Workshops and Instructors
All workshops in French will be translated into English.
HEADLINER
Ton Puey
Bio - Ton Puey grew up studying shotokan karate for 8 years, during his adolescence and childhood, before he started practicing sport fencing in 1995. He did not move to historical fencing until 2002, and around 2004 he started his research into the Spanish fencing style La "Verdadera Destreza".
Since then he has been teaching this discipline in different workshops in Spain, Portugal, France, Netherlands, Italy, Ireland, Austria, Russia and USA.
Ton is a founding member of Asociación Galega de Esgrima Antigua -Galician Association of Historical Fencing- and a honorary member of the Spanish Federation of Historical Fencing. Ton also belongs to the editorial board of AGEA publishing, and to the European Association Hemac. Currently is Master at Arms of Academia da Espada school, based in the Verdadera Destreza system with the XVI-XVII period weapons.
Pronouns - He/Him
Space and footwork in Destreza
Description : One of the main characteristics of Verdadera Destreza is the displacements of the contenders, mediated by the relative positions of the contenders in space. In this workshop we will pay attention to this aspect.
Blade actions in Destreza
Description : In the Verdadera Destreza and between two Diestros, the aggregation and control of the opponent's blade is paramount. We will pay attention here to the different possibilities described by the masters.
Body positions in Destreza
Description : As time went by, the school evolved and introduced more body positions than those described in the first treatises. We will see the possibilities and their possible applications in combat.
Attacks in Destreza
Description : The school traditionally divides attacks into estocada, tajo, revés, medio tajo y medio revés, but how to perform them, there are different ways to perform them? Of course there are, and here we will look at several ways.
The rules of Montante, a way of organising learning
Description : The rules of Montante, a way of organising learning. The rules are a set of chained movements and/or choreographies of an imaginary combat that teach us how to handle the weapon with the help of our whole body. We will see a way to organise them in order to improve our progress.
LONGSWORD WORKSHOPS
Aurora Simmons
Bio - Aurora began her work as a martial artist at age 16 in a Taekwondo class. She immediately fell in love with sparring and the infinite complexity of the chess game that is a fight. Her next great love was Jeet Kune Do, an art that brought together many arts into a gestalt of conceptual foundations. When she discovered historical martial arts and the love of longsword, her background in JKD gave her a philosophy of boiling down practice to foundational elements, that has served her well in her study of Fiore. Her strategies have proven their efficacy in countless sparring matches and competitive fights despite her size mismatch with many of her opponents.
Pronouns - She/her
Fiore Concepts, making Fiore work for you
Description : This seminar will draw foundational principles from Fiore's The Flower of Battle that will help students derive a foundational strategy that they can tailor to their specific abilities and requirements.
Equipment : Longsword, Gauntlets, Fencing mask.
Christian Cameron
Bio - Christian Cameron is a Toronto based swordperson who concentrates on the Armizare of Fiore di Liberi, both armoured and unarmoured. He has been fencing since he was 11 years old (that’s fifty years !) and has experimented with Iado and Kendo, classical fencing, and various other weapons and styles. He has fought in (and even occasionally won) tournaments in the US and Europe.
Pronouns - He/Him
Workshop 1 - Developing a Stretto game
Description : In this class we will examine the Getty mss’s examples of close plays, with full reference to the dagger and Abrazare material, looking for Fiore’s tactical system at close distances, and then we’ll develop some drills to make a few close plays flow naturally to meet our fencing requirements. Finally, we’ll discuss the possibility of close plays as second intention attacks off of failed or parried first intentions at largo. Participants should have some experience with falling.
Equipment: Longsword, light sparring jacket, helmet, gauntlets or heavy gloves. (Preferably a long sword and not a feder).
