Forteza Fitness

Events

Knight Camp! — Kids Experience History, Culture and Honor in a New Way!

Posted under: Events, Youth Swordplay

 

Welcome to the only authentic knight school for youth (ages 8 – 14) in the USA where knightly martial arts and chivalric virtues are taught in an engaging and safe environment by trained instructors.

More than just another martial arts class, our summer camp follows the same guiding principle as our popular Youth Swordplay Program: developing life skills and ethical, self-confident young men and women, through the traditional, chivalric virtues of the medieval knight. Classes interweave physical training with teamwork exercises, lessons on medieval and Renaissance military history, heraldry and arms and armour to hone students’ minds as surely as their bodies.

Camps take place at our beautiful 5,000 square foot facility in Chicago’s Ravenswood art district. We are within one block of the Brown Line and Montrose Ave exit for the Metra.

Program

Our unique, two-week camp combines physical fitness training and swordplay and authentic medieval games, lessons on heraldry, arms and armour and castle life. Underlying all of those activities is a daily lesson on the knightly Code of Chivalry and how the virtues it espouses — Prowess, Courage, Humility, Courtesy, Largesse (Generosity), Mercy and Temperance (Balance) — are relevant to living life today!

9:30 – 10 AM Chivalry

An introduction of one of the seven chivalric virtues and how the students can apply them in their lives today.

10 – 10:30 AM Warm-Ups

A unique physical fitness warm-up, taught through games played by medieval children centuries ago!

10:30 – Noon: Knightly Arts, Part I

Students learn a variety of the martial skills that the knights of old had to know: Wrestling, swordplay, and quarterstaff.

Noon – 12:30: Lunch

12:30 – 1:30: The Lesson

A daily topic on one aspect medieval life, accompanied with show and tell or some sort of hands-on project.

1:30 – 3:00 PM: Knightly Arts Part II

A second martial arts lesson, building on the first, combined with controlled sparring (using padded weapons and protective equipment).

3:00 – 3:30 PM: Chivalric Circle

Students review the day’s lesson, explain what they learned and nominate one of their number for who best exemplified that day’s virtue.

Tournament-at-Arms

The last day of camp ends with a Tournament-at-Arms, where students will show off their skills in a special event that combines all they have learned: martial arts, heraldic display, good sportsmanship chivalric behavior, and will choose a First-Amongst-Equals as the victor of the day. Of course, parents, friends, and family are welcome to attend the Tournament!The last day of camp ends with a Tournament-at-Arms, where students will show off their skills in a special event that combines all they have learned: martial arts, heraldic display, good sportsmanship chivalric behavior, and will choose a First-Amongst-Equals as the victor of the day. Of course, parents, friends, and family are welcome to attend the Tournament!

Before & After Care

To make things easier for parents, we offer before and after care services starting at 8:30am each morning and from 3:30 to 5:00pm each day. Kids are welcome to work on activities provided during the camp, play games we have on site, or bring their own activities from home. Although time is largely self-directed, there is full adult supervision, and we’ll make sure that after each day of camp, there is much to keep their minds occupied as there is their bodies!

Special Needs & Medical Concerns?
If your child has any allergies or other special medical concerns, please let us know before the camp starts so that we can ensure a special experience for all campers and parents.

Registration

We are pleased to present what we believe to be Chicagoland’s most unique and holistic youth summer martial arts program. Please contact us with any questions or better yet, sign your son or daughter up today!

Summer 2017 Dates
Session One: June 26 – 30
Session Two: July 10 – 14

No previous classes or training is necessary. Students need only register for the week in which they want to participate. Registration by phone and in-person also available.

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Old Fashioned Cocktail Party, with a Side of….Murder! (March 11)

Posted under: Events

 

Get out your be duds, Guys and Dolls, because we’re having and Old Fashioned Cocktail Party.

Saturday March 11th, at 8:00 PM

Forteza Fitness

4437 N Ravenswood Ave, Chicago IL 60640

 Dance the night away to our fancy digital band, conducted by D.J. Neil C.

 Hors d’oeuvres and giggle water abound, with special cocktails designed by Brandon P.

If you hear a scream, remember to keep your cool. Willing party guests can help sleuth out who done-it in a dramatic Murder Mystery that will have you chatting the night away.

 Upstairs in the Lounge, we’ll be taking mug shots of suspects and guests, to document the evening.

