Signed up for Medieval Long Sword class

[Black Jack]

I am kind of excited and I just wanted to share something which I found out and signed up for tonight at my local community college.

I found that the Chicago Sword Guild has a medieval long sword class at my local college, College of Dupage, so I signed up on a whim, I have always wanted to go up in the city and take a class anyway, so what a break.

The ad says, learn medieval European swordsmanship, based on documented methods used in 14th and 15th century Germany and Italy. Learn the basics of medieval swordsmanship, training includes stances, posture, movement and methods of striking and defending with the medieval "hand-and-a-half"sword. Includes demonstrations, drills and a lot of free-sparring with safety gear, as well as simulated weapons.

The class is 6 weeks and runs Monday nights coming up in April, I also signed up for a screenwriting class on the following Tuesday, being able to write for a living is a dream of mine,so I thought the extra critics would not hurt and my girlfriend signed up for a Hatha Yoga class on the same night so we can both go together.

Just wanted to share as I am into that stuff.

[Chris McKinley]

Have at thee, foul knave! For thou art a churlish, gorbellied, coxcombing blackguard!

Once you learn to use that thing, you should check to see if there is a local chapter of the Society for Creative Anachronism nearby. They like to suit up in armor and have at each other with long sword, hand-and-a-half, great sword, mace, and spear.

[jon]

Thats sounds really cool, i would love to see some medievil sword moves.
I wonder if they had any developed hand to hand systems back then.
The swords of that era are just so different to asian varities and the use of them would be quite something to learn.
Would do a LOT for strength and speed training i can imagine as well.
Lucky sod, you get to tonk people with big shinny swords, i wanna go:(

[Wu Lung]

If you'd like to write for a living, here's a good starter!

http://www.cyberkwoon.com/html/page.php?page=fiction

(Shameless, I know!)

:D

[red_fists]

Hey Black Jack.

Get ready for a sore Body and aching shoulders.

If those Swords are anything close to what my ancestors used you will be in for a tough time.

Those thins weigth a lot and are less easily moved than Asian Swords.

Either way have fun.

[Xebsball]

That sounds great, sword kick ass

[Black Jack]

Thanks guys,

I just saw it in the paper and thought, what the hell, as most of you know I have a deep interest in western historical combatives anyway, it sounded like fun.

Yes, the European/Western cultures did have a deep understanding of unarmed and armed combatives. I have a ton of links and there are even more serious recreationists out there that practice these methods.

Methods that can be passed on because of the western cultures methodology to put them in manuels, codexs and texts. They even had specifc names for specfic regional styles.

If I was not so freakin tired I would post some of my old stuff on them and throw out some new links but I have to wake up to my ever-growing **** bag job tommorow.

A new job which within 6 months has turned to the type of job that you HATE to go to, nothing is worse than leaving one career for another and then finding out all the time put in to the new one is wasted because of personaility conflicts.

It's the reason for my new stress levels, my old regional V.P. left and was replaced by a idiot/control freak shrieking woman boss whose only goal seems to be making those around her, hate her.

[Mr. Nemo]

That sounds f.ucking cool.

Hey, if you talk to your instructor, could you ask him about "half-swording" for me? Some medieval swords had a blunt section of blade close to the hilt, where a fighter could grasp the sword by the blade with his other hand, using it for short range work.

I'm reading a book in which this technique is used (one character is especially skilled with it) and I wanted to know what kind of sword it's practiced with, and whether or not it was a common technique.

[Chris McKinley]

Hey Black Jack,

If you haven't already, check out www.alliancemartialarts.com. Great site for western martial arts, and a helluva links page.

[El_CLap]

I checked out a medieval sword class once in Houston. It was a pretty good class. Most of the moves looked very similar to asian styles. The thing is that there are no surviving masters of the european weapons. All of the training they have is what they translate from old manuals. They did however, go at it with each other pretty hard to make sure it worked.

[Black Jack]

El Clap,

You stated all european weapons which is wrong.

I disagree with that kind of a blanket statement, in the realm of medieval european combat there "may" be no direct descendents that you know/we of but that does not mean that none exists, nor does it change the fact that unlike the Asain arts the western arts have been codified and thus are open for anyone to recreate and test out in sparring, there are public manuels which are a open link to the western lineage, not to mention the simple fact that there are no living ancient asain weapon masters around either, I myself would take the one that has a codified history to back it up if forced to pick on accuracy of historical technique, the european/western swordplay I have seen does not resemble asain weapon systems to me at all, different dynamics to different weapons.

Passed down renaissance armed/unarmed combat does exist however, there are numerous families and players of genuine European Italian, Spanish, French and Elizabethan weaponplay and unarmed combat that goe beyong a mere recreation.

The styles of Agrippa, diGrassi, Marozzo, la Vega, and others are alive and well in the students of those styles, plus many more. So are the old european weapon systems of La Canne, Savate, and Zipota which go far beyond just hand to hand techinques, as well as the spanish Navaja, stilleto, and other even more rare blade and stick arts.

Not only can the western lineage be found in historical combat manuels, and thus verified, but in the living men and women who practice them, both unarmed and armed.

What other cultures can say the same????