Foundations of Smallsword Webinar (4th and/or 11th July 2026)

The Mechanics of Domenico Angelo’s School of Fencing Domenico Angelo’s School of Fencing (1787) is one of the most influential fencing books ever written. In this live online workshop, we’ll explore the mechanical foundations of Angelo’s method through practical solo exercises that can be trained anywhere, with little or no equipment. No partner is required. Whether you’re completely new to smallsword, an experienced historical fencer, a foilist, or a fencing instructor interested in movement and body mechanics, this class will give you practical tools for understanding and training in Angelo’s style of smallsword fencing. In this class we’ll cover: Who Domenico Angelo was, and why his work matters How to establish the guard position How to hold the smallsword or foil How to lunge How to step and pass Drawing the sword The guards of tierce, carte, and carte over the arm Angelo’s famous salute Thrusts in prime, seconde, tierce, carte, carte over the arm, quinte, and flanconade Angelo’s “Method and Effectual Means to Render a Fencer Active and Firm on their Legs” The class concludes with a live question-and-answer session. Duration: 90 minutes, plus 30 or so for the Q and A. What You’ll Need A smallsword or French-grip foil is ideal, but not essential. If all you have is a table knife, that’s perfectly adequate for many of the exercises. In fact, I’ll show you how to practise smallsword finger and wrist actions while sitting at the dinner table. Workshop Format Live online instruction Solo training: no partner required Questions and answers included Recording included Downloadable workshop handout included Dates and Times To make the workshop accessible across multiple time zones, it will be taught twice: Saturday July 4th, 7pm UK time (Europe and the Americas) Saturday July 11th, 8am UK time (Europe and Australasia) Register once and attend either session or both. All registered participants will receive recordings of both classes. I’ve never taught exactly the same class twice, so while both sessions will cover the same material, there will be significant differences between them. Registration includes: Workshop handout with relevant sections of The School of Fencing, and high-resolution images of the plates Attendance at either or both live sessions Recordings of both sessions Live Q&A access Click "Add to cart" and gain access to both seminars. No need to specify one or the other, you can even come to both!