Equipment Required: Singlesword, Fencing Mask, Gloves

Cutting mechanics is foundational to any fencing practice. Improving cutting form will enhance offence, defence, speed, and stamina. It will also assist in recovery from missed strikes and may even help prevent injuries.

In this workshop we will cover the how and why of cutting mechanics, focussing on; how the body generates speed and power, how to transfer that energy and momentum through the sword, covering the line when striking, recovering to guard after a hit, recovering to guard after a miss and exploring the muscle groups we should be using, as well as the ones we shouldn’t.

This workshop is appropriate for those wanting to improve their form with one handed cutting weapons such as the basket-hilt broadsword and saber.

Adam is a volunteer instructor. Our many thanks for his participation!

Equipment Required: Quarterstaff, Padded Gloves

Katelyn hails from La compagnie médievale Montréal

Using plays taken from Paulus Hector Mair’s quarterstaff, we will discover the specifics of holding and using the weapon with a double pronation. We will also adress some of the connections than can be made with this fighting style and the use of poleaxe.

The exercise will be given in the standard attacker/defendant duo while giving a few play that will get more complex as the time pass.

This workshop will be open to anyone, to help you see if it is for you or not, and what to focus on.

For beginners: You’ll learn some technique with a simple but often overlooked weapon

For intermediates: You will see difference between double pronation and a spear type of holding the staff, and learn some fine details about bodymechanics, like how and why your hand orientation can change your strength.

For competitors: Well if you are preparing for a polearm tournament this will give you some tools to surprise your opponent 😉

Equipment Required: Longsword

Butterfly & Rhino’s instructors for this workshop are Kevin Robinson & Graham Banville

This workshop will introduce you to the techniques of stage combat and fight choreography, allowing you to perform epic and dramatic duels with safety, story, and style.

We’ll look at where and why we blur the lines between real techniques and stage/stunt fighting. Stunt fighters and actors constantly hear from martial enthusiasts “That wouldn’t work in a real fight!”. This workshop will explore why we do what we do for cinema, and why “real” usually doesn’t work.

Equipment Required: Gear suitable for light sparring at minimum, Weapon of your choice

Adam hails from Bataireacht and Historical Fencing Faction (BAHFF)

Exercises and sparring drills to build a tournament “game plan” specifically for you and your own style.

Equipment Required: Bokken (~100cm)

Kingston Niten Kai Dojo’s instructors for this workshop are Michael Doornbos & Jamie Rickard (also of Koketsu Kai Martal Arts)

An introduction to Japanese swordsmanship, and the fundamentals of the Hyoho Niten Ichi Ryu style of Kenjutsu.

Equipment Required: Sparring-Safe Rondel Dagger, Light Fencing Gear (mask, gloves, jacket)

Matt hails from St. Lawrence Swordfighters Guild

Dagger vs dagger combat fundamentals and best practices to keep you “alive” in a dagger duel while ensuring that your opponent isn’t so fortunate.

Equipment Required: All weapons provided. Cup & light gloves optional.

Broc & Takeo hail from Heathen’s Cove, an Amtgard club in Kingston

Learn about and partake in a crossplay sport that allows you to work in teams of 3 to capture an objective and train the field awarness needed on a chaotic battlefield.

We’ll be working with boffer weapons including Shields, Spears, and Shortswords!

Equipment Required: Gloves, Mask, Great Stick (~5′)

Matt hails from Niagara Historical Fencing

This workshop will be going through the Great Stick section of Alfred Hutton’s book Cold Steel.

It will teach you the fundamentals of the system, the context of how and why it was used during Hutton’s time period, and teach you parry riposte drills that formed the backbone of this stick fighting system.

Equipment Required: Longsword (ideally not a feder if possible), Mask, Gorget, Heavy Gloves, Gambeson, Plastron

Wayne hails from Branta School of Arms

Together, we’re going to learn to make problems for our opponent to solve with Fiore’s system of positions and wide plays. We’ll be looking at what the four instabile guards are, how they work together, and how they can be used to press, provoke and pounce on the center in dynamic situations.

This is an intermediate session with some freeplay games involved, but you don’t need to have trained Italian longsword. Any kind of longsword or historical fencing background will be fine.

Equipment Required: Sword (of the sidesword variety), Mask, Gloves, Jacket, Gorget, Dagger (ideally parrying/Bolognese), Cloak

Beau hails from Academy of European Medieval Martial Arts (AEMMA) Ottawa

Giovanni Dall’Agocchie’s 1572 treatise on the sword along with dagger and cloak is an excellent entry point into the Bolognese tradition specifically and the martial arts practised in Renaissance Italy in general. The principles he lays out are clear, logical, and applicable to virtually any secondary weapon.

In this workshop, we will explore the additional actions that become available once we have a dagger (or cloak, or buckler, or second sword…) in the offhand: trapping the blade, trading the engagement, deviating the point and overwhelming the opponent with superior structure and leverage. Time permitting, we will compare how these actions are accomplished with different secondaries.

Equipment Required: Longsword (with sheath if possible)

Alina hails from Trillium Fecthschule & West End Swords

While the art of fighting from the sword draw is something we often associate with Japanese iaijutsu, fechtbucher of the 15th century provide examples of sword drawing techniques as well. Those of Fiore dei Liberi are the most famous and well-documented, but a close reading of Talhoffer, reveals similar techniques in the German system as well. This class will teach a variety of partnered sword drawing techniques seen in historical manuscripts, and will then go a step further, and demonstrate longer sequences that can be produced through a thorough understanding of the Liechtenauerian system of fencing.

Participants are encouraged to bring a blunt sword with a scabbard that can be used for drilling, however feders are perfectly acceptable, and makeshift “scabbards” will be provided for them onsite. While the class will delve into advanced principles and techniques of the Liechtenauer system, no prior experience is required.

Equipment Required: Buckler-sized Shield, Training Knife/Dagger (10″+), Mask, Gloves

Adam hails from Toronto Historical Combatants and the HAMA Association

This class will cover the basics of dagger and shield fighting interpreted from the North African texts, images, and pressure tested sparring extracts.

Equipment Required: 28″ Stick (rattan preferred)

Sabong Kali is a collective group of martial artists from the Greater Toronto Area

Pekiti Tirsia Kali with an emphasis on Stick drills, Stick locks, and Stick grappling.

Equipment Required: Mask, Broadsword (or suitable substitute), Training Dirk (or rondel)

Jake hails from Broadsword Academy Kingston

The Highlanders were renowned for their use of the broadsword and for the dirk, but the use of them in combination was highly uncommon. While attested to in history and folklore, there is little information on how they were used as a pair.

This workshop will introduce one interpretation based on written sources and on how the dirk was applied in the better known trio of Sword, Targe, and Dirk.

Equipment Required: Steel or Nylon Arming Sword, Buckler (not larger than 30 cm), Light Gloves, Mask

Brian hails from Ironwood Sword School & the Academy of European Medieval Martial Arts (AEMMA)

Learn the keys to the system of sword and buckler fencing as illustrated in MS I.33/FECHT 1

Appropriate for intermediate to advanced fencers.