http://fightlongpoint.com

Maryland Kunst des Fechtens and the HEMA Alliance are proud to announce Longpoint 2011:
the second annual mid-Atlantic gathering for Historical European Martial Arts practitioners.

Longpoint 2011 is a two-day long, regional gathering for historical fencers and martial artists patterned after the Fechtschule events of 16th and 17th-century Germany. The best instructors and competitors from the mid-Atlantic area—and some from across the nation—are coming to Maryland to fight, teach, and train from January 22-23, 2011.

Don't miss this opportunity to...

• Compete in the east coast's first major “Freestyle” Longsword and Dussack tournaments against regional and national fighters
  
• Train in small groups with local and internationally recognized instructors in German longsword, Bolonese sword and rotella, Portuguese montante (two-handed sword), Italian grappling and dagger, dueling saber, Italian rapier, and more!
  
• Get one-on-one instruction and practice in test-cutting using a European sword and targets provided by the event hosts
  
• Meet, train, and spar with other swordsmanship enthusiasts and historical European martial artists from throughout the mid-Atlantic region
  
• Get the latest news on upcoming regional and national HEMA events in 2011

Longpoint 2011 will be held on Saturday and Sunday, January 22-23, 2011 at the Howard County Sports Center in Elkridge, Maryland, only 15 minutes from Baltimore-Washington International Airport.

Some of the growing ranks of instructors, in alphabetical order...

• Bill Grandy, Virginia Academy of Fencing, Virginia
  
• Bob Charrette, Forteza Swordwork Guild, Virginia
  
• Cory Winslow, Medieval European Martial Arts Guild (MEMAG), Maryland
  
• Jake Norwood, Maryland KDF, Maryland
  
• Jay Vail, Meyer Frei Fechter Guild (MFFG), Florida
  
• Larry Tom, Mid-Atlantic Society for Historical Swordsmanship (MASHS), Maryland
  
• Michael Edelson, New York Historical Fencing Association (NYHFA), New York
  
• Steve Hick, Virginia
  
• Steve Reich, NoVA Assaulto, Virginia

There are limited spaces for Longpoint 2011. Last year's Mid-Atlantic HEMA Gathering filled up early. Register nowto ensure your spot!

Registration before January 1st - $89.95
Registration after January 1st – $99.95
Cutting class fee – Add $30 during online registration
Tournament spectators - $5 at the door

Note: No registrations allowed “at the door.” Registration fees include entry into both tournaments, whether you chose to compete or just watch.

For more information and regular updates, go to http://fightlongpoint.com

Register Now!

We've added Lee Smith, of Canada's Blood and Iron Martial Arts, to this year's Longpoint lineup. Lee is the head instructor at Blood and Iron Martial Arts, the winner of the 2006 Arts of Mars Worldwide Open Rapier Championship, and 2nd place winner at this year's Hammerterz Forum International Open Dussack Tournament...he's the guy that knocked me out of the running, in fact!

Lee will be teaching a class on the Dussack this year.

Don't miss it!

Jake Norwood
Organizer, Longpoint 2011
http://www.fightlongpoint.com

p.s. Glad to be here...

Bump.... This is going to be a worthwhile event to attend if your within 300 miles.

And now that this event is over, let me just say what a great time I had. Longpoint stemmed out of a previously informal get together that Jake Norwood had set up the year before. Previously the goal was to get people in the greater DC area together for some HEMA training, bouting and camaraderie. This year it came back bigger and badder in the guise of Longpoint 2011. The event was a mix of classes and tournaments, though the tournaments were probably the main part of the event.

The two tournaments were for the longsword and the dussack, and both showed some excellent bouts. I have to confess, in the past I've been one of the people who haven't been thrilled with the idea of modern tournaments in WMA. While I've always liked the idea in theory, I've always been concerned with the tendency for competitors to "game" the rules and change the spirit of the tournament so that it becomes divorced from real swordsmanship. A lot of previous tournaments had done little to change my mind on this, but Jake Norwood is probably one of the main reasons I've come around. He also has shared the exact same concerns as I did, but his philosophy is that tournaments are going to happen whether we like it or not, so it's better to get involved and shape them into what we want rather than ignore them and have it evolve separately from what we do. And you know what? Sure there were people who gamed the rules (largely unconsciously, I think), and sure, not everything was perfect, but by and large there were some EXCELLENT fights, and some really great examples of what good fencing is. I was damn impressed by some of the bouts.

Congratulations go to Lee Smith for winining the Dussack tournament, and to Scott Brown for winning the longsword tournament. Congratulations and condolences also have to go to Jeff Tsay, as he was dominating in the longsword tournament finals when a bad shot hit his lacrosse gloves at just the wrong point, and he suffered a break on the tip of his pinky and could not continue. There were many loud rounds of applause for him, because he was really doing wonderfully before that happened.

Hats off to Jake Norwood and the Maryland KDF crew for making everything go so smoothly and for providing such a great atmosphere!

A big thank you to Jake for coordinating the event, and to the teachers and referees as well.

Thank you to Bill Grandy for letting me sit at the VAF table and listen to some good stories, even though I haven't attended classes at VAF (this event was my 2nd WMA class ever).

Special thank you to Michael Edelson, who graciously let me in the afternoon cutting class, even though I hadn't signed up for anything until the morning of the event and the evening spots were all filled (my original plan was just as a spectator). That was greatly appreciated, and the cutting class was one of the highlights of the day for me.

It was a great event. I'm looking forward to Longpoint 2012.

I arrived safely home from Longpoint around lunchtime today. I had an amazing time at this event, and hope to make it an annual event for myself. It was great meeting a bunch of people who I normally only see online, although there were more I would have liked to get to know. As I was judging the first round of the longsword tournament, I heard the name Ed Toton being called, and thought I'd get to see what was under that crusader helmet. Unfortunately, he was wearing a "That guy" fencing helmet, so I still don't know what he looks like!

I also got to teach my I.33 interpretation to what was probably the biggest group I've worked with, and was seriously impressed with how quickly everyone picked up what I was teaching. It was a really enjoyable class for me, and I'm pretty sure it well received. So thanks to everyone who was there.

It was also my first time at this kind of tournament, and I had the privilege of judging, which was a lot of fun and much less frightening than I anticipated, mostly due to Jake Norwood's pre-tournament judging workshop. I learned a lot. I know I made a few mistakes, but I don't think I made any incorrect calls that adversely affected the outcome. I look forward to reviewing the videos to see how my calls looked from another angle. I appreciate everyone's understanding and consideration towards the judges.

The only regret I have is that Jeff Tsay's incredible twelve bout run got cut short and he didn't get to finish the tournament. Not only was his string of victories impressive in and of itself, but he won his bouts with clear intent, determination and clear and crisp technique. He was a joy to watch.

Congratulations to Lee and Scott on their success in the tournaments, and a huge congratulations and thank-you to Jake for a great event!

No video of any bouts?

There are tons! Just search for Longpoint 2011 on youbook or facetube or whatever you kids use. :)