[Bill Grandy]

[Bill Grandy]

So now that I've had some time to recoup somewhat, I'd like to also talk about how cool it was to have all the vendors at the event as well. I think Albion made a killing off of those of us from the Virginia Academy of Fencing: Between us, we picked up five Maestro line Meyers, a Soldat, a Gallowglass, and a Landgraf. I guess we felt bad for Harlan, who had to keep cleaning the swords after us putting our grubby fingerprints all over their other incredible swords while trying to decide which ones we liked best.

Craig Johnson is always a great guy to chit chat with, and he did a rather crazy thing: He held a lecture in which he allowed people to take his brand new axes, hammers and flails and beat the snot out of a wooden block as well as a 16 guage piece of sheet metal. He certainly didn't mind letting people do some really destructive things. One of the Hungarian axes he used had an incredibly miniscule ding on the tip after all that abuse, and even though Craig was just planning on taking it back home with him, I talked him into selling it to me for a deal. I've always wanted one of those things: The axe is shockingly agile in a way no one ever expects an axe to be. Anyone interested but hesitating to buy one should do themselves a favor and send Craig the cash: Everyone falls in love with this thing as soon as they touch it. As Christian Tobler said (who also bought one while there), it's like a pocket polearm. I also ended up buying an A&A rondel, which I've always wanted. That was the first time I'd gotten to handle one, and it is one SWEET piece.

Revival Clothing was there, and our group took home at least two of their gambesons. To date, I've never seen a nicer gambeson offered for the price. Their clothing and shoes are incredibly nice as well. And they have a new arming doublet that is FANTASTIC. The shaping and fit is wonderful for many body types, and I am definately planning on getting one for under my harness soon.

Scott Wilson had some fantastic rapiers, including some incredibly long bladed ones. Unfortunately, I'd blown far more money then I'd intended by this point, so I didn't come home with any of those!

Bah, my brain is still a bit on overload at the moment, so I'm drawing a blank as to the other vendors who were there. But the event was not only just full of great people and great training, but great ways to make me broke, too!

[Christian Henry Tobler]

Greetings to all,

This was, as others have observed, the best WMAW yet. It continues to astound me how the CSG folks continue to improve this outing every time.

It was wonderful to see old friends Nicole Allen, Greg Mele, the rest of the CSG crew, Jorg Bellinghausen, Hans Heim, David Teague, Bill Wilson, Sean Hayes, Guy Windsor, Steve Hick, and doubtless many others I'm neglecting in my exhausted and sick (I caught a cold while there) condition.

Meeting Paul Wagner at last was a real treat - he's A number 1 in my book, and lots of fun to be around.

We had a very strong showing from the Virginia Academy of Fencing, with Coach Bill Grandy's large posse in tow. All of the VAF folks are fantastic and it was great to spend lots of time with Bill as well as asst. coach Pamela Muir, who I first met last year and who I'm proud to count as a friend now.

Speaking of Bill...as Greg Mele had it "well, everyone knows who Bill Grandy is now", to which I added "yup, as of this event, he's a 'made man'". Now, neither Greg nor I are given to hyperbole: Bill was *everywhere* during the event, whether teaching, taking, or assisting with classes. His intro to German Longsword class garnered plaudits and he acted as training partner for both my classes as well as others. Finally, he got to really 'show his stuff' in our demo bout during the feast on Saturday. My friend, this was one of those moments where Chivalry truly "leans over and takes you into her confidence."

As Bill has mentioned, the vendors were great, and I must too advise: if you don't own one of A&A's Hungarian Axes, get one! At $125US, this is as close to stealing something valuable as you can get.

I'll doubtless have more to add as the days unfold, once I recover at bit!

All the best,

Christian

[Bill Grandy]

[Ed Toton]

[Aaron Schnatterly]

WMAW was almost beyond words - truly mind-blowing. If you are at all serious about your WMA scholarship and can manage to make it, you are doing yourself a disservice by not attending. According to Greg and Nicole, the probable plans are to hold the event biannually in Racine. Starting a piggy bank now will make it easier to afford. We have one going already.

