Medieval Martial Arts Immersion Workshop in Kansas City, July 17-19, 2009
The Yeomen Bodyguard of the Yeomen Warders welcomes Mr. Bob Charron, Medievalist and Martial Artist, for a unique intensive training weekend in an elegant and integrated medieval martial arts system. This workshop is perfect for martial artists already skilled in combat techniques looking to further your art, and enthusiasts of the martial skill and tactics of the early masters. For those just beginning your weapons training (either for stage or live steel), this workshop will serve as a solid foundation and introduction to the sophisticated and complex world of swordsmanship. Bob will provide both academic and hands-on instruction in the philosophy and technique of the medieval swordsman, with opportunity for group interaction as well as one-on-one feedback.
The workshop:
Friday night, July 17th: 7-10pm, Downtown Kansas City
"Medieval Academics and The Arts of Mars"
An introduction to the philosophical underpinnings of this medieval martial arts system.
There will be an informal Q&A session with Mr. Charron to follow the lecture.
Saturday July 18th: 8:30am-5pm
Sunday, July 19th: 8:30am-5pm
"The Fior di Battaglia (Flos Duellatorum) : Masterwork of Fiore dei Liberi "
The Material:
Fiore dei Liberi was born in Northern Italy in the middle of the 14th century, and spent 40 years learning techniques of combat from many masters and at great expense. He fought in the battles and duels of his time, and eventually became an instructor himself. He trained many knights and squires for combat in tournament, war and duel, and in 1400 was appointed by the Marquis of Ferrara as the trainer to his personal knightly household with duties as a military advisor. At the command of the Marquis he created the "Fior di Bataglia" (the "Flower of Battle"), a book containing "everything in the art" (circa 1409) so that his art would not be lost to those who came after. This book is very important to our study of historical martial arts because it is the second oldest fully illustrated treatise currently known. This master work begins with an extensive prologue describing Fiore’s personal experience and advice to the combatant, a complete explanation of the structure of the treatise, and a list of his famous students and their opponents. Following this introduction are hundreds of illustrations and accompanying paragraphs of text explaining this complete martial arts system and its concepts. Fiore’s manual includes wrestling, knife attack and defense, one and two handed sword, pollaxe spear, and mounted combat both armored and unarmored. It is a complete, coherent and brutally effective system of self defense that can apply to any situation armed or unarmed. He distilled the art down to its essentials, and created an integrated, sequential and self-referential system that is easy to teach and to learn.
The curriculum:
Saturday Morning (Bonner Springs)
Introduction to our instructor, Fiore, and the definition of an art in the period.
Body mechanics work.
Introduction to wrestling principles
Saturday Afternoon
Review of morning work
Introduction to dagger work
Preview of sword work
Saturday night (Shawnee)
Informal gathering with Bob!
Sunday (North KC)
Review of previous day's work
Introduction to the art of the sword
Leverage and body mechanics
Entry to the fight
Selected follow-on actions
Demonstration of guards and other actions
Demonstration of spear, pollaxe and horseback work.
The Instructor:
After receiving his Bachelor of Science and Education from the University of Arkansas in 1985, Mr. Charron spent twenty years participating in Historical Reenactment of the Medieval era. His personal research and training in education led him to teach classes in topics ranging from Vegetius’ De Rei Militari to government and law in Frankish Palestine. Always seeking after primary source material in the instruction of arms, he acquired a copy of the Getty-Ludwig manuscript of the Fior di Bataglia, in 1999. Mr. Charron has spent the last several years translating the text, interpreting the techniques, researching the scientific principles on which the art is based, and locating the biographies of the men who employed it. He teaches weekly classes and private lessons in the Madison , Wisconsin area as the primary instructor of St. Martins Academy of Medieval Arms. He has traveled the United States , Canada , Australia , New Zealand and Europe teaching seminars on this famous Italian instructor’s art. He has also presented several papers and demonstrations on Fiore’s work at the annual Kalamazoo Medieval Conference in Kalamazoo , Michigan . In addition to the translation of the text and the demonstration of the techniques, Mr. Charron also teaches classes on the internal organization of the manuscript and the links within this work to memory systems, academics, art and culture of the period. He brings his qualifications as an amateur athlete, professional educator, and student of Medieval culture and warfare to his presentation of Fiore’s techniques. Mr. Charron uses his skills and enthusiasm as an educator to bring the art to life by presenting it to modern scholars within the context of the science and society that created this beautiful and effective martial arts system.
