Bowie training in Edinburgh

[pmel018]

Hi Guys
it has been a bit quiet for me on the HEMA front lately but Fightcamp 2010 is only a week away; and I discovered that Paul macdonald was hosting another Bowie themed training day in Edinburgh so last wekend off we went to Scotland. It was a 6 hour trip due to weather and traffic but Edinburgh was, as usual, stunning.
Our instructor for the day was Steve Huff, a collaborator with bowie researcher Col. Dwight McLemore. The day was broken into two phases, using the Bowie in unstructured combat ie. the battle or brawl, and the Bowie as a duelling weapon. We covered a wide spread of reconstructed and speculative techniques that made good use of the Bowies advantages in size and weight.The use of good body positioning and the utilisation of the off hand were also explored.
In the dueling phase much was made of the origins of those fencing masters who taught bowie knife in the fencing schools of New Orleans and other southern cities. Many of these teachers were of Spanish or Portugese origin, so the dueling style had be evolved around and interpretation of Spanish rapier play with subtle blade work and decptive footwork.
It must be emphasised that there is no period manual for Bowie use,all of what we learnt has been recreated from a pool of historical documents relating the the knife and its use.
Out day ended with a series of one-on-one sparring sessions with specially produced leather weapons. As I hadn't sparred at that intensity for a few years it was a welcome oportunity to let rip I'm still sore today
Dinner at the Tollhouse Tavern on the Royal Mile followed and then our trip south began. All in all a great if tiring way to spend a Saturday
Royal Mile and Tollbooth Tavern

Me and 'Big Phil' about to dance

On the move

Post match analysis

Group shot

[conal]

Nice.

Ta Phil.

[pmel018]

Hi Conal
it was great fun to say the least. Fightcamp 2010 starts in a couple of days, will post a short report when its all over.
Phil