Augusta has recently purchased a variety of foam swords (and other traditional armaments), complete with helmets and body armor.
The level 1 clinic sees the instructor introducing the sword, and various stances, guards and movements – getting the camper familiar with their piece of equipment. Fun, challenging drills are completed, before campers begin to duel with one another. Under careful supervision, campers progress onto more complex elements of sword fighting.
Level 2 introduces counter-attacks and highlights ways to predict the oppositions’ next move. Further practice in getting the right distance from the opposition, the guards, and movements are worked on.
In Level 3, we teach the striking star, advanced footwork, thinking in sets of three, all the primary and secondary guards, and special blade maneuvers.
Level 4 involves uses bamboo swords instead of the foam ones. Full and more complete body armor is utilized to enhance safety and limit bruising. Advanced guards and fancy moves are taught here after the sparring is more precise and mastered.
Level 5 teaches basic sword wrestling, practicing cuts, and sparring with aluminum swords. Campers can use fire swords here, readying themselves for a performance at the closing campfire.
With a little practice, all cabins can enjoy sword fighting games in a safe, supervised environment; fighting on the lake deck, Braveheart reenactments, or all campers for themselves. Imagine giant battles with 40+ combatants on the field, shields, special weapons, a catapult, and arrows (safely foam tipped) . . . an epic adventure and quest awaits!
On guard…