Workshop 2 - The counter-attack in Fiore
Description : In this class we will examine the historical record on the riposte in Fiore’s works, and then we’ll look at a few techniques from the maestro that will allow us to reduce Fiore’s tactics to exercises and fencing doctrine, both in historical context and in a modern HEMA tournament. We’ll turn those exercises into drills to improve skills in counter-attacks, and we’ll end by looking at provocations to draw an opponent’s attack in a line of our choice to initiate our counter-attack from relative safety.
Equipment: Longsword, light sparring jacket, helmet, gauntlets or heavy gloves
Philippe Mandeville Gauthier
Bio - Philippe primarily teaches 16th-century longsword according to Joachim Meyer. He is an active member of the HEMA (Historical European Martial Arts) community in Canada, having given several workshops at events, co-owner of the Compagnie Médiévale, organizer and head referee of the Montréal Sword Meisters, the Montreal HEMA competition.
Pronouns - He/Him
The Other Flower of Battle: An Exploration of Joachim Meyer's Rose
Description : Joachim Meyer describes in various parts of his text sweeping and circular movements that will remind you of the petals of a flower, which he simply calls the "Rose" or "Rose cuts". This workshop will immerse you in these techniques and will allow you to delve into techniques maximizing the use of the false edge, your secondary hand, and the potentially devastating leverage effects associated with them. A part of the historical context of the German fencing tradition of the 16th century will be presented, which will then blossom into a technical presentation.
Equipment : A longsword and a fencing mask.
Charles Murdock
Bio - Charles began training in martial arts in 1980. Over the ensuing decades, he has trained in several styles of karate, aikido, taijitsu, jujitsu, and budo arts. He discovered Historical European Martial Arts (HEMA) in 2008. He joined the Meyer Freifechter Guild (MFFG) in 2009 and founded the Grünberg Freifechter as a study group of the MFFG in early 2010. The group has been focusing on Dr. Forgeng’s translation of Joachim Meyer’s 1570 multi-weapon treatise entitled “The Art of Combat”. Charles has taught classes at the Meyer Symposium, Purple Heart Armory Open, Fechtschule New York, Fechtschule Frisbee, Longpoint, and Iron Gate Exhibition (IGX). He has medaled in spear, dagger, wrestling, and longsword.
Pronouns - He/Him
Breaking down the devices in Meyer’s longsword
Description : In my experience, people either needlessly complicate or have a lot of difficulty understanding Meyers devices. This seminar will show you that if you understand the cuts and handworks, you already have all the tools you need to break down the devices to their simplest forms. This key will unlock your ability to understand and perform even the seemingly most complicated of techniques in Meyer. We will also discuss what Meyer often omits: what actions the opponent in the device takes. For any technique to work, there has to be a reason or appropriate opening and we will explore the “whys” behind the opponents responses.
Equipment : longsword, helmet, gorget, gloves. Optional: gambeson and arm protection if more contact is desired.
Vladimir Adamec
Bio - Co-founder and Lead Instructor at Signum Corvus School of Arms (Mississauga, ON), Fencer, military history enthusiast, book nerd, reenactor. All of that and more. I have been fencing and studying historical martial arts for number of years (maybe not as many as you would think, but more than I can remember) and my curiosity always led me to learn and discover new things. Started with the rapier (it's all your fault Ron), then discovered longsword (Thanks Devon) and... hey, look - a sabre (Jack Aubrey would be proud of me I hope).
Pronouns - He/Him
Dominance in a swordfight
Description : Dominance is one of the most critical concepts in historical martial arts, even without being explictly mentioned in historical treatises. But what is dominance, why does it matter and how it can be achieved in a sword fight? Working with primarily Italian sources, we will explore different options and tools historical masters gave us; as well as address challenges associated with achieving it.
Equipement : longsword, fencing mask and jacket, gorget, fencing gloves or gauntlets
ONE-HANDED SWORD WORKSHOPS
Ian Brackley
Bio - Ian Brackley was introduced to historical fencing in the summer of 2000, courtesy of the Linacre School of defense in Oxford, UK. He has since pursued the study of the armed marital art of Western Europe in the Long 18th & 19th centuries. He has led study groups for Hoplologia during the 2010s and since 2020 has been a member of Toronto Historical Combatants (THC). Ian has presented at WMAW, various local HEMA chapters and historical re-enactment/living history events on the concept of historically informed movement and its place in the study of fencing in historical contexts.
