Hello,

The International Swordfighting and Martial Arts Convention continues to grow as we go into our 6th year of bringing together the finest instructors from around the world. After making some exciting new additions, the web site is up and can be found at http://artofcombat.org/public/thespis/Convention/aocflyer.htm This year will have all the wonderful opportunities that we have every year as well as some new experiences for 2005, making it the workshop not to be missed. It will be held in Lansing, Michigan as always on the first weekend of August (5th-7th) 2005.

We will be offering over 40 classes during the three days. As you saw last year, there will be 4 classes to choose from all weekend! There are two blocks of regular classes running concurrently with a block of 3 hour master classes and a block of 4 ½ hour Maestro classes. Check the website to see how last year’s schedule was laid out. This will give you an idea of the great variety of classes that will be offered.

PRIVATE LESSONS with the instructors will be offered again. These were offered at ISMAC 2003 for the first time at any WMA workshop and they were a huge success, so we are excited to continue offering this rare opportunity. Just check out the website for more information!

Not only is there an amazing list of classes and instructors, but you will have the chance to use your skills! We will have a rapier tournament on Saturday night and a Singlestick Tournament on Sunday.

On Friday night you will have to choose between coached bout rapier fencing, Longsword free fencing, or exercising your mind at the paper presentations.

There will be demonstrations and presentations during the lunch breaks everyday. We will also have several discussion groups happening over the weekend which will be very exciting. More will be on the website in the months to come!

We are excited to offer the first annual Col. Dwight McLemore Scholarship for ISMAC this year. This is the first scholarship ever offered for a WMA event and will provide full registration to the event, one master class registration and a $100 travel/hotel reimbursement.
We hope to help those that have always wanted to attend but have not been able to afford it and we want to thank Dwight for his support in this endeavor. To be eligible you can not have attended ISMAC before and must be able to show a need for the scholarship.
If you would like to apply, contact jaredkirby@hotmail.com to get a copy of the application.

The list of Instructors is now online!

Come share in the fun of the infamous statues, try one of Lansing’s famous pig sandwiches while learning tons about Western Martial Arts!

Sincerely,

Jared Kirby

Call for Papers
at
The International Swordfighting and Martial Arts Convention
in Lansing, MI Aug. 5-7th 2005
http://artofcombat.org/public/thespis/convention/aocflyer.htm


We are now soliciting papers on Western Martial arts and all related topics to be presented ISMAC 2005. We are looking for 20 minute papers on any subject related to Historic European Martial Arts. For example:

Treatises:
-Interpretation of treatises and manuals: What do you need to know in order to unlock the knowledge of the masters?
-How did an individual look at these books in their time? What was the intended audience for them?

Social Context:
-What role did martial arts play in civilian life?
-How did the mindset of the time influence the way martial art books were written?

Related Sciences:
-How did other sciences such as Mathematics, Philosophy and Medicine influence Western Martial Arts?
-How did knowledge of internal anatomy influence the targeting of swordsmanship?

Organizations:
-What is the difference between a club, society, company, academy, school, association, etc.?

These are just a few examples; we are open to any topics that are related to Western Martial Arts. In order to be considered you will need to send an abstract for the paper no later than May 1st, 2005. If you have any questions or to submit your abstract please email: jaredkirby@hotmail.com.

If you are flying to ISMAC this year you can save money! ISMAC has arranged a deal with Northwest/KLM/Continental to provide a 10% discount on flights to the workshop. For details, please go to the webpage at http://artofcombat.org/public/thespis/convention/aocflyer.htm and click on ‘Flight Discounts’. See you in August!

Sincerely,

Jared Kirby

Hey all,

I want to let everyone know that the tentative schedule is now posted for the 6th Annual ISMAC in Lansing, MI. Please go to http://artofcombat.org/public/thespis/convention/aocflyer.htm

-There are over 50 classes offered during a 3 day weekend.

-Three special presentations during the lunch breaks.

-We will repeat the Rapier and Singlestick tournaments, but this year it will be Rapier and Smallsword!

-A special night of coached bouts with the Masters!

-Once again we will also offer private lessons with the instructors!

-Even More Maestro and Master Classes!


AND NEW THIS YEAR:

-We have added one more track of class so you will have 5 classes to choose from during each time slot! There has never been so many options, which is truly a double edged sword :)

- More intermediate and advanced classes than ever before!

-We are offering a new opportunity this year for advanced participants. 'Master Class Blocks' give you the opportunity to concentrate on specific principles of combat. See the description on the website for more details.

-Paper presentations so you have some time to exercise your mind too!

-A 10% discount on flights with Northwest/KLM/Continental


The online registration form is now up, so what are you waiting for?

Sincerely,

Jared Kirby

Hi,

Just a quick reminder that the early registration deadline is drawing near. After May 1st the registration price increases by $25. So if you are planning on attending ISMAC, get your registration in early and save a little money!

