Category Archives: Uncategorized

Cavalry Weapons Fighting Technique: Counter to Lance Disarm with Katar

One of the most basic concepts of weaponized single combat is to get between your adversary and his weapon. For the cavalryman, that effectively means between his weapon and his horse. This play is a response for the cavalryman to an infantryman setting aside the lance and getting to the inside for a hit. TheContinue reading “Cavalry Weapons Fighting Technique: Counter to Lance Disarm with Katar”

Rider Fitness: Cross-training for Horseback Riding

Rider fitness is an integral part of the program here, and should be taken for granted in any riding program; but most of my students who have ridden before had little or no physical education for their own bodies from their prior equestrian training. What follows are a few categories of exercise to consider: riderContinue reading “Rider Fitness: Cross-training for Horseback Riding”

How to Train for a Derby: A Timeline

The Tevis Cup—a 100-mile, 1-day race in the mountains of California—is on today, and a lot of riders are dreaming about being one of the GPS dots on the map. But how do you get ready? We’ve put a few derby riders through our program and seen what works, what doesn’t work, and have someContinue reading “How to Train for a Derby: A Timeline”

Dressage is Not For Endurance

We train a lot of endurance riders preparing for the Mongol Derby, the Gaucho Derby, and the Tevis. All of our riders have finished. All of them have expressed some comment like, “I’ve learned more in the past 3 days than the last 20 years.” None have come with a seat and riding technique conduciveContinue reading “Dressage is Not For Endurance”

Three Red Flags

I recently had a fall that resulted in a serious injury—a century ago, they might have cut my arm off, or left me with one that doesn’t work. Somewhat ironically (at least on the surface) I came off a short, out of shape pony and landed in wet grass. A few people said to me,Continue reading “Three Red Flags”

How Do You Choose a Thumb Ring?

Are you interested in mounted archery and considering thumb rings, but don’t know what you need, what design to use, how to start? Practical information follows. Do I need an instructor? No, you don’t need an instructor, and certainly not one who says you do. “You need an instructor” is toxic, gatekeeping rhetoric. Don’t getContinue reading “How Do You Choose a Thumb Ring?”

A Spurious Mamluk Lance to Bow Transition

[Original post on Facebook here: https://m.facebook.com/story.php?story_fbid=pfbid0BQrnCukY47JrTuXF826T2XSaRZowfAydhc97Qr4DWG5QfxMUKBsBYw7TFxtH7qWkl&id=100083245874712%5D We saw this depiction circulating of a Mamluk performing a lance—>bow transition. It happens that weapon transitions are a favorite topic of ours, so we had a go. To clear the air, before we dig in, I do NOT take for granted that “historical” implies “effective” or even “true.”Continue reading “A Spurious Mamluk Lance to Bow Transition”

Paradoxes of Self-Defense and Dojo Syndrome

The post discusses the psychological trauma of self-defense, explaining how societal norms cause victims to question their actions instead of defending themselves in violent encounters. It illuminates the problem of ‘dojo syndrome’, a practice in many martial arts schools where students learn obedience and courtesy before self-defense. The writer urges people to choose martial schools that focus on reality martial arts, conduct themselves without provoking assault, and avoid instructors that demand, rather than earn, respect.

Sportification of Mounted Archery and Martial Art

Let’s go back a little bit: imagine now, before the battle, training for it. It’s deadly work. Warriors train to kill, and prepare themselves for the eventuality of being killed. How do they train? Does this training look like a mounted archery competition?

No. Of course it doesn’t. In battle, the targets shoot back.