Pronouns: He/Him
Workshop 1 : ‘18th c. Movement and Fencing with the Smallsword’
Description : A participatory lecture on the concept of "Period Movement" and how it informs the study of fencing in the Long 18th century. Attendees will explore 18th ideals of “grace”, affects of the body and how these shaped the practice of fencing with the smallsword. The lecture will conclude in attendees being invited to discover these affects for themselves through executing some basic fencing movements in a historically informed style and performing several historical fencing salutes.
Equipment : No kit, or masks required. Smallswords/foils optional.
Workshop 2 : ‘…Curbing the petulant humours, the wanton rudeness, and the savage manners” - Disarms in Smallsword’
Description : A walk-through of various disarms from the 17th, 18th and 19th centuries. Attendees should have some experience in smallsword, rapier or foil/epee.
Equipment : Masks, gloves, jackets and appropriate weapons required.
Charles Murdock
Bio - Charles began training in martial arts in 1980. Over the ensuing decades, he has trained in several styles of karate, aikido, taijitsu, jujitsu, and budo arts. He discovered Historical European Martial Arts (HEMA) in 2008. He joined the Meyer Freifechter Guild (MFFG) in 2009 and founded the Grünberg Freifechter as a study group of the MFFG in early 2010. The group has been focusing on Dr. Forgeng’s translation of Joachim Meyer’s 1570 multi-weapon treatise entitled “The Art of Combat”. Charles has taught classes at the Meyer Symposium, Purple Heart Armory Open, Fechtschule New York, Fechtschule Frisbee, Longpoint, and Iron Gate Exhibition (IGX). He has medaled in spear, dagger, wrestling, and longsword.
Pronouns - He/Him
Introduction to the dussack
Description : This workshop will cover the basics of Joachim Meyer's dussack. Meyer states that the dussack is the foundation of training any one handed weapon. Using the 1570 translation, we will explore the beginning techniques from the text as well as some other basic drills, giving students a solid foundation in the training of this weapon. We will cover guards, cuts, parries, footwork and other concepts as time allows.
Equipment : A dussack, a helmet and a pair of gloves.
André Hajjar
Bio - In 2008, André started doing Historical Fencing in “AEAS”, a club linked to the “AEEA”, the biggest Historical Fencing association of the world at that time. There, he learned the Verdadera Destreza Rapier Sword style from Aleix Basullas, a great sage master specialized in the treatise of Lorenz de Rada (1705). Later on, André moved from Spain to Canada where he joined several clubs and became rapier instructor at La Compagnie Médiévale, a club which he collaborated with to create the Montreal Sword Meisters, an ambitious project of tournaments and workshops with international reach. In 2022 André founded a club in the island of Laval: Club d’Escrime Historique Destreza Nova Laval. Such non-profit organization is aimed to teach historical fencing and make people follow humble and good-nature human values.
Pronouns - He/Him
Destreza Vulgar, the sword of chaos
Description : Level up your fencing and add this cheat code to your features. We will see what the old masters of 16 and 17th century said about the "Common Destreza". We will learn the moves and create variants of them that can easily be added to our repertoire.
Equipment : A rapier, a fencing mask and a pair of gloves
Vladimir Adamec
Bio - Co-founder and Lead Instructor at Signum Corvus School of Arms (Mississauga, ON), Fencer, military history enthusiast, book nerd, reenactor. All of that and more. I have been fencing and studying historical martial arts for number of years (maybe not as many as you would think, but more than I can remember) and my curiosity always led me to learn and discover new things. Started with the rapier (it's all your fault Ron), then discovered longsword (Thanks Devon) and... hey, look - a sabre (Jack Aubrey would be proud of me I hope).
