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Post by scottbrown on Dec 13, 2010 16:18:28 GMT -6
A Fechtschule is an old European tradition in which local and visiting instructors would host a unique event to offer focused combat training, present skillful displays, and hold specialized tournaments to amuse and entertain excited spectators. Keeping with this tradition we invite you to join us March 25th-27th in Houston, Texas for the second annual: FECHTSCHULE AMERICA!!![/color] March 25-27th Houston, Texas. U.S.A.
[/b][/size] www.fechtschuleamerica.comFechtschule America is the new name of 2010's Open International Gathering. Last year we blew the doors off the North American WMA/HEMA scene but that was only the beginning! Once again we are amassing top caliber instructors from all over the world to provide the absolute best instruction possible to the American audiences. This year's teaching staff will, once again, include instructors teaching for the first time in the U.S. as well as seasoned veterans! Participant's can expect all the great activities from the 2010 event but don't think we are resting on our laurels. We have quite a few new treats in store including more than one exciting surprise! Don't miss out on this fantastic opportunity! We know a lot of folks are eager to hear about the tournament opportunities and we are only too happy to oblige! After hosting the world’s first open international dussack competition in several hundred years we are planning to do it again! There will be an open international mixed weapon competition that will allow longsword, sword and buckler, and single sword fencers to demonstrate their skills! We also have another tournament in the works but the details of this surprise event are being kept under lock and key for now! So if you think you have what it takes to compete with the world’s best fencers then come strut your school pride in North America's biggest, most prestigious WMA/HEMA specific competitions. The Hammertertz Forum Open International Tournaments!This year the Hammertertz Forum Open International Tournaments will include a Mixed Weapons Division and Dussack Division. The Mixed Weapons Division will allow fencing with the longsword, sword and buckler, and single handed sword at each fencer’s discretion. Rest assured that even in this tight economy the hosts of Fechtshule America are dedicated to keeping the costs low and the value high. As we did last year we will be offering discounted hotel arrangements (Better rates than last year and still includes a HOT breakfast!) and travel to and from the airport for our out of town guests. See the appropriate pages on our website ( www.fechtschuleamerica.com ) for all the details. Registration is open and we are finalizing the instructor staff and schedule of events. Check the site frequently for the latest details such as tournament rules, updated instructor lists, schedules, and some of our surprise events! This event is perfect for martial artists, researchers, stage combatants, sports fencers, SCA/re-enactors/LARP, and living history enthusiasts of all skill levels. Find all the details and stay up-to-date by visiting www.fechtschuleamerica.comWe'll see you in Houston, March 25th-27th, 2011!Your hosts, Schwert am Schwert!
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Post by fox on Dec 18, 2010 8:02:07 GMT -6
Congratulations on a second year, Scott. I'm glad to see a gathering like this becoming a regular event in Houston. Have you seen the article by Matt Galas on tournament formats for WMA/HEMA tournaments?
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Post by Aldo N on Dec 18, 2010 8:33:22 GMT -6
Out of curiosity, what format do you use in your tournaments? Is it anything like sport fencing tournaments?
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Post by scottbrown on Dec 18, 2010 11:31:12 GMT -6
Congratulations on a second year, Scott. I'm glad to see a gathering like this becoming a regular event in Houston. Have you seen the article by Matt Galas on tournament formats for WMA/HEMA tournaments? Hi Fox, Thanks, I'm hopeful to make this a regular event although I can imagine it's format will change over time to accommodate the changing needs of the emerging WMA / HEMA communities. This year, I'm hoping to make the rounds to the local sport fencing clubs and personally invite them out to the event. I'd like to see more bridge building between both communities and I think the best way for this to happen is to get together occasionally so that folks can see they share more in common than they don't. Personally, I feel both crowds have much to offer each other on a lot of levels. Yes, I'm aware of Matt's article. Matt and I work very closely on a number of HEMA related projects including this article.
