Conference
Events
Current Itinerary &
Schedule
Demonstrations
Presented by Expert Members of
SSI’s Council of Advisors
Contact-Sparring Demo
Historical Armed Combat Association, USA
Modern schools of swordsmanship use steel blunts, wooden wasters and padded weapon
simulators in full-contact, semi-contact and no-contact fencing. HACA will present a
special demonstration of their form of contact sparring.
Entering Techniques of the Medieval Long Sword Masters
John Clements, HACA, USA
Medieval sword instructors taught a variety of techniques for binding, disarming and
grappling in long sword combat. Mr. Clements will demonstrate these techniques from both
the Italian and German traditions.
What Happens When They’re Sharp?
Hank Reinhardt, Founder of Museum Replicas Limited, USA
Through the ages, the sword, axe & spear have taken a variety of forms, suited to
the particular needs of the warfare of their day. Yet myths abound of armour-piercing
rapiers, razor-sharp long swords and ponderous battle-axes. Mr. Reinhardt will demonstrate
actual test-cutting and thrusting with these weapons to show just exactly what European
weaponry could and could not do.
Practicums
Hands-on Study with SSI Advisors and
Special Guests.
Please note equipment requirements. Students may bring what
equipment they have, and adjustments will be made as necessary.
Side Sword to Rapier: Evolution of the 16th
Century Italian School
Maestro Andrea Lupo Sinclair, FISAS, Italy
In this unique, hands-on demonstration and class, Maestro Sinclair will begin by
teaching the basics of the 16th century side sword (spada di lato) of Marozzo, and
compare it to the later rapier. Students will experience and execute the differences in
cuts, thrusts, parries, timing and footwork these weapons require. Source material
discussed will include Marozzo, Agrippa, Capo Ferro, Giganti & Marcelli.
Equipment: Rapier or rapier simulator, cutting sword or waster,
safety gear.
La Destreza: The Spanish School of Swordsmanship
Maestro Ramon Martinez, Martinez Academy of Arms, USA
La Verdadera Destreza ("the true dexterity"), often referred to as the
Spanish Magic Circle, was developed by the Castilian master Hieronimo de Carranza, in the
16th century (De la Philosofia de las Armas, 1569). It is misunderstood by many
modern students and given attributes that are not at all a part of the school’s
tradition. Maestro Martinez will address the history, mythology and methodology of the
Spanish school.
"Be ready to fence, as I want all participants to get a
real sense of what the Spanish School is about."
Equipment: Rapier, dagger, fencing mask, safety gear.
Dussak Techniques and Practice
Maestro Paul MacDonald, Dawn Duelist Society, UK
The dussak is a uniquely German hand weapon that first appears in the Fechtbuchs
(fencing manuals) in the late 16th century, where it seemed to replace the
earlier messer. Maestro MacDonald will cover the history, construction and use of this
unique weapon.
Longsword in the Tradition of Filipo Vadi
Maestro Paul MacDonald, Dawn Duelist Society, UK
The longsword is the key weapon of the Medieval masters, and the first Italian sources
currently known are Fiore dei Liberi’s "Flos Duellatorum" (1409) and Filipo
Vadi’s "De Arte Dimicandi Gladiatoria" (c.1482). Vadi’s work was
largely an expounding upon Fiore’s text, and forms the core of Maestro
MacDonald’s course. The guards and techniques of Vadi will be presented, a long with
a look at his views of the psychology of combat, and the "four beasts" –
symbols of the qualities of a good swordsmen.
Equipment: Participants should have wasters or blunt longswords.
The Practical Saviolo: 16th Century
Anglo-Italian Rapier Play
Stephen Hand, Stoccata School of Defense, Australia
Saviolo’s His Practice, in Two Books (1595) was the first fencing treatise
published in England. It was an instant success, helping Saviolo maintain a prosperous
fencing school in London’s Blackfriars, drawing Shakespeare’s tongue-in-cheek
commentary in Romeo & Juliet, and leading George Silver to write his infamous Paradoxes
of Defense in condemnation of the "Italianate" style. Mr. Hand has spent
years analyzing this work line by line and sword in hand. He will share his expertise in a
hands-on workshop that will teach the single rapier methods of this Elizabethan master.
