Maestro Hayes has presented workshops on Italian Dueling Sword and Italian Dueling Sabre at the Western Martial Arts Workshop 2002, the Schola Saint George Swordsmanship Symposium and the Lansing International Swordfighting and Martial Arts Convention. These symposia and workshops showcase the world's best teachers of Historical European Martial Arts as they demonstrate and teach armed and unarmed martial arts systems that span the 14th to the 19th centuries.

I presented three linked classes / presentations on the sword and buckler system of Anonymous Manuscript I.33, the world's oldest known fencing text. The first class was on Time & Measure in the 1st Ward Plays, and dealt with I.33's underlying structured appraoch to the problems of time and meausre in the fight. The second was on using I.33 as a Pedagogical Model for Class Development, and focused on the didactic structure of I.33, and how that structure is used for conveying information both to readers and to students in a "practical" setting. The third was an hour-long presentation discussion and visual presentation on Art, Memory and Medieval Scholasticism: the Problem of Interpreting I.33, and focused on the elements of medieval memorial cultre and scholastic thought exemplified in the manuscript.

		Click to see a demo fight of I.33 with Stephen Hand at WMAW 2005 (I start the fight on the right side, Steve on the left) Quicktime Required
	(left) Maestro Hayes demonstrates the action of "fallling under" with Guy Windsor, followed by a shield-strike and cut to head; (above right) Matt Galas practices the same action with John O'Meara
	Students practice "falling under the sword" solo...and with partners
	Demonstrating while "miming" the buckler position, to better show the position of the sword hand

This year I presented Master Level Classes on the sword & buckler of Anonymous MS I.33, the world's oldest known fencing text (ca 1295 AD), and on the backsword fight of George Silver's Bref Instructions on my Paradoxes of Defence. The Convention is held yearly in Lansing, Michigan.

Whitman College Italian Foil Symposium
April 2-3, 2005

This two day event at Whitman College was great fun, and doubly so because the group (under teacher Andrew Telesca) was so well-practiced and highly skilled. It was comprised of 8 hours of foil fencing each day, covering a wide range of Italian foil techniques, and a close look at the theory behind them. Basic techniques were considered briefly and then built upon, and most of the time was spent on intermediate level actions and some more advanced sequences towards the end.

Whitman Video Clip

 

Western Washington Western Martial Arts Workshop
February 25-27, 2005

Along with colleagues Gary Chelak and Jherek Swenger, I taught an intensive workshop on the use of the Medieval and Renaisance sword. Our source materials were Anonymous Manscript I.33, Achille Marozzo and Antonio Manciolino, and George Silver.

I also, with colleagues Bob Charron and Tom Leoni, taught a 90-minute lecture and demonstration class, A Brief History of Time, on the principles of tempo as expressed in 5 centuries of Italian swordsmanship.

Medieval Sword: I.33 and the Methods of George Silver
The seminar began with a day on George Silver's single shortsword fight, as exemplified by his "Brief Instruction Upon My Paradoxes of Defence". We covered Silver's Grounds and Governors, and his True and False Times, and examined how they played out in his method of fight at the single sword with the use of the off-hand for grappling. Day Two began with MS I.33's method of sword and buckler fight. We will studied the custodie (wards) and obsessiones (counters) shown in the manuscript and the plays employed with them. Since MS I.33 is arguably didactical manuscript designed to teach principles through specific examples (or plays), we also examined the application of the principles derived from the plays in situations not illustrated in the manuscript.

I presented a Master Level Class on on early 17th century Italian Rapier of Francesco Marcelli's Regole della Scherma. The class was a work-in-progress presentation for advanced-level fencers; future seminars will see more of this exciting work! The Convention is held yearly in Lansing, Michigan. I also presented classes on Measure in Rapier Fencing, and an Introduction to Anonymous MS I.33.

Instructors Assembled; Close-up

A Visit with Nova Scrimia in Bologna and Brixia

June 21 - 25, 2004

Not a seminar, but a visit with Marco Quarta, Gianluca Zanini, and all the wonderful people at Nova Scrimia Bologna and Nova Scrimia Brixia. My wife, two children and I had a fantastic visit with them during our visit to Italy. They entertained us in princely fashion, and we enjoyed many hours of food, fellowship and fencing; and I had some valuable and informative discussions with the group. I particularly enjoyed the chance to fence at the cane with Gianluca and with Marco, and to have a lesson at Fiore's abrazare from Gianluca. Both men are excellent fighters and fencers, and I look forward to future assaults with them. There´s clearly much for a classical and historical fencer to learn from the Italian cane-fighting traditions, and I hope to have the opportunity to work with them all again very soon. To Marco and Gianluca, and to the members of Sala d'armi Brixia and Sala d'armi Bologna, my warmest thanks! Ringraziemente, Nova Scrimia!

Mid-Atlantic Society for Historic Swordsmanship

April 24 & 25, 2004

This one was great fun! Larry Tom arranged for me to come out and teach 19th century Radaeliian Duelling Sabre to a group of very enthusiastic and capable fencers. We explored the base techniques of the weapon, the use of both the edge and the point, actions on the blade, counterattacks, and the use of countertime. We included basic tactical elements and since many of the participants were practiced in various forms of European swordsmanship, we were able to draw meaningful comparisons and distinctions between various historical systems.

Schola Saint George, November 22 & 23, 2003

I taught a seminar on the methods of George Silver. The seminar used the techniques and principles of George Silver's "Brief Instructions Upon My Paradoxes of Defense" to explore the concepts of time, measure, and velocity at the English shortsword, a weapon closely related to the single-handed sword of medieval times.  Topics included basic footwork and bladework as well as more advanced concepts of attack and defense, grapples, and tactics.  The seminar included tactical elements to help the swordsman develop a framework for analyzing his opponent and deciding on which techniques best suit his tactical approach.

I presented a Master Level Class on Ridolfo Capoferro's early 17th century Italian Rapier and an open class on 19th Century Italian Foil (the training weapon for the dueling sword) in August 2003. The Convention is held yearly in Lansing, Michigan.

The symposium was held on June 6th - 8th, 2003. I presented a workshop on early 17th century Italian Rapier and another on 19th century Italian Dueling Sabre at this event.

I presented 19th Century Italian Dueling Sabre at the 4th Annual Western Martial Arts Workshop in Racine, Wisconsin, on the 13th, 14th, and 15th of September 2002. This event featured armed and unarmed combat styles from the 14th through the 19th centuries.

Maestro Hayes lectures in the Great Hall (l) and demonstrates the parry of sesta against a cut to the head.
David Borland (in white) engages in prima . . . and executes an attack by molinello to the head.
Students in the class executing various drills.

The Schola St. George Swordsmanship Symposium is the West Coast version of the Western Martial Arts Workshop: an omnibus gathering of the finest teachers and researchers in the field, for the purpose of teaching these arts to the growing WMA community. I presented a workshop on 19th century Italian Dueling Sword at this event.

Having a laugh with Stephen Hand, Bill Wilson, Roger Siggs, and Gary Chelak

Maestro Hayes presented 19th Century Italian Dueling Sword at the 2nd Annual Lansing International Swordfighting and Martial Arts Convention in August 2001. The Convention is held yearly in Lansing, Michigan. This past year the convention hosted teachers of the traditional sword arts (classical swordsmanship of the 19th century and historical swordsmanship of the 14th-18th centuries) as well as instructors in a variety of other indigenous European Martial Arts.