Self Defense @HCC / Feb 2 - March 9

Bowie Knife @HCCWest / March 6

Bartitsu April 17

Tomahawk, May 1 

Women's Self Defense, July 10

More Bowie, July 31

"Warrior Spirit"

Advanced Tomahawk

      CANCELLED
February 2-March 9, 2010 -- Tuesdays 8-9pm

     Learn techniques for protecting and defending yourself in a variety of situations. Men and women can benefit from the physical and mental aspects of this training, offered by our experienced instructor
     Book:  Self-Defense: Steps to Survival, by Katy Mattingly; published 2007 by Human Kinetics
     Participants should wear comfortable clothing. Men must wear an athletic cup. Also suggest note pad and pen.

March 6, 2010 -- Saturday, 10am-4pm

James Bowie and His Knife
Highland Community College WEST CAMPUS
Elizabeth, IL 
Allen Reed, Instructor

     James Bowie was an iconic figure in the early American West. He was an entrepreneur, politician, and soldier.
     Bowie survived major wounds during the famous Vidalia Sandbar fight in 1827 and went on to join the Texas Revolution against Mexico where he died with David Crockett and William Travis at the Alamo in 1836. 
     This class will examine the life and times of Bowie, and students will learn how to use the big fighting knife given Bowie’s name by knife makers and those who used it throughout the 19th century.
     Comfortable workout clothing including long sleeved sweatshirt, safety glasses, men must wear an athletic cup.  Also suggest forearm pads (soccer shin pads) and light leather gloves, such as work/gardening gloves.
     Students may also want to bring a fencing mask or other full face protective device.  Some loaner gear will be available.

Bartitsu! The Martial Art of Sherlock Holmes

with Allen Reed

In 1898, the New Art of Self Defence called Bartitsu was introduced to England by Edward William Barton-Wright.   Bartitsu was a combination of savate, jiujitsu, pugilism, and walking stick fighting.  Barton-Wright developed Bartitsu to defeat the fearsome street gangs of Edwardian London.
    By combining Asian and European fighting styles, Bartitsu may well have been the first Mixed Martial Art.  Conan Doyle had Sherlock Holmes use Bartitsu against Professor Moriarty, his mortal enemy, to throw him from the top of Reichenbach waterfall.
    This class will provide a practical beginning in this historical system, as well as how to use it for modern self defense. 

REQUIREMENTS: Participants should wear comfortable workout clothes, and should bring a sturdy walking stick, cane or 3/4"-1" diameter dowel rod of about 36" long. Gallowglass Academy requires groin protection for men, and recommends it for women.

A close combat weapon favored by both Indian warriors and White settlers of the 18th and 19th centuries, the Tomahawk represents the melding of European technology and weapon systems with the Native use of the war club.

REQUIREMENTS: Participants should wear comfortable workout clothes, and should bring a belt or heavy sash and a Tomahawk with sheath or a 1-lb ball-peen hammer with a 16-18" wooden handle. 

Gallowglass Academy requires groin protection for men, and recommends it for women.  Reenactors of all stripes are encouraged to wear historical kit, and all participants should bring clothing appropriate for portions of the class to be held outside, weather permitting.

 

Women's Self Defense 

Saturday, July 10, 2010 1-5 PM
River Valley Complex (room #108)
605 Main St., Leaf River, IL 61047 
 
You have the absolute right to defend yourself
 
Gallowglass Academy offers a 4-hour self defense class led by Association for Women’s Self Defense Advancement (AWSDA) members and Certified Instructors Andrea Dubnick & Allen Reed.

Class is open to women only, 14 and older.  Parent or legal guardian must accompany women under 18. 

Tuition for the class will be $15 each, $10 each additional family member.   No martial arts experience or athletic ability necessary.  Wear comfortable workout clothes or street-wear.  Need-based scholarship assistance may be available – please ASK!

Preregister by June 30, 2010 by mail (PO Box 201, Leaf River, IL 61047) phone (815-973-1064) or email (GallowglassAcad@aol.com)    

Please download this PDF flyer and post at your gym, grocery, church, and/or local pub  

More Bowie Knife History and Combat

$50 registration until July 15   

$75 thereafter or at the door 

    The Bowie knife in the hands of a well trained fighter is one of the most devastating weapons ever developed.  This seminar introduces a practical and efficient system of using a Bowie knife.
    Named for James Bowie, who killed his mortal enemy Norris Wright with a large knife at the Vidalia Sandbar Fight in 1827, the Bowie knife came to be carried by soldiers, mountain men and settlers throughout the United States.
   
Students should wear comfortable work out clothes including a heavy duty sweatshirt, light leather gloves, rigid eye protection, and a belt.  Men must wear an athletic cup. 
    Other suggested gear includes fencing mask or closed face martial arts head protection; padded gloves, such as hockey gloves or equivalent; martial arts chest protection; forearm protection, such as soccer shin pads; rigid elbow protection, such as for street hockey.  Some loaner gear will be available.

Please download this PDF flyer and post at your gym, grocery, laundromat, church, and/or local pub   

"Warrior Spirit" Exercise Class
Sep 7 - Nov 23

Every country and cultre has stories of famous warriors who underwent physical training to find their warrior spirit.  Both men and women are invited to work together in the class to find that spirit themselves. The class will involve learning martial arts moves both with empty hands and with a weapon, as well as physical conditioning exercises.  Participants should wear comfortable clothing and bring a 3-ft dowel rod, -3/4 to 1-inch in diameter. 

Advanced Tomahawk
October 23 10am-5pm
(site opens at 9am; class limited to 10)

The tomahawk is a classic American weapon. Used historically by both white settlers and Native American warriors, it is a fearsome close combat weapon. In the modern age the tomahawk is once again being used by the American military.
     The Advanced Tomahawk seminar will focus on the use of the combination of the tomahawk and knife. It will include using these weapons against single and multiple foes as well as foes using other weapons.  Also included will be fighting on the run and using combat throws.
     Participants should wear comfortable workout clothing including a long sleeved sweat shirt or equivalent. Historic garb is not required but is encouraged. Men must wear an athletic cup.
     Required gear: Tomahawk with sheath or ball peen hammer, belt or sash and rigid eye protection. 
     Other suggested equipment: Full martial arts head protection with a closed face or fencing mask, gorget or other rigid throat protection, padded torso protection, hard shell elbow and knee protection (e.g. roller blade gear or equivalent), padded gloves.
     Instructor will have some loaner equipment.
     Prerequisites: Attendance at previous Gallowglass Academy seminar, study with other tomahawk instructor, or permission of the instructor.

  $50 until October 9

  $75 thereafter, and at the door.