Governing Rules
The Governing Rules serve as the by-laws of the Classical Academy of Arms. This is the current edition of the Governing Rules.
Review Board Minutes
The Review Board meets quarterly, or more frequently if required, to review the status of Academy programs and courses and to make suggestions to the Director as to how the operations of the Academy may be sustained and improved. The following are the minutes of Board meetings:
- November 2020 Regular Meeting
- December 2020-January Electronic Meeting
- February 2021 Regular Meeting
Mission Vision Values Statement
Who We Are: The Classical Academy of Arms is a non-profit membership organization of individual fencing instructors dedicated to the preservation of the techniques and values of classical fencing and to their transmission to a new generation of classical fencers.
Mission of the Academy: The mission of the Classical Academy of Arms is to preserve the techniques and values of classical fencing and to transmit them to a new generation of classical fencers.
Philosophy: The Classical Academy of Arms believes that fencing using classical technique has value in providing disciplined training in point and blade control and management of tempo for modern competitive fencers, in providing a framework for adult recreational fencing, in enabling serious study of historical fencing methods, and in the training of fencing coaches in the theory of the sport.
Focus: Our focus is Classical Fencing, defined as fencing, dry or steam (without electrical scoring), with Foil, Dueling Sword (Epee), or Sabre, using the techniques taught by the contemporary Masters and the commonly accepted rules of the period 1880 through 1939.
Vision: To serve as the center for the preservation of classical fencing technique through research and training of instructors capable of teaching period technique to recreational and competitive fencers.
Values:
- We uphold the classical values of honor to arms and respect for the Masters. We understand our responsibility to the Masters of the classical period to represent their teaching accurately and to keep their names and contributions to fencing alive.
- We believe in the importance of rigorous attention to academic standards in teaching classical fencing. We commit to researching, documenting, understanding, and accurately teaching the use of the fencing weapons in the classical period as reflected in the record of fencing manuals and other contemporary evidence.
- We know that effective instruction requires the use of a full range of instructional techniques and technologies, careful planning, and disciplined execution.
- We know that credentialing graduates of training requires a transparent and fair process with established requirements, clear and understandable metrics, and a commitment to the role of credentialing in the fencing instructor’s career.
- We understand that the quest for excellence in training instructors in sport requires dedication to continuous learning and continuous improvement. We demand that of ourselves, and we demand that of our students.
- We know that better fencing results from better coaching, and we commit to conducting ourselves as professional trainers and requiring the same of our students.
- We respect all fencers, whether recreational, competitive, or elite, for their love of fencing, and recognize that fencers in each period, whether modern, classical, or historical, are part of a continuum across 800 years of organized teaching, learning, and fighting, on the battlefield, in the duel, and as competitive athletes, from which all of us have much to learn.
- We understand that what we do changes lives, and we embrace that responsibility.