Medieval Retro

Armor research

2012-01-26T16:43:00.000-08:00

Doing research into thinner armor and hand protection. Existing riot armor would be great but still pretty expensive. This suit would be ideal for plastic, wooden and possibly steel swords but at $600 or more it's a bit much for the average combatant. The "motorcycle style" riot helmet would also possibly work. We need to have one donated to test! It would certainly be intimidating. Some of the newer padding with a plastic shell should be enough for gloves and armor that is thinner, lighter and will take a considerable amount of force.

Catching up!

2011-12-29T09:58:00.000-08:00

Wow it's been a long tome since I've posted! Need to catch up. I've still been having Saturday classes at my house and attending the KRON get togethers (Classes) at Cal State Fullerton on Wednesday nights. A great group of people with a wealth of knowledge on HEMA. I've got a few videos of some of my sparring matches!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DZqKVSfWSkI&feature=related 11/16/11 vs Jason
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=a2U51GWzP5I&feature=related 11/16/11 vs Jim
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9QcHj7EinDg&feature=related 11/30/11 vsJasonwithflail

I've gotten a couple of new swords from Cold Steel. They had their annual parking lot sale and I picked up an 1860 Heavy Cavalry Sabre (http://www.coldsteel.com/1860cavalry.html) and a Scottish Broadsword (http://www.coldsteel.com/scottishbroad.html). I paid $175.00 for both! Good quality, very sharp! I will do my best to stay more updated and give interesting news and facts. Happy New Year!

First Class after CombatCon

2011-07-02T17:29:00.000-07:00

Today we had a pretty good turnout including two guys from "Kron Martial Arts". William and Ryan practice the German method and brought a lot to the class. We traded techniques, sparred and William brought a bunch of water jugs that we cut with a wide variety of angles. The main Kron group is in Fullerton, (Orange County)so I'm closer for them. This is great because it's not just my interpretation of the techniques, now we'll have a whole new perspective!

Back from CombatCon!

2011-06-27T21:06:00.000-07:00

Three days in Vegas working with swords! I even competed in a longsword tournament for the first time and made it to the second round. Italian swordwork, German swordwork, Jogo do Pau, knifework, etc. My brain is full! Now it's time to study the video I recorded. Now I have a better understanding of what I'm doing. The parallels between Japanese and European swordwork and theory is amazing! Made new friends I hope to study with and looking forward to next year!

CombatCon

2011-06-14T13:35:00.000-07:00

I have been having classes but forgetting to post about them. New training swords and armor have been acquired. All that will wait until I get back from CombatCon http://thecombatcon.com/ !!! June 24 to 26 - 2011 - Tuscany Hotel - Las Vegas
Lots of classes in Western Martial Arts. I'll post pictures and hopefully videos when I return.

Cutting class

2011-02-21T16:30:00.000-08:00

Last Saturday (02/12/11)I had a cutting class. (Tameshigiri) The class was much better attended than usual. I didn't have the money to buy the actual tatami omote but pool noodles and filled water bottles work pretty well. First we used my katana which is very sharp and works well even for beginners. Then we tried the two new long swords my wife had gotten me for Valentines day. They were sharp but not sharp enough. I'll need to take a stone to them and try it again. The swords are great quality and we got them for a good price. http://sbg-sword-store.sword-buyers-guide.com/product151.html The deal is good until the end of February. I'll let you know how they cut when I sharpen them more.

Fiore Dagger Defenses

2011-01-29T18:20:00.000-08:00

I was expecting more, but at least I had six students today. I've been wanting to work on the dagger defenses for awhile so we got out the mats and had at it. I used two youtube sites for my main reference. http://www.youtube.com/user/TrilobyteArmoury works from Fiore but http://www.youtube.com/user/ArmeAntica works from Mair. I like the flow of the guy at Arme Antica. He studied the Bujinkan system which is the main art I practice. It's very evident in his movement. We had a good class with more to work on next time!

Medieval Retro-Class today

2011-01-15T21:16:00.000-08:00

Only two folks for class today. :( I'd planned on covering medieval knife work but decided to go over joint locks instead. The same joint locks will be used in the knife defense. Medieval knife attacks are either icepick style coming down or a thrust. Most systems that developed in areas where it got cold used these types of attack to get through thick clothing. The warmer areas developed faster more slashing attacks since you weren't wearing as much. Lot's of good videos on youtube!

