Welcome to our new weapons program.
During the past forty years of the martial arts boom, there has been strong interest
in different weapon styles. Because much of the martial world was
comprised of instructors whose primary experience was the Asian arts, Asian
style weaponry has been easier to find to train. Chinese sword and spear, Japanese kubudo techniques
and Filipino stick and blade fighting have been well documented and taught.
But there are some people who wanted to learn more about the European style
weapons and sword play. This aspect of martial arts has not been as
prominent and finding skilled instructors has been difficult. European
style fencing has survived in sport form (Olympic level fencing) and there has
been renewed interest in other medieval weapons including maces, shields, large
swords, spears, etc. We believe all of these styles and weapons have
value, especially if the practitioner finds the right weapon for himself or
herself.
This system is our effort to explore the use, strengths, weaknesses and values of all
weapons, not just specific styles. We began by classifying all weapons into
two general classifications (type of damage and range), created a general table
to illustrate the relationships and have selected a beginning weapon to illustrate
key principles of use by each group. After exploring 4 initial weapons,
the student will have experience in all weapons ranges and basic attack and
defense skills. After this point, the student can begin to choose a
specific weapon to explore and gain proficiency or continue to work more on general principles for
many different styles and weapons.
This is not a static system but the starting point for further exploration. Each weapon is unique and has special strengths and weaknesses but weapons do have similarities and follow the same rules of physics. Our goal is to use modern and ancient references to discover concepts and principles in usage of different weapons. Come join and find the weapon for you!
How to begin
Call (503) 999-3732 today to set up an appointment. Class time will be scheduled for Thursdays at 8pm and check back further for further updates and details for this exciting program.