Giovanni dall'Agocchie Form Competition
Cel—ebrate Good Form, c'mon!
Welcome to the Giovanni dall'Agocchie Funktastic Form Competition!
We interrupt Espionage Month(s), with a very special Announcement!
This summer, we want to see you cut the rug in the worlds largest online form competition! An unprecedented event the likes of which HEMA has never seen before!
The Art of Arms, Giovanni dall’Agocchie Funktastic Forms Competition, is a monumental moment in history that would bring tears to the eyes of the Italian musical magician, Giovanni Giorgio Moroder—the father of disco—and his funk soul namesake, the late-great Giovanni Giorgio dall’Agocchie. Yes, that dall’Agocchie (presumably). The very same Giovanni dall’Agocchie that taught Fabio Pepoli to swing a sword and left us a jive little book full of his groovy moves.
In celebration of Stephen Fratus' forthcoming release of Giovanni dall’Agocchie's, Dell'Arte di Scrima Libri Tre, along with a complete translation of—for the first time EVER—Angelo Viggiani’s, Lo Schermo, we’re holding this Funktastic Form competition and asking y’all to come along for the ride. The prizes for this puppy are simply out of this world, man! Your heads are gonna spin when you see what we have to offer. But—before we get there…
To enter, see the guidelines and expectations of the event, then submit your dall'Agocchie form videos in the comments of this post, down below. By posting a link to your video from your preferred platform (YouTube, Vimeo, etc…) you will register yourself (and a partner in the paired event) for the competition and the giveaways; it's that simple. Not a member of the Art of Arms Substack? Not a problem, sign up—it's free (no paid subscription required)!
See how easy that was? Even that square George Silver could do it!
What’s the Competition?
Your mission, should you choose to accept, is to provide us with an interpretation and recorded demonstration of Giovanni dall'Agocchie's "Walking in the Guards" (Solo), and/or Giovanni dall'Agocchie's "Fighting Among the Guards" (Paired). You can do either or both, totally up to you!
What is a form? Basically, it’s like a kata in Eastern Martial Arts. It’s a miniature piece of fencing, that combines blade work, precise guard positions, gallant footwork, graceful turns of the body and hand, timing, intent, and sprezzatura. A way of moving that shows anyone watching that you are a master of the sword.
For this competition, we’ve provided the text that we want you to interpret and demonstrate below (See the headers: Text for Walking in the Guards from Stephen Fratus’ forthcoming translation, and Text for Fighting Among the Guards from Stephen Fratus’ forthcoming translation).
What Will You Be Judged Upon?
Faithfulness to the Text (40 Points)
Martial Intent (40 Points)
Sprezzatura (20 Points)
Feel free to incorporate as much drama, flair, music and bloodshed as you feel is necessary (—Maybe not that last bit).
Faithfulness to the Text: How well you interpret the specific actions and sequences of the form.
Martial Intent: Quality of movement, execution, and shape of the guards. For the paired form you will also be judged on the quality and liveliness of the so-called “B-Side” or interpretation of the losing side that you develop.
Sprezzatura: Flow, speed, effortlessness of your execution. That certain je ne sais quoi that mystifies the judges.
Disclaimer: Because your submission will enter you into our general pool for our prize giveaways and we are encouraging everyone to participate, the judges will be selecting the top 25 submissions in each category and grading them. Grades will be available upon request after the competition is complete. If your form was not selected to be judged, but you would still like some feedback, we will submit your request to the judges, and they can do so at their own discretion after the conclusion of the event.
Your Judges for the Competition Are:
Joshua Wiest
Stephen Fratus
Eric Lowe
Jay Maxwell
Submission Deadlines:
The deadline for Solo Walking in the Guards submissions is:
August 31st, 2025
The deadline for the Paired Fighting Among the Guards submissions is:
September 30th, 2025
What are you Competing for?
We’ve partnered with some amazing sponsors for this event, companies that we believe are the best equipment manufacturers, events, and sports fitness programs for outfitting, educating and strengthening Bolognese fencers worldwide. The specific details and restrictions for each sponsors donation to this event will be footnoted below (***If you're on a PC you can hover the mouse over the footnote, or for mobile just click on the footnote to navigate***).
Walking in the Guards (Solo)
1st Place Prizes:
An unprecedented 30% off voucher to Malleus Martialis!1
A copy of Stephen Fratus’ forthcoming translation of Giovanni dall’Agocchie and the complete Angelo Viggiani (Books 1-3).
An Art of Arms Webstore t-shirt of your choosing.
A lifetime membership to the Art of Arms.
2nd Place Prizes:
A $100 Gift Certificate to SPES Historical Fencing
A copy of Stephen Fratus’ forthcoming translation of Giovanni dall’Agocchie and the complete Angelo Viggiani (Books 1-3).
An Art of Arms Webstore t-shirt of your choosing.
A lifetime membership to the Art of Arms.
3rd Place Prizes:
One $25 Gift Certificate to Purpleheart Armory
A lifetime membership to the Art of Arms.