Sincerely,

Jared Kirby

Hi,

We are happy to be able to offer an exciting new class on Boarding Actions this year. It won't be in a classroom though. This class will happen as the Michigan Princess Riverboat goes down the Grand River. That's right…We’re boarding a 100 ton, 110 foot long paddlewheel riverboat for this one!

This class will take what you've learned in cutlass, sabre, and tomahawk to practice advanced techniques in mixed-weapon scenarios typical of what would be found in a basic maritime boarding action of the 18th century. Weapons will include Cutlass, Boarding Axe, Bowie Knife, Sabre, and Pistol. All this while steaming down the river! For more information see 'special classes' on the website at http://artofcombat.org/public/thespis/convention/aocflyer.htm There is a limited enrollment, so sign up quick.

See ya in a few months!

Sincerely,

Jared Kirby

Hi all,

Just wanted to remind everyone that the 10% discount with Northwest will not work less then 30 days prior to ISMAC. So if you haven't booked your flight yet, now is the time to do it!

Sincerely,

Jared Kirby

Hello Fencers,

I want to let you know that Arms & Armor (http://www.arms-n-armor.com/) has just agreed to provide the prizes for the rapier tournament this year, so there will be nearly $1000 in prizes!
First prize will be a rapier/smallsword, second place will be a dagger and third place will be a buckler. The exact items will be listed on the website soon. Check out Arms & Armor's website to see examples their exquisite work.

And to top it off, the tournament is free to all ISMAC participants!!! So if you like the sound of new gear for FREE, start honing you fencing skills and don't miss the Rapier tournament on Saturday night!


Sincerely

Jared Kirby

Hi!

As we come to a little over a month away from ISMAC, many master classes are now full. These classes are:

Fiore's Spear
Marozzo's Pressas
Capo Ferro's Rapier
Giganti's Rapier
Fabris' Rapier
Silver's Sword
German Unarmed

And that means that 2 of the 3 Master Class Blocks are also closed:

The Nature of Defense in Italian Rapier Play
Sensitivity to Contact in Early German Fechten.

Many of the remaining Master/Maestro classes only have 1 or 2 spots left. If you are planning to come to ISMAC this year you should get your registration in ASAP!

See ya in a month!

Sincerely,

Jared Kirby

Hello,

This is a reminder for those that are coming to ISMAC, but haven't registered yet. The registration deadline is coming up quickly. If you are planning on coming, save yourself some money and get your registration in by July 23rd. After that the price goes up $25, so get those registrations in!!

Sincerely,

Jared Kirby

Hello,

With ISMAC less then a week away there are only a couple spots left in only a few Master Classes, the majority of the Master Classes are full and closed now.
There have also been some changes to the schedule so make sure that you check it out. This will hopefully be the final schedule for the workshop (knock on wood :))
We'll see you in a week!

Sincerely,

Jared Kirby

http://artofcombat.org/public/thespis/convention/aocflyer.htm

Hello,

I want to send a big thank you to the all the instructors and especially to the participants who made this year the largest ISMAC ever! It was another wonderful year of learning. I’m sure there will be more detailed reviews of the workshop forthcoming, so I won’t tell you all the stories, but I did want to make sure that the winners of the tournaments were known to all.

Saturday night was our first public Rapier/Smallsword tournament which was run by the AHF. A big thank you to all the instructors for creating interesting demos for the public, and especially to Sean and Guy for jumping in when I needed another 10 minutes. The demos ran smoothly and the public was very impressed. We educated over 100 new people about Western Martial Arts!

The tournament was the best to date, with some very good fencing. Most importantly, the participants maintained honor above the desire to win. A special acknowledgement goes to Steve Watson in this department: he had a bout that was going to be awarded to him, but he acknowledged a hit that knocked him out of the tournament. So thank you Steve for being an example of what these tournaments are truly about.

In the end, the final three each won a beautiful prize provided by Arms & Armor. The winners were:

3rd Place – Russell Hogg (winning a buckler)
2nd Place – Cecil Longino (winning a dagger)
and
1st Place – Steaphen Fick (winning a smallsword)


Sunday night was the Singlestick Tournament run by Macdonald Academy of Arms. This was again open to the public, so Maestro Paul Macdonald began with a short presentation on the Singlestick. This was well received by the audience and then the tournament began. A big thanks must go out to all of those who participated in this tournament which was at the end of the 3rd, 12 hour day in a row; talk about stamina! The prize for first place (a lovely singlestick) was provided by Macdonald Academy of Arms. The winners were:

3rd Place – Troy Degerstrom
2nd Place – Steve Huff
and
1st Place – Scott Wilson

Of course there were amazing classes by the best instructors around and even more fun after hours at the Radisson, but more on that to come. It was a truly spectacular year.
ISMAC 2006 will be the first weekend of August (as always :)) and I look forward to seeing new faces mixed with the familiar ones. The infamous statue awaits you!
Take care!

Jared Kirby