WMAW 2013

[Sir Brian]

I think the booth prices for the trainers were not discounted. Albion often has done a 10% show price for their sharps though.

Yeah I think the REAL savings you would get from purchasing a trainer from either vendor would be a savings of TIME and shipping costs since you'd be purchasing a blade they made specifically to sell at the event. 

And also a chance to "hands on" with one - what you like in appearance may not always feel right in the hand to you either. And that can be a very expensive experience!

That is another excellent point Sir James! I was doubly blessed that between Sir Edward and Josh, a fellow MASHS student, I was able to tryout and ‘feel’ the three primary candidates for me when I was shopping for my steel training sword! – i.e. Albion’s Meyer and Lichtenauer and A&A’s Fechterspiel. 

[Sir William]

Which was your favorite to wield?

[Sir Brian]

Which was your favorite to wield?

Why the one I purchased of course! 
- The Meyer feels the best for me. Oddly enough all three blades are within an ounce or two of each other in weight but the Meyer feels so much better balanced that it seems noticeably lighter. 

[Sir Edward]

Here's me break-down of the three (all three of them are excellent, but have notable differences):

Albion Meyer: My favorite for drills and free-fencing, since it's the liveliest in feel. It's probably the best of the three for full-speed bouting, since it has a relatively light blade-presence with nice thick edges, and decent flex down near the "sweet spot" to absorb thrusts.

Albion Liechtenauer: This one is best suited to stage-combat and controlled drills, IMHO. It has a very realistic weight and balance, and the blade profile is designed to look and feel fairly real as well. That means it'll perform more like a sharp sword in the bind, and look good to an audience. The problem is that it has thin edges, so it can really hurt to get hit with.

A&A Fechterspiel: A little more blade presence, and slightly less flex, when compared to the Albion Meyer. Nice thick edges, but since it has a little less give, it can hit slightly harder. This is a mixed bag compare to the Meyer, since it's just fine to use in the same contexts, for the most part, but the extra stiffness makes it really good for practicing harnessfechten and doing half-swording. The Meyer is just flexible enough to make some of the half-swording stuff a little harder to do, and the Fechterspiel has just enough stiffness to work really well with it.

[Lord Dane]

Here's me break-down of the three (all three of them are excellent, but have notable differences):

Albion Meyer: My favorite for drills and free-fencing, since it's the liveliest in feel. It's probably the best of the three for full-speed bouting, since it has a relatively light blade-presence with nice thick edges, and decent flex down near the "sweet spot" to absorb thrusts.

Albion Liechtenauer: This one is best suited to stage-combat and controlled drills, IMHO. It has a very realistic weight and balance, and the blade profile is designed to look and feel fairly real as well. That means it'll perform more like a sharp sword in the bind, and look good to an audience. The problem is that it has thin edges, so it can really hurt to get hit with.

A&A Fechterspiel: A little more blade presence, and slightly less flex, when compared to the Albion Meyer. Nice thick edges, but since it has a little less give, it can hit slightly harder. This is a mixed bag compare to the Meyer, since it's just fine to use in the same contexts, for the most part, but the extra stiffness makes it really good for practicing harnessfechten and doing half-swording. The Meyer is just flexible enough to make some of the half-swording stuff a little harder to do, and the Fechterspiel has just enough stiffness to work really well with it.

I'm partial to the Albion Kingslayer.

[Sir Edward]

I'm partial to the Albion Kingslayer.

Uhm, then I'm not fencing with you.

[Sir James A]

Here's me break-down of the three (all three of them are excellent, but have notable differences):

Albion Meyer: My favorite for drills and free-fencing, since it's the liveliest in feel. It's probably the best of the three for full-speed bouting, since it has a relatively light blade-presence with nice thick edges, and decent flex down near the "sweet spot" to absorb thrusts.

Albion Liechtenauer: This one is best suited to stage-combat and controlled drills, IMHO. It has a very realistic weight and balance, and the blade profile is designed to look and feel fairly real as well. That means it'll perform more like a sharp sword in the bind, and look good to an audience. The problem is that it has thin edges, so it can really hurt to get hit with.

A&A Fechterspiel: A little more blade presence, and slightly less flex, when compared to the Albion Meyer. Nice thick edges, but since it has a little less give, it can hit slightly harder. This is a mixed bag compare to the Meyer, since it's just fine to use in the same contexts, for the most part, but the extra stiffness makes it really good for practicing harnessfechten and doing half-swording. The Meyer is just flexible enough to make some of the half-swording stuff a little harder to do, and the Fechterspiel has just enough stiffness to work really well with it.

