Sacramento Sword School
We are a Western Martial Arts school located in Sacramento, California. Our focus is the study of historical 16th and 17th century rapier and sword combat. We study period manuals for historical knowledge and perspective, and also try to synthesize our collective fencing and martial arts experience into something moderately coherent. In our practice we also drill and spar using accurate replicas of period weapons, as well as wooden wasters.
The group was originally started in 1997 by Jim Nordstrom and Eric Myers, in an attempt to find other people to play swords with. Together they have over 15 years experience in several martial arts, over 17 years of fencing experience, and over 14 years experience teaching fencing, martial arts, and other sports. Our other members vary widely in experience, from beginners to very experienced in related areas.
In 2003 we were joined by Puck and Mary Curtis, who brought fencing and martial arts experience of their own, plus a research focus on Spanish swordplay.
Our philosophy: We do this out of interests in history, swordsmanship, sports, martial arts, and fun. We are not interested in teaching a potentially dangerous martial art to someone who is going to misuse it. We look forward to new people coming in, but before we let you swing a sword at us, we need to be able to trust you ;-)
We are not a reenactor group, although many of us are renactors with other groups. The Sacramento Sword School is about swords and how to use them.
Our schedule is as follows:
Our Moday/Wednesday Italian Rapier classes are on temporary hiatus.
Sundays: This practice is for people who have previous martial arts experience, or who have achieved a certain proficiency in the Italian Rapier class and now wish to broaden their scope of swordsmanship. This practice is held outdoors, year round.
If you are interested, email us for more information.
NEWS:
December 13th, 2008: Eric Myers and Puck Curtis pass the Masters exam, and Kevin Murakoshi passes the Provost exam at the San Jose State Fencing Masters Progam.
March 5th, 2007: Eric Myers and Puck Curtis pass the Provost exam, and Kevin Murakoshi passes the Instructor exam for foil, at the San Jose State Fencing Masters Progam.
March 6th, 2006: Eric Myers and Puck Curtis pass the Instructor's level exam for Classical Italian Foil in the San Jose State Fencing Masters Progam.
August 1st, 2005: We are now an official Tattershall School of Defense Study Group.