Vespers Video Clips


Schola Saint George
Adrian Empire
Chicago Swordplay Guild
Martinez Academy of Arms
Northwest Fencing Academy
Selohaar Fechtschule
Saint Martin's Academy
MASHS
Tattershall School of  Defence
Academia della Spada
Sacramento Sword School
Davenriche Academy
Stoccata School of  Defence
Shinrei Dojo
El Cerrito Dojo
Albion School of  Defence
Academia Duelatoria
School of  European Swordsmanship, Helsinki
Silk Road School
Schola Solis
Order of the Rose School of Defence
Bujinkon San Francisco

Vendors
Chivalry Bookshelf
Revival Clothing
Gus Trim Swords
New Stirling Arms
Darkwood Armoury
Mugen Dachi Company
Hollywood Combat Center
A work of Art (Del Tin)
Von Castle MacFarland
All Saint's Blades
 

 
Vespers Video Clips

 
Wow! Now that the dust has settled, the last guest has boarded his trans-Altantic flight home to Helsinki, I can ignore the devastation that is our house at the moment and reflect in what a fine event this really was.

Although 2003 was smaller than SSG 2001 or 2002, the quality was better both from an instructional and from the tone points of view. All told, we had 141 attendees, served nearly 700 meals, and hosted a record 10 vendors.  I think the extraordinarily uncertain economy--especially here in California, and the international situation served to reduce attendance, but if anything, the event's tone improved.

The event started off with preplanning, where we were assisted by Elizabeth Pidgeon and Karl Ontis of the RMS / Adrian Empire, who graciously coordinated the site and food for the event. Having the food done by a non-Schola cadre meant that our folks could actually take a few classes--which they did with gusto! Were it not for Karl and Elizabeth, the event would have been back at the Barn again this year, and the event would not have been half as good.

The Clocktower in Benicia, California is the closest thing we can find to a medieval castle here in California. An old fort, it was constructed in 1859 to defend the Carquinez Straight but was destroyed by fire in 1912 (rebuilt in 1914 with only two floors). As a venue it was excellent, its two broad areas featuring a fine wooden floor and plenty of ventilation, plus a full kitchen.  It is even rumored to be haunted.

The only spectres we saw over the weekend, however, failed to materialize, and everyone trained, competed and played with safety. I'm only aware of one small injury that occurred during the vespers tournament--a small cut from a gauntelted hand to an ungauntleted one. My hats off to all instructors, combatants and students for their diligence in this regard.

Before the weekend opened, many of the instructors descended upon our house in Union City, blending into a swirl of sword-related discussions and beer-drinking that lasted into most nights. Christian Tobler and Gregory Mele were already here, since we attended the large Bookseller's Expo in Los Angeles the week before, where we had picked up Stephen Hand for a fine drive back to Northern California. We were there joined by Nicole Allen (of Revival Clothing and the Chicago Swordplay Guild). Guy Windsor, plus Bob & Kristy Charron. A very good mix for many fine discussions, plus a critical mass of American medieval-HMA folk.

Vendors
We had a surprising turnout from vendors this year, and their feedback was also much better than in previous years; surprising, given that the economy is still rock-bottom in the Bay Area. Amongst the highlights here were the cutting Tatami mats by MUGAN DACHI company, the gambesons and coifs by Nicole Allen's Revival Clothing, a new waster manufacturer--STIRLING ARMS--who kindly donated one of his lighweight simulators to the Schola for testing; David Baker's aluminum trainers through his company, Hollywood Combat Center (which we used in the Vespers tournament); Scott Wilson and his Darkwood Armory blades (and aluminum simulators); Gus Trim and his high-performance cutting swords; Art Elwell, the West Coast dealer for Del Tin; the excellent fencing doublets by von Castle Creations, and the fine customized All Saint's Blades which use Gus Trim's high performance blades. Finally, Chivalry Bookshelf had our stands, where we hawked books and the T-Shirts from both the event and for the Schola (hey, you can still order these--ORDER NOW while they last!)

