Triangulating the Centre of the Art
Hi all, Greg Reimer here. Devon asked me to take a post or two, and I thought I’d start with some musings I had while on my…
Category: Training Blog
Bruce Lee’s 10,000 Kicks and the Real Meaning of Mastery
One of the most quoted lines from Bruce Lee is "I fear not the man who has practiced 10,000 kicks once, but I fear the man who has practiced one kick …
Assaults and Martial Forms
Assaults are a type of martial form that played an important role within the training modality of Renaissance era fencing schools in Northern Italy. T…
Training to Defeat Intense Techniques
One of the most challenging things to deal with in sparring is the mental or emotional intensity of a very forward motivated opponent, someone who thr…
Event Report: L’Arte delle Armi
"Although military discipline and art may be noted plainly and clearly in many courageous knights and greathearted fighters, it can also b…
Building the Swordplay Grand Slam
Tennis, one of the few internationally followed dueling sports, has four major tournaments throughout the year that are held in esteem above all of th…
Musings on Brutality in Martial Arts
I'm not a fan of brutality in modern martial arts practice. It brings unnecessary risks and injury, overvalues intensity over grace, and makes martial…
The Pursuit of Craft: Why Do Martial Arts at All?
Why? This is a not too uncommon question that comes up from both outsiders and insiders of martial art.
What is the purpose your art is serving? W…
The Beautiful Art of Solitary Practice
Martial arts practice on my own can be one of the great pleasures of my week. It is a time that is purely for me. I don't hav…
An Unlimited Catalog of Drilling Partners
There are many types of partners you could end up sparring with. For example, if you had a sparring partner who always, consistently, threw cuts right…
Pain and Glee: Enjoying Your Training
At our recent Instructor Intensive, the topic of "training so hard that you lose the joy of it" came up. People who come out to intensives are hard wo…
The Three Defensive Principles, A Cross Martial Approach
While doing some research for another article I came across this video on the Funker Tactical youtube channel that includes some advice from a Vegas p…
Practice Pinpointing Your Coaching Corrections
Years ago I had the pleasure of riding in a boat with Canada' Olympic rowing coach while he coached members of our Olympic team and some casual rowers…
Making Masters
At Academie Duello we have an ambitious goal: Make 1000 Masters. The challenge is that as of yet, we are yet to make our first.
What is a Master?…
How to Get People to Drill
In an online conversation with members of our instructor training program…
Event Report: Lord Baltimore’s Challenge 2018
I had the pleasure this past weekend of being a judge, ring director, and instructor at Lord Baltimore's Challenge in Washington, DC, an event put on …
Getting Over the Hump of a New Routine
Starting a new workout routine? Coming back after a long break? Stepping it up in a way you haven't before?
Fact: the first week will be hard. Go i…
Training Rhythms
If you want to improve, put improvement on a schedule. Don't expect the schedule to stay the same forever. It's normal and natural for a rhythm that w…
Event Report: Vancouver Martial Challenge 2019
On the weekend of June 1st, Academie Duello hosted our third annual Vancouver Martial Challenge. This is a weekend focused on the joy of sparring in a…
How to Saber a Bottle of Champagne
A slightly different type of how-to topic for today—though it still involves swords! This past weekend we held a charity event at Academie Duello ca…
Pushing Your Students Enough
Working within the limits of your body is important to your long-term health. But making sweat angels on the floor after every training session or wor…
The Five Things Exercise
I'm a big fan of sparring games and other exercises that help bring a skill from drilling into a more fluid and combative environment. The Five Things…
Why Fight Light? Using Less Gear When Sparring
There are two ways that I love sparring these days:
- With a simple jacket, light or padded gloves, gorget, and mask.
- In a full su…
The Simple Training Journal
Over this past week I have been working on a post about understanding who you are as a practitioner and using that self-knowledge to help you find the…
A New Provost!
This past weekend I had the special honour of seeing one of my senior students, Matheus Olmedo, elevated to the rank of Provost (the fourth level, jus…
What Are the Duello Rank Levels?
This Saturday (May 5th, 2018) we have an exciting event occurring at Academie Duello in Vancouver, an examination for the rank of Provost. Matheus Olm…
Sparring Games: Alternate Target Objectives
Feeling in a bit of a slump in your sparring? Perhaps overwhelmed or under-challenged? Sparring games, where you create restrictions and alternate obj…
Eat the Book: A Process for Understanding Historical Sources
One of the awesome things about Historical European Martial Arts is that they come from a rich historical tradition that includes a wealth of instruct…
5 Tips for Effective At-Home Practice
Classes are a great place to learn, but building proficiency is what happens in between learning sessions. Here are five ways you can make the most of…