Red Kite Academy of Arms Aylesbury

After a long stint on Longsword, today we dusted off our Dagger/Rondel training for some rather terrifying but very fun stabby action.

Lots of fun investigating various grappling techniques last night - this was my personal favourite - you know things are getting serious when the crash mats come out! If you want to come and join us, first session is free, just send us a message!

TREE-mendous fun at our annual christmas fun training session last night - we played Longsword Cricket, Blind Mans Boff, Circle of Doom, Yoga Ball Jousting, Three Legged Melee and club favourite, Knock Out Treachery! Looking forward to what 2024 has in store for us! Happy Holidays to you from all of us at Red Kite Academy of Arms!

Superb fun in our poleaxe vs sword and shield class tonight - we even had time to fit in a royal rumble! Who do you think won?

Lots of fun this evening with some Meyer Half Swording leading in to some pretty nasty disarming techniques. Half swording is certainly not for the faint of heart!

Spooky happenings at training last night - after a lesson on half-swording lots of fun was had with Hit the Ghost with the Feder, Zombie Apocalypse, and Winner Takes All duels using detached Zombie arms! 😈🎃👺👻☠️🤜🤛

Fabulous evening at our inaugural Red Kite Fight Night - a club member tournament over 3 different competitions - Knockouts, Winner Stays on and Treachery (all against all, last person standing, no rules). Prizes for everyone! We're very happy to have such a talented bunch of individuals to teach each week. Here's to the next one!

Fancy joining us? Message us for details and come along for a free taster session.

Help, I feel attacked!

When you only popped into Aldi for a pint of milk but then decided to have a quick look down the middle aisle.

Go to www.thepoke.co.uk for the latest posts.

Whoops!

Very happy to be back at it in our first class of 2023 - teaching the troops a bit of Fiore with the Farfalla di Ferro (Butterfly of Iron) flow drill - even had a visit from a new friend from Canada who is touring the UK and just happened to have his HEMA kit with him ;-) Great to spar with someone new - looking foward to what the rest of the year brings. Hit us up if you fancy trying out some HEMA this new year!

Red Kite Academy of Arms Aylesbury updated their address.

Excellent fun at our annual christmas games night - longsword cricket, bulldog with swords, and even tying the legs of our club members together and setting them at each other - all very festive! And that's us done for the year - Happy Christmas one and all!

Some good advice here

"Fencing is not a sport. It is an art. The four outstanding qualities which it will develop are co-ordination, accuracy, alertness and poise...

Unfortunately there are two types of fencing in this country (or in the world)--the right and the wrong.

If fencing is done the wrong way, there are awkward positions, many jerky, excited, non coordinated movements. Here the opponents care only for the points. There is much clashing of steel due to the great force which is used. This kind of fencing is harmful even to a healthy person; a woman's arm becomes disharmoniously developed, and the whole bout is ugly. This wrong fencing is practiced throughout the country in most of the colleges...

Regardless of what one's occupation or position in life, health is a prime requisite. If we have health it is up to us to keep it. If we have it not, then we must do all we can to better our impaired state. One of the many things which help is a hobby. Everyone wishes to remain young. Would it not be wise to choose a hobby? One that will give physical and mental health and at the same time keep you young? Correct fencing will do this. One need not stop at 40 or 50 on account of overtaxing the heart...That is why, no matter if you be 60, if the right kind of fencing is done, you may go on, and not with harmful but beneficial effects.

Correct fencing will not only develop the physical and mental qualities but will also develop personality and leadership. When you must face a situation--and think it out for yourself it is you who become stronger. The more you do it, the more courage you have. Thus, gaining courage, and mastering situations, increases your personality and leadership. And also by helping others we ourselves become strong.

With correct fencing, if an experienced fencer is placed with a beginner, each can derive great benefit from it. The older fencer will try to direct the movements of the younger or less experienced one, will avoid a double touch by retreating some at the proper time or otherwise, and at the same time will develop or improve restraint and co-ordination, a parry and a more complete power of extension. The younger or less experienced fencer will profit more rapidly because of such superior kind of study of the opponent, and will improve his or her point of view and ways to meet attacks and defenses in life. It is not the point that counts but the way in which it is attained. This is done in the right kind of fencing, but not in the wrong kind.