 Also in the lounge, we’ll be honored with a reading from Christian Cameron’s new book, by the author himself. This is a respectable affair, after all.

Look, Mack, all yo have to do is pull out your wing tips and pony up $10 to get in.  It’ll be a night to remember.

See you there!

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Eat, Drink and Be Scary at Our Phantasmagoric Halloween Evening this October 29th!

Posted under: Events

 

Calling all Ghosts, Ghouls, Goblins and Children of the Night!

The Mists of Mischievous Merriment are gathering….

Let them sweep you away

for an Evening of COSTUMED

and FIENDISH delights!

 

Schedule of Terrors

Eight of the Clock

The Doors of the Crypt Open — let the Danse Macabre Begin!

Terrifyingly-tasty Treats ~ Mmm…brains!

Cocktails ~ Slake Your Unholy Thirsts!

Fortune-Telling ~ Learn Your Fate

Door Prizes ~ Treat…or Trick????

and

a Phantasmagoric DJ ~ Shamble and Slither on our Dance Floor!

Ten of the Clock
The Menagerie of the Mad

Costume Contest — Categories and prizes to be announced.

 

Midnight, the Witching Hour
Crowning the Lords and Ladies of Darkness

Our Contest winners are chosen!

 

One of the Clock

The Crypt Closes Once Moor

 

Claim your place on the guest list by October 9th for the otherworldly price of $35 

After 10/9, guest reservations are $45

Tickets at the door are $55

Reserve Here …. if you dare!

(No really, reserve!)

 

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New Workshop! Hugging the Lion, Slicing the Griffon: Italian Martial Arts from Medieval to Modern (February 20 – 21st)

Posted under: Armizare - The Knightly Arts, Combatives, Events

“Cum li braci vegno acusi ben distese per guadagnar in ogni modo le prese…” “With the arms extended I come to you to gain the grappling in any possible way..” – Fiore De Liberi, Flos Duellatorum, XV century

Forteza Fitness & Marital Arts and the Chicago Swordplay Guild welcome Dr. Marco Quarta of Nova Scrimia for a weekend long immersion in the unarmed combat  taught in Italian fencing and gymnastic academies from the late Middle Ages until the early XX century!

Italian Martial Arts can be divided into Zoghi di Concordia – Games of Concord, or combat sports, and Zoghi d’Ira – Games of Fury or Games of Rage, real combat. Based on ruthless efficiency, Abracar developed from the need of surviving in battlefields, as well as quickly defending in dark streets where people could attack armed with daggers at any time. Compared to its combat-sport counter parts Lotta (wrestling), Pugilato (boxing) or Pancrazio, (also called), Abracar shares the use of strategies and techniques (Zoghi), speed (Celeritas and Presteza) and strength (Fortituto). However it is characterized by less elegant and sophisticated actions, focusing instead on quickly escaping, injuring and ending a fight.

This combative approach didn’t disappear at the end of the Middle Ages, but was maintained across the centuries – the XIX century schools of mani libere (“hands”) maintain the same principles, and also focused mostly on self-defense (like in the case of Master Luigi Carmine or Alberto Cougnet schools). Today, similar methods are preserved within south of Italy schools, such as “calci & schiaffi” (kicks & slaps).

Part One: From Abrazare to Mani Liberi – Grappling and Hidden Weapons
In this workshops we will cover basic and advanced strategies for the transition from gioco largo to gioco stretto (long to short measure). We will also focus on the flow of grappling toward striking and back to grappling, including:

  • trovar di braccia (finding and binding the arms).
  • aprire e chiudere i cancelli (opening and closing the gates), to change measure during actions aimed to finalize an opponent. We will see:
  • Prese avantacade e Ligadure (trapping and blocking the opponent’s arms and legs);
  • Rotture (breaking joints and weaker bones of the body);
  • Percussioni (striking with hands, arms, elbows, legs and heads);
  • Lesioni (injuring with pressure and clinching on soft parts such as eyes, genitals, ears, etc.),
  • Gambarole, Capofitti and Stramazzi (different actions aimed to throw and take down the opponent on vital parts, such as the head, in combination with striking).

