Two months till the Event!
 
Tournaments are an important part of all martial arts. This is no less true of Western Martial Arts. Tournaments fulfill several function which coexist on a continuum..  Which function is most important is the subject of much debate.  Tournaments serve as tests of skill which serve to educate and provide experience to the participants.  They allow participants to see and interact with other practitioners and compare the skills and styles of others to their own. There is a social aspect in that casual interaction "around the water cooler" provides a chance to gain access wide variety of ideas and opinions. Finally there is certainly a thrill to competition and a satisfaction to victory. It is confirmation of one's own skill to be able to rank one's self with the status of a winner among one's peers. The agony of defeat is a powerful motivator as well.
As an event organizer it is most important to me to have a contest which displays and reinforces the ideals and or the theme of the event. At American Smallsword Symposium the ideals and the principals have been consistent but  the theme has changed every year. I will admit that this has been problematic.
 My belief was that one could go to any number classical fencing tournaments and smallsword tournaments where the rules  were all very similar.  To my mind these were to tame and too tied to a very narrow context of smallsword fencing i.e., salle play. There was very little to test the skills that one would need on the field or honor or the mean streets. 
So I consciously chose to push the envelope and to introduce a tournament or an "exercise with a prize" as I like to think of  it, that demanded one exercise different skills than those of the salle.  These early American Smallsword Symposia tournaments did reflect the themes and the techniques that were taught in the classes at the event.  I modeled a scenario based contest on Cowboy Action shooting events.  Pressure was increased by adding a second opponent after a set time period in each bout. In addition to multiple opponents  we threw in mixed weapons.  I was sadly disappointed that virtually no participants were up to the challenge to engage in snap  tactical analysis and performance under this kind of pressure. Form and principals were thrown to the wind and the finest technicians resorted to "run and gun" tactics.  It was not fun to review the videos of these contests.
 But these tournaments did serve a purpose. I got a good sense of just how little tactical analysis and breadth of technique most smallsword fencers could display .  That is to say that most attendees only had one "game".  They had one style and a couple of "tricks" that worked for them but when these were not usable they had nothing left.  This informed me of the need to work much more on developing those skills that were missing in myself and my classes.  Participants either learned the same things or were disappointed that the tournaments were not what they were expecting or comfortable with.  That however was the point!  That comfort was the enemy of understanding and progress.
Now we are at year four of the event that will deal exclusively with the style of the fencing that represents the apogee of smallsword practice just before it began a slow decline from weapon for the defense of honor and self  into foil play and solely for recreation.  In keeping with that theme we will try to emphasize that refined style by adding some subtle rules to push participants into a period style.  Rules will encourage style as taught in the classes and documented in the text and plates of  M. La Boëssière'e "Treatise on the Art of Arms".  This includes clean attacks from distance as opposed to machine gun thrusting; Thrusts and ripostes in opposition with the hand high;  Target area torso only  and a penalty for hitting the head;  penalties for blade grabs of any kind. Yes we will give style points too.
  I know that this represents a radical swing from our past tournaments and is even more conservative that normal but this is designed to serve the purpose of getting participants to experience as much as possible fencing of the period in which the text was published , and to see the style and the challenges that some of the most legendary swordsmen in history such as the Chevalier St. Georges faced.   I hope you all will come out and test yourselves against each other with in this challenging context.
 

A sudden and unexpected windfall from an anonymous source now allows us to offer one (1) free copy of M. La Boëssière'e "Treatise on the Art of Arms" ​with every paid admission to the full event.  This is a $30.00 value at no additional cost.  Prior 2018 registrations are included. Register now before Early-bird rates ($150) end or event fills up.

