Join thousands of swordplay practitioners from around the world and build your skills from beginner to expert in the arts of the two-handed sword, duelling rapier, sword and shield, polearms, wrestling, and more.
Practice with an instructor with our live online courses, on your own with on demand videos, or start your own study group guided by our training plans. Progress through our ranks, grow your knowledge, develop finesse and power, and gain sparring and teaching skills.
Become a member for FREE now! You’ll receive:
- Quick Start courses for the Longsword and Rapier
- Daily At-Home Practice Drills
- Expert Training Advice Emails
- Exclusive Bonus Lessons
- Exclusive Offers
Train Live and Online!
Combine the best live sword instruction with on-demand access so you don’t miss a thing! Perfect your foundational skills and advanced strategies with live feedback and corrections, and learn something new with different class topics announced every month!
Personalized instruction
Meet live with your class and instructor, receive specific feedback to weekly homework assignments, and join study groups for an entire community of support.
Unique courses
Go beyond the basics with unique classes debuting every month like:
- Lunging, Leg & Back Strength with Rapier
- Moving Like the Masters with Sidesword
- Inviting Your Opponent to Dance with Longsword
- Deceptive Rapier & Dagger
Online Swordplay Courses
Take online swordplay courses that feature video lessons, quizzes, and practice notes. Pick up where you left off anytime and use the courses from any device. Go to the Courses page.
Visit each course’s main page to watch a sample topic.
Course Progression from Fundamentals to Master
Our mastery program builds a foundation of knowledge and proficiency that moves you forward step-by-step, one level progressing to the next. You’ll be lead through a methodical and structured learning experience that will give you a complete understanding of the art of arms.
- Longsword Level 1
- Forms and Guards
- Approaching Gioco Stretto
- Receiving Gioco Stretto
- Longsword Grappling I
- Receiving Gioco Largo
- Approaching Gioco Largo
- Unarmed Level 1
- Grappling Foundation
- Longsword Level 2
- Scholars Assault
- Precision & Intention
- Tempo & Provocation
- Collection
- Counter Cutting
- Posta Finestra
- Unarmed Level 2
- Intermediate Grappling
- Sidesword Level 1
- Fundamentals I-II-III
- Approaching Gioco Stretto
- Sidesword Grappling
- Receiving Gioco Largo
- Approaching Gioco Largo
- Rapier Level 2
- True Fight Mechanics
- True Fight Strategy
- The Deceptive Fight
- Body Voids
- Refused Posture
- Offhand and Dagger
- Dagger II
- Unarmed Level 2
- Intermediate Grappling
- Sidesword Level 1
- Fundamentals I-II-III
- Approaching Gioco Stretto
- Sidesword Grappling
- Receiving Gioco Largo
- Approaching Gioco Largo
- Longsword Level 3
- Quadrant Defenses vs Fendente
- Quadrant Defenses vs Mezzano, Sottano and Thrust
- Primary Guards
- Secondary Guards
- Gioco Stretto & Grapples
- Rapier Level 3
- Striking Tempos
- Unorthodox Postures
- Buckler and Cloak
- Two Swords and Baton
- Disarms and Dagger Strikes
- Sidesword Level 2
- Assalti
- Provocations
- Low Line Guards, Progression
- High Line Guards
- Polearms Level 1
- Poleaxe Fundamentals
- Quarterstaff Fundamentals
- Unarmed Level 3
- Wrestling in the Grips
- Dagger Level 1
- Dagger Masters 1-3
- Dagger Masters 4-6
- Dagger Masters 7-9
- Martial Prowess Trial
- Historical Research Trial
- Community Contribution Trial
For the Beginner
We offer progressive, structured, step-by-step instruction in the graceful rapier, powerful longsword, knife, grappling, poleweapons, and more.
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Becoming an Expert
We’ll help you become a practitioner who can put theory into practice and practice into theory.