Friday

On Friday, there was a standing crowd ready as we arrived early to the site, where folks could seemingly ahrdly wait to get started. The RMS /Adrian folks quickly set out the continental breakfast, while the vendors scurried to set out a dizzying array of swords, wasters, books, clothing and T-shirts.

Opening Remarks: We opened the Friday sessions a tad late--owing to the press at the Registration desk--with just a few comments from me. The energy of the hall was high, and the crowd of swordfolk eager to get started. I spoke only about camaraderie, how fine it was to have everyone gathered for the largest HMA event in the US, and introduced Gregory Mele, who offered a few words on the state of the HMA community. Christian Tobler followed, emphasizing the deeper aspects of companionship that ties the community together, adding his finely polished words to my own somewhat hurried remarks. Finally, Guy Windsor--all the way from Helsinki--rounded out the opening comments by expressing his pleasure at being present and the camaraderie he'd already experienced. As usual we introduced each instructor, and without further ado moved on to the first set of classes.

Guy Windsor--Medieval Longsword: We apportioned the two spaces in the upper hall according to the size of the classes. Guy Windsor from the School of European Swordsmanship (Helsinki) opened the medieval track, taking a veritably packed room of students through his Third Drill, one of a series of six set-plays he uses in his school to teach balance, cutting skills, grappling and integration. Guy's control and quality as a teacher were, as Bob Charron had said earlier in the week. His control over the very large class was impressive, and the material seemed to lend itself well to this sort of exposition.

Gary Chelak--Giganti Rapier: On the other side of the hall, Gary Chelak of the Tattershall School of Defence held an equally large class--with the same aplomb--covering Giganti's rapier. As crowded as this class was, Gary never seemed to flinch and seemed at every point to have the group not only under control, but popping with new knowledge. A most excellent and impressive display of teaching prowess!

Christian Tobler--Dagger in Liectenaeur: Because the Clocktower only features two distinct class areas, the third and fourth tracks were scheduled to take place outside. Outside "On the Green" Christian Tobler taught a fine class in German dagger techniques, drawn from Ligntizer and Huntsfeldt, and this class seems to have been delivered with his usual smooth confidence. Very clean technique appropriate not only for historical, but for modern application as well.


Lunch was wonderfully served by the RMS/Adrian Empire folks, while a great deal of idea-swapping and shopping took place.

Bob Charron- Footwork in Fiore dei Liberi: For the next session, Bob Charron of Saint Martin's Academy gave an entire class on what is perhaps the most "taken for granted" aspect of swordsmanship, foorwork. In this case Bob demonstrated the steps employed in Fiore dei Liberi's treatise, spending two hours refining the footwork that underlies Fiore's work. A critical class for anyone interested in the Italain systems, or indeed, a useful exercise for anyone in pursuing historical swordsmanship. It is very likely that we'll have him deliver the course again next year. A lot of people commented that this was a superb, much-needed course--and I concur wholeheartedly.

With respect to the Schola, this was perhaps the most important course offering. Bob has recently discovered some new facets of the footwork (especially as it relates to time), and since our own framework is based upon Fiore, his presentation sovled several time issues we've been having with some the giocco largo plays. As usual, he was also kind enough to work with several of us outside of class to sync a few of our interpretations. We will be integrating the modified footwork into our next Elephant class, on the 19th of June--so stay tuned for some changes!

Tom Leoni- Bolognese Sidesword: Tom Leoni of MASHS (The Mid-Atlantic Society for Historical Swordsmanship) presented what has become a strong passion of his, sword and buckler techniques of the Bolognese school. Tom has definitely become one of the rising starts in the HMA community, propelled chiefly by his passion and painstaking research. Tom is working closely with Steve Hick, another key member of our community, and together they have been fired by the completeness and dynacism of the Bolognese school system. Tom was, as he always seems to be, very open with his material and indeed humble with respect to his studies. Down the road, when we're adding rapier to the Schola curriculem, I think we might do well to start with Salvatore Fabris.