A copy of Stephen Fratus’ forthcoming translation of Giovanni dall’Agocchie and the complete Angelo Viggiani (Books 1-3).
Attacking Among the Guards (Paired):
1st Place Prizes:
Consultation and 6 Weeks Paired Training Program with Sprezzatura Sport Performance for you and your partner!
Two $100 vouchers from Castille Armory!
A copy of Stephen Fratus’ forthcoming translation of Giovanni dall’Agocchie and the complete Angelo Viggiani (Books 1-3) for each contestant.
Art of Arms Webstore t-shirts of your choosing.
Lifetime memberships to the Art of Arms.
2nd Place Prizes:
Two $50 Gift Certificates for SPES Historical Fencing
A copy of Stephen Fratus’ forthcoming translation of Giovanni dall’Agocchie and the complete Angelo Viggiani (Books 1-3) for each contestant.
Art of Arms Webstore t-shirts of your choosing.
Lifetime memberships to the Art of Arms.
3rd Place Prizes:
Two $25 Gift Certificates to Purpleheart Armory
Life long memberships to the Art of Arms
A copy of Stephen Fratus’ forthcoming translation of Giovanni dall’Agocchie and the complete Angelo Viggiani (Books 1-3) for each contestant.
But Wait: There's More!
We kept hinting that we’re not just rewarding our top contestants. What’s that about? We’re going to be performing a random prize drawing for ALL entries at the end of September. Each submission (max of 2) will enter you in a pool to win either:
A Kvetun Sidesword #5!
An Art of Arms t-shirt
A copy of Stephen’s forthcoming release
$25 gift certificate to Purpleheart Armory
More About our Amazing Sponsors:
Malleus Martialis: There is perhaps nothing finer than the exquisite craftsmanship of the swords made by our Florentine friends at Malleus Martialis. Durability, luxury, sport performance, and serious sex appeal, all wrapped up in a replica that puts history in your hands. The fine craftspeople of Malleus Martialis go to great lengths to make sure their swords are safe for HEMA and analogs of the historical weapons they’ve measured in museums across the globe! Truly one of best sword manufacturers on the market!
Kvetun Armory: Talk about a legendary company with a legendary reputation. Alexander and the crew aren’t just amazing HEMA equipment manufacturers and swordsmiths, they’re moral exemplars—and deserve serious recognition and praise for the amazing sojourn they’ve taken in the last half decade! The assortment and quality of Kvetun’s sidesword offerings is one of the best on the market. Like Malleus, you’re holding a sword finely crafted for the sport that is firmly rooted in the form and function of historical examples. Kvetun is always one of my first suggestions to students looking to buy their first steel sword. Durability, quality, historicity—it’s all here with Kvetun Armory!
Castille Armory: For the past twelve years, Sam Kovacs and his team at Castille Armory have set a new standard for safety and handling in American sparring swords. Castille swords combine a boundless respect for historical originals with a laser focus on fencers' feedback and an extensive line of interchangeable parts. No other maker has this level of customization support across their entire product line. The result is a dynamic, high-performance weapon that you can tune to handle like a dream—your dream.
Sprezzatura: Liz Scott is not only a longtime HEMA competitor, instructor, and researcher, she’s a world-renowned orthopedic surgeon. Sprezzatura is a combination of her love and passion for historical fencing, and her tireless dedication to her professional vocation. There are few crossovers between the realms of professional and enthusiast as important or potentially impactful as Sprezzatura. This is sports training, recovery, fitness, and coaching tailored to HEMA from a distinguished medical professional and a badass martial artist who’s crushing it in the competitive scene. What more could you ask for?
Purpleheart Armory: No one—besides maybe Michael Chidester and Christian Trosclair—has been as integral in the growth and development of HEMA in the United States as Christian and Natasha Darce and the amazing crew at Purpleheart Armory. For years they have been the gold standard of professionalism and innovative multilateral development. They’re always willing to listen, innovate, integrate, and grow. Through that mindset, they’ve developed a one-stop shop for ALL of your HEMA needs, and become a bastion for new and developing trends in this ever-evolving enterprise.
SPES Historical Fencing: When I started HEMA—many moons ago—people were still wearing flack jackets and hockey pads, which made the dream of fencing with steel swords a risky proposition. But—SPES changed HEMA forever by making affordable tailored gear for the enterprise and it absolutely transformed this once obscure niche hobby into a professional and damn good-looking sport. Their forward thinking designs are crafted to keep you safe and fencing in the most extreme circumstances and so much of the community’s growth is due to their involvement and continued innovation. SPES’s community driven approach, and willingness to think outside the box have made them the gold standard of HEMA training equipment, and they will continue to be so for time immemorial—with your continued support. Simply put, if it wasn’t for SPES, HEMA wouldn’t be what it is today, and our tomorrow is even brighter knowing we have a manufacturing mainstay like SPES historical fencing.
Now—without further ado, the moment you’ve all been waiting for, fresh off the fly fingers of Stephen Fratus—that funktastic new translation!
