| Event Report - 09 Symposium |
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| Written by Brian Price | |||||
| Wednesday, 01 July 2009 18:07 | |||||
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We set the 2009 Symposium and Tournament for June, but this year we decided instead of bringing in a bunch of other instructors, to begin the process of encouraging our own senior scholars to teach alongside the established SSG instructional team. This worked out even better than I'd hoped, with all of the classes being well presented and fitting better within the SSG framework. And the tournament was spectacular! Jason Willis & Bryan Johnson in the Pas d'Armes climactic Poleaxe Fight
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2009 has already been a hectic year for us. In January and February, we had to do an emergency upgrade to the site that proved not only difficult, but was driven through a contractor whose work was less than stellar. But with the major upgrade has come stability, and the site is now stable and performing well. I also was busy in the Spring at the University of North Texas, working both on my doctorate and teaching classes in History. While the SSG DFW met twice per week on Mondays and Thursdays as is our custom, University duties kept me farther from the instruction than I would like. First, we were honored by attendees from across the country. Colin and Deborah Hatcher, and Dr. Robert Holland came from the Bay Area. Both are key instructors within the SSG; Dr. Holland for sword and buckler based on RA MS I.33 and Mr. Hatcher (Esq.) for his work on Fiore's abrazare and daga. Although Colin was sporting a pair of broken ribs, he taught and participated in the tournament, executing a beautiful hip-throw and accounting well for himself in several fights with daga and the sword in two hands. Colin also presented the nearly-completed Compagno curriculum for the daga, which we hope to roll out at the October tournament as well as a detailed and thoroughly reworked class on Fiore's abrazare (grappling). I had a particularly fun bout with Colin using the fine Arms and Armor rebated Italian longswords. Deborah was a presence all weekend as well, not only with her animated, intelligent and extremely pleasant personality, but also because she had her camera going all weekend, shooting 2300+ photographs. For lack of a better place to put them, I'll post some of them on Facebook. Dr. Holland presented a class on distance management in RA I.33. This was very useful indeed. In the process Robert showed a very nice little drill introduced to him by Guy Windsor, which progressed through the I.33 wards. We'll try to post this video ASAP. Interest in this class and in Charles Brown's Practical I.33 class was high enough to spur an interesting conversation around our Fall breadth focus. Several people, including Russell Pharr and Dan Sepdham, have expressed an interest in I.33 as the focus. Robert also fought some very fine bouts in the tournament, including several with rebated swords, both in the I.33 style and with sword in one hand. From the other side of the country, Charles Deily, Boston-area study group leader, presented an amazingly strong daga contra spada course and another on generating speed on the entry. Not only were both courses excellent (and they were recorded, and will appear for members under the VIDEOs tab), but Charles earned a huge amount of renown with his tournament performance (everyone who was impressed, hop over to the FORUM and give a RENOWN click to Charles!). Charles put into practice many of the theories he has been kicking around this year, and the improvement was nothing less than astounding. Charles fought several levels above what he had demonstrated previously; rolling over for no one and successfully fighting several bouts with daga contra spada and daga contra lanza. He won all six of the bouts we fought, and most of the others he did against other combatants. Everyone was impressed! Frank Petrino, our East Coast Technical Director, was unfortunately out sick and could not attend. We all missed his presence, not only for the fine class he had prepared, but also for his talented and knowledgeable presence. From Atlanta, Bryan Johnson presented some fine azza (poleaxe) work. Bryan did the poleaxe for his breadth weapon, turning his interpretation into a very good class. He took students through the core elephant plays as they work with the azza and then through some of the advanced plays. His work was solid; Jason used one of the throws presented in class against Bryan in the tournament. Bryan's performance in the tournament, in terms of presentation and prowess, was superb. His clothing, armour, and prowess all pointed towards superior performance and Bryan is well on his way towards the advanced curriculum. Bryan made his test for Scolaro, but is standing proof that "belt rankings" don't necessarily go along with levels of prowess. Keith Augenthaler is another very good example of this principle, so I would strongly advise Schola combatants *not* to underestimate their opponent based on their progress through the system. Bryan is interested in working on a polearm-based curriculum; and this would be a welcome addition to the SSG course offerings. But a breadth course is first in the queue, and we should see progress on this soon. In the middle, Jason Willis and Charles Brown came down from Little Rock with a lot to share. Jason's class on extrapolating Sword and Shield combat from Fiore's principles was outstanding. There is a lot of food for thought there, and since we managed to record the whole class, it will appear soon in blocks for SSG members. *Truly* nice extrapolative work! Charlie's classes on the practical I.33 and on entering with the Lynx were outstanding, and Charles spent considerable time working with Ethan Cady, our youngest Scolaro Minore (aged 10). In the tournament, Charlie continued to drive against his opponents, fighting strongly. Jason, however, was perhaps the best Scolaro in terms of success using the Fiorean techniques in all situations. He played zogho largo and stretto, with the sword and poleaxe. His final bout with poleaxe against Bryan Johnson was superb, and he achieved both a bind and a fine throw. Don't miss the video of this one! Jason and Charlie also tested, along with DFW Russell Kinder, for Scolari Maggiore; three very fine presentations of the zogho stretto. As I get the video cut, it will appear as links below, available for SSG members in our video library. The event really began on Thursday with the "regular" SSG practice, where many of the above were in attendance plus a lot of SSG DFW members. We ran an "open mat," where many were able to cross swords. Charles Deily gave a preview of his class to Andy, Lara and Rob, who were unable to attend on Friday. We were able to try out the Cold Steel polyethelyne swords. These are not well balanced, and seemed to take a beating against the armour, particularly the gauntlet cuffs. Despite this, they are a good interim trainer and will be an excellent and inexpensive purchase for new combatants. For sparring with them, however, neither a fencing mask nor leather gloves were sufficient. They can hit "like a ton of bricks," and so like Keith's poly swords he continues to use, they must be used with a great deal of care--concordia--and judgment. On Friday, we had a dual-video camera setup and the gym was divided into two. I believe we captured all of the classes, thanks to the videography of Russell Pharr (camera B) and my daughter Elizabeth (camera A). My hope is to collect these videos and splice them together into class offerings to be posted in conjunction with the written notes for SSG members. - DFW Scolaro Russell Pharr, the "dagger man" of Dallas, filled in for Frank and offered his fine daga redoppiando drill. This was very well received, and will become part of the SSG daga curriculum. - Little Rock Scolaro Maggiore and Study Group Leader Jason Willis presented the powerful extension of Fiore's principles to sword and shield. Watch this space for the video notes! -Boston Scolaro Maggiore and Study Group Leader Charles Deily taught an interesting theoretical class using methods to increase one's speed in a fight, which he later demonstrated with great authority in the tournament. - Little Rock's Charles Brown taught a course on practical I.33, but I did not see the class. We do have the notes, however, and Charlie was extremely well prepared (including the cool "play notes" worn on his wrist). During the tournament Charles also put these principles in action against Robert Holland in a sword and buckler fight that was a pleasure to watch. - During lunch, I offered an Introduction to Arms and Armour, a very basic slide-based course, covering the period from antiquity through 1500. There were many questions, and judging by the amount of armour on the field during the tournament, and the relative inability of a fencing mask to stand up to repeated blows, most SSG combatants are starting to bring their harnesses together! An excellent development, and one that steps us closer to the Company of Saint George, with it's reenactment quality equipment and chivalric tournament formats. - Colin Hatcher provided an Introduction to Fiore's grappling, which Fiore calls "abrazare." This much-refined course was extremely well received. We have taped it, and it will be one of the first video courses put onto the website. The abrazare course will eventually become foundational work for all paths through the Fiorean system, woven into the curricula for each weapon form; daga, spada, and polearm. - Simultaneously, Robert and I conducted testing for Russell Kinder, Jason Willis, and Charles Brown. as well as Bryan Johnson. All tests were more than successful, with outstanding performances the norm rather than the exception. Both of us were extremely impressed and there was no doubt whatever about promotions. Indeed, I would expect Jason and Charlie (Jason in particular, because he stuck with the poste throughtout) to test in the not distant future for their Primo Scolaro promotions. Bryan Johnson, who has been held up on testing owing to his transient military schedule, also demonstrated superb prowess and seems to have an easy time integrating material once he's seen it. We still need to see chivalry essays from Charlie and Jason, and I expect that they will be very strong. Bryan Johnson's was excellent, and has been posted here. - Friday evening brought exhaustion. We ate a quick but filling meal at the local Golden Corral, then headed over to my house in Highland Village. Over beer, wine and assorted spirits, folks talked the night away. As always, many fine stories were passed. But the one that stands out, and will "live in infamy" were Colin's stories about the 42" dwarf Crazy Legs, whom he met at 1 a.m. in London's Leicester Square. Ask him about it, or look for the Rock Band group by the same name... On Saturday, we did longer class blocks. - SSG Scolaro Maggiore Charles Deily once again presented a finely wrought course on daga contra spada, which involves the use of both a volta stabile and a mezza volta to complete, and which Charles used beautifully against me in the tournament. Andy and I played with this technique some on Monday night, after the Symposium, and we were getting some success, although not as much as Charles. We eagerly look forward to the notes, which will be posted in the TRAINING section, and to the video course, which will go up as soon as I can get it cut. Charles also brought some fine painted-silk renditions of the figures to help his presentation, and I like this technique, and will probably use something like it myself for some of my own courses. Once again, the