Steaphen Fick- Pallas Armata Sword: "On the Green" Steaphen Fick taught aspects of the swrord from the Pallas Armata; unfortunately I was a bit tied up with administrative foo and missed the class, but by all accounts it went well. For those who were interested, Stephen Hand gave a more focused course on aspects of the rapier from the Armata. Steaphen, of course, runs the Davenriche Academy right here in San Jose (the site where we held the 2nd Compagno testing), so we were pleased that he and his Davenriche crowd could attend.

Jim Alvarez- Cutting Physics (Siburi) and Test cutting (Tameshigiri): Jim Alvarez of the Shinrei Dojo of Livermore taught an extremely well received pair of back to back courses on cutting using the Japanese tradition of cutting Tatami mats. As it did last year, this exercise proved to fire the spirits (and determination) of not only the students, but of the instructors as well. Test cutting does, of course, help to develop edge placement and coordination with respect to the body and sword. I had several fine conversations with Jim during the event; his background in Aikido lends him a great deal of refined grace, and he spoke eloquently on his positive impressions of the WMA community. We made a date to work more closely with the his Shinrei Dojo, since it is so close in Livermore; and the Chiacgo Swordplay Guild were discussing bringing him out for a seminar of their own. Jim was assisted again by Dave Wilson, another fine gentleman with whom I had the pleasure of getting to know better; they are both emblematic for the kind of people we want to encourage in the martial arts, Western or Eastern.

3rd Session
Brian R. Price- Medieval Poleaxe: Assisted by Robert Holland, I gave our Poleaxe introduction, which draws mainly from Talhoffer but encompasses elements of Jeu de la Hache, with support from Pietro Monte and which can be applied to either the German leger or the Italian poste. Essentially, the poleaxe is a combination of spear and halfswording; during the course we took 22 students through the tour de bras, coups, thrusts, hooks, leverings, bindings, disarms, displacements, voids and basic footwork. This class was the smoothest class yet, and I think its developing nicely.

Stephen Hand- Rapier of Pallas Armata: Unfortuatnely, as I was giving my own class I saw none of Stephen's Rapier course, but heard from a  bunch of people (the class had 40+ people) that it went exceedingly well. No surprise, as the redoubtable Mr. Hand is a fine instructor.

For the Dinner Break, folks were on their own, but Benica offered no lack of interesting little restautants. We found ourselves at a little Chinese place, where Robert Holland and Christian Tobler and I spent most of the meal talking to Eric Fick, who worked the event by video taping some of the sessions and running odd jobs. Thanks Eric! At the adjacent table the Davenriche folks seemed to have just as good a time, and just as we were leaving the Chicago Swordplay Guild crew was coming in, so evidently we added a bit to the economic health of the area--and the food was good!
 
Rapier Tournament
After dinner, Gary Chelak of the Tattershall School of Defence ran what was perhaps the best-run of the rapier tournaments yet seen at an SSG event. The playing was first opened with some fine demonstration assaults, first between Sean Hayes and David Borland, Stephen Hand & Chris Vivo, Maestros Ramon Martinez and Sean Hayes. There was also a challenge bout, between Stephen Hand and Guy WIndsor, who fought Italian Rapier; a fine demonstration of what happens when rapier meets  backsword--this was an extremely fine bout! During the prize playing, although there were many fine things done, it was David Borland who the judges thought fenced with exceptional technical accuracy, combining this with the appropriate demeanor.

Saturday

Colin Hatcher (Schola Saint George)- How to Fall in the Western Martial Arts: AColin did the Schola proud by offering a class that was not only needed in the community, but one that I heard referenced at least four times during the weekend as "core" material (by Bob Charron, Guy Windsor, Jim Alvarez and Dale Seago). Colin's five black belts and twenty five years experience in Ju-Jitsu, Akido, Judo and other arts--combined with his study of Medieval swordsmanship at the Schola--has uniquely qualified him to teach this class. Colin's method is a system whereby falls may be safety executed during a full-speed encounter. First, the compagnos agree to the parameters for any throw. Next, when a combatant has a throw positioned, the partner signals their readiness. Finally,the fulcrum is removed and the throw completed. The partner then falls, using the fulcrumed limb to strike the ground first. This system will work well in and out of armour; and this is precisely the kind of initiative that Robert and I were hoping for when we opened the school and as we've progressed.

