Musketeer Highlights for August 2019

Musketeer Highlights for August 2019

It’s that time of the month again, where we highlight those Musketeers that have gone above and beyond for the Sword Experience. We are proud of the hard work that you put into promoting our work and spreading awareness for the Sword Experiences pursuit of bringing our love of fitness, sword choreography, and fun to fans across the globe.

Our top musketeer of the month of August is none other than the wonder Mr. Shawn Dempsey.

Shawn proposed a number of wonderful venues for us to explore in Denver. His suggestion of holding the Sword Experience at Wings Over the Rockies is exactly the kind of exciting venue that we were looking for.

Shawn even took it a step further to help promote the event by putting up flyers all over the area to spread the word!

So, from the bottom of our hearts, thank you for all that you do Shawn.

As with every month, it’s difficult to choose the top musketeer of the month. We have two Musketeers that we think deserve an honorable mention.

First up is Shelley Shearer. Shelley has helped us look for venues to host the Sword Experience on the East Coast. She also helped promote our recent trip to Boston and was successful in spreading the word.

Thank you, Shelley, and keep up the great work.

We’d also like to recognize Ginny Hough. Ginny is an active member of our Musketeer Facebook group and has created many engaging discussions. We always appreciate those that are active in our community and continue to engage with others about all things related to the Sword Experience.

Thank you, Ginny, we look forward to reading more of your posts.

If you haven’t seen your name mentioned yet, do not worry. We are very much aware of the fantastic work that all of our Musketeers have done for us.

Your dedication to the Sword Experience is greatly appreciated and one day, you may just see your name here!

Being A Sword Partner

We thought it would be interesting to reach out to some of our past Sword Partners and learn a little bit more about their side of the Sword Experience. We also thought it would be interesting to learn more about their background in Martial Arts.

Sword Partner Robert Frankovich was kind enough to take some time out of his busy schedule to tell us a little about his experiences working with Adrian Paul in Minnesota as well as his preferred sword fighting style.

Sword Partner Robert Frankovich

The Adrian Paul Sword Experience has partnered with White Tiger Martial Arts for two events in Minnesota. They have been outstanding experiences. Being able to assist and teach for Mr. Paul has made for great memories.

It does help that I have been an avid Highlander fan since the show was originally broadcast.

The first event was part of the 2016 Crypticon. It was something that I kind of fell into. I saw the posting for the Sword Experience and decided to email an offer to assist as possible. The response was an offer to help teach, which was immediately accepted.

Shortly after committing, the scene information was sent over. It was going to be interesting! I hadn’t seen Dracula Untold yet but the choreography was cool.

The second event was July 2018 and held in the Normandale Community College Japanese garden. All of the preparation for attendees was done outdoors. As the way things go, of course, it started to rain.

Actually, the rain helped make the preparation portion of the event even more cool. Once it became too bad to continue, the group moved into the parking ramp to finish the preparations.

What could be more awesome than training with the Highlander in a parking ramp?

Now, the rain didn’t help to get the performance portion out in the garden. Adrian got all of the attendees positioned and ran through the filming plan. The rain allowed a handful of runs before getting heavy.

The heavy rain caused a break where everyone gathered in a gazebo. This happened two or three times. It was a bit frustrating though it allowed everyone to chat with Adrian. Many good stories were told.

This second event included a handful of local martial artists. Three of them were my Korean sword (Haidong Gumdo) students. The technique flexibility makes it easy to adapt to the performance of the fight.

Haidong Gumdo is the branded name of the organization that I belong to. It is very common to see it listed as Haedong Kumdo. Our organization doesn’t do the Kendo version, though, which is partly why the branding is applied.

White Tiger Martial Arts have been teaching the curriculum of the World Haidong Gumdo Federation for the past 14 years. We are part of the USA Haidong Gumdo Association and the Midwest Haidong Gumdo Association.

This curriculum focuses on the use of the sword for cutting and understanding combat applications. This work has the tangent benefit of helping develop problem-solving skills and working under stress. This personal development is a prime focus.

A really fun piece from all of this is that all of the fun with Mr. Paul started because about a dozen of my students went to the Crypticon event in 2016. Well, that started doing panels (demonstrations and discussions) at local SciFi and Anime conventions that we still do.

For more information on White Tiger Martial Arts, visit www.wtma-mn.com.

Swords in VR

Virtual Reality has slowly but surely taken a life of its own lately. The technology has only been getting better and the applications of VR are becoming much more advanced. For those who are fans of sword fighting

there are plenty of games that are on the market that can allow you the chance to become the ultimate warrior.

We thought it would be fun to look at some of the games that have come out on various VR platforms that allow you to wield a sword.

First up is Beat Saber.

While Beat Saber is mostly a music game in the same vein as Rock Band and Guitar Hero, what sets it apart from those games is that you’re tasked with hitting blocks that are flying toward you with lightsabers.

Fans of Star Wars will have a blast flinging around lightsabers, but what makes this game to another level is that the game requires you to strike the blocks with a certain direction which requires timing and precision.

This game will definitely have you sweating as you hack and slash your way through the game’s electronic soundtrack. Beat Saber is available on all VR platforms.

Next is, of course, Skyrim VR.

Skyrim was initially released in 2011 and has seen various ports across a number of consoles, so it was no surprise that it would eventually make its way to virtual reality. Bethesda has done an excellent job of recreating the world of Skyrim in VR and at times just walking around the map can create awe-inspiring moments.

However, nothing can beat coming across a dragon in VR and plunging your sword into it in a battle to the death.

The game itself is massive and you could spend months searching every nook and cranny in the game and still find new and exciting adventures. Skyrim VR is also available on all VR platforms.

Lastly is Blade and Sorcery.

Blade and Sorcery have done a tremendous job of creating swordplay in a game that feels like it has weight to it. It is still in early access, so the developers are sure to add more modes, but at the moment the game is a gladiator arena-style fighting game.

You are placed in an environment and they are bombarded by waves of enemies. You’re given a wide variety of weapons at your disposal to fight your way through the enemies.

Fair warning though, the game is quite realistic in its depiction of violence. It also requires plenty of space to play as you will need to be able to move around the room.

At the moment, the game is only available on the HTC Vive, the Oculus Rift, and Windows VR.

There are plenty of other great VR games with swords as well, but these standout amongst the crowd.

As VR continues to progress, there will surely be other fantastic swashbuckling adventures to be had. The most promising part of virtual reality is the promise of a merging of physical fitness and video games.

Video games have unfortunately been linked to laziness and lethargy and with VR becoming more and more popular, the myth of the lazy gamer seems like it will eventually disappear.

What video games have you been playing?  Let us know in the comments………..