Instructors
"Brief ideas regarding the sabre - on cuts"
"... it must be regarded as the fundamental basis of one's own safety to perform every action in such a way that, while undertaking to strike the enemy, one doesn't expose any part of one's own body to the enemy's weapon."
Paolo Bertelli - Bologna 1800
Jeff Richardson
Instructor at Arms
Portland Oregon Instructor
Rapier Fencing - Thibault, di Grassi and Saviolo Systems
Bolognese, Sword and Buckler, Longsword
Military Saber
Bartitsu
Karate
Jeff grew up on medieval fantasy novels, swashbuckler movies and bad kung fu flicks. He began studying Eastern martial arts in 1982 in Eugene Oregon. He spent two summers studying Shotokan and then spent three years with the study of TaeKwonDo under Sensei Joe Gates until moving to Ashland in late 1986 at the age of 17. In Ashland Jeff studied modern fencing under former U.S.A. Olympians Gay Jacobsen-D’Asaro (Gay MacLellan) and Michael D’Asaro until moving to Phoenix Arizona to attend trade school in 1988. He returned to Ashland in the summer of 1990 and continued to train periodically with Gay until 1993. In early 1992 he became an assistant instructor for The American Karate Academy and helped run and promote the local school Until1998, in1995 he earned the rank of Black Belt in American Open Style Karate under Hanshei Jerry Piddington. Instruction at the American Karate Academy also came from Sifu Tom Spellman, Sensie Robert Owens and Sensie Gerri Rose. Jeff served dual duty as the local tournament promoter and worked as the publicist for American Karate Academies National Association. During this time Jeff also cross trained with Sifu Tom Spellman in Daimon Ryu JuiJitsu working as his assistant.
Since the late 1980’s Jeff has spent time doing rapier and epee stage choreography for local theatres and working with independent film projects. He can be seen as a stunt performer in the indie film “Westender”, serves as fight choreographer and stunt performer as the charachter Thorn in the film “Devils of War”, and shares a fight choreographer credit with Anthony DeLongis on the indie film “Spin of Fabrications”. For more on Mr. Richardson’s acting career see his resume.
Jeff came to historic fencing in the early 90’s while helping to found the club in Ashland, Oregon which eventually became Academia Duellatoria. He has researched and taught historic fencing and provided public demonstrations ever since. He served as apprentice armorer to Ironcastle Armories learning the art of historic armoring. With a primary focus on the rapier, a study of the works of Thibault led him to meet Maestro Ramone Martinez and John Michael Greer and hold the first West Coast seminar on the subject in Ashland Oregon in the Spring of 2001. He assisted with the instructional video "La Verdadera Destreza, The True Art and Skill of Spanish Swordsmanship" featuring Anthony Delongis and the Maestro's Martinez, helping to supply the still images used in the video. A continued involvement with Western Martial Arts led Jeff to join the Association for Historic Fencing where he served several terms as a member of it’s board of directors and is a recognized tournament official.
Jeff’s primary studies in historic western martial arts include the early 16th century Italian tretise of Morozzo and the later 16th century rapier treatises of Giocomo DiGrassi and Vincent Saviolo. In addition he has pursued a study of the primarly Spanish tradition of rapier fencing known as Destreza with an emphasis on the work of Gerard Thibault. Most recently it has been Jeff’s pleasure to do background research and peer review for Jherek Swangers forthcoming translation of Camillo Agrippa’s groundbreaking 16th century Italian rapier tretise.
John Husky
Former Instructor
John Husky helped to found the original club in Ashland, Oregon while a student at Southern Oregon University. He fell in love early with the art of Kendo, and unable to find instruction in small town rural America took up the art of European Fencing. A love for history led him to a study of Italian and English dueling systems and a pursuit for the study of the rapier.
John Husky located in Ashland after retirement from military service where he was trained in close quarters combat. He came from a background of prize fights which he participated in while stationed in Germany.
John’s love for the art of swordplay, his jovial demeanor and his caring attitude for everyone he met made him well loved. John died in August of 2005 in a tragic motorcycle accident in Portland Oregon. He was buried with honors as a military veteran. His funeral and wake brought friends and former students from both coasts to celebrate his life. His presence is missed by the Academy.
