Schola San Marco

10 (Just sold 2) historically shaped longswords for sale. Aluminum with a steel cross. They are not 'feather swords' but rather shaped as a real sword. They do not ding or chip if used against each other. A steel blade will leave a ding if used with strength - steel against hard aluminum? Duh ...) and last for between seven and ten years. Pictures below. Surprisingly hitting the cross does not seem to ding a sword. You will need to put a handle on. These blades are based upon the shape and length of those seen in Fiore's book which is entirely different than the plastic or feather swords currently used. Pictures posted below. Cost for the blade itself is my cost - $125.00. To this I will add shipping and the cost of the box used to send it/them.

Currently looking for a new location at which to train. Hopefully it will be easily accessed from the 15 freeway between the 56 and 52 freeways....

Someone inquired as to the cost of our classes. However, we DO split the rent for the location we train at.

I will be in the near future publishing an article on the interrelationship between guards and garters ...

The guards and the plays. There is a distinct relationship between the sequence of the guards and the sequence of the plays. Most interesting ....

Did I ever mention Fiore's codification of movement in Flos?

Opining Away - No one that I know or have seen, including myself as the first, is properly performing the older martial arts. This is because of the way that I have been stepping. Such a simple thing yet it is the literal foundation of the body. Why do I think this is the case? It's Louis XIV's fault. Louis changed the shape of the shoe after seeing a heel on the shoes of the Arabic representatives from Abass the Great. (See https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/High-heeled_shoe). Louis was in the process of reinvigorating the French economy and I believe realized that by starting a new fashion trend he would re-invigorate French industry. He tossed out the ruff as a symbol of wealth (you cannot do manual labor in a ruff) and replaced it with the heel. He also tossed out the older puffy pants, introducing an entirely new wardrobe to the French nobility. Heck, he changed the way people danced by 'inventing' ballet.

Before Louis everyone walked differently than they do now. Today's heeled shoes force the body slightly forward which necessarily changes the body's balance. This causes a slight lean forward and requires all movement to be centered on the ball of the foot. This is NOT what I see in all of my fencing and fighting books. Take a look at Fiore or Thibault or Angelo. ALL show the feet flat on the ground and not with the heel up.

I have a few of Angelo's prints on my 'sword room' wall as well as a plate from Thibault and ALL show the feet in full contact with the floor. When looking at those plates where a lunge forward has been performed the toe of the back foot is pointing backwards but the entire foot is still 'grounded.' How can this be? The answer is that when wearing flats people did not pivot on the toe, they pivoted on the heel or at the center of the foot As I see it this is apparently how all of the fighting masters before Louis performed their moves - at the center of the foot or on the heel and not on the ball of the foot.

For me, this is quite an interesting discovery. This is my 50th year of training in the Japanese sword arts and only now do the prints as seen in the old scrolls make sense. Often you see drawings of the 'Tengu' fighting wherein their front foot is pointing slightly to their inside and their back foot pointing towards the rear. If I move with a push off my heel and not the ball of the foot I find myself in this position.

My advice to all is to lose your 'tennis' shoes and start wearing flats which are now often referred to as 'barefoot shoes.' You will be very surprised at how your actions will start looking akin to that seen in ALL of the fighting books, from I.33 to Angelo.

High-heeled shoe - Wikipedia High-heeled shoes, also known as high heels, are a type of shoe with an upward-angled sole. The heel in such shoes is raised above the ball of the foot. High heels cause the legs to appear longer, make the wearer appear taller, and accentuate the calf muscle.[1]

An announcement for a local horse based event:

Medieval Combat Workshop with Arne Koets

https://m.facebook.com/groups/1536900460224216/?ref=share&mibextid=qtnXGe

Clamping a Fist - 3rd Play, 1st Master of the Dagger.

CROSSING THE ARMS in Second Master of the Dagger.

When crossing your arms as in 2nd Master either tuck the thumbs of both hands or extend the thumb and the middle knuckles of all of the fingers of both hands straight up. Do NOT make 'fists' where the thumbs are bent and lay over the middle bones of the fingers. You can also extend the little finger up. bent at the middle joint. Then push on the back of the hand to the right or left - your hand requires a great deal of energy to be displaced. Considering that this position is used against a downward thrust that is not an issue. To displace this position the player, who becomes the counter-master, needs to close distance and push on the elbow to the right or left.

As always this is EASILY tested. Make a fist with one hand and then pull on it with the other hand. You will be able to pull the fi**ed hand inwards. This same test can also be done by pushing outwards on the wrist of the fi**ed hand. Now stick your thumbs straight up so that the thumb pads lie against the first bone of the pointing finger. Push again. Test over .....

Powder in the Pollaxe.

I have heard some state that this is just an imaginary weapon created by Fiore. Guess again. I have in my library an original copy of Duello del Rei, printed in 1493, wherein in Book 8, Chapter 10, it specifically describes a 'to the death' duel between two knights. Both started with pollaxe in hand. Early on during the fight one of the contestants RELEASED POWDER from his axe, blinding his opponent. The duel was immediately stopped as the jury broke into an argument over the use of the powder. It was quickly concluded that such usage violated the ancient rules of combat in Lombardy as no one was allowed to bring a secret/hidden weapon into a duel. The fellow who used the powder was the one who lost both the duel and his life.

This from Britannica: https://www.britannica.com/topic/duel

"In most countries duels also served to decide impersonal questions. In Spain, for example, a duel was fought in 1085 to decide whether the Latin or the Mozarabic rite should be used in the liturgy at Toledo: the Mozarabic champion, Ruiz de Mastanza, won. The procedure of these duels was laid down in great detail. They took place in champs clos (lists), generally in the presence of the court and high judicial and ecclesiastical dignitaries. Before combat each participant swore that his case was just and his testimony true and that HE CARRIED NO WEAPONS OTHER THAN THE STIPULATED ONES AND NO MAGICAL AIDS." (Emphasis mine.) When one of the combatants was wounded or thrown, his opponent usually placed a knee on his chest and, unless asked for mercy, drove a dagger through a joint in the armour."

HOLDING A POLEAXE

One of the fundamental errors made in using a poleaxe is that most everyone is holding it incorrectly. If you take off your blinders and actually look at the drawings it can make a great difference. Currently I note that every one has their front hand to the side or on top of the pole. This is NOT what is drawn. Take for example the gentleman below. His lead hand is UNDER the pole, not on top of it. So what difference does this make? The latter is much stronger than the former and this is EASY to prove. Take a pole and hold it with the hand on top as everyone seems to do these days. Have someone at the end of the pole resist you by holding on to the other end of the pole and pushing back against you. Your poleaxe WILL be forced back towards you. Now do the same test except put your lead hand UNDER the pole, i.e., the pole lies across the palm of your hand and test again. You will easily push your opponent away.

Hmmm ..... perhaps paying attention to the details can make a difference?