Text for Walking in the Guards from Stephen Fratus’ forthcoming translation:
Giovanni dall’Agocchie’s Stepping in Guards
Step with your right foot towards your right side, and in this tempo, extend your arm, making a falso and a roverso sgualembrato that fall into Coda Lunga Stretta. Alternatively, you can also throw two roversi, making the first one a roverso tondo, following that with a roverso sgualembrato that ends in Coda Lunga Stretta.
Now pass forward and towards your left side with your left foot, making a falso and mandritto sgualembrato that falls into Cinghiara Porta di Ferro Stretta.
Pass forward with your right foot, turning a dritto tramazzone that falls into Porta di Ferro Stretta.
Pass forward with your left foot throwing a falso and roverso sgualembrato and making your sword go into Coda Lunga Alta.
Step forward with your right foot and in the same tempo turn a roverso ridoppio, making your sword stop in Guardia d’Alicorno.
Without stepping, extend an imbroccata that stops in Porta di Ferro Stretta.
Step backwards, and in one motion make a falso and roverso sgualembrato that brings your sword back into Coda Lunga Alta.
Pass back with your left foot turning a dritto tramazzone which stops in Porta di Ferro Stretta.
Then take one more step backwards with your right foot, throwing a tramazzone that ends in Cinghiara Porta di Ferro Stretta.
Make a falso and roverso sgualembrato that fall into Coda Lunga Stretta. You will be back through the same procession of guards to where you started.
Text for Fighting Among the Guards from Stephen Fratus’ forthcoming translation:
Fighting Among the Guards by Giovanni dall’Agocchie
You are in Coda Lunga Stretta.
Your enemy will attack with a mandritto to your head. Parry in Guardia di Faccia as you step forward with your right foot, extending a thrust to his face in a single tempo.
Then immediately pass back with your right foot while you throw a roverso sgualembrato that you will stop in Coda Lunga Alta.
If your enemy now attacks with an overhand thrust, pass forward with your right foot, making your left foot follow behind it and parry with a mandritto sgualembrato.
Then all in one tempo turn a roverso tondo to his face followed by another roverso that puts you into Coda Lunga Stretta.
If the enemy now responds with a mandritto to your leg, defend yourself with a falso and in the same tempo, throw two dritti tramazzoni to his head, making the last one stop in Porta di Ferro Stretta.
If the enemy attacks with a roverso to your upper parts, then parry with a roverso sgualembrato while passing with your left foot towards his right side.
Then step forward with your right foot extending an imbroccata to his face accompanied by a tramazzone that stops in Porta di Ferro Alta.
If he attacks with a thrust, advance with your right foot and go into Guardia d’Entrare with your sword; in one tempo put your true edge over the enemy’s sword and extend a thrust to his chest.
Once that is done, pass back with your right foot, throwing a tramazzone that puts you into Cinghiara Porta di Ferro Stretta.
If the enemy attacks you here with a mandritto, roverso, or a thrust, then beat any of these with your true edge and pass forward with your right foot, driving an imbroccata to the enemy’s chest accompanied by a dritto tramazzone that puts you into Porta di Ferro Larga.
If the enemy attacks your face here with a punta riversa with the intention of then throwing a mandritto to the head, then beat the opponent’s thrust with a falso. As he turns the mandritto, immediately go with your sword into Guardia di Faccia, extending a thrust to his face in this tempo.
For your defense pass back with your right and throw a roverso tramazzone that ends in Coda Lunga Alta.
If you are in Coda Lunga Alta and the enemy attacks with a fendente to your head, pass forward with your right foot, raising your sword into Guardia di Testa to defend yourself from it.
Then in a single tempo, throw your left hand forward and make a presa with your left hand over the enemy’s sword, making your left hand come from underneath your sword. Now make a presa and immediately give him a mandritto to the head or leg, as you wish.
Return to Coda Lunga Stretta.
Conclusion:
Awww Yea! Now, my funk soul fellows go forth and start shaking it like it's 1975! We want the rhythmic stepping of your persistent practice to move Earth’s orbit to the groove of this dall’Agocchie funktastic form phenomenon! Remember, there are tons of great prizes to be had, and we want to see what you've got regardless of where you think you’re at—don’t chicken out! This is a celebration! Until then, make sure you check out our amazing sponsors, support them, and make them feel the looove for being jive enough to make this bad mama jama a reality!
—Peace!
Malleus Martialis 30% off Discount Guidelines and Restrictions:
The voucher is valid for one item only.
It can also be used by your club to purchase an item to offer as a prize.
Two vouchers can be used in the same order but not for the same product. For example, you can apply one voucher to a sword and another to a buckler within the same order, but not to the same sword.
It cannot be used as a cumulative discount on multiple items.
The voucher cannot be combined with other ongoing discounts, is non-transferable, and non-refundable.
It cannot be exchanged for cash, either in part or full, and cannot be replaced if lost, stolen, or damaged.