The St. Martins Academy of Medieval Arms studies Medieval European self-defense as set down in instructional treatises by Medieval Masters of Arms. There are dozens of these manuals undergoing translation and interpretation by a growing community of enthusiasts and martial artists. The Academy is proud to be part of the re-discovery and reconstruction of an effective and battle-tested European Martial Arts tradition based on thousands of years of practice and distillation. St. Martins also stresses the cultural, moral and ethical philosophy which guided those who knew the skill of arms in the Medieval period, so that the students are aware of the discretion and responsibility that are necessary when one has learned a martial art.
Registration:
~$100 covers the cost of the entire weekend's workshops
(that's $5/hour for world-class martial arts instruction and interaction with like-minded swordplay enthusiasts! )
~Class size is limited to 25 students in order to guarantee the quality of the time with our instructor.
Space is filling quickly - indicate your interest asap! Once the 25 spaces have been filled, a waiting list will be started on a first-come basis.
~Email Tess at wildgoddess@ sbcglobal. net or call (773)343-3982 to register; payment deadline is July 15th.
Once registered, you will receive detailed information about our workshop locations and any supplies you will need.
Alternate registration options may be arranged: please contact Tess about your particular needs.
Please feel free to forward this to friends and colleagues who might be interested in attending the weekend.
Out-of-towners would be welcome overnight guests in the homes of some of the Yeomen. Please contact Tess to make arrangements.
Your sponsor:
The Yeomen Bodyguard, formed in 2007, is a historical re-enactment and performance group dedicated to the ideals of a martial brotherhood: knowledge, skill, honor, purpose, and safety. Much more than a group of committed friends sharing the common goal of keeping the actor playing the monarch safe and secure, we also strive for a faithful representation of the legacy of the historical Yeomen of the Guard. Whenever possible, we seek to gather and utilize historical resources to expand our personal knowledge and hone our professional skill. It is our privilege to welcome Mr. Charron into our company and we hope you will join us as well.
The Company of the Yeomen Bodyguard is a not-for-profit organization in the State of Kansas.
The workshop:
Friday night, July 17th: 7-10pm, Downtown Kansas City
"Medieval Academics and The Arts of Mars"
An introduction to the philosophical underpinnings of this medieval martial arts system.
There will be an informal Q&A session with Mr. Charron to follow the lecture.
Saturday July 18th: 8:30am-5pm
Sunday, July 19th: 8:30am-5pm
"The Fior di Battaglia (Flos Duellatorum) : Masterwork of Fiore dei Liberi "
The Material:
Fiore dei Liberi was born in Northern Italy in the middle of the 14th century, and spent 40 years learning techniques of combat from many masters and at great expense. He fought in the battles and duels of his time, and eventually became an instructor himself. He trained many knights and squires for combat in tournament, war and duel, and in 1400 was appointed by the Marquis of Ferrara as the trainer to his personal knightly household with duties as a military advisor. At the command of the Marquis he created the "Fior di Bataglia" (the "Flower of Battle"), a book containing "everything in the art" (circa 1409) so that his art would not be lost to those who came after. This book is very important to our study of historical martial arts because it is the second oldest fully illustrated treatise currently known. This master work begins with an extensive prologue describing Fiore’s personal experience and advice to the combatant, a complete explanation of the structure of the treatise, and a list of his famous students and their opponents. Following this introduction are hundreds of illustrations and accompanying paragraphs of text explaining this complete martial arts system and its concepts. Fiore’s manual includes wrestling, knife attack and defense, one and two handed sword, pollaxe spear, and mounted combat both armored and unarmored. It is a complete, coherent and brutally effective system of self defense that can apply to any situation armed or unarmed. He distilled the art down to its essentials, and created an integrated, sequential and self-referential system that is easy to teach and to learn.