I am having a very hard time composing this post, because I want to say so many good things all at once, and don't know where to begin. Therefore, they will come as they do...

As has been mentioned, the event was set in the amazing Dekoven Center. Beautiful architecture... fine, fine grounds... very suitable "classroom" spaces... the Dekoven staff was top-notch and on the ball... meals were plentiful, nutritious, and way better than expected, especially for catered feed-the-masses food. The setting really led to a feeling of being a 15th Century Courtier in serious training at a Noble's court, university or seminary.

The event was masterfully planned and executed. I don't know what kind of behind-the-scenes hell they had to deal with, but from the front end as a participant, registering and attending was smooth as silk. The WMAW staff all were always on their game and ready to help.

Without exception, the instructors, instruction, and course material were grade-A. Shan-Aan and I talked every evening and a good part of the way home about each of these three topics. Generally, it is easy to pick a favorite in each category. In this case, neither of us could, because everything was just that good. From my point of view, and in the order I took them so I don't miss anything, here are some of my favorite highlights:

On the first day, we had Bill Grandy and Pamela Muir - Intro to German Longsword. A full class of people with different levels of experience and backgrounds. Bill's structure to the course, obvious fluency in the techniques and theory of the art, and the great assistance from Pamela made for a very, very good and personally beneficial course. Thanks a million to both of you. Bill has this calm, confident demeanor that is really a pleasure to watch, less fun to be on the receiving end of - he's politely and seemingly effortlessly lethal. Hopefully I will be able to develop that smoothness in my own expression of the art. That the class was taught by two folks I'm proud to call "friend" was a nice bonus, as was the fact that there were some old friends in the class with us - the Bristol crew is always fun to hang out with. We also took advantage of some coached free-play in the evening, where Bill was able to really hone in on some of our deficiencies. Had this been all I did that weekend, it would have been worth it.

The second day was filled with getting back up off of the ground.
We started off with Roger Siggs - Marozzo's Dagger and Fist. Roger, Thayne, and Joshua were all friggin' cool. I'd love to spend a month working with these guys every day. Working from some of Fiore's and Marozzo's dagger plays, we learned all kinds of easy but nasty ways to defend against the knife/dagger-wielding thug, generally ending with them in a lot of pain on the ground, bar floor, alley trash heap... I think for me, the class was as much fun because of these guys personalities as for the subject matter. In another post, Bill Grandy said to be prepared to make some new life friends. Hopefully that happened here.

Next was Doctor Bill's Wrestling at the Hilts class. Bill is nuts in such a good way. Very serious in his studies, but he just enjoys this stuff so much he almost gets giddy. All kinds of nasty ways to defeat your opponent once things get closer than close. Yeah, fun to just snag someone's sword and toss 'em on their head. One thing that impressed me about the participants, instructors, and staff in general, and especially Bill was the constant eye on safety. As Bill stated in this class (paraphrased): This stuff is so sexy... It's just too damned easy to get it right. Please be mindful, keep it sane.

Later in the day, we caught locks and binds by Rob and Mark from The Exiles. Dagger, no dagger, sword, whatever... just take what is presented, bind them up, toss them, disarm them, break them... all from a couple of blokes from across the pond who were something of a cross between skinheads and Monty Python. Solid practitioners, excellent people, great instructors.

I vaguely remember crawling into bed that night... doubt I moved much. My aches had pains. What an awesome day!

Day three continued the string of cool stuff.

We started off with Rob and Mark again for "Using dei Liberi's System Beyond the First Blow". Right back into the fun with these guys. I absolutely love 'em. Tactics, tactics. Rob and Mark had a very clean, clear decision tree, presenting a very concise, very effective method of applying the art. Though using specific plays from Fiore's system, the thought process can easily be transferred to any martial art. Well organized, well thought out, and well instructed.

