (you can get a hardwood broom handle from most hardware stores for a couple of dollars which will do the trick). The same staff can be used for the polearms classes. So if all you have is a short stick and a long stick, you're set for the weapons.
For the shield and buckler, you can purchase them from places like A&A or MRL, or you can make them for a few dollars. A cheap and easy way to make a rotella is to cut out a circle of plywood, drill four holes in the middle and lace rope through the holes. Tie the rope off to keep in from sliding out of the holes. (Little kids do this method all the time!) A buckler could be made similarly, or instead of rope you could screw on a metal handle (also readily available from any hardware store).
So for about $10 bucks or so, you have all of your weapons and shields right there.
The most expensive thing that people are required to have is fencing mask, but you can find these for under $50.
We will have a limited amount of loaner equipment there, but we can't guarantee that there will be enough, so we strongly encourage everyone to bring their own gear. We also have all of the equipment for sale at our store at VAF, should anyone wish to purchase anything there.
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I highly encourage folks in the DC area to attend this one as well if they can. Again, you can be a rank beginner, or an experienced practitioner. This one is a little more expensive than Longpoint in January, but it looks to be a great time!
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This one is a little more expensive than Longpoint in January, but it looks to be a great time!
Yep. Longpoint will definitely be a great a event, but NHSC will be a little more "jam-packed" with classes over a three day period rather than two, and the curriculum is much more focused, since the classes build off of each other.
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We've just added German Quarterstaff to the line up of classes. This will be the foundational weapon of the other polearms we'll be teaching.
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Sweet. Man, I'm going to have to bring nearly everything I own that weekend. :)
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Sweet. Man, I'm going to have to bring nearly everything I own that weekend. :)
The cool thing about this is that a person can get away with just a dowel rod of sword length and a longer staff, and that will cover all of the weapons. But yeah, you have all the cool gear, so you have no excuses not to bring it all. :)
(I may ask you to bring your Albion Dane for people to handle, if you don't mind. I think it's a wonderful example of what can constitute as a Spadone.)
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Not a problem at all. Let me know if there's anything else I can bring to help out.
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A lot of people have been asking us about bringing their teenage kids to do the event with them. The minimum age for NHSC is 14, so if your child is old enough and wants to sign up with you, then by all means sign up the both of you!
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Just a reminder that the preregistration deadline is February 1. You can still sign up later, but the price goes up!
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Due to several requests, we are bumping the pregistration date back to February 8. This is largely due to the fact that I'll be teaching this upcoming weekend at the event Longpoint, and several people had hoped to talk to me in person before signing up for NHSC. This will give those people some "cushion room" to get their registrations in.
After February 8, the price goes up, so if you plan on coming, sign up sooner rather than later!
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CONTACT INFORMATION
E-mail NHSC@yahoo.com or contact the Virginia Academy of Fencing at (703) 321-4922. For more information, please visit our website at www.vafinc.com/NHSC
The website link is coming up as "not found".
EDIT: It looks like this works: http://www.vafinc.com/nhsc/index.html (http://www.vafinc.com/nhsc/index.html)
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Strange... it used to work just fine. Thanks for pointing that out!
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I think the hosting is on a linux server. I noticed the lowercase URL works, and the uppercase doesn't - windows hosting usually doesn't have that. Probably a way to fix it in linux (apache?), but I have no idea offhand how to.
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I think the hosting is on a linux server. I noticed the lowercase URL works, and the uppercase doesn't - windows hosting usually doesn't have that. Probably a way to fix it in linux (apache?), but I have no idea offhand how to.
Yeah, this is a hairy issue since URLs are intended to be case sensitive. Windows is technically the one that breaks the rules. Making it case insensitive in any linux/unix hosting is difficult since the filesystem underneath is case sensitive. However, there are workarounds, with rewrite rules in Apache. For instance, if you know all your URLs are supposed to be lower-case, you can rewrite lookups to lower-case all of it. Or, have rewrite rules for specific cases, or create a second directory with all caps that just contains a redirect, etc. Lots of ways to approach it. Just no good way to disable case sensitivity globally in Apache on linux/unix.
I know, more detail than anyone here cares about. :)
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Flex that muscular brain, Sir Edward! All news to me...but I'm thinking good to know.
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Darn I wish this was not on the same weekend as MTT. I really want to get more involved with HWMA again.
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Reminder: The preregistration deadline for NHSC is on Tuesday. After Tuesday the price gets bumped up by fifty dollars.
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Just finished modifying the shinai with some PVC piping and a cane topper. It looks a little odd, but the 1 1/2 inch PVC is actually proportional to it. Just need to paint the shield and add straps an I'm all set. See you on Friday.
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I would like to congratulate Bill Grandy and Tom Leoni for putting on a marvelous event. The three Muirs that were in attendance give it a two thumbs up. It was a fantastic training weekend. It had an extended seminar feeling to it with Bill's and Tom's teaching styles dovetailing nicely together and each class expanding upon and reemphasizing the material from each previous class. Well done, Gentlemen.
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Indeed! The event was quite successful. I think everyone who attended got quite a bit out of it, and the way the curriculum was structured to have the classes build off of one another helped solidify the material for everyone. The students were very effectively applying it and improvising by the end of the event.
I'm really really tired... but wow, what fun! :)
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Wheee!!!!! :D
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Wheee!!!!! :D
Jazz hands!
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Too bad it's on the wrong coast for me. :(
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Wheee!!!!! :D
So, I definitely feel like I missed an inside joke at this event. :)
Too bad it's on the wrong coast for me.
No excuses! :-p We had a few guys from San Fran who came out just for this event, as well as some others from out of state. ;)
If you want to come to a GREAT event, WMAW is in September, and it's in the middle of the country rather than on the other coast. :)
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OK. How about "it's too bad I have not enough cash or job".
Man I need a job. There is so much I want to go do!
-Ivan
who lives in the state with the highest unemployment at 20%
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Wheee!!!!! :D
So, I definitely feel like I missed an inside joke at this event. :)
I think you were too busy teaching. :)
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And we have photos! Thanks to Denis Loukonine, who was running back and forth between taking photos and swinging swords!
http://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.224057604276748.74209.160174087331767
(These are set to publically be viewed, so you shouldn't have to be a Facebook member to be able to see them.)
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I don't know what's going on here:
(http://a2.sphotos.ak.fbcdn.net/hphotos-ak-snc6/229143_224058714276637_160174087331767_1069616_6741160_n.jpg)
but I sense terrible outcomes if it were done in period.
Great pics. Are some of those sabers either period originals, or 18th century-ish antiques?
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I don't know what's going on here:
(http://a2.sphotos.ak.fbcdn.net/hphotos-ak-snc6/229143_224058714276637_160174087331767_1069616_6741160_n.jpg)
but I sense terrible outcomes if it were done in period.
What's going on is that David [on the right] is about to experience what it is like to make out with the floor. :)
Great pics. Are some of those sabers either period originals, or 18th century-ish antiques?
All of those in the pictures are period originals. Tom brought a couple 19th century sabres, we both brought a couple of 18th century smallswords, both of us brought a couple of Renaissance rapiers/edge swords, I brought a schiavona, and Tom brought a couple of 16th century polearms. We did have a couple Albion replicas to represent the medieval weaponry, as Tom and I are not rich enough to own originals from that era. :) I do regret that we didn't get more pictures of the originals all together, but oh well.