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Post by scottbrown on Dec 18, 2010 11:47:08 GMT -6
Out of curiosity, what format do you use in your tournaments? Is it anything like sport fencing tournaments? Having helped administrate a number of key HEMA-specific tournaments I can say that we are very much still in an experimental phase regarding formats. This is due to a variety of issues such as numbers of attendance, time parameters, skill levels involved, and availability of judges/arenas to name only a few. Pretty much the same issues I understand the modern fencing communities to have experienced. In fact, the tournament format articles mentioned by Fox was essentially put together as a document to aid the various tournament organizers in deciding on a format and providing an outline of how to integrate them based on needs and preferences. The most common formats currently in use are the double-elimination, the Franco-Belgian fencing guilds "King-of-the-Hill" type, and the pool/single-elimination formats. Last year in Houston we used a double-elimination format due to time constraints but this year we are planning on a pool/single-elimination for most tournaments. The format issue is interesting for the Historical Fencing crowd simply because some folks like their historical fantasies and so things like Pas-d'armes become attractive to them. Alternatively, other folks prefer to distance their fencing from the SCA/Rennaissance Faire stigmas and so more modern formats become appealing. Finding a balance between these extremes is yet another challenge we face and interestingly the more information we uncover the better we are able to spread this gap. Most recently, the Franco-Belgian formats have provided a number of interesting mixes of historical and modern formats to come together thus allowing both crowds a sense of adhering to their own preferences. It's not clear which way the future holds but I suspect a couple of divisions will emerge. Probably one using a pool/single-elim, another using a format of the Franco-Belgian rules, and another closely related to the SCA structures using the Pas d'armes structure. Although........that's all subject to new information becoming known!
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Post by scottbrown on Dec 18, 2010 11:59:19 GMT -6
I should also add that we are looking quite closely at sport fencing models for formats and other related matters. No need to reinvent the wheel after all, however, WMA / HEMA does have a number of issues that make adopting these practices wholesale a tad inconvenient. Once again, it's about finding a balance. For example, there seems to have been an almost universal adoption of what is now called the "after-blow" rule across Europe. The after-blow is the idea of once being struck, immediately counter-striking within one step or action. There are a variety of reasons for this but one key reason is that when thinking of these arts as martial skills and tournaments as places to refine those skills it's a good idea to train fencers to keep fighting after being hit rather than lay down and take it. In the tournament or training hall setting order needs to be maintained to keep things from becoming an out-n-out brawl so the one step seems to be the historical balance maker. (For the record, there are other rules such as three steps as well but I am paraphrasing for brevity.) It's also good for teaching the attacker to defenc him/herself after striking rather than drop their guard. If you are interested in reading more on the after-blow please see this article: wmacoalition.com/forum/viewtopic.php?f=2&t=611There are several other factors as well but that's the reality of an emerging field. Having stronger ties with veteran sport fencing tournament organizers is a good way to accelerate our process and one of the reasons why myself, and others, are trying to improve ties between these communities.
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Post by schlager7 on Dec 18, 2010 18:15:26 GMT -6
This year, I'm hoping to make the rounds to the local sport fencing clubs and personally invite them out to the event. I'd like to see more bridge building between both communities and I think the best way for this to happen is to get together occasionally so that folks can see they share more in common than they don't. Personally, I feel both crowds have much to offer each other on a lot of levels. Just FWIW, I already plan to come as an interested spectator.
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Post by katyblades on Dec 24, 2010 8:59:23 GMT -6
I have run tournaments in the 100s in local events in multiple formats and decades, and recently became aware of how wrestling runs there tournaments. There several factors you want to consider.
1. How physically draining is one individual match and the time-frame involved? 2. Do you lose many competitors to injuries? 3. How many people attend the competitions currently?
What you could consider with many competitors is a double elimination format. If you have many competitors you could stratify by skill level or competitive background. If you wan more competitions use a small pool format to develop seedings. If you want team competitions it could be by victories or type of victories receiving higher points and then accumulate them by team.
Wrestling does the first in big competitions for individuals, and the last for the team competitions. It works well. Is it the most fair? The only place you find fair is on the fairgrounds.
