A complete martial system rooted in 300 years of combat tradition
The Art of Italian Swordsmanship
What is Duello Armizare?
Duello Armizare is a comprehensive martial art drawn from the fighting traditions of Northern Italy, spanning from the medieval battlefields of the 1400s to the refined duelling grounds of the 1600s.
The system integrates multiple weapons disciplines—longsword, rapier, sidesword, polearms, armoured combat, dagger, and unarmed combat—into a unified art. Each discipline reinforces core principles that transfer across the entire system, creating practitioners who are adaptable, versatile, and martially complete.
Founded on the teachings of historical masters like Fiore dei Liberi and Salvator Fabris, Duello Armizare preserves authentic combat techniques while presenting them through a modern, structured curriculum designed for contemporary practitioners worldwide.
“Arte · Ardore · Onore”
Art · Passion · Honour
The virtues that guide every practitioner on the path of the sword.
The Disciplines
Longsword
The two-handed sword of the medieval knight
Circular movement, power generation, and the seamless integration of cuts, thrusts, and wrestling based on Fiore dei Liberi.
Rapier
The elegant duelling sword of the Renaissance
Geometric precision, blade control, and the patient art of constraining an opponent through position.
Sidesword
The versatile single-handed sword
Blending cut and thrust with companion weapons, developing ambidextrous skill at close quarters.
Armoured Combat
Fighting in full harness
Exploiting gaps in protection, half-sword techniques, and wrestling to defeat an armoured opponent.
Polearms
Quarterstaff, spear, and poleaxe
Leverage, range management, and coordination of both ends of a long weapon.
Unarmed Combat
Wrestling, strikes, and dagger work
Throws, joint locks, and breaks designed for multiple opponents and battlefield conditions.
The Path to Mastery
Duello Armizare follows a structured ranking system that guides practitioners from their first lesson to mastery. Progress is marked by coloured cords, each representing a deeper level of understanding and ability.
Apprentice
Scholar
Free Scholar
Provost
Master
The journey from beginner to master typically spans 7 to 15 years, depending on the intensity of study. Students are encouraged to progress at their own pace within a supportive community of practitioners.
Our Heritage
Duello Armizare emerges from Academie Duello Centre for Swordplay, founded in Vancouver, Canada in 2004 by Devon Boorman.
The school began as a small gathering of six practitioners from the Western Martial Arts community, meeting Monday evenings to study the historical swordplay that fascinated them. Within a year, classes had grown to 40 students. Today, Academie Duello is the largest school of Western Martial Arts in the world, with thousands of participants in its programs each year and practitioners establishing schools and study groups on every continent.
Our work is twofold: we research and interpret the medieval and Renaissance combat manuals of European masters, striving to accurately reconstruct their techniques through experimentation and dedicated practice. We then integrate these traditions with contemporary understanding of biomechanics, pedagogy, and athletic development to create a living martial art suited to modern practitioners.
Unlike many Eastern martial arts, Western Martial Arts lacks a continuous living tradition from its origins to the present day. Through Duello Armizare, we work to rebuild that tradition—not as re-enactment or role-play, but as a vibrant contemporary practice that connects us with these martial traditions in a thoroughly modern way.
Devon Boorman
Maestro d'Armi
Devon Boorman is one of the world's foremost practitioners, teachers, coaches, and researchers of Historical European Martial Arts. His study of martial arts began in 1986 with Chinese and Filipino systems before discovering the modern revival of European swordplay in the early 1990s.
In 2004, Devon founded Academie Duello Centre for Swordplay in Vancouver, Canada. Under his leadership, the school has grown to become the largest center for Western Martial Arts in the world, with over 3,000 yearly participants at their 7,500 square foot facility in downtown Vancouver.
Devon's expertise centers on the Italian swordplay tradition—rapier, sidesword, longsword, polearms, wrestling, knife, and mounted combat. He has traveled extensively as a student, teacher, researcher, and competitor, winning more than 50 international tournaments and teaching workshops and instructor certification programs worldwide.
He is the author of Introduction to Italian Rapier and Introduction to Italian Longsword (book and DVD), and in 2008 created Duello.TV, the largest online academy for Historical European Martial Arts with over 100 courses. Devon serves on the Martial Advisory Council for the International Armizare Society and is a charter member of the Chivalric Fighting Arts Association.
Ready to Begin?
Find an official Duello Armizare school near you, or learn how to bring the art to your community.