The curriculum:
Saturday Morning (Bonner Springs)
Introduction to our instructor, Fiore, and the definition of an art in the period.
Body mechanics work.
Introduction to wrestling principles
Saturday Afternoon
Review of morning work
Introduction to dagger work
Preview of sword work
Saturday night (Shawnee)
Informal gathering with Bob!
Sunday (North KC)
Review of previous day's work
Introduction to the art of the sword
Leverage and body mechanics
Entry to the fight
Selected follow-on actions
Demonstration of guards and other actions
Demonstration of spear, pollaxe and horseback work.
The Instructor:
After receiving his Bachelor of Science and Education from the University of Arkansas in 1985, Mr. Charron spent twenty years participating in Historical Reenactment of the Medieval era. His personal research and training in education led him to teach classes in topics ranging from Vegetius’ De Rei Militari to government and law in Frankish Palestine. Always seeking after primary source material in the instruction of arms, he acquired a copy of the Getty-Ludwig manuscript of the Fior di Bataglia, in 1999. Mr. Charron has spent the last several years translating the text, interpreting the techniques, researching the scientific principles on which the art is based, and locating the biographies of the men who employed it. He teaches weekly classes and private lessons in the Madison , Wisconsin area as the primary instructor of St. Martins Academy of Medieval Arms. He has traveled the United States , Canada , Australia , New Zealand and Europe teaching seminars on this famous Italian instructor’s art. He has also presented several papers and demonstrations on Fiore’s work at the annual Kalamazoo Medieval Conference in Kalamazoo , Michigan . In addition to the translation of the text and the demonstration of the techniques, Mr. Charron also teaches classes on the internal organization of the manuscript and the links within this work to memory systems, academics, art and culture of the period. He brings his qualifications as an amateur athlete, professional educator, and student of Medieval culture and warfare to his presentation of Fiore’s techniques. Mr. Charron uses his skills and enthusiasm as an educator to bring the art to life by presenting it to modern scholars within the context of the science and society that created this beautiful and effective martial arts system.
The St. Martins Academy of Medieval Arms studies Medieval European self-defense as set down in instructional treatises by Medieval Masters of Arms. There are dozens of these manuals undergoing translation and interpretation by a growing community of enthusiasts and martial artists. The Academy is proud to be part of the re-discovery and reconstruction of an effective and battle-tested European Martial Arts tradition based on thousands of years of practice and distillation. St. Martins also stresses the cultural, moral and ethical philosophy which guided those who knew the skill of arms in the Medieval period, so that the students are aware of the discretion and responsibility that are necessary when one has learned a martial art.
Registration:
~$100 covers the cost of the entire weekend's workshops
(that's $5/hour for world-class martial arts instruction and interaction with like-minded swordplay enthusiasts! )
~Class size is limited to 25 students in order to guarantee the quality of the time with our instructor.
Space is filling quickly - indicate your interest asap! Once the 25 spaces have been filled, a waiting list will be started on a first-come basis.
~Email Tess at wildgoddess@ sbcglobal. net or call (773)343-3982 to register; payment deadline is July 15th.
Once registered, you will receive detailed information about our workshop locations and any supplies you will need.
Alternate registration options may be arranged: please contact Tess about your particular needs.
Please feel free to forward this to friends and colleagues who might be interested in attending the weekend.
Out-of-towners would be welcome overnight guests in the homes of some of the Yeomen. Please contact Tess to make arrangements.
Your sponsor:
The Yeomen Bodyguard, formed in 2007, is a historical re-enactment and performance group dedicated to the ideals of a martial brotherhood: knowledge, skill, honor, purpose, and safety. Much more than a group of committed friends sharing the common goal of keeping the actor playing the monarch safe and secure, we also strive for a faithful representation of the legacy of the historical Yeomen of the Guard. Whenever possible, we seek to gather and utilize historical resources to expand our personal knowledge and hone our professional skill. It is our privilege to welcome Mr. Charron into our company and we hope you will join us as well.
The Company of the Yeomen Bodyguard is a not-for-profit organization in the State of Kansas.