On a recent visit to Vancouver I passed an interesting looking storefront. My interest piqued I went inside and was amazed at what I saw. A large wooden floor was framed on either side by a brace of medieval weaponry. It turns out that this simple storefront was actually Academie Duello. Specializing in the western martial arts, they are the largest swordplay training center in North America. This isn’t something you would run across everyday so I had to learn more.
According to their website, “Academie Duello is a school of European Swordplay and Western Martial Arts devoted to teaching the weapons of the historical gentleman and warrior. Our Martial Arts training includes sword arts such as the rapier, sidesword, sword and shield, and long sword, as well as the quarterstaff, spear, knife and unarmed combat.”
Founded in 2004 the school continues to expand. On top of the weaponry they also offer falconry training. As I walked around the gym, I stumbled upon not one, but two birds of prey. Additionally, they plan to establish a museum of swords, armou and heraldry in time for the Olympics and offer visitors the chance to attend a drop-in lesson for $10.
Visit www.learnswordplay.com to find out more.