Later that afternoon, we had Colin Hatcher's Applying Fiore's Grappling to Groundfighting. Admittedly, there are two lines that I will likely draw in my training. First, I doubt I'll ever engage in Knightly equestrian activities. Second, I doubt I'll focus hardcore on the groundfight. That said, Colin was able to demonstrate and teach some good fundamentals should I ever find myself in a real-life situation. This stuff is downright scary, and you have to have good communication and trust with your training partner. Fortunately, I was able to work with Dan from CSG. Way-cool guy, good martial artist.

Following this, it was off to a lecture, again by Colin, about his interpretation of the meanings of the animals in Fiore's Segno. Nicely organized, well presented. Cool stuff. One of the points made by (or, rather, extrapolated from) this lecture was just how heavily cultured and educated a lot of these Courtiers and Nobles actually were. Not a lot of new material here, save some additional bestiary references I wasn't aware of prior, but a lot of fun to attend.

We did not attend the feast (regrettably, as it would have been great social time), opting for a quiet evening of relaxing and recuperation.

The fourth day was a bit lower key.

Started off with Guy Windsor's I:33 class. We were mentally wiped, and audited the class. The method of interpreting and testing the interpretation of any treatise (not just I:33, though MS I:33 was used as the example) was interesting. Additionally, this was our first time working with any sword and buckler techniques, so was a help there as well.

After a decent lunch, I went off to Jorg's Armoured Dagger Combat of Gladitoria class. Hmm... Jorg assisted by Christian, in a subject that both are highly effective and passionate about. This couldn't be anything but a great class. Brutal disarms and techniques against an armoured opponent, though by following through a little more they can be quite effective against an unarmoured one as well. Another class with some potential real-world application. Here, I had the fortune of working with my friend Robert Jenks for a training partner. Thank you for not hurting me, Bob!

Wrapping up the fourth day and the weekend, we then were off to Christian's Sword and Buckler of the Liechtenauer Tradition. This weekend presented the first opportunity to meet Christian in person. What a truly fantastic guy. Bill assisted, and the two together made for a very clear, very fun class. Though everyone was thoroughly whipped, both physically and mentally, this was a very upbeat and informative intro into the German side of the sword and buckler, which certainly sparked an interest for S&B work as a secondary focus.

We wrapped up the weekend without more than a couple of minor bruises and some sore muscles, and heads and hearts full of wonderful things.


On the participants: All of the folks who came to participate were just downright cool. I know I met a lot of people I have seen here on these forums, as well as a bunch of others I'd had no prior contact with. That was a load of fun, and I sincerely hope to see you all again in the future.

A couple of personal notes here...

First, to Pamela -

[Ed Toton]

[Aaron Schnatterly]

[Pamela Muir]

[Greg Mele]

Hi all,

Thanks for all of the kind words and fond memories! Aaron, you and your lady were wonderful students and great embassadors for Albion. I certainly agree, the brisk sales at this event show that there's plenty of room for everyone! Craig got my slotted allowance for the event when he showed up with my Montante trainer, but all that did was save (read: delay) me from handing the same amount to Harlan for a I.33 trainer.

There are others posting here who came to the event that I may not have gotten to meet, or may not have realized I did so - my apologies for that, but if you had a good time it all worked out ok!

I've posted a longer summary of the event on SFI, but as I always hate it when people post just to lead folks off to another forum, I've included a large chunk of it (with a few tweaks) here.

I hope it isn't hubris to say that I think this *was* the best WMAW we have hosted, especially since I think that it was the instructors and attendees, not the CSG, that "took it to another level”. I hosted the first WMAW in 1999, and not a single presentation from that event would hold up to today’s standards. WMAW's co-founder Pete Kautz and I were like proud-Papa's (OK, more like giggly school girls) in seeing how much things have advanced and refined in less than a decade. Even compared to 2005, where the classes were high quality and the students jumped in and trained hard, there was a *pronounced* difference in physical conditioning, work ethic and raw skill, in both drill and bouting, executed by this year's attendees. Amongst the instructors, the debates and discussions of interpretations were about specifics of mechanics and nuances of technique that would literally have been impossible a few years ago. As Jorg would say, a big Huzzah to all of you!

