VISS 2017: This vs. That
Instructors
- Christian Tobler
- David Coblentz
- David R. Packer
- Devon Boorman
- Guro E. W.
- Ilkka Hartikainen
- Jessica Finley
- Kaja Sadowski
- Marco Quarta
- Mark Mikita
- Matthew Howden
- Paul Wagner
- Rob Rutherfoord
- Sean Hayes
3-Day Intensive Workshops
English Backsword Intensive (Paul Wagner)
- Day One: English Backsword
- Day Two: English Backsword
- Day Three: English Backsword vs. Bolognese Sidesword (with Rob Rutherfoord)
Bolognese Sidesword Intensive (Rob Rutherfoord)
- Day One: Bolognese Sidesword
- Day Two: Bolognese Sidesword
- Day Three: English Backsword vs. Bolognese Sidesword (with Paul Wagner)
German Longsword Intensive (Christian Tobler)
- Day One: German Longsword
- Day Two: German Longsword
- Day Three: Italian Longsword vs. German Longsword (with Devon Boorman)
Italian Longsword Intensive (Devon Boorman)
- Day One: Italian Longsword
- Day Two: Italian Longsword
- Day Three: Italian Longsword vs. German Longsword (with Christian Tobler)
Italian Rapier Intensive (David Coblentz)
- Day One: Italian Rapier
- Day Two: Italian Rapier
- Day Three: Italian Rapier vs. Thibault Rapier (with Matthew Howden)
Thibault Rapier Intensive (Matthew Howden)
- Day One: Thibault Rapier
- Day Two: Thibault Rapier
- Day Three: Italian Rapier vs. Thibault Rapier (with David Coblentz)
Italian Grappling Intensive (Marco Quarta)
- Day One: Italian Grappling
- Day Two: Italian Grappling
- Day Three: Italian Grappling vs. German Grappling (with Jessica Finley)
German Grappling Intensive (Jessica Finley)
- Day One: German Grappling
- Day Two: German Grappling
- Day Three: Italian Grappling vs. German Grappling (with Marco Quarta)
Workshops
- German vs. Italian Rapier (Rob Rutherfoord)
- Everything You Know is Still True: An Introduction to Armoured Combat (Sean Hayes)
- The Salle vs. The Street, Part 1: Grappling (David R. Packer & Kaja Sadowski)
- Silver vs. Liechtenauer (Paul Wagner)
- One with the Sword: Integrated Body Mechanics and Movement Training for Medieval Arms (Sean Hayes)
- Thibault’s Rapier vs. the World (Matthew Howden)
- The Salle vs. The Street, Part 2: Fencing (David R. Packer & Kaja Sadowski)
- Unarmed vs. Knife: A Traditional Italian View (Marco Quarta)
- Problem Solving and Mindset in Asymmetrical Weapon Combat (Mark Mikita)
- Longsword vs Broadsword vs Smallsword (Paul Wagner)
- Patterned vs. Unpatterned Training Methodologies (Guro E.W.)
- The Positional Theory of Combat Strategy: Tactical Analysis and Strategic Planning in the Fight (Sean Hayes)
- Rapier: Dealing with Physical Asymmetries (David Coblentz)
- Rapier: Tactical Asymmetry (Devon Boorman)
Lectures & Panels
- Short-Term vs. Long-Term Practice (Mark Mikita)
- Motivation in Martial Arts: Intrinsic vs. Extrinsic (Dr. Shawn Bullock)
- Martial Arts Practice vs. Athletics (Mike Panian)
- Women vs. Men: Exploring Gender in Martial Arts (Moderator: Jessica Finley)
- Signal vs. Noise: A Neo-Classical Approach to Modern Technical Analysis (Matthew Howden)
- History vs. Myth: Using and Abusing Historical Narratives in Martial Arts (Michael Heveran)
VISS 2015
Download the 2015 Program Guide
Instructors
- Guy Windsor
- Christian Tobler
- Eric Myers
- Puck Curtis
- David McCormick
- Devon Boorman
- Tom Leoni
- Kaja Sadowski
- David R. Packer
- Loki Jörgenson
- Marco Quarta
- Mark Mikita
- Matthew Howden
- Steaphen Fick
- Bob Charrette