Tom Leoni--Rapier of Salvatore Fabris: SThis class was so popular last year, we decided to ask Tom to hold the same course again this year. Taking place all day Saturday, Tom impressed many people with his command not only of Salvatore's technique (he really looks like the plates when he fences), but also with his grasp of the social and cultural context into which the Renaissance Italian masters taught. Ann took this class, as did Bob Charron; a good mix of folks had me wishing *I* had the day free enough to take it. Tom has a translation of Fabris that will appear later this year from Chivalry Bookshelf, so watch for it--and we'll let you know when its available.

Maestro Sean Hayes: Italian Dueling Sabre: Graciously offering this second class to fill a gap, Sean Hayes taught a small number of combatants "on the green," but unfortunately I did not make it over to see the class. I did, however, have the opportunity to play just a little George Silver using a pair of backswords, and I must say it was *great* fun. As a result, we will have Sean down in the Fall to teach us some fencing theory through George Silver, since that is the closest analogue to the medeival forms. Finer people are very hard to find, in or out of the WMA.

Maestro d'Armes Jeannette Acosta-Martinez--Introduction to the Smallsword:  Unfortuantely, I missed this class entirely as it conflicted with the Vespers tournament. If anyone saw the class, I'd be very pleased to receive an update we can post here. Jeannette's best weapon is accounted to be the smallsword, and the class last year was a great success.

Vespers Tournament: For members of the Schola, this was very likely the high point of the event--I know it was for me. The "vespers" tournament, as we have coined it, is a chance to test the historical technique we have worked hard to drill against companions in arms under the stress of competition. This stress builds aspects (and reveals) aspects of character that are very hard to exercise any other way; for me, this is the chief benefit of compeition.

Alongside this, it is a chance to take a snapshot of our efforts at integrating the technique into our fighting repertoire. We work , drilling endlessly, stepping through attacks and counters--then exploring several levels of counter-to-the-counter-to-the-counter, working at building muscle memory and elements of knowledge that enable tactics within the fight. Then we focus spar, trying to integrate a piece at a time. Finally, we test our abilities against an unyielding or at least uncooperative companion--if we can get the technique to work here, then it is well and truly integrated.

Finally, and perhaps most importantly for those of the gallery who graciously patronize our activity with their presence, the vespers tournament is another form of chivalric celebration. It can (and should) rekindle our faith that the ideals we attach to the practice of swordsmanship still do exist; we can see it plainly on the field. Based on the behavior and conduct of the combatants, we accord them renown or infamy. As I have written elsewhere, this is the "coin of the tourneyer."

On this day, each of the combatants earned significant renown. Not only was safety observed as paramount, but the techniques demonstrated clearly showed evidence of training and dedication to something more than efficient victory. It was not enough to score against an opponent: the objective truly was to execute recongizeable technique.

Although there is no medieval analogue to an unarmoured feat of arms, for this event we patterned the medieval "vespers" tournament, where squire and knights bachelor competed, perhaps with weapons of the behourd, before the assembled knights to demonstrate their skill in arms and the other martial virtues. We allowed only three weapon forms, daga, lanza and spada a doi man (longsword). A gambeson served as armour for the body, while the head could be protected by a reinforced fencing mask (with back of the head protection), gorget, and gauntlets. For the weapons, we used the CSG-style shinai-based longswords or aluminum trainers made by David Baker of the Hollywood Combat Center or Scott Wilson of Darkwood Armoury. The Daga were Purpleheart Armoury rondel dagger wasters, while the spears were the standard compressive-head variety. Fights were scored to 7 points (4 for a cut to the head, neck or body or a thrust to the head or neck, 3 for a thrust to the head or body, and 2 for any attack to a limb).

