Rapier

Instructor: Cecil Longino 

• Tuesdays from 8:30 to 9:30pm (Spanish)
• Fridays from 7:00pm to 8:00pm (Italian)

The 'rapier', an English term adopted for a popular Continental European sword of the High Renaissance, was considered to be an essential part of a Gentleman's attire. Not only did it aid in his defense, but it was also viewed as the weapon most properly worn at the side of the "better sorts" such as noblemen, gentlemen, knights and soldiers.

The Academia offers two distinctly different rapier classes.

Spanish rapier (La Verdadera Destreza) meets on Tuesday evenings. Our methodology comes from Maestro Ramon Martinez and is supplemented by the writings of earlier Spanish fencing masters: Don Jeronimo de Carranza (1569), Don Luis Pacheco de Narvaez (1600), Girard Thibault (1628), Don Alvaro Guerra de la Vega (1681) and Don Francisco Lorenz de Rada (1705).

Our Italian rapier class meets on Friday evenings and focuses on the scientific sword play of 17th Century Italy.  Students having gained a competency with the single rapier will also train with the rapier’s companion weapons, dagger and cloak.

This class is located at the Salle Saint-George. A partial list of equipment suppliers can be found here.