Castles

2011-01-13T09:01:00.000-08:00

I am very interested in castles and plan on building one after I retire. Various plans are in the works to enable this to happen. Of course there are lots of castles still standing in Europe and many still being used and some for sale. Two groups of people are building castles using the old methods. No power tools or equipment, all by hand. One is in France, http://www.guedelon.fr/index.php?lg=en and the other in Arkansas. http://www.ozarkmedievalfortress.com/en-us/ I don't need to be that authentic! The stone work is cool but I'm thinking of using concrete faux stone from this company. http://www.redi-rock.com/. I'm not sure yet which would be cheaper, I guess that would depend on where I build. Much more research yet to do!

Class

2011-01-08T21:17:00.000-08:00

We had a good sword class today. Dave talked about balance points and then I worked them into the sword work. Finished the class with knife sparring. Then we went to Victorville High School to watch a fencing tournament. We got there in time to watch the epee. I taken a fencing class in college but it was with the foil. The epee is a heavier sword and the targets are anywhere on the body, including the feet! After the epee was the saber. Very fast. All great for gaining experience with timing and distancing but lots have been lost to making it safe for a sport.

Happy New Year!

2011-01-03T18:46:00.000-08:00

Yes, it's a new year with many new possibilities. As far as the sword club, I'm going to revamp the training to account for nobody making it consistently. Somehow I'm going to have to gear the training so I can progress without consistent training partners. I'm also doing a lot of study on the Crusades with the idea of writing a book. I've got a number of ideas that I've started on, just need to do the research.
I've ordered a number of books that hopefully will fill in the gaps of my medieval education. I'll try to share intersting tidbits along the way, as well as keep up with the martial aspects of the club. Hope you're new year is filled with new knowledge and great blessings!

Back again!

2010-10-19T11:59:00.000-07:00

Wow i've been gone for a long time! Just finished another MS ride and a 3 day ride for the Police Unity Tour back in May. Practice has slowed down a bit because I'd been doing training rides but hopefully we'll get going again. The main problem is getting folks to come to class on a regular basis. I'm getting away from the padded swords. They're fun to spar with but just don't hold up to the abuse. I'm trying to keep the cost of things low so I can get more people to practice. I'd love to train with steel wasters but the cost of steel and the armor to go with it puts it out of most of my students price range. I think synthetic is the way to go for now. Our core group bought five nylon wasters from Dwarven Smithy http://web.emerytelcom.net/users/blhunt/longsword.htm and they are great for practice with a good weight and feel. A litle stout for working without heavier armor. I recently purchased two wasters from The Cult of Athena http://kultofathena.com/product.asp?item=600874 These are made in England and are very nice. Lighter then a steel sword with good flex and feel. These take much less armor to work with. More to follow!

Update on Training

2009-11-30T18:12:00.000-08:00

Due to some hand injuries, I bought ten pairs of lacrosse gloves from ebay. ($80 gloves for about $15 apiece after taxes and shipping) Very well made, great padding with kevlar as well. We've also found that the pvc swords don't stand up to hard sparring. I've made a couple of wood wasters that we slide a piece of pool noodle onto. These take the abuse and we can still hit fairly hard, (with the gloves and head gear). Still not where we want to be but we're taking the cheap route for now.

Update on the Joust

2009-11-30T17:59:00.000-08:00

Lot's of fun. Two teams with "Knights" from around the world. Jousting, poleaxe fighting, sword fighting, demos, etc.

Jousting Tournement

2009-10-23T15:42:00.000-07:00

Tomorrow, some of us are going down to Poway for the "World Joust Tournement". This is an international event sanctioned by the Royal Armories of England. This is full contact and should be a lot of fun to watch. I'll post pictures when I get back! http://www.worldjoust.com

After the ride

2009-10-23T14:49:00.000-07:00

It's time to update. Well, I did the MS Bay to Bay ride and it was great! I didn't make the full 150 miles but I should be ready by next year! The first leg on the 10th was 58.82 miles and on the 11th it was 43.39 miles. A little over 102 miles all together. With the help of friends and family I was able to raise $1,100.00. Our team, "Team Sheriff", raised $23,175.oo and overall over 2 million has been raised this year! This is a great cause and I plan on doing every year possible.