Finally, almost everyone on this forum knows Bill Grandy, and most people know that Bill actually teaches modern and historical fencing as his profession. But he’s never taught at a large, WMA event before, and I was determined to change that this year. Apparently, several instructors thought much the same thing, because Bill ended-up teaching three classes, assisting in three more, and assisting Christian in a demonstration bout at Saturday’s grand fete. And I can see why; Bill’s skills are first rate and he teaches with an easy, natural manner that keeps students engaged and focused, whether with longsword or rapier. “By their fruits, so shall ye know them”, and the roving pack of VAF students that traveled to DeKoven with Bill were the sort of students any teacher dreams of having. You could clearly see their training, and multiple instructors commented on what joys they were to teach in class. I saw that Christian called Bill a “made man” in his own review; I can only add my own hopes that Bill will become much better known * teacher * in our community.

I also wanted to single out the Saturday night demo bouts. I enjoyed all of these demos, but two stand out. Christian Tobler and Bill Grandy laying about one another at speed with steel longswords in one of the finest bouts I’ve seen, far outshining the longsword match in 2005. Winden, Zwerchau and Durchlaufen abounded, and to my mind the masters’ adage that the Schietelhau breaks Alber was more clearly proven that night than can be done by any amount of digital ink on this forum (but then, what would we all argue about? ).

Yet the match that drew not just cheers, but actual gasps from the crowd was the much commented up dueling sword match between Maestro Hayes and Provost Curtis. Anyone how knows me, knows that I’m not much for “foyning”, and just don’t click with the rapier, smallsword or dueling sword. So consider this when I say that this was simply one of the purest expressions of fencing as martial art I have ever seen: blazing fast, incredibly precise, elegant, and with no doubt when a sword had struck home. Anyone who think the Italian rapier bears no familiar ties to her descendant should have seen the counterattacks, passata sotto and inquartata that manifested naturally, logically, and effectively during the bout. Gentlemen, thank you for leaving all of us breathless. Students of the sword, take note, for it is this for which we strive!

There are so many other positive memories - hearing the high-praise that the “Rocky Mountain Spartans” from our sister school got from the other instructors, Dr. Bill “Uncle Fester” Ernoehazy doing all sorts of evil to Swordfodder with an Albion Kriegmesser, and the bizarre image of folks wandering around the DeKoven campus all weekend making odd throwing motions at the ground (you had to be there), all bring a smile to my face. But at the expense of sounding like a reminiscing old man and at worst like a self-congratulating twit (which I may already have done), I’ll let the rest pass.

So let me end with a word of thanks to the WMAW crew: Nicole Allen, John O’Meara, Ophelia Julien, Poji and the staff of volunteers they assembled. I just put together the programming, which is the fun part; these folks make the event run.

Finally, thanks to all of you who came. The CSG makes the event run, but you make it possible. Your enthusiasm, dedication and goodwill were infectious, even palpable, and that makes it all so very worthwhile.

Now, some NyQuil, a Sinutab and then off to bed with me.

Detur Digniori,

Greg Mele
WMAW Programming Chair

[Chris Last]

Greg-

A big thank you again to you and the entire crew. By hosting this behemoth you've given us an opportunity to really become a community as opposed to individual practitioners. I know I've become a better scholar, fencer and teacher over the past several years because of my involvement in events like this and the culture promoted by it. Like Dr. Bill said, we all need to continue this and take the mantle upon ourselves to continue pushing the art and science to new levels. With out the new developements, interpretations, sharing of ideas, and sense of community it is a very real possibility that the culture could fade away for another couple hundred years.

Best-