Pronouns - He/Him
Gaining measure, gaining tempo with the rapier
Description : While Italian rapier masters brought us new techniques and guards that represented break from the past fencing tradition of the time, the true novelty of rapier fencing was in sophisticated approach to the concepts of measure and tempo in a swordfight. Working with these two concepts, we will look into tactical options and decision-making in a rapier fight.
Equipment : Rapier, fencing mask and jacket, gorget, fencing gloves
Beau Brock
Bio - Beau began his study of Historical European Martial Arts while he was studying at the University of British Columbia in 2006, starting with Italian rapier and then immediately fell in love with the Bolognese tradition, Giovanni Dall’Aggochie’s treatise in particular, and hasn’t look back since. Upon moving to Toronto in 2008, he joined the Academy of European Medieval Martial Arts (AEMMA) and became an instructor (free scholler) in 2010. Since 2016, he has been the principal instructor the Ottawa chapter of AEMMA, where he focuses primarily on the Bolognese tradition (sword and all secondary weapons, dagger, pole weapons) and Fiore Dei Liberi. He has taught workshops on the Bolognese tradition both in Canada and in the US..
Pronouns - He/Him
Killing with your feet.
Description : In this class, we will do a comprehensive review of footwork patterns that appear throughout the Bolognese treatises, which serve as the building blocks for every action with the sword—from the most basic defence to the most complex play with the swords crossed, the strette di mezza spada. At the end of the workshop, participants will have learned several sequences that they can use in a wide variety of situations, with sword alone or with any secondary weapon (dagger, cloak, buckler, etc.).
We will be drawing primarily from the treatise of Giovanni Dall’Agocchie, with some additional theory taken from the Anonimo Bolognese. This class is open to any level, as we will quite literally be starting from the ground up (pun absolutely intended.
Equipment : At minimum a fencing mask, gloves and a one-handed sword.
Jérôme Vigeant
Bio - A defector from modern fencing which he began in the 1980s, Jérôme made the switch to HEMA in 2011 in a town known for having hanged our favorite chicken thief. But it was in 2015 that he truly got involved with HEMA at the Montreal Medieval Company, which he took over in 2019 with two comrades. He serves as an instructor with a particular focus on the 15th century German tradition and an analytical approach, heavily centered on the play of the point in fencing. He is also one of the still-active founding members of the Montreal Sword Meisters, which grows each year into one of the major competitive events in the Northeast of America.
Pronouns - He/Him
Messer 101 for Longsword Fans: How to Apply German Longsword Techniques with a Medieval Machete
Description: The 15th century Liechtenauerian fencing tradition is rich and diverse, featuring many well-known authors to HEMA enthusiasts, such as Ringeck, Lew, Kal, and others. However, for obscure reasons, the most popular and practiced part of this corpus by far is the sword used at its full length, with both hands on the handle (you know, the longsword !). Yet, the fundamental concepts theorized therein are applicable to other weapons, particularly a certain underrepresented ugly duckling of commoner origin among the Liechtenauer heavyweights, but nonetheless very common in medieval Germany: the Messer. This workshop focuses on the parallels between Liechtenauerian longsword corpus and messer fencing as described by somewhat more verbose authors on the subject like Kal, Falkner, and of course, Lecküchner. It will delve into central concepts such as rotations, maintaining the vor, and master strikes with simple examples to grasp the common spirit and what adjustments need to be made to adapt each to the respective weapon.