As time goes by....

2009-08-22T12:11:00.000-07:00

I guess I'm just not as talkative as I thought I'd be when I first started this blog. We continue to have class every Saturday morning with few exceptions. We spend the first hour going over technique, drills, etc. The second hour we spar. Long swords, short swords, espada y daga, dagger vs dagger, etc. It's all still with padded weapons and head gear as we figure out armor to wear. We're all cheap and don't want to spend the big bucks yet so we're working on homemade armor. We'll see how that works out, we have some pretty creative people in the group.

I may be missing a few Saturdays coming up because of cycling. Yes, I've taken up yet another hobby. It's keeping me in shape and I'm training for a long ride to help out Muscular Distrophy.
http://www.biketofinishms.com/rjprice Please help out if you can! The ride is Oct 11 &12 and I plan riding the full 150 miles.

I'll try to be more prolific and put more pictures. Practice!

Latest class..with padded armour

2009-06-07T21:26:00.000-07:00

Yes, it has been awhile since I last posted. Lots of work, on the job and at home has kept me busy. We've continued to have classes but most of the club are busy as well so new people come and go. Wanting to liven things up, I brought home a "FIST" suit from work. (http://www.fist-inc.com/) We use them in training the recruits with dynamic scenario training where they can strike the person in the suit with plastic batons. (Which still hurt a lot if hit on a non padded spot!) Since we're still using padded swords I thought it would work well. I also brought some padded headgear with eye protection. Dave, Brown, Butterfield and I tried it out. It was a perfect day for wearing the suit. Crisp and windy. It gets hot very quickly in the suit. The FIST suit will take full power punches and kicks but is bulky. I would like to try the "High Gear" (http://www.tonyblauer.com/4105/03_01_highgear.asp) developed by Tony Blauer. It's lighter and more manuverable but won't take as hard a strike. Thats okay if both people are wearing them as it gives just enough protection. Both suits are expensive though. We're still working on making our own armour to train with wasters and steel swords. We'll get there eventually.

Warrior TV Shows

2009-04-23T14:10:00.000-07:00

There are some new shows out that are pretty interesting. History Channel is showing "Warriors" on Thursday night. (http://www.history.com/minisites/warriors) It follows a Green Beret who participates in the study of a particular warrior culture. He finds modern experts in that culture who teach him the weapons and tactics of those warriors. Very interesting.
Tuesday night on Spike TV we have "Deadliest Warriors". (http://www.spike.com/show/31082) It matches up two different warrior cultures and using modern technology, decides which warrior would win. All very subjective of course but fun to watch none the less.
Pitting ancient warriors or even "super heroes" against each other has been an hobby of many. Even video games are into it and the possabilities are endless. My youngest son would grill me constantly over who would win between the Hulk and Spiderman, the Preditor and a Ninja, etc. After each discussion, I would explain that despite the powers of each, it's the individual skill of the fighter that usually wins the fight. Fun to talk about. I'm still waiting for the holo deck to actually try it out!

Reclaiming the Blade

2009-03-07T07:37:00.000-08:00

As you can see, I've put in a link to a DVD called "Reclaiming the Blade"
Reclaiming the Blade celebrates the culture and craft of swords and the Hollywood legends and academic warriors who wield them. The film explores the Medieval and Renaissance blade; a profound and beautiful object handcrafted by master artisans of old. Today, much of the history of the sword remains cloaked under a shadow of legend. Reclaiming the Blade highlights today’s cinematic tribute to the beauty and necessity of the sword through films such as Lord of the Rings, Star Wars, Chronicles of Narnia and The Pirates of the Caribbean. If you pre-order, you can get a free T-shirt! I've ordered mine - you should too!

Miles Spiritium

2009-03-07T07:30:00.000-08:00

A friend of mine from the dojo has started an interesting blog that is martial arts related. I would highly recommend checking it out and reading his posts. Kerry is a godan (5th Dan) in Bujinkan Budo Taijutsu and is very skilled with a wonderful understanding of taijutsu. Check it out at http://milesspiritium.blogspot.com/

Why I study the martial path.

