Just a reminder that class will be at the Dunbar Room of the Dunbar Community Centre tomorrow--Saturday, October 17, 2015.  The schedule for classes will be as follows:

Novice                                                                            9:30-10:15am
G1                                                                                     9:30-10:30am
G2 & G3                                                                        10:30-11:30am
G3 Poignard & N.Italian Dueling Sabre       11:30-12:30am         

On September 20, 2015, the Martinez Academy of Arms presented an exhibition of Classical Fencing to the general public in New Orleans.  This Formal Academia followed two days of training, classes, and lectures on various weapons as well as aspects of fencing practice.  Maestri, Provosts, Instructors, and students were selected to present assaults in a range of systems taught in the Martinez Academy.   I believe Mr. Patrick Morgan echoes my own sentiments regarding the event when he writes, “I have never seen so much fencing talent and knowledge in one place."  On a personal note, I was honoured to participate in assaults with Instructors Russell Hogg and Kim Moser in French Smallsword and Foil respectively.  I wish to express a sincere thanks to Maestro Martinez, Maestro Acosta-Martinez, Prévôt Cecil Longino as well as the organizers of the event for this unique opportunity. 

For those of you that were unable to attend, I hope this video can do some measure of justice to the great quality and variety of skill and artistry on display that day.  Lastly, congratulations to Mr. Ezra Homison for his exemplary embodiment of the ideals of Classical Fencing as was adjudicated by the panel of the Formal Academia.  Enjoy!

One of the people that I had the pleasure of meeting during my recent trip to the Martinez Academy Academia in New Orleans was Mr. Patrick Morgan who oversees Columbia Classical Fencing in Columbia, Missouri.  I recently came across Mr. Morgan's blog post reflecting on his experiences of the Academia.  Reading it certainly brought back memories for me.  So, with his permission, I have decided to repost it here and share it with our members:

http://columbiaclassicalfencing.com/2015/09/27/the-martinez-academy-of-arms-academia/

I would like to thank Mr. Morgan for sharing this article with us and encourage all of you to visit the Columbia Classical Fencing website as the other posts make for quite interesting reading.