From Beginner to Master
Wherever you are in your journey, we’ll help you develop an enviable level of expertise and ability through rigorous programs that help you develop your proficiency while giving you a rich and explicit understanding of the art.Our Focus is Martial Art
Combative dominance comes through complete martial understanding. We’ll teach you how to move and fight effectively, create training plans, build physical ability, and tactically counter-strategize any opponent.- Runtime
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Who We Are
Devon Boorman
Devon is a world renowned international instructor and competitor of Historical European Martial Arts. He has been practicing and teaching martial arts for more than 30 years. He is the author of one book and two DVDs on Italian Rapier and Longsword; and he is the Co-founder, Director and Master Instructor of Academie Duello Centre for Swordplay in Vancouver, BC, Canada.Greg Reimer
Greg Reimer has been studying Italian martial arts since 2006, and has taught over 5,500 hours of unarmed, dagger, rapier (and secondaries), sidesword & buckler, longsword, pole weapons and mounted combat. As Director of Swordfight Canada he has travelled across Western Canada and into Washington State to meet, teach and enjoy sparring with others.- Runtime
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- Description
- The art of swordplay is on the rise we can all be dancers, swordsmen and movers without being incredibly strong or typically athletic. Self-confessed former ‘gangly youth’ Devon Boorman tells us how sword fighting allowed him to bridge the gap between athlete and intellectual. Devon Boorman worked in a variety of jobs before finding his calling as the Master Instructor and Director of Academie Duello, the world’s largest centre for the practice of European swordplay and martial arts. For the past 12 years, he and his instructors have been working to revive the lost arts of the knight and nobles, including mastery of both hand to hand and mounted combat, as well as archery and wrestling. He’s currently exploring the nexus between physical and spiritual empowerment. He believes that through the exploration and mastery of movement, we can find mastery in the broader internal and external aspects of our lives. This talk was given at a TEDx event using the TED conference format but independently organized by a local community. Learn more at http://ted.com/tedx
Our Values
Love is the action of putting others ahead of oneself. As an individual, one seeks to better the people around them in every way. As a community, we constantly lift each other up to higher levels of humanity and the potential we possess to be our collective best.
Honesty is the search for truth and all things essential. It is the acceptance of facts. It is the awareness and avoidance of self-deception. As an individual one searches out the core elements of existance. As a community, we speak and act in ways that mirror our desire for humility and goodness to rule.
Learn more as Maestro Devon Boorman talks about Duello’s vision for the art, the values, and the journey of martial arts mastery.
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Testimonials
Under the enthusiastic stewardship of Devon Boorman, Duello has managed to set the standard–worldwide–for how a historical martial arts school should be run. It has managed to make historical martial arts accessible today without a shred of compromise in their devotion to the words of the ancient masters.
Duello has had such a positive impact on my life, from the people I’ve met, to what I’ve learned about movement, to what it has taught me about weapons and fighting for my writing [career]. This school has been one of the highlights of my life.
I came to the masterclass after spending a couple years with a local club. I felt like I had no true understanding of the art of swordplay. My forms were limited, my free play abysmal, and I felt lost and unorganized. Swordplay masterclass was so well organized. It started from the basics and logically built a platform of knowledge and continued to build onto that. The instructor was very patient, and was able to describe and demonstrate each skill effectively to any learning speed. I feel much more organized and now have a platform to build on from now into the future. The community was very accepting and non-judgmental in their assistance.
Academie Duello’s instructor intensive gives a glimpse into a well-established, highly developed curriculum of swordplay as a martial art. I learned systematic learning and teaching techniques that will provide me and my study group with a path to continuous improvement as martial artists. The best part about it was spending a week at such an amazing, passionate and welcoming school.
The Swordplay Masterclass was one of the most inspiring and deep training opportunities I have experienced. Getting to study longsword with Devon, one of the world’s best longsword instructors and most insightful and inspiring coaches, was an absolute delight. Most impressive of all, the whole program was organized so I could do it from the comfort of my own home, and at the pace that suited my my day to day life. What a delight to finally take an online training that leverages all the potentials of the medium and really gives you the tools to create a sustainable long term sword training practice.
Academie Duello
Academie Duello Centre for Swordplay has served thousands of students in Vancouver, BC, Canada since 2004.
Academie Duello has one of the most complete and expertly constructed swordplay curriculums in the world providing a proven program that takes students from beginners to masters. Since 2004 more than 10,000 students have taken courses at Academie Duello, and many of those students have gone on to form satellite schools and study groups in cities all over the world. Visit Academie Duello.