Is it not a delightful feeling, when one has control of every muscle, even down to the toes, and when it is alertness, accuracy and mental power that has been at work? Here is grace, poise, art--it is beauty. And it is this that gains and retains health."

- Florence E. Ahlfeldt, "Fencing and Its Relation to Health", 1932.

What a woman!

"A woman always labors under a disadvantage in any athletic tournament. Being a woman, she has to do twice the work any ordinary man would have to do to prove ability. In my case the audiences always seemed to take it for granted that there was a certain amount of gallantry on the part of the man fencing against me, simply because he was not fencing with one of his own s*x. If any point was in doubt and was finally allowed to me, the spectators were sure to say; 'Oh, he’s gallant, and has allowed her that point.'
That was why I always put forward my utmost efforts to beat an opponent so hard, fast and decisively that there could be no possible doubt as to my superiority. Some of the scars I carry on my face, sword arm and body show conclusively how much chivalric consideration was shown me because I was a woman."

- Ella "Jaguarina" Hattan, America’s champion swordswoman, 1903.

TAKE MY MONEY!!!!!!

SALE SPOTLIGHT - Sir Ulrich Helmet
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Jousting Lances at the ready! Not only is this helmet a BRAND NEW addition to our site but we are also giving you 25% OFF for a limited time only! Our Sir Ulrich Helmet is inspired by the helmet worn by Heath Ledger as Sir Ulrich von Lichtenstein in the one and only hit movie “A Knight’s Tale".

Everyone smashing the line work with pollaxe 👊

Awesome time at our training session this evening, kicked off a return to arming sword with a bit of an intro to Geroge Silver - too hot for the gym so we made good use of the outdoor 5-a-side pitch instead!

Lots of fun this evening experimenting with Poleaxe vs Sword/Shield, even had a royal rumble with 4 Poleaxe vs 4 sword/shields - unsurprisingly Poleaxe came out on top in every melee 💀

Interesting movie fight analysis on polearms, especially as we've recently started Poleaxe training: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LX3n4XIwHZo

Pole Weapons Expert Rates 9 Polearm Fights in Movies and TV | How Real Is It? Pole weapons expert Matt Easton rates nine polearm fight scenes in movies and TV, such as "Troy" and "Aquaman," for realism.Easton discusses the accuracy of ...

So much fun last night with the new kit 😁.

Very excited to welcome these beauties to the Red Kite Armoury for training this evening

We are struggling to survive and your support is crucial!

After the initial shock of the familiar world crumbling around, I came to understand that it is time to act.

Act to save the livelihoods of our workers and their relatives. Act to secure the company that we built through many years. The company that is our family.

We decided to get our people and our production out of Russia.

Our options are very limited now. After some consideration, we decided to move to Georgia. This country proudly holds the 6th position in the world in the business climate ranks and allows us to continue working as we did before.

With our government making it impossible for us to work with foreign currencies, trouble falling into the abyss, and prices on everything skyrocketing, we badly need your orders now.

We declare a 15% emergency discount on all our products.

We are doing our best to reopen the company in Georgia as soon as possible to ensure reliable shipping and payments.

We hope that you continue to support our company with your orders. That is the only way for us to survive this crisis.

Thank you.

Aylesbury crew training hard tonight 👊

Yes, we will be judging you on your score :-)

How Well Do You Truly Know "The Princess Bride"? Fencing, fighting, torture, revenge, giants, monsters...

If anyone fancies a bit of rapier, this is a great deal!

Go From Beginner To Competent Fencer All Four Rapier Workbooks, plus The Duellist's Companion

Hello all and happy 2022! We re-start classes tonight at 7.30pm in our usual venue - kicking off 2022 with Sword and Buckler. So if you made a resolution to learn a new skill and to get fit, now is the perfect time to join us!

Happy smiley people! 😁

Another awesome training week with these guys!