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Post by scottbrown on Jan 31, 2011 16:36:34 GMT -6
A Fechtschule is an old European tradition in which local and visiting instructors would host a unique event to offer focused combat training, present skillful displays, and hold specialized tournaments to amuse and entertain excited spectators. Keeping with this tradition we invite you to join us March 25th-27th in Houston, Texas for the second annual: FECHTSCHULE AMERICA!!! March 25-27th Houston, Texas. U.S.A.www.fechtschuleamerica.comFechtschule America is the new name of 2010's Open International Gathering. Last year we blew the doors off the North American WMA/HEMA scene but that was only the beginning! The schedule of events and class descriptions are now updated and available for drooling upon. Visit us at www.fechtschuleamerica.com for all the details. Registrations have been brisk and we’d like to thank all those who registered before the schedule was complete for their faith and trust in us. You won’t be disappointed! For who haven’t registered we encourage you to hurry as the discounted rates will only last until February, 25th! THE HAMMERTERTZ FORUM OPEN INTERNATIONAL TOURNAMENTS-After judicious review of historical formats we have made a significant change to one of the tournaments. The “mixed weapons” tournament will now be a longsword only tournament. This is in the spirit of historical fechtschulen where like weapons faced like weapons exclusively. We are finalizing the rules for this year’s tournaments and will have them online in the next couple of weeks so check in often to prepare for North America’s stiffest competitive environment. Equipment standards will also be online in this time frame to allow participants to ensure they are ready for Open International level competition. Stay tuned for more tournament announcements in February and get to Houston to make sure your school colors are represented on the international level! We are proud to inform you that we have many of today’s top WMA / HEMA equipment vendors attending including Purpleheart Armory, Therion Arms, and Albion Swords! Be sure to contact these great vendors in advance to bring all your favorite equipment and save on shipping costs. Find all the Fechtschule America details and stay up-to-date by visiting www.fechtschuleamerica.comReply here or contact info@fechtschuleamerica.com for any further questions you may have. We'll see you in Houston, March 25th-27th, 2011!Your hosts, Schwert am Schwert!
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Post by scottbrown on Feb 16, 2011 17:41:32 GMT -6
Hey All, We've got a few more announcements coming but just to let you know... Luis Preto of Jogo do Pau fame has been added to the schedule! Tournament rules are up at www.fechtschuleamerica.comOnly a couple weeks left to save on the early registration rate so hurry and sign up! This year is gonna be a doozy!
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Post by scottbrown on Feb 16, 2011 17:44:29 GMT -6
Testing the Mettle of the 21st Century Swordsmen!!!
Last year the Hammerterz Tournaments at the Fechtschule America in Houston, Texas broke new ground by reviving the first dussack tournament in several hundred years and hosting North America’s largest Open International level longsword tournament. This year, we’re doing it again! But that’s not all! This year the organizers of Fechtschule America continue their commitment to reviving historical fencing practices by introducing their first Invitational Longsword Tournament. This year’s invitational tournament will be the first attempt to completely and as accurately as possible reconstruct a bona-fide Franco-Belgian style longsword tournament. Formal rules will be announced to participants but key factors will include: • King of the Hill format • Steel swords will be mandatory equipment • Limited target area- Above the waist and above the elbow • Striking with the flat only • Both hands must remain on the grip of the sword • Blades must be chalked • No corp-à-corp or grappling • Fencers must wear black • Afterblow only privileged to the KingWe know that many will want to know who is invited to compete in the Hammerterz Invitational Longsword Tournament. This year the participants will consist of many of the instructors scheduled to teach at the Fechtschule America as well as their top students. A number of additional, well documented and accomplished fencers have also been invited based on their experience, prowess and record of success at international level tournaments. All of this is to ensure a higher standard of fencing excellence under which to better expose the current state of historical fencing practices. For those aiming to compete in the Open International divisions and hoping to fence the world’s best longswordsmen and women there is no need to worry. Many instructors and senior fencers will also be competing in the Open divisions as well. So, don’t miss these great opportunities to see today’s best fencers compete and put your skills and interpretations to the test. If you’ve been dreaming of putting your school on the international map via physical prowess, now is the time! The rules and equipment standards for the Hammerterz dussack and longsword division tournaments are now online and fencers can review them at www.fechtschuleamerica.comOnly two weeks left to save money on the discounted rate so register today! We look forward to hosting you in Houston, March 25-27th, 2011. Schwert am Schwert, Houston The Western Martial Arts Coalition The Historical European Martial Arts Alliance
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Post by Aldo N on Feb 17, 2011 12:35:25 GMT -6
I am finding your format intriguing. I hope to see more details here as they develop.
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Post by scottbrown on Feb 24, 2011 17:31:01 GMT -6
I am finding your format intriguing. I hope to see more details here as they develop. Are you referring to the format of the "invite" tournament or the overall event format? If the "invite" tournament, then they are based on the Franco-Belgian Fencing Guild Rules as precisely as we are able to do so. The "Open" tournaments will follow a pool/single-elimination for the longsword and a double-elimination for the dussack. Please don't hesitate to ask for more specifics and I'll try to provide them.
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Post by scottbrown on Feb 24, 2011 17:31:27 GMT -6
Hi All,
Just a quick reminder that early registration ends tomorrow, February 25th, 2011. You can still register up until the day of the event but if you want to save $75 you'll want to register today!
Lots of our bonus events are coming together and I've personally seen previews of most of the lectures and surprises. I can't wait, it's gonna be a hoot!
See you in Houston,
Scott
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