Swordplay 2017 – Part 2

Swordplay – where it’s just not fun and games until someone gets stabbed in the face. 

Saturday brought with it the start of the formal tournaments, meaning that results were counted towards the National as well as International HEMA rankings. After a Continue reading

Swordplay 2017 – part 1

And you thought running with scissors was risky.

As mentioned in a previous post, I came out of the UWM test event with a burning desire to improve my weapon fighting skills. I could tell you how I structured my training towards this goal by joining the HEMA school Collegium in Armis, studying longsword techniques and other European weapon systems. I could go through in detail how I pimped my basement into a mancave-slash-dojo (‘The Mojo’ for short) and set up a sparring arena in the backyard. But I won’t bore you with details, nor will I be the guy that rambles on about what supplements and dietary regime he follows. Let’s just say it’s been my main focus for some time now – and after about a year’s training, it was time to put the skills to the test.

swordplay 2017

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Post UWM Update – Ironheart

In Sweden we have a saying about having ‘blood on your teeth’, meaning that you’ve sunk your teeth into something and now want more of it. Here Joshua ‘Ironheart’ Bekker tells of his recent and upcoming fights.

– How did you personally find VTC1?

This was an amazing experience and I was so excited to be a part of it. If I’m being honest, it was probably the highlight of 2016 for me, if not my entire fight career. Continue reading

Post UWM Update – Ronin

Burak ‘Ronin’ Urgancioglu really took to his ring name, having spent the majority of his time since UWM travelling (and training) around the world. Master-less samurai indeed. If you want to follow his adventures, check out his page The Journal of a Ronin on Facebook.

– How did you personally find VTC1?

VTC1 was an amazing experience with multiple aspects for me. Travelling so far for the first time, meeting with fellow fighters for the first time, testing my skills in the outside world for the first time. A lot of first times.

I was naive, you see, compared to you at least. When I Continue reading

Post UWM Update – Red Rock

Nothing like a bit of action to get you to take your training to the next level. Here Rory ‘Red Rock’ Trend share his thoughts on how UWM affected him.

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Rory (left) with UWM Chairman Justin Forsell at the Trend Training Centre, Sydney. Great place that offers Kung Fu and much more. Check out the centre’s website for more information.

– How did you personally find VTC1?

I found the event to be really well planned and executed. It was a really large team of very different individuals all pulling in the same direction. The team was committed on making the event successful.  For me personally Continue reading

Lobo Chronicles, part 13 – A New Horizon

Next entry in the Chronicles. The UWM event had now finished; where to from here?

Leading up to the Unified Weapons Master event, I had put as much focus as I could on my training. This enabled me to get into good shape and a decent technical level, which was obviously of great value to me when the time came to fight in the VTC (Vital Target Combat) event. However, this gain came at a price – for some time I had barely scraped by at work and at home, as the training and diet often left me mentally and physically drained. Continue reading

When The Wolf went to UWM, Part 2

Second part of my time during the Vital Target Combat (VTC) event hosted by Unified Weapons Master (UWM). Check out the first part here.

Wolf in Lorica clothing

We were standing in the middle of the arena we’d be fighting in over the next few days, while we waited for the UWM leaders to announce the fight cards. I rocked back on my heels and took a few steps to get a feel for the surface. Didn’t want any surprises when the time came. Eventually we were Continue reading

When The Wolf went to UWM, Part 1

First part of my time during the Vital Target Combat (VTC) event hosted by Unified Weapons Master (UWM). Click here to check out the second part!

I’ve been meaning to write this post for some time now. As you may recall, my last post was about how I’d gotten picked as one of the first fighters to fight in Unified Weapon Master’s (UWM) test event.

The intention was to write this post once my fight video from the test event had been published online, but alas. Shortly after they published the first fight video, Continue reading

I am fighting in UWM!

Again, it’s been a while since the last post but rest assured I’ve kept busy!

Unified Weapons Master (UWM) finally went out with their ‘Call to Arms’ early this year, announcing that they were looking for fighters for their inaugural fight event. After completing Continue reading