2023 LEARNING THROUGH COMPARISONS SEMINARS:
2023 LEARNING THROUGH COMPARISONS SEMINARS: with Tuhon Bill McGrath and these fine instructors.
Here is a list of the Zoom classes and the in-person seminar I have done so far in 2023; along with some samples of the material my co-instructors and I have taught at these events.
My intro video for Bowie, Axe and Kukri, explaining the Learning Through Comparisons principle:
1. JANUARY, BOWIE KNIFE: with Bryan Cannata
Guro Bryan Cannata: Bryan is a US Army veteran, a classically trained saber fencer and has trained in several styles of FMA, along with traditional American Bowie fighting. He is the founder of Kalis Americano (a blend of HEMA and FMA).
Here is the list of bowie books recommended by Bryan.
“Cold Steel” by John Styers
“Cold Steel” The art of fencing with the Sabre by Alfred Hutton
“Bowie knife Fights, Fighters and Fighting Techniques” by Paul Kirchner.
Contact Bryan through his Facebook group "Atlanta Monthly Meet Up."
2. JANUARY, TWO HANDED AXE: with Coach Russ Mitchell: Russ is a 30-year "HEMA Dinosaur" and Feldenkrais Method Practitioner, who has trained in a variety of eastern and western lineages. He is the founder of Winged Sabre Historical Fencing, where his teaching focuses on the Hungarian sabre and the Fokos Axe. Another great instructor with (warning!) a sense of humor similar to my own.
Visit his YouTube channel: https://www.youtube.com/@russmitchellmovement/featured
3. FEBRUARY, WALKING STICK: with Instructors John Borter & Trish Chiovari of Doyle Style Irish Stick Fighting. I’ve done two seminars with John and Trish. They know their subject well, are great communicators and are very easy to work with.
Contact them via their Facebook group: “The Irish Stick.”
Principles of PTI Walking Stick:
4. APRIL, PEKITI-TIRSIA SPEAR & ITALIAN PARTISAN: Maestro Devon Boorman. Devon has 30 years experience in Italian martial arts including swordplay, polearms, wrestling, and mounted combat. He is the author of “Introduction to Italian Rapier” and “Introduction to Italian Longsword”, as well as the Director of Academie Duello Center for Swordplay in Vancouver Canada.
Sample techniques from Pekiti-Tirsia Spear sets.
5. MAY, KUKRI/KHUKURI: with Sayaji David Daniel. David is a direct student of Mahasayaji Dr. Maung Gyi in the American Bando Association and National Bando Association of America. He has over 45 years of experience in martial arts with additional experience as a Sifu of Hsing-I and Ba-Gua under Allen Pittman and Tibetan Lion's Roar under Charles Daniel. For more info on David Daniel, join the Facebook group: The American Bando Association and Friends.
Crossdraw and walking guard/carry of the kukri.
6. MAY, AXE/TOMAHAWK & KNIFE: with Dr. John Lennox. John has trained in various forms of swordplay for over 40 years. Beginning with the katana, he later moved into the western weapon styles. He is a black belt in Kenpo, an instructor with the Historical Martial Study Society, and an expert level knife and tomahawk instructor for the School of Two Swords. Over the past few years he has focused on unarmed combat theory. His recent research includes Aztec, Mayan and Inca combat systems. Since 2006 he has been teaching at workshops all over the world, including the The Shenandoah Project, the Symposium on the Western Arts of Swordsmanship through History (S.W.A.S.H.) in Leeds, England, and numerous workshops in Scotland, England, Finland, Ireland, Belgium, Germany, Australia, Mexico and Canada.
He is the author of Combat Theory: The Foundations of the Fight, and is the editor for the posthumous work of Colonel Dwight C. McLemore, The Dagger/Counter-Dagger Concepts of Joachim Meyer.
He is routinely called in to colleges and universities for workshops on historical combat and stage combat. John holds a PhD in Theatre with cognate studies in historical fencing from Wayne State University.
Website: https://schooloftwoswords.com/
Drawing and use of the hatchet for self-defense purposes.
7. JUNE, SPEAR-STAFF-CANE: with Punong Guro Marc Denny & Instructors John Borter and Trish Chiovari.
Punung Guro Marc Denny is the founder and head instructor of the Dog Brothers Martial Arts organization. For more info on DBMA, visit: https://dogbrothers.com/
Guro Marc teaching Dog Brothers Martial Arts Short Staff.
How to draw the spear from its carry position to its guard position in the Pekiti-Tirsia system.
A sample from a class on Doyle Style Irish Stick Fighting, taught by Instructors John Borter & Trish Chiovari. For more info on Irish Stick Fighting, join the Facebook group "The Irish Stick."
A sample from the PTI walking stick class in Wappingers Falls, NY on June 10th, 2023.
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8. JULY, MACHETE: with Joe Flowers for self-Defense and Bushcraft use. Joe Flowers is the owner of Bushcraft Global. As a knife designer, Joe Flowers has over 150 Knife and equipment designs for various knife and outdoor companies. Joe’s love for machetes and the outdoors teamed him up with companies like Condor Knives, and his machete and knife designs are well known throughout the knife and outdoor world.
At Blade Show in Atlanta, Joe teaches Blade University bushcraft classes. He was also on the board of directors for the first Global Bushcraft Symposium in 2019, and is on the board of the UK Global Bushcraft Symposium in England, as well as teaching there. Joe was a Subject Matter Expert (SME) at the 7th Special Forces Group, Jungle Warfare Symposium on jungle survival in 2022.
A sample from Joe's lecture on the history and survival uses of the machete in various cultures around the world.
Contract Joe through his company, Bushcraft Global https://bushcraftglobal.com/
The Machete; a bridge between stick and sword for FMA practitioners.A sample from my class on the self-defense use of the machete.
Here are the playlists from my YouTube channel with some sample techniques from the weapons I taught during our classes.
LEARNING THROUGH COMPARISONS: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLHRUQn0uIZCZv0xDvRgbMP9LhI5hkOmp-
PTI WALKING STICK/CANE: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLHRUQn0uIZCZf3BDjxhazQwndfS-jeobe
PEKITI-TIRSIA SPEAR: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLHRUQn0uIZCaZE2k_r9Py4CUijWYo_x9u
SURVIVAL KNIVES: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLHRUQn0uIZCbKzGAool9Wz4Um4SKNq8cP
For information on upcoming Pekiti-Tirsia classes, seminars and camps, visit:
https://pekiti.com/pages/upcoming-seminars
VULPES TRAINING TOOLS SALE: To help offset a high veterinary bill from surgery on his dog Hogan, Chris Byron of Vulpes Training is offering a 15% discount code on all Vulpes products until July 24. Use code : Hogansheros at checkout. https://www.vulpestraining.com/
Train Hard, but Train Smart,
Tuhon Bill McGrath