- Robert Rouse
- Noelle Phillips
- Daniel Helbert
3-Day Intensive Workshops
Medieval Italian intensive: Italian Dagger & Longsword According to Fiore & Vadi (Guy Windsor)
- Day One: The Medieval Dagger
- Day Two: The Medieval Longsword
- Day Three: Vadi’s Longsword
Iberian intensive: Smaller, Fewer, Smarter: Beyond the Basics (Eric Myers & Puck Curtis)
- Day One: Reduction of Movement
- Day Two: From Theory, Victory
- Day Three: Adversary as Mechanism
Medieval German intensive: Longsword, Messer, Sword & Buckler: Principles, Tactics, and Strategies in Liechtenauer’s Art of Fighting (Christian Tobler)
- Day One: Footwork, Guards, Blows, and Cutting Patterns
- Day Two: Entering the Fight, Working in the Bind, and Exiting the Fight Safely
- Day Three: Breaking the Guards, Combination Attacks, and Feints
Italian Rapier intensive (Devon Boorman)
- Day One: The True Fight
- Day Two: Extending the True Fight
- Day Three: The Deceptive & Adaptive Fights
Workshops
- Fighting the Fight: Closing the Gap from Misura to Gioco Stretto (Marco Quarta)
- Venire ai Ferri Corti: From Dagger to Knife Fight (Marco Quarta)
- Fighting the Fear: The Search for the Lion’s Heart and the Architect’s Mind (Marco Quarta)
- Marozzo’s Knife Work: Modern Tactical Applications (David R. Packer & Kaja Sadowski)
- Introduction to Thibault (Matthew Howden)
- Dagger and Rapier: The Offensive Use of the Dagger from Joseph Swetnam (Steaphen Fick)
- Book 2 of Salvator Fabris’s Lo Schermo, Overo Scienza d’Arme (Tom Leoni)
- Bolognese Two Sword (Tom Leoni)
- Filipino Espada y Daga (Loki Jörgenson)
- Disarms, Counter Disarms, & Counter-Counter Disarms (Mark Mikita)
- Body Mechanics of a Powerful Punch & Thrust (David McCormick)
- Physical Culture Exercise (Indian Clubs, Medicine Balls, Feats of Strength) (David McCormick)
- Hollow & Arch: Structure for Martial Artists (Kaja Sadowski)
Master Classes
- Destreza Master Class: The Time Thief: The Journey Beyond the Before, During, & After (Eric Myers & Puck Curtis)
- Italian Rapier Master Class: Italian Rapier Principles for Unorthodox Postures (Devon Boorman)
Lectures & Panels
- Fiore’s Armor (Bob Charrette)
- Mail to Plate: A Not So Simple Transition (Bob Charrette)
- Panel Discussion: What makes good HEMA? (Moderator: Tom Leoni)
- Storied Swords: Behind the Legendary Swords of the Middle Ages (Robert Rouse)
- Science and Violence: When Swords are Better than Guns (Puck Curtis)
- Why do we Fight?: The Warrior Cultures of Medieval England (Daniel Helbert, Noelle Phillips, & Robert Rouse)
- Performance Nutrition for Martial Artists (David R. Packer)
Thanks to our Sponsors
- Victorian Hotel
- VanCity Savings Credit Union
- Capital T Branding
- R&B Brewing
- Premium Springs Water Co.
VISS 2013
Download the 2013 Program Guide
Instructors
- Devon Boorman
- Puck Curtis
- Jessica Finley
- Sean Hayes
- Tom Leoni
- David McCormick
- Greg Mele
- Eric Myers
- Marco Quarta
- Jason Smith
- Christian Tobler
Multi-Day Workshop Series
Understanding Armizare—a Walking Tour of Fiore dei Liberi’s Art of Arms (Greg Mele)
- Day One: The Iron Gate—an Exploration of Movement and Structure through the Foundational Guard of Armizare
- Day Two: Control the Center—The Tactics of Armizare
- Day Three: From Abrazare to Pollaxe—Playing with Close Play in the Art of Arms
Three Days of Italian Rapier (Tom Leoni)
- Day One: “Rinse your fundamentals in the Brenta.”