Equipment: Rapier, fencing mask, safety gear.
Lectures & Discussions
Dom
Duarte’s Advice to the Sword-lorn: The Quest for Duarte’s Regimentio and the
"lost" Iberian Tradition
Steve Hick, researcher and hoplologist, USA
Dom Duarte (King of Portugal in the 15th century) is best known for his Bem
Cavalgar, a treatise on horsemanship. Bibliographies from the 19th century hint at
another work of Duarte on the martial arts, the Regimentio. Modern researchers had
long considered it to be lost, but after twelve years of searching, Steve Hick discovered
the book "hidden" in plain view! Hear about the search, the other Iberian
manuscripts and leads uncovered, and the relevance of the good King Duarte’s advice
to his knights for swordsmen today.
Chivalric Philosophy and the Resurgence of
Medieval Swordsmanship
Brian Price, editor of Chronique: The Journal of Chivalry, USA
This presentation will examine the historical role of the chivalric ideals of
knighthood and how they drive much of the modern interest in knightly affairs, including
swordsmanship. It will discuss swordsmanship as a Western martial art, linking it to the
different philosophies of the warrior and the knight.
International Initiatives for Competition in
Medieval Martial Arts
Brian Price, editor of Chronique: The Journal of Chivalry, USA
This paper will examine recent efforts in the USA, Europe and Australia to forge a
single rules-set to govern inter-group competitions, covering both "steel" and
"behourd" combats, with analysis and proposals for next steps.
The Arts of Mars – A Hoplogical Exploration
of Roman Martial Traditions
Gene Tausk, Guest Speaker, Houston, TX
The Romans may have held the most pragmatic view of warfare the world has known and
the Roman sense of pragmatism and efficiency allowed them to establish the last great
empire of Antiquity. The term "martial art" comes to us from the name of Mars,
the Roman god of war, yet none of the civilian, military, or gladiatorial arts of Rome
seem to have survived the collapse of the Empire in the late Fifth Century C.E.. Mr. Tausk
presents an audio-visual look at the Roman martial tradition, and what the archaeological
record has left for us, today.
Will the Real George Silver Please Stand Up?
Stephen Hand, Stoccata School of Defence, Australia
Silver’s Brief Instructions on My Paradoxes of Defence, unpublished until
1899, has become increasingly better known to modern students of the sword. It is
recognized as a monumental practical work on the use of the cutting sword -- alone, and
with dagger or buckler. Brief Instructions also provides techniques for a variety
of two-handed weapons and their use against dissimilar arms. Yet, while many read and
train from Silver, finding two devotees who agree on what he actually says is
another matter entirely. We seem incapable of agreeing on Silver's most basic techniques.
Stephan Hand will lead this round-table discussion by offering his own presentation of
Silver’s method as the basis for analysis and debate. This discussion should prove to
be as impassioned as Silver’s diatribes against the "foreign teachers" and
their "imperfect weapons!"
Special Presentation
A Work for Cutlers: Or a Merry Dialogue betweene Sword, Rapier
& Dagger. (As acted in a shew in the famous Universitie of Cambridge, A.D. 1615.)
This brief historical play, written as a debate on the virtue of the three
"gentleman’s armourie" of the early Stuart era, will be performed for the
first time in over a century, and to our knowledge, for the first time in the United
States!
Also Included:
- Special Presentation of a paper from leading researcher, Dr. Sidney Anglo author
of "The Martial Arts of Renaissance Europe", on a previously unknown 15th
century text on the English Great-sword.
- Authentic Medieval & Renaissance Unarmed techniques and Dagger fighting
- Medieval and Renaissance Weapon Skirmishing and open bouting!
- Additional Lectures and Discussions
- Open Panel Discussions on Historical Fencing
Plus many more special surprises and Vendor Tables
featuring replica swords, weapons, armor, books, and training equipment.
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