St. Martin's Academy of Medieval Arms

	St. Martin's Academy of Medieval Arms
	St. Martin's Academy is located in Madison, Wisconsin. The primary focus of the Academy is the study and application of medieval combat--this includes wrestling, dagger and swordplay, staff, spear, pollaxe and various other staff weapons. The core program revolves around the study of basic combat principles in combination with the specific techniques and methods described by various manuals of the medieval period. Currently, the primary manual of study is the Flos Duelletorum of Fiore dei Liberi. Other manuals that are studied are by Vadi, Talhoffer, Marozzo, Silver, Swetnam, di Grassi, and the anonymous Tower MS I.33. There are so many manuals available (and even more are coming to light), and in consideration of St. Martin's goals of studying medieval combat, the Academy will certainly examine others in the future. The methods of study for these manuals include a combination of lecture and research, technique drilling, application and sparring. It should be noted that as with any martial art, the studies that are being pursued are not inherently safe. St. Martin's does, however, make every attempt to reduce risk of injury. Therefore, in addition to personal safety equipment (and armor as necessary), practice is conducted with a variety of weapons including padded "safety" weapons, wooden wasters and rebated steel weapons. Replica sharps will never be used in a sparring context--they are reserved solely for cut testing.
	To learn more about how you can participate with the St. Martin's Academy of Medieval Arms e-mail us!
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