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Our Schedule is changing in September
There will be new classes offered, please come back for more updates.
| | Want to meet and learn for several Maestros at one time? If so register for The Paddy Crean International Art of the Sword Workshop. | Interested in learning something new?
Or competing with other Western Martial Artists? | Can't make it on a regular basis? Try taking one of Steaphen's Weekend Seminars. |  |
In
addition to his own classes Steaphen will also host instructors from
other groups to come in and teach seminars. | 
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Are you
looking for a well established school to study martial arts in the
European tradition? DEMAS has been in business since 2000 and has
worked with many students over the last 10 years. We are a school
that studies and works on the fundamental principles of martial arts
so that you will be able to understand and use many different styles
and weapons. |
Don’t
know what to get that special person for Christmas or birthdays? If
that special person is interested in history or martial arts or both,
than a gift certificate to a month of classes may be the perfect gift
for them. |
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| People
mistakenly associate martial arts exclusively with the Asian fighting
arts. Currently, there is a renaissance in the study of historically
accurate Western Martial Arts, from medieval fighting manuals. These
manuals have revealed a well-established, highly sophisticated European
fighting system, employing swords, rapiers, daggers, shields, pole
axes, etc. |
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theatrical and popular media portrayals have reduced European martial
arts to the myth that combatants merely crudely bludgeoned, hacked, and
slashed savagely at their opponents. In reality, European martial arts
integrate footwork, avoidance, and the ability to use timing and
distance to exploit and enhance the sword's inherent cutting and
thrusting capabilities. These skills include techniques for grappling,
wrestling, kicking, throwing, and disarming of the opponent. European
martial arts are distinctly different from modern Olympic fencing and
Asian martial arts. |
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Enthusiasts of
modern fencing, historical reenactment and role playing games are now
starting to focus on historically accurate methods of medieval and
renaissance fighting skills. The differences between the English,
Italian and Spanish schools of rapier and sword play have been studied
at length. How to properly wear your weapon, particularly when in a
crowd, and knowing when not to use it, are two of the skills a
swordsman must have.
Today in our school we use wooden
swords (called wasters), fencing helmets to protect the head and
face, and gloves and padded jackets to protect the hands and arms.
Safety is a primary concern, so we work very hard on mixing the
medieval and renaissance martial arts with the safety concerns of the
21st century.
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| When you
join our school, you will get to study the European tradition of
martial arts while you learn how to use different kinds of swords and
daggers. And, in the process you may pick up some history, physics, and
geometry, and have fun while you are learning these skills. | |  |
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Sword fighting may be right for you if:
The truth about martial arts –
I’ll get hurt in martial arts
training:
The martial arts
are safer than many sports because precautions are taken against
injury. As a form of self-defense, the training is designed to help
you avoid getting hurt. That’s not to say you won’t get a bruise
or risk twisting an ankle and maybe get knocked down. As a beginning
student, you aren’t signing up to get kicked in the head. You may
not experience any physical contact until you’ve mastered quite a
few moves, which should allow you a fighting chance to protect
yourself.
It takes years before you can do
anything in martial arts:
Progress may seem painfully slow
at first, but it will come. You should start to develop some skills
within the first month, feeling more comfortable and developing a
decent understanding of what you will accomplish. You can earn your
first rank in three to four months. That said, you can spend your
entire life perfecting your forms and training you mind and spirit.
School DemonstrationsAre
you a teacher, or do you know a teacher that would like to have a
demonstration at their school for their class? We have several options
available. Usually if history is only taught as a bunch of dates
in a book, it really is pretty boring. What we do when we visit a class
is bring history to life and try to engender a desire in the students
to want to learn more about history. If they have a chance to hold a
sword in their hand or put on a knight’s helmet, then history isn’t
just a bunch of dates, it is a real, tangible thing that the students
can really touch. Visit our shop at Cafe
Press and buy school related products!
Interested in discussing Western Martial Arts? Join our Yahoo Group On Going Projects
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Click
on the pictures here to learn more about these projects |
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Our MISSION
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Contents Copyright ©
2001-2010, Steaphen Fick
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