As I participated directly in the tournament, I can perhaps offer my best report as to what took place. We opened the fighting with two demonstration bouts to set the tone for what we expected during the day. Bob Charron and our own Robert Holland fought an aerobic and skillful fight with spears, while I and Christian Tobler fought a longsword engagement with the aluminum longswords. With respect to our fight; it was not our best.

Next, we invited Gary Chelak (Tattershall School of Defence) and Keith Jennings ( Chicago Swordplay Guild) to stand with us, as we were definitely short of defenders. Myself, Bob Charron, Christian Tobler, Robert Holland were the original defenders. Jon Tait (Schola), Douglas Sunlin (Schola), Ian Hess, Brian Keish (Schola), Colin Hatcher (Schola), Sean Kiernan, and two other combatants challenged  in, each doing a fine job.

With the daga in particular, Colin and Keith proved their knife-fighting prowess. I had an enjoyable bout with Sean Kiernan, where he stood while. I managed to get an arm-bar to work, though he skillfully deflected the only remaining (legal) counter-attack, my strike. A very pleasant encounter.

With longswords, most combatants were unable to use the aluminum for reasons of equipment unsuitability, but next year we'll only allow the aluminum--the feel is superior and they seem to be very safe, so long as the head and neck are adequately defended. These fights were a bit more studied, since more of the competitors have significant time studying the longsword, but as always it was interesting to see the differences in style. At the same time, there was significant off-line movement, a sense of counter-time, and very good control of distance. My fight with Ian Hess was particularly enjoyable.

Finally, there were the spear bouts. Here I fought with our own Jon Tait, who did well. I managed one of my quick entries, sliding the head forward and shortening the shaft, which the gallery liked. Jon fought extremely well, never backing down under the barrage of an attack. Very pleasing! Many of these fights were good too, which is especially interesting since most combatants had rarely used a spear before!

At the end, I asked the gallery what *they* would like to see. For the first fight, they chose a longsword bout between Keith Jennings and Christian Tobler, which was excellent. Next, they asked for Bob Charron and I to engage with longswords, which we happily did. We fought for a long time, feeling each other out in the early period of the fight, striving very hard to stay within Fiore's system (as we understand it). As the fight progressed, Bob executed two very nice entries coupled with a pommel strike and a cut, while I had a particularly happy off-line movement that scored with a volta to Bob's right side. Colin Hatcher was to fight "the big guy" Ian Hess with Daga, where both accounted well for themselves. Douglas and Jon fought a longsword versus spear fight, while Sean and another combatant met  as well. Finally, Eric Fick asked to see Bob Charron, armed with GLOVES, against Keith Jennings, armed with daga. This fight lasted a very long time, with many interesting strikes on both sides. Bob successfully caught Keith's daga hand a number of times with the gloves, while Keith stuck Bob successfully, also a number of times. Bob also slapped Keith's (masked) face with the gloves, which prompted a brisk counterattack (as you can well imagine, to the delight of the gallery). Finally, the combatants collapsed into wrestling after Keith found a hip-throw, and the tournament was over.

That night, at the fine dinner cooked by the RMS/Adrian folks and Elizabeth Pigeon, we awarded two swords donated by Gus Trim. Second place went to Colin Hatcher, while Keith Jennings won the overall prize. Hats off to all the combatants, but especially to these two, who have done much to impress a lot of folks and won significant renown for themselves

Sunday

As usual, we offered only "all day" masters classes on Sunday, to reduce the amount of thinking and shuffling that had to be done, and so that nobody got stuck with the 3pm - 5pm Sunday slot. Each class ran from 10:30 - 4:30 or 5pm, depending.  
 

Ramon  & Jeannette Acosta-Martinez--Spanish Rapier & Dagger: Of course, the Martinez Academy is best known for Ramon's reconstruction of Spanish Rapier, and since we had direct requests from Symposium attendees, we decided to repeat this track again this year. I think there were eight students who were treated to an all-day introduction to Spanish rapier, a difficult class to teach given the spread of skills ranging from experienced to novice. But the two handled it gracefully, we usual, so the class was certainly a success.
 