- Day Two: Cuts, Beats, & Introduction to the Dagger
- Day Three: Feinting, Disarms, Tactics, and Freeplay
“No one can defend himself without danger”: Liechtenauer’s Art in three weapons (Jessica Finley)
- Day One: Maintaining and Recapturing the Vor when using the Longsword
- Day Two: Here they fight with Messer, May God remember them
- Day Three: Wrestling with Master Auerswald
Three Days of Iberian Swordplay (Eric Myers and Puck Curtis)
- Day One: Fundamentals and the Sword in One Hand
- Day Two: The Off-hand: Hilt Grappling, and the Dagger
- Day Three: Montante – The Spanish Great Sword
Workshops
- Does Fiore Wind? The Volta Stabile di Spada, Angulated Thrusts and Opposition Thrusts in L’arte Dell’Armizare (Sean Hayes)
- Classical Italian Dueling Sabre (Sean Hayes)
- Burgundian Pollaxe: Le Jeu de la Hache – parts I & II (Jason Smith)
- Pommel Play (Jason Smith)
- German Medieval Dagger (Christian Tobler)
- Sword and Buckler of the Liechtenauer Tradition (Christian Tobler)
- Applied Combatives: Improve Your Fight (Devon Boorman)
- Rapier Disarms (Devon Boorman)
- Bringing Down the Big Guy (David McCormick)
- Italian Stick Fencing (Marco Quarta)
- Abracar and Sine Armis: The art and tradition of unarmed fighting in Italy (Marco Quarta)
Lectures & Panels
- Shakespearean Swordplay: Smacktalk and Dojo Busting in the Reign of Elizabeth I (CC Humphreys and Greg Mele)
- Deconstructing Film Fights (David McCormick)
- Knighthood and Chivalry: Uneasy Companions (Dr. Robert Rouse)
- Writing Western Martial Arts in Fiction (Neal Stephenson and Joseph Brassey)
- Hands-on History (Devon Boorman)
- From Destruction to Creation: How a Spanish Knight used Science to Reform the Fighting Arts (Puck Curtis)
- Pen and Sword: Imagining Weaponry in Medieval Manuscripts (Dr. Noelle Phillips)
Thanks to our Sponsors
- Premium Springs Water Company
- Bella Gelateria
- Erin Kyle Photography – Omen Studios
- R&B Brewing Company and Firefly Fine Wines and Ales (Saturday Night Gala)
- Gold Financial
- Capital T Branding
- Blue Gauntlet Fencing
- Lunch catering: Terra Breads, BonChaz and the Lazy Gourmet
- Official VISS Hotel: The Victorian Boutique Hotel
- Official Airline: Air Canada
VISS 2011
Download the 2011 Program Guide
Instructors
- Devon Boorman
- Guy Windsor
- Tom Leoni
- Sean Hayes
- Christian Tobler
- Puck Curtis
- Eric Meyers
- Greg Mele
- David McCormick
Multi-Day Intensives
- The Art of Fiore dei Liberi, Father of Italian Martial Arts (Guy Windsor)
- The Art of Achille Marozzo, 16th Century Italian Fencing Master (Tom Leoni)
- The Tradition of Johannes Liechtenauer, 14th Century Master at Arms (Christian Tobler)
- Measure, Control, and Time: Close-Quarters Combat (Sean Hayes)
- Measure, Control, and Time in the System of Armizare (Greg Mele)
- Measure, Control, and Time: The Spanish Tradition Unleashed (Eric Myers & Puck Curtis)
- Applied Combatives: Taking your Full-Speed Combat to the Next Level (Guy Windsor, Devon Boorman, Sean Hayes)
Workshops
- From Science to Violence: Ettenhard Describes Pacheco’s Sidesword System (Puck Curtis & Eric Meyers)
- Fiore vs Modern Knife (Devon Boorman)
- Down You Go: Two Ubiquitous Throws of Armizare (Greg Mele)
- Messerfechten from the Glasgow Fechtbuch (Christian Tobler)
- Crossing and Constraint: Rediscovering the Principles of Italian Rapier (Devon Boorman)
- Developing and Employing Solo & Paired Drills for Skill Development (Sean Hayes)
- Montante: The Iberian Two-Handed Sword (Eric Myers)
- The Illusion of Violence: Stage Combat for Martial Artists (David McCormic)
- Movements of Conclusion: Spanish Hilt Grappling (Puck Curtis & Eric Meyers)
- Ponderous, Cruel and Mortal: Dei Liberi’s System of Axe Play (Greg Mele)
- Italian Rapier and Dagger (Tom Leoni)
Lectures
- Swords and scabbards in medieval Arthurian literature (Dr. Sian Echard, University of British Columbia Department of English)
- Code Duello: The Nature of the Duel from the 16th–19th Centuries (Cecil Longino, Academia della Spada)
- Panel: Bringing History to Life (Christian Tobler, Eric Myers, Puck Curtis, and Greg Mele)
- Swords in Elizabethan Theatre (Dr. Patricia Badir, University of British Columbia Department of English)
- A Timeline of Liechtenauer’s Manuscripts (Christian Tobler, Selohaar Fechtschule)
- Writing and Recording Stage Combat Choreography (David McCormick, Academie Duello)
- Panel: Swords in Modern Fiction (Neal Stephenson and CC Humphreys)
Thanks to our Sponsors
- Vancity
- W2 Community Media Arts
- Happy Planet
- R&B Brewing Company and Firefly Fine Wines and Ales (Saturday Night Gala)
- Donation of Prizes by Mike Loades, Blue Gauntlet, Watson Gloves, Guy Windsor, Greg Mele
- Catering for the Gala provided by Wild Rice
- Lunch catering: Terra Breads, BonChaz and the Lazy Gourmet
- Official VISS Hotel: The Victorian Boutique Hotel
- Official Airline: Air Canada
- Official VISS t-shirt logo designed by Jordan Bray