Welcome
Gray School of Arms Academia da Espada is a western martial arts school dedicated to the practice and promotion of renaissance and medieval fighting arts.
Our primary focus is on that of the Spanish system of
La Verdadera Destreza.
We also offer a range of services and training for the Entertainment
and performance industry.
Home to
Gray School of Arms Fencing Team
Academia Da Espada Ireland
Recent news and blog posts
Gray School of Arms fight team where happy to be hired by Dublin comic con for the second time to teach Destreza and fight choreography to the event attendees.
Dueling did not always go to plan, this can be seen by the fact that duels where mainly outlawed in many parts of Europe and also to the fact that duels had to be witnessed. Back in the 14th century this would involve a full judicial committee which was a public affair (many problems arrived when dueling went private as seen in France or Italy, this allowed matters of honor to be dealt with privately) an historical example of a public duel can be read in the last duelist:
The Rodella had two uses, one being to protect the user and the second as an offensive weapon itself. Before looking further at this there is simply not enough room to fit a full explanation of the shields use from the 16th century to the 17th as its use changed with the fencing systems as they progressed.
There is one weapon set used throughout the known world, that combination is the sword and shield. In this article we will take a look at the use of a specific type of shield known as a rodella (round shield) in combination with the sword, how it was used and the history behind it.
We will be working at comic con Ireland in association with Thrones Legends. Teaching two full days of workshops and demos! come and try your hand at sword play !
We will be working for Iron throne legends performing demos and workshops at the Throneslegends event in city west business centre!
We are happy to be performing and running workshops for the second year running at Dublins Bluefire festival.
July 21st saw the first Gray School of arms fencing for charity event, held in Dublin at the Sean O Casey community centre. The event was in support of the Dublin Simons charity helping to raise funds for the homeless.
Gray School of Arms was happy to host master at arms Ton Puey for a 3rd time back in June 2018 for one day workshop for Academa Da Espada Ireland members.
Nathan Gray is happy to announce that he will be teaching fight choreography for stage and screen with highlanders Adrian Paul at the Sword experience in August 2018.
Our new Friday class will be starting tonight! offering another training night in Dublin City center!
The double hit, what is it? Why should it be avoided? This is a topic of much debate in the historical fencing community with many differing opinions on why it happens and how it can be fixed.
One of the unique features of Western Martial Arts is the wide variety of weapons involved. Even limiting the range to just swords you can a fantastic range of shapes, lengths and sizes.
For generations the sword has caught the imagination, either on stage or on screen the sword has been iconic. Not only a symbol of power, justice but also of entertainment and of course martial arts. However there is one particular combination that is even more icon then the sword alone. It rivals even the massive popularity of eastern martial arts in film.
As the title suggest we had an opportunity like none other just before the Halloween break (perfect timing!) to fight in a crypt! And not just any crypt but one belonging to one of Dublin’s largest cathedrals, Christchurch.
Recently we attended one of Dublin’s largest gaming conventions Gaelcon! Where we put on demonstrations, workshops and talks throughout the day.
A fight is similar to that of a scene, it has a start, a middle and an end. The main difference is in the time. A real fight can take, at the start a very short or long time to actually begin. Both combatants circling each other, neither wanting to make the first move as it could very well be their last.
or a long time the entertainment industry has made use of martial arts. It has inspired generations of young and old to take up the martial practices, ether eastern or western. From the early days of the roman amphitheater in Rome with their depictions of the Gallic tribes falling to Caesar’s legions, to the displays of Shakespeare in the globe theatre in London,
The Atajo is a key technique in Destreza. While the word atajo literally means “Short cut” it is not an offensive technique, rather it is a way of controlling the opponent’s sword to defend yourself and thereby attack in safety.
Within Martial arts that are largely weapons based, such as Western Martial Arts or Kali, the repeated use of similar or identical weapons in practice and sparring is often emphasised.
Gray School of arms recently hosted the first invitational free sparring session in Dublin.
The invitational free sparring session is a group of clubs who meet up two to three times a month for Sparring with a range of weapons and disciplines within western marital arts.
A look at the military history of Spain and Ireland, and those Irish who served the Spanish crown.
A look at what it is to be a teacher, and teaching WMA in general.
People from all parts of society participated. It was especially prevalent for nobles and soldiers in command to settle their affairs in such a manner.
Western martial arts, as with many forms of martial arts, were born out of violent times and the necessity to defend oneself. It was through such violence and the development of combative arts that a culture of judicial and non-judicial dueling came to flourish.
As a long time practitioner of martial arts I have seen and experienced many different combative systems. It has been a long search to find a system that suited not only my hunger for knowledge but also my own personal style.
Overall physical fitness is key to any martial artist’s success. In fact it is key to any form of discipline that requires the body to perform strenuous activity. It is physical fitness that I wish to discuss in this post, and the reasons as to why you should be doing it outside of class. Now let me first begin by saying that any martial arts instructor should! Be able to help students attain a high level of fitness in all areas, those being:
Certification. . . This is a topic that is full to the brim with politics and more often than not a nice dose of egomania. I have wanted to tackle this topic for a while now and with its ever encroaching presence in HEMA along with the ever growing controversy, I feel it’s the best time to do just that.
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In humanities history there has been one weapon that has withstood the test of time, one weapon that has been used so extensively throughout our history that it has been depicted in literature and art from every age. Yet its prestige has not grown to that of the sword, it has been present but overlooked when compared to, what would be called a nobler weapon.