Maestro Sean Hayes--Italian Fencing, 1600 - 1900: I did get around to see some of Sean's class, and it seemed quite strong. Sean's sense of teaching ability, coupled with his in-depth pedagological training, makes him a superb teacher. What I saw drew primarily from Capo Ferro, though Sean wanted through the class to show aspects of continuity and change through the three centuries, while simultaneously presenting core fencing theory. An ambitious goal, but one that I think he largely succeeded in, and one that will, I hope result someday in a book.

Stephen Hand--Royal Armouries MS I.33: Much improved from the 2001 and even the Racine 2002 versions, Stephen Hand has now greatly internalized the I.33 system, and he presented it to approximately 40 students "on the green". Our own Robert Holland, Rachel Tibbets, Zachary Most and Jon Tait took the class; all were impressed.  Perhaps we'll end up with our own little I.33 study group; Robert is now teaching (and exploring it) at the SCA's MISSION practice on Tuesdays, for any who would like to attend. This class was an undoubted success, and it bodes well for Stephen Hand and Paul Wagner's forthcoming book, "Medieval Sword and Shield: The Combat Techniques of Royal Armouries MS I.33." which will be available in the Fall.
 
Bob Charron--Fiore's Daga Masters: Starting with the footwork presented in the earlier class, Bob took this class through the Nine Daga Masters presented in Fiore, a core aspect of our own curriculem. Douglas, Paul and Colin all took the class (and we taped it), so it will provide excellent material for further study. Bob was consumately "Bob" all day, by which I mean that he was clear, firm and direct--reinforcing the conceptual framework and distilling down the 85 daga plays into a workable core of material. Superb, as usual.

Overall, I have to thank the event's staff, without whom it would not have happened. Karl Ontis, of the RMS / Adria, ran the registration area for all three days, a Herculean task. His wife, Elizabeth Pigeon, took care of the site and managed cooking for the whole event, aided by a staff of six. Jon Tait, Rachel Tibbets and Eric Fick worked the event as staff, while Paul Klembeck helped Eric and Jon with the videotaping. The City of Benicia caretakers did an excellent job, and were keenly interested in what was going on. Many folks helped to clean up the site on Sunday, including many of the instructors. It is nice to see that a spirit of community has truly bound the WMA troops together, and we look forward to next year.

Speaking of next year, there will be a few class additions and changes. First, the response to the site was positive enough that we'll be holding the event at the Benicia Clocktower next year. Elizabeth and Karl have already volunteered to secure it this month, though the dates might slip a week owing to our conflict with the Book Expo America (BEA), where the Chivalry Bookshelf must have a booth. Hopefully, it won't conflict with local SCA or fencing community events. Gary Chelak did a wonderful job on the rapier tournament, so next year he will be running it again.

The Vespers tournament will be moved from Saturday afternoon to Friday night; it seems too difficult to manage both that and the armoured tournaemnt on the same day, since many combatants want to fight in both. This year, we scrapped the armoured portion of the tournament, since we had worn out most of the defenders! I think we have a good idea of what the armour requirements will need to be now, and we'll be moving to the aluminum weapons as well. There has been a suggestion that perhaps the *armoured* tournament move to Saturday night, but that is up in the air. House Camville will again be setting the list for the pas d'armes, so it is likely that we'll simply keep it on Saturday.

Several people suggested interesting classes. One that I heard and liked was the "how to be a good practice partner," and another was "George Silver and Italian Rapier, Compared and Contrasted". Both of these sound interesting. If you have other suggestions, email them to me as preparations have already begun for 2004.

I think everyone came away learning a great deal, and now, while we catch up on business and recover the house, this Symposium will go down as the best one we've yet done, and we've got a whole lot of things to integrate into the Schola curriculem.

Brian R. Price
Schola / Company of Saint George