2009-02-02T18:13:00.000-08:00

I was talking with Mark, one of the group, and he was telling me about when he first started making knives. He was working with an experienced knife maker who asked Mark why he was getting into the art. Mark expalained that it was something he'd always felt drawn to - as if it was a calling. I feel that way about the martial arts. When I first saw Karate, I was a geeky 12 year old who was more into reading than anything else. The movement fascinated me and I started training with Mr. Kanahele. From then on, wherever I moved, I found someone to train with. It is a calling and a way of life. It can be difficult to weave training into the real world of family, work, church and all the other responsabilities that are part of life. I just can't imagine not training. I train and I teach. I feel everyone should be able to defend themselves and others who need their help. I like the quote by Robert Humphrey and used by many in the Bujinkan:
Wherever I go, everyone is a little bit safer because I am there.
Wherever I am, anyone in need has a friend.
Whenever I return home, everyone is happy I am there.

Why do you do what you do? My wifes calling is to be a doctor. She knew this from childhood. Are you doing what you are called to do? If not, why not?

Three Days after Surgery

2009-01-14T11:28:00.001-08:00

The weather was nice and as long as I kept the sling on, my shoulder didn't hurt, so I figured why not have class?

We had a good turn out although they came at different times. Aaron Miller shows up early so he can get some practice in before he goes to work. A visiting missionary, Elder Huntbach, was his workout partner.

I use the padded swords especially for beginners so they can learn proper form and if they hit too hard, no damage to their partner. We're working on getting protective headgear and even armor. While we're working on getting the appropiate fencing gear, I've been looking at using moto-cross helmets and armor. My neighbor is a welder and we're going to make a wire mesh to fit where a visor would be on a normal helmet. If that works, we can strengthen the helmet with ABS strips and even make a neck apron. One of our group is looking at making suits of armor from ABS.

One of our regulars, Scott Hathaway and a visiting friend were working with bokens (wood samurai swords) and got a little sidetracked on what I was teaching the rest of the class. Here you see the results of no headgear. Just a little ding on the forehead but it could have been worse. Proper protection and good control are very important! One step at a time, next class I think we'll review the pell and controlled strikes.

Post-op

2009-01-07T22:15:00.000-08:00

Today I had surgery on my left shoulder, consequences of an injury five years ago. http://orthopedics.about.com/cs/generalshoulder/a/slap.htm I tore the labrum where the biceps tendon connects. The county (LA County-my employer) finally approved the repair since it wasn't getting better. Luckily, the injury was on the job so I'm taking two weeks to recover. Maybe tomorrow I'll type with two hands! While waiting for approval, I was trying to build up my shoulders with Clubbells and circular strenght training. http://www.rmaxinternational.com/home/ I even entered the first RMAX fitness challenge. The exercises were helping a lot but I still had trouble with pushing out or in. Shortly after I finished the fitness challenge, I was injured at work again. This time with a sternoclavicular dislocation. http://www.orthogate.org/patient-education/shoulder/sternoclavicular-joint-problems.html My right clavicle came off my sternum! I felt like my warrenty had expired! After two surgeries, that was repaired. When I'm done with rehab for the latest surgery, I'll start up with the clubbells again. A lot of the movements are great for sword work training.
I won't be using a sword for a few weeks but I can still supervise the training.

Some of the group

2008-12-31T18:13:00.000-08:00

These are a couple of pictures we took last Saturday. So far we don't have an inside place to practice so we do it in the driveway of my place. It was about 34 degrees when we started. You can see the snow on the mountains to the South of us. We have the Duncan clan with Mark and his sons Adam and Josh. They are holding nylon wasters from The Dwarven Smithy. (http://www.emerytelcom.net/users/blhunt/sales.htm) More about them later. Aaron Miller and I are playing with the two padded swords I'd finished that morning.

Padded longswords

2008-12-31T16:44:00.000-08:00

Okay, here's another padded sword. This one is a long sword, patterned after a real one I have using approximately the same dimensions. Like the previous sword we use 3/4" schedule 40 PVC. For this one, you'll need: one 4' - 3/4" PVC and two 5" lengths of 3/4" PVC, one 4' -3/4" wood dowel, one 3/4" quad connecter and two 3/4" caps, 37" of pipe insulation, one chair leg cap, duct tape, electrical tape and sports wrap.