(No substitution of cash for book. Substituting St. Martin's manual will be considered if copies are available at the event. No refunds for online purchases of the book and offer does not apply to one-day admissions.  Offer may expire at any time, without notice and when registration reaches capacity. )

 Patrick Bratton is an Instructor of Arms in classical Italian fencing from the Sonoma State University Fencing Masters Program. He started with traditional French fencing with Colin Chock of Hawai‘i, who was a student of Leon Auriol. Today he concentrates on traditional Italo-Hungarian fencing and is a student of Christopher Holzman and Andrew Bullock, both from the Santelli tradition. Patrick’s main areas of study are Northern Italian military sabre, and Neapolitan spada. His teaching focuses on grounding students in solid basic techniques and fundamentals. He is currently a member of the Keystone Academy of Dueling and Swordsmanship and the Carlisle Fencing Club 

I've known Patrick for awhile and found him not only an excellent fencer but an excellent student, a fine scholar  and a tireless advocate of historical fencing.  One thing that we  always look for in instructors for the event is an understanding of the history, context, culture and principles of French Smallsword in this regard Patrick is exceptional. The other thing we look for is a good feeling for the art of fencing pedagogy . I don't think we could have done better than Patrick.  He has the experience and the "chops" that guarantee an interesting and productive class.

Patrick will be teaching highlights from lessons fifteen through twenty-two  from La Boëssière'.  These lessons include  includes techniques like Beats, Threats, Ripostes "Tac au Tac " and Attacks over the Point and more. 

Save $50 of regular price with the Early Bird Discount, good now through 4/1/2018.  Don't  be an April Fool and miss out!

La Boessiere is now available HERE.  Lessons from this text will be the centerpiece of the American Smallsword Symposium this year.  (Early Bird Admission for the event BTW is still open.)  Big thanks to Philip Crawley for making his translation available for sale to benefit the event.  Buy your copy today and start practicing for the Symposium. 

The Schedule for the American Smallsword Symposium IV is up.  We will have several returning instructors like Chris Treichel, Kevin Cote, and Victor Markland. We are excited to announce that they will be joined this year by Patrick Bratton. All of this years classes will be drawn from the first English translation of La Boëssière's Treatise on the Art of Weapons (1818) done by Phil Crawley.  Copies will be available for sale on site.

 Christoph Amberger is returning and work you out and will once again bring a sampling of his outstanding collection of original editions of fencing texts and period weapons.   We have allotted more time for free play, because you asked for it, including Friday Night Fights at the Baltimore Fencing Center, courtesy of Mr. Amberger.  Early bird registration is open but discounted admission will only run for a short time.  We were close to capacity last year don't miss this opportunity. 

Registration for AmSS IV is open.  Payment can be made by credit or debit card.  We are still sorting out the instructors but the plan is to run progressive lessons from La Boëssière on Saturday the 23rd and have a a special guest or two on the 24th along with a tournament. 

There is a one day option for those who want to do only the lessons or only the tournament.  We have been at near capacity every year so register ASAP.  The full pass is also on sale for a limited time at $150.00 a savings of $50.00 of full price. 

American Smallsword Symposium IV will center on the French fencing master Antoine Texier La Boëssière and author the 1818 fencing treatise titled Treatise on the Art of Weapons.  The event will be the official introduction of the first complete translation into English of the treatise by Philip Crawley from our sister organization the original Smallsword Symposium and Black Boar School of Swordsmanship in Edinburgh.  Copies will be available on Lulu by March 2018 and of course at the event. In addition we will have a full schedule of classes most of which will be drawn directly from the lessons in the book. We will have a tournament, of course " a la Boëssière" i.e., style will recognized as well as hits.  

Full schedule and list of classes and instructors will follow soon.  Registration will open up on January 1, 2018. 

If you are an interested prospective sponsor, or vendor of Smallsword related products please contact us here. 

The wait is over AmSS IV is a go!
We will once again convene in lovely Lutherville/Timonium Maryland. The date June 22-24 2018.  Right now I and the committee are sorting through instructors and class ideas to put together an event that beginners and seasoned Smallsworders will find edifying and interesting.  
We like to encourage the widest possible participation by diverse qualified instructors.  If you are an instructor and would be interested in teaching contact us here.   If you make or sell smallswords or related merchandise and would like to attend the event  contact us here.  If you can't attend  there are still opportunities for you to become a sponsor.  
This year looks to be bigger and better than ever so mark those dates on your calendar.
Keep an eye out for details as they are announced.
​Registration will open in a couple of weeks!