Learn Swordsmanship

I’ve always wanted to know how to use a sword like a professional. Once I acquire a samurai sword, I’m gonna learn to use it like a pro.

I’ve always loved blades of any kind and I think it would be extremly cool to learn how to weild one. Unfortunately I live in a small town in New Zealand so there probably aren’t any local clubs, apart from the fencing club, and I’m not intereseted in the sport of fencing, I’m interested in the art of Medieval Swordfighting.

I keep seeing films with sword fights in them!
Next paycheck, I’m going to invest in boffer weapons.

Need to find a local class to attend

I’m practicing Ninjutsu…
..Which requires me to learn how to defend with a sword.
...and I really want to learn this.
I’ve already been practicing for about 2 months with a friend…
...with some people and books as guides.
...2 months ago…and now…there was a big difference.
..but still not good enough.

I, too, am a fencer. I could go on and on with reasons to study sword play, but it’s for each individual to find those out for themselves.

The first training session of this year was yesterday. It was fun as always, although it was particularly hard this time. Training with a real steel sword is hell of a lot more fun than with a wooden stick. But it’s also more straining; swinging around 1,6 kilos of steel for an hour or two is a nice workout for arms & shoulders.

The last training session of the beginners’ course was today. I think I have learned some of the very basic stuff about longsword fighting but the real fun is only about to begin: I just got a real sword and I signed in to become a member of the sword school. I can tell you that this is one of the best hobbies I’ve ever had and I’m going to continue doing this for years to come.

I ordered a sword from a Czech smith (Pavel Moc) a couple of months ago and it arrived today. It’s beautiful, well-balanced and sturdy. I’m so in love with it!

The first lesson of the beginner’s course was yesterday and I was there :)

We began with training the very basic footwork. Next week we’ll train unarmed fighting and the week after that we will move on to practicing sword techniques.

We train the Italian style of longsword fighting, which is based on the writings of the Italian swordmaster, Fiore dei Liberi. Later on it’s also possible to learn rapier fighting (Capo Ferro style).

Anyway, I think the training was very enjoyable and I can’t wait for the next wednesday’s lesson.