Cut the 4' PVC into two parts. The long end is 36" and the short end is 12". If you like the handle longer, start with a longer piece of PVC!
I used PVC cement to glue the vertical pieces into the quad connector. Put the caps on the ends of the 5" pieces and put them in the vertical holes. I didn't glue them in because it was a tight fit and if they break it will be easier to replace them.

I spray painted the cross hilt because I didn't want them white. All I had was green, your choice may vary! Put the insulation on using the same method as in the previous sword. Slide the wood dowel into the PVC. You'll find that there is now about a 1" space at the end. You can use a short piece of wood to make up the difference or even metal to help with the balance. Put the chair leg cap on and you're ready to tape. I find that if I overlap the duct tape it helps hold the insulation in place. Up one side and down the other, then repeat. Two passes will cover it well.

Use the electrical tape around the overlapped duct tape just above the cross hilt. You can use the electrical tape to wrap the handle or go to a sporting goods store and buy some sports wrap, the kind you'd use on a tennis racket handle. It makes for a very nice grip. And there you go, another training sword! Make sure you wear safety goggles at least, better to wear head protection as well. Have fun!

Musings about affiliation

2008-12-20T21:23:00.000-08:00

When I first decided to start a training group with my friends, I figured it would be a good idea to become affiliated with an established organization. The one we had heard about the most was ARMA. We sent in a group application and waited to be approved. In our group we have another martial artist with many years of kung fu experience who has been studying kenjutsu and kendo. Another member was a competition fencer (epee and saber) in college. I've got 40 years of martial arts and have taught for 25 years. We thought we'd be a good fit but after many months I recieved this note: "At this time we feel it in all our interests for you to proceed on your own path in your historical fencing pursuits. Please continue to enjoy our free online public materials and resources. Thanks for your interest. Best of luck to you in your endeavors." Their online stuff is very useful but I was hoping to be able to implament their youth program. Soooo, we kept training on our own, mostly working from the book "The Swordsman's Companion" by Guy Windsor. It's very well written and has helped us alot. We're still thinking of joining an organization, maybe The Tattershall School http://tattershall.discoperta.com// or Schola Saint George http://www.scholasaintgeorge.org/joomla_new/. In the meantime we're having fun training and learning. It's all good!

Sportswords

2008-12-15T18:00:00.000-08:00

Another training tool I had from another martial art is the Sportswords. I'm not sure the company is still around, I couldn't find it on the internet. After awhile the original insides broke and I've had to fix them. I'm going to show you how I do it so you can make your own.
This is a previously repaired sportsword. It's 36" in overall length with the tsuka or handle being 13" and the "blade" being 23".

Here you can see what I use to repair the broken one. I have a 36" 3/4" PVC and a 36" wood dowel that slides inside. Then I use pipe insulation cut 24"

At the end of the insulation I pinch the ends together and use duct tape to seal it.

Then I pinch the other sides in and tape again. This give a rounded, padded end to the sword.

Next I slide the cloth cover over the insulation. You can use duct tape. Then I put the tsuba or guard on. Sportswords had their own made but you can use a large rubber washer or anything else that will fit.

Last I wrap the handle. You can use electrical tape, hockey tape or the wrap they use on tennis rackets. Last I put on the kashira or pommel. This one is a rubber chair leg tip.

2008-12-15T17:25:00.000-08:00

When I first started training in Bujinkan Budo Taijutsu http://www.bujinkan.com/ at the Ohoko Dojo http://www.ohoko.com/ I purchased some training tools from Ed Martin. http://www.pennsylvaniabujinkan.com/Equipment/Index.asp Very durable hickory boken and jo. We used these and other tools when we first started the training group. Part of my interest in the longsword is that it's about the same length of a jo. (48 inches) I probably won't be carrying a sword around that often but I use the jo as a walking stick and have it with me a lot.

2008-12-13T18:31:00.000-08:00

Hi all!
This is my first post on this new blog. I'm starting this blog to talk about my journey into western martial arts or more specifically, medieval martial arts. I've started a study group with some friends and every week we get together and study technique and movement. In this blog I'll talk about our discoveries and include pictures and videos of our practice and how I make training swords. I'll also include links to suppliers of things we haven't figured out how to make ourselves. I'll try to keep things interesting so hopefully you'll check back now and then!
Thanks for checking it out!
RJ Price