Equipment: Messer or Arming Sword and a longsword for moral support
OTHER WEAPONS WORKSHOPS
Callum Carmichael
Bio - Callum is a fencer and instructor with 15 years of experience in HEMA and modern fencing. He travels widely around Eastern Canada and the US to teach workshops and compete in tournaments using a variety of different weapons and systems. Currently, he is an instructor at Bataireacht and Historical Fencing Faction (BAHFF) in Ottawa, Ontario where he teaches German longsword, French military sabre and Irish stick fighting
Pronouns: He/Him
Workshop 1: Antrim Bata
Description : An introduction to the use of the shillelagh according to the county Antrim style, one of only two surviving traditions of Bataireacht, or Irish Stick Fighting. Used for individual duels or combat between rival factions, Bataireacht was practiced all over Ireland in the 18th and 19th centuries and garnered a fearsome reputation in contemporary literature.
This workshop will cover the basic body mechanics needed to get the most out of the blackthorn stick, the basic offensive and defensive actions of the system, and a few of the unique actions that make Antrim Bata stand out among stick fighting arts. Time permitting, we will finish with a demonstration of the use of Bataireacht in group combat.
Equipment : a stick and a fencing mask
Workshop No. 2: La Canne
Description : This workshop will introduce students to la canne, a system of French stick fighting which originated in the 19th century and was in widespread practice until the 1970s when it was largely overtaken by a successor system known as canne de combat.
We will begin by learning the basic offensive and defensive actions in the system, through which students will simultaneously be introduced to the concept of chambering. Building on this knowledge, we will explore the way deceptive movements are used to hide a fencer’s intentions under this system in a series of controlled drills. Time permitting, students will be given the chance to put what they have learned to the test in judged sparring.
Equipment : a stick and a fencing mask
Quentin/Katelyn Pringrabe
Bio - Having started HEMA in 2016 in Strasbourg under the tutelage of Olivier Dupuis and other members of Elsahme, Quentin/Katelyn turned to teaching in 2021, then joined La Compagnie Médiévale of Montreal in 2022 as a practitioner and instructor. With an interest in 16th century German fencing, they advocate a systemic approach to Meyer's corpus as a complete and interdependent system, as well as a sport-oriented interpretation, outside the context of a "fight to the death".
Pronouns - they/ them
Workshop no.1 :Meyer's Sport Dagger
Description: From the 1571 source of Joachim Meyer, we will explore the fundamental principles of sportive dagger fighting, 3 angles of attack from two guards with the numerous associated counters and possible wrestling techniques
Equipment : A dagger and a fencing mask, gloves are recommanded
Workshop no. 2 : Introduction to Meyer’s quarterstaff
Description : In this module, we will attempt to extract the fundamental principles from Meyer's source, compare the practice of the staff to that of the longsword of the master, and see their similarities. Finally, we will develop the basic skills to create a coherent and practicable fencing game in sparring. This will involve numerous strikes, a strong emphasis on the practice of Fuhlen, and the many possibilities of entering into grappling.
For this purpose, thrusts will be less emphasized, although mentioned during the module, than what the source recommends, simply as a precaution. No realistic staff simulator can be considered safe enough for delivering thrusts to the face or torso, even in full gear.
Jason Smith
Bio - Jason has been studying, practising and teaching historical European martial arts since before the acronym was coined. Co-founder of Les Maîtres d'Armes and founding member of the International Armizare Society, he strives to reconstruct the art of arms as faithfully as possible. Leveraging his experience and bilingualism, he also authored the book "Burgundian Poleaxe - The Noble Art of Chivalric Axe Combat" from Freelance Academy Press. His main focus, however, remains l'Arte dell'Armizare.
Pronouns - He/His
Introduction to pollaxe
Description : This class will present an overview of a pollaxe system as presented in Le jeu de la Hache. In the first part, we’ll look at footwork and the system’s basic attacks and defensive techniques. The second part will cover entries, throws and disarms that are key to the system.
Equipment: fencing mask or equivalent, pollaxe simulator. Hand protection is encouraged.
Aurora Simmons and Christian Cameron
Bio - You can find their bio in the longsword section.
Pronouns - She/her for Aurora and He/His for Christian
Fiore’s lance
Description : To come
Equipment: fencing mask or equivalent, lance or staff simulator. Hand protection is encouraged.