I'm partial to the Albion Kingslayer.

Kingmaker?

[Sir Edward]

Kingmaker?

I make the same mistake all the time, so I didn't even catch that. Beautiful sword, but a little too deadly for fencing.

[Lord Dane]

Kingmaker?

I make the same mistake all the time, so I didn't even catch that. Beautiful sword, but a little too deadly for fencing.

Sorry yes, Kingmaker. I have 2 bastard swords in its design already. Guess it's my favorite. Very sharp & very agile, Sir Edward. I use them for cutting demos but if it came down to a fight, it's my choice for combat.

[Joshua Santana]

In all fairness, I like Sir Brian have handled the Meyer, Liechtenauer and Fechterspiel.  They are fine trainers with their caveats and features.  However there a trainer that I know works for me.

Standing at 5'2" I would be more likely to use The Spada de Zogho.





I know most of Ye are thinking: "What?  A stiff steel bar for a trainer?" 

Now I know that the blade has a rectangular shape with a rectangular cross section, tip tapering to a square instead of a point, stiffer than a Fechterspiel, and wide edges.  The strength of this trainer is that its design helps it to withstand a Fechterspiel or any of the Albion trainers because of the mass structure.  This is a trainer I would feel comfortable with making swift parries and strong stable blocks a la Fiore style.  Plus, this trainer stands at exactly 46 3/8 inches, just about right for me (height wise).  So yes, beware I can easily stop any of you with a single thrust (the grandmaster of all blows, reciting Fiore) 

[Sir Edward]

Announced dates:  SEPTEMBER 19 - 22  (correction in the quote below in bold):

Yes, it is an odd number year, and that means the return of the Western Martial Arts Workshop.

On September 19 - 22, 2013, approximately 200 sword-swinging, knife-throwing, wrasslin' and armour-wearing lovers of the Western Martial Arts will again invade the quiet, halcyon DeKoeven Center in Racine, Wisconsin, for what is shaping up to be our most diverse, and full, event program yet!
The first of the large, international gatherings, WMAW has consistently tried to present an innovative program that promotes the entire breadth and depth of what we mean by "historical European martial artws"; from medieval martial arts to Victorian antagonistics, students will have a chance to either sample the entire scope of what we mean by "WMA", or dive deeply into any number of topics.

We are in the process of putting together the final instructor and class roster, so right now there isn't much to see at www.wmaw.us. Meanwhile, here is a hint of some of what will be exciting, new or different this year:
• Four full days of training at a private retreat center, including hot breakfasts and lunches and on-site dinner options.
• We've grown! DeKoeven has expanded and renovated one its halls, so we have been able to increase our attendance size. However, rather than just make class sizes larger, we are using the new space to allow us to provide a more complete set of class and lecture tracks!
• Our largest roster of overseas instructors, ever!
• More coached and open fencing.
• Coached wrestling and "Ringen randori" - a look at medieval wrestling adapted for free play.
• A weekend long, open-list challenge tournament (stay tuned for details).
• An invitational armoured deed of arms.
• Our ever-popular Saturday night feast including a Wisconsin style pig roast, exhibition bouts and entertainment.
Registration will open in March.
Please take note of the dates: September 19 - 22, 2013, and sign up for updates, because registration, especially for on-site housing, tends to fill *fast*. How fast? Well, last time all on-line housing was claimed in 24 hours, and the event sold out in a matter of weeks. In fact, before we could even announce that registration was open, someone noticed and posted on Facebook! So keep an eye open and if you are planning to attend start making your plans now.

Looking forward to seeing old faces and making new friends!

Greg, Nicole, John, Jacques and Christina
Planning Committee - Western Martial Arts Workshop 2013

[Sir James A]

Ugh, and I have some unwelcome potentially large bills on the way.

[Joshua Santana]

Ugh, and I have some unwelcome potentially large bills on the way.

Agreed, with University studies on the horizon.  This will make me miss it, but my time to crash the party at WMAW will come soon.     All will stand in awe of Fiore and Vadi put together, standing short and standing strong against the HEMA Elite. 

[Sir William]

Ugh, and I have some unwelcome potentially large bills on the way.

UGH, don't we all?  *thinking increased tax burden*

[Sir Brian]

With my planned vacation to Florida late May this year and a drastic cut back at
work of OT I seriously doubt I will be able to swing the expense of going. 

*sigh*

perhaps 2015?