creativity and thoughtfulness of the Boston cadre proves a great boon! - Scolaro Maggiore Charles Brown presented his course on entering with the cervino (lynx), and worked with Bryan Johnson, Ethan Cady, and Russell Kinder. A very good course, which we have preserved on tape. Hopefully, we can transfer the drills and such soon! - Scolaro Maggiore Rob Herstrom presented his course on the Tor di Spada. Rob has worked through these carefully for a long time, and has helped immeasurably bringing the other Scolari through the zogho stretto. He presented this course well. We saw some variants on the Tor di Spada demonstrated by Jason and Charlie in their testing, but regrettfully this was not recorded. - Robert Holland presented his I.33 course and Bryan Johnson's poleaxe course in tandem. Both were full and were excellent presentations. I helped serving as the "Ben" for Robert's class, where he demonstrated the three basic ranges at which I.33 takes place, and showed how at measura larga, the point is relied upon; at middle distance the colpi are used; and at close distance, misura stretta, the presa are used. While this is a simplification, it was in general true and this course makes a great compliment to Robert's "common fencer" course, also based on I.33. We'd very much like to see Robert's material more fully developed, especially since there is new potential for a I.33-based group in Boise, ID, and since so many DFW combatants are intruiged by it. - Colin Hatcher presented the first level of his daga curriculum, part lecture and part demonstration. We will see this again in a more complete form in the Fall, when the whole curriculum is presented as his Masterwork. On Saturday night, we burned much meat on the grille and emptied not a few bottles, any a great many stories were exchanged. There was much laughter--often at the expense of one another--and much camaraderie. Sunday brought the pas d'armes tournament. We elected to fight indoors given the probably 105 degree heat, and it was a good call, despite the modern enclosure. In the spirit of the day no one really noticed the basketball goals, but they did notice the less-than-Mercury-like air. We opened with a lanza melee, striking to three good hits. I saw a lot of excellent work here, even though I didn't fight particularly well, I did see superb fighting all over the field. Little Rock Scolaro Maggiore Charles Brown won the melee, finishing against DFW Scolaro Louis Tarmichael, who had done exceptionally well. In each pass, everyone was able to challenge everyone else. The level of gear was very high, with a sizeable minority of combatants wearing bascinets instead of masks. The level of courtesy and prowess was without precedent, the Schola living up to it's high standard for conduct and chivalric demeanor. There were many notable bouts, but all were caught on camera and, thanks to Rob Herstrom's camera work, I have posted all of them in the Tournaments section of the VIDEO library. Of special note were Charles Deily's work with the daga contra lanza and spada; Russell Pharr and Dan Sepdham's holding the field in between rounds as part of their earlier Scolari tests; young Ethan Cady's fine bouts against Jason, Charlie, myself and Colin; and the fine poleaxe work by Russell Kinder, Bryan Johnson, and Jason Willis. The armoured combatants in particular epitomized the chivalric character and prowess we're trying to foster within the Schola, and the weekend gave strong evidence that we are on this path. In the end, Charles Deily and the other tenans offered pennents to those who exemplified Fiorean qualities in the tournament. Lynx - Keith Augenthaler Lion - Louis Tarmichael Tyger - Dan Sepdham Elefante - Russel Pharr Keith Augenthaler was recognized also with a fine enamelled St. George's medallion for his victory in the lanza tournament; Bryan Johnson gave a beautiful daga to Lara Stelly for her courage as a new combatant, and Ethan Cady received a sword for his fine courage, challenging almost all of the most senior combatants and accounting extremely well for himself. Impressive for an adult, much less a 10-year old! In the Future
We will need to have a group step forward to host in 2010. In 2011, the event will likely be back in DFW, but Little Rock, SF, Boston and an Independent Scholar have expressed interest in the 2010 event. We will need to make this decision by the middle of August, so let's get thinking! I liked very much this tradition of senior scholars presenting what they are working on, and it is something we will strive to continue in the future, especially next June. In the beginning, way back in 2001-3, our SSG Symposia placed the tournament on Saturday, which is a tradition I think I'd like to go back to, resulting in the following macro-schedule: - Thursday p.m.: Instructors arrive, possible promotions testing - Friday - 9-5 courses all day. Dinner, followed by coached sparring. Possible testing. - Saturday - Classes until 1pm, then the tournament until 4-5pm, followed by dinner or feast. - Sunday - 10-1pm four-hour "Master" classes I would very much like to thank everyone who made this event possible, especially to my wife Ann who cooked, shopped, cleaned, watched the Revival table, and then watched us participate in the tournament. To Andy who picked up Charles from the airport and Rob and Lara who took him back. To Russell Pharr for his videography of Field B, and to Elizabeth for her videography on field A. To Deborah Hatcher for her 2,300+ photographs. To all the SSG instructors and senior students who taught, and to everyone whose attendance made the event a success. It was a special pleasure to meet Doc and Tony, new folk who brought a very interesting take on the martial arts and who are welcome back at any time. Until next time!
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| Last Updated ( Monday, 13 July 2009 11:51 ) |