John Czekala, Lt. Col. Retired
Instructor at Arms
Phoenix Oregon Instructor
Rapier Fencing - Thibault and Saviolo Systems
German Longsword
Archery
John has a long standing interest in Western Military History starting with his instruction of Polish Sabre in his youth from 1961 to 1964 with a WW1 cavalry officer through the Polish National Alliance. He developed an interest in Eastern Martial Arts during his extended military time in Asia and continued it’s pursuit upon his return to the US and through college. From 1972 to1978 he studied Kajukembo in Hawaii earning his Nidan. He studied the art of Iado starting in 1980 under Dale Schwerdfedtger (student of master Tsumora Sensei) earning Nidan in 1990 from the North American Iado Society.
While attending advanced studies at the Army Command and General Staff College, John rediscovered his interest in Western Military History. He has been involved since 1994 with his fellow instructors in what is now Academia Duellatoria. Studying initially the manuscript of Vincent Saviolo. While serving on the East Coast following 911 during his most recent and final period of active duty John achieved his NFAA Advanced Certified Archery Instructor Certification in 2007 and placed third in the NFAA National Indoor Archery Championships. While there he was also a student of Maestro Ramone Martinez studying Spanish Rapier. Most recently he has been working with Jeff and Matthew on achieving fluency in the rapier system of Girard Thibault.
John is currently retired from a 38+ year military career ending in 2009 as a lieutenant Colonel in the Army Reserves as well as from a 35 year civilian career. He has been dedicating his time to improving his skills with the rapier and maintaining the Southern Oregon Salle of Academia Duellatoria. John is a long standing member of the American Bladesmith Society which he became a member of in 2004. In his spare time he is leisurely pursuing a doctorate in Military History and his Journeyman and eventually Master Bladesmith Certifications from the American Bladesmith Society.
Leif Wilkinson
Instructor at Arms
Phoenix Oregon Instructor
Rapier Fencing - Thibault System
Leif didn't start out with an interest in swordsmanship however; his sister asked him to join a few lessons because of her own interest developed after meeting with a fellow student of Academia Duellatoria. His sister and Leif joined the Academy in the summer of 2009 at the southern Oregon school in Phoenix lead by John Czekala. The Phoenix group had only recently reorganized after John's retirement. Although Leif's sister left after a few months, Leif enjoyed swordsmanship so much that he has been with it ever since.
Leif has been practicing the destreza system of Gerard Thibault with Academia Duellatoria from the beginning of his time with the school and has been with the Academy long enough to see its development. As the senior student on Gerard Thibault, Leif has been an assistant instructor for several years for classes at the southern Oregon Academy as well as presentations to the public.
In the summer of 2020 Leif was granted the title of instructor in Gerard Thibault's method of the rapier by Academia Duellatoria. He continues to teach at the southern Oregon branch of the school in Phoenix Oregon.
Matthew Howden
Former Instructor
Matthew's love affair with personal combat began at an early age as a by-product of two many swashbuckling movies and chivalric novels. He began studying arms and armor typology while still in grade school and, by high school he was learning stage combat, break-falling and physical theater. He sought out instruction in modern fencing and eastern martial arts, but nothing seemed to be quite what he was looking for.
In the mid 1990s Matthew began studying historic rapier at the club in Ashland and the love affair became an obsession. Since 1999 Matthew's primary area of study has been Gerard Thibault's "Academy of the Sword," a Dutch rapier treatise which follows after the methodology of the Spanish tradition and was introduced to him by Mr. Richardson. The tretise was originally published in 1628. His additional studies include the early 17th Century Italian tradition of rapier (based on the works of Ridolfo Capo Ferro and Salvatore Fabris), and the Liechtenauer mixed weapons tradition which was predominant in Germany in the 15th-17th Centuries.
Matthew's teaching career began at the historic fencing Club in Ashland, Oregon before his relocation to Portland where he spent five years running classes on his own with the S.C.A. until rejoining Academia Duellatoria in 2007. In addition to his own classes and workshops, Matthew has spent considerable time teaching through the Society for Creative Anachronism. Matthew left Academia Duellatoria in 2018.