We will also study the actions in the context of hidden weapons. Indeed, Abracar (and the Italian school in general) is an art of unarmed fighting for armed fighters (ex. daggers, knives, sticks, swords). It is designed not only for unarmed combat, but in particular it is aimed to display fencing geometries designed for opening opportunities to grab your own or the opponent’s weapon, if available. By doing so, at the same time trying to prevent him to arm himself. Similarly, living traditions in Italy maintain the same concept in the use of the knife.

Part Two: Hands Against the Knife!
Fol 12Now that we are armed with a dagger or a knife, the workshop will move into the second part, dedicated to dagger and knife fencing (short range fencing). Translating abracar dynamics into dagger dynamics, we will:

  • Translate abracar dynamics into dagger dynamics – two weapons, one method!
  • Learn to flow from gioco largo to gioco stretto with short blades, in transitions of opening and closing the gates.
  • Study the use of gioco largo to control measure in opposition to gioco stretto aimed to finalize the opponent while neutralizing his weapon.

SEMINAR DETAILS

Date and Time:
Saturday, February 20th (11:30 AM – 5:30 PM)
Sunday, February 21st (11 AM – 5 PM)

Cost: $125.00 prepaid by February 15th, $150 thereafter.

Required Knowledge: None, but experience in unarmed and knife martial arts is helpful

Required Equipment: Comfortable training clothes, long-bladed training dagger, water-bottle, fencing mask. Additional masks and daggers are available at the studio.

Registration is limited to 30 people so register today!

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Forteza 2014 Year in Review and 2015 Teaser: Combatives

Posted under: Combatives, Events

The past twelve months of Combatives training at Forteza has been so epic, we almost feel bad for everyone who didn’t get to train with us.  Almost.

In 2014, Forteza played host to literally the who’s who of teachers in the field of Combatives and Reality Based Self Defense training.  We kicked off the year with an in house Bowie knife seminar taught by Forteza instructor Keith Jennings.  Students learned the basics of American big blade fighting, and with many of the students having some training in historical fencing or Martial Blade Concepts, everyone took right to the weapon, and Bowie knife sparring has been seen at the monthly Fight Night ever since.

In the Spring we hosted an Urban Survival course taught by Johnny Tsai.  This informative seminar was one half lecture, helping students with contingency plans and how to assemble a bug out bag in case of a local disaster, and the other half we went out to the woods and learned how to build shelters, how to start a fire with a variety of tools, and even practiced some self defense skills.

In May, Forteza played host to Martial Blade Concepts founder and head instructor Mike Janich for a two-day seminar.  Since Forteza instructor Keith Jennings is one of Mike’s senior instructors, and most of the students in attendance had a solid training base, we were able to really amp up the training and focus on the more advanced aspects of MBC training.  On the first day, Mike presented a state-of-the-art seminar on the MBC forward grip knife curriculum.  Mike tuned up everyone’s basics, and then got everyone rocking out on flow drills, combat applications, and even a bit of knife chess.  The second day was a bit treat for all of the attendees, as Mike showed his seldom taught interpretation of  classical Filipino machete and sword and dagger training.  Mike was able to blend the traditonal aspects of sword and dagger with the logic of the MBC methodology into a brutally effective big blade system.

Forteza was honored to host Lee Morrison for an absolutely epic five days of training in July.  Lee is a UK Combatives instructor who is know for both his soft skills training, helping students cultivate the proper Combtives mindset, as well as the hard stills needed to survive a brutal street altercation.  And when we say hard, we mean hard.  Lee spent two days doing private training with the Forteza staff, focusing on developing explosive power and bone crunching power.  Then the two and a half day seminar pushed everyone to the edge.  Everyone took some hard shots, and gave just as much as they got.  The increase in skill level and overall toughness by the end of the last day was a sight to behold.

Self defense guru Hoch Hochheim taught a two day seminar in October.  Hoch is a legend in the field, and was one of the first instructors in the United States to teach self defense removed from the hangups of traditional martial arts.  Hoch covered a wide variety of material in his two day seminar.  We went over his empty hand striking skills, knife vs knife, and his modern version of traditional Filipino stick fighting.  Perhaps the best part of the seminar was hearing Hoch’s war stories of his police days, as well as the many martial arts personalities he’s met over the years.

Lastly, Forteza was extremely honored end the year hosting Kelly McCann for a two day seminar. Kelly is the most sought after instructor in the field of Combatives, but until recently his training was never available to civilians.  Thankfully, that has now changed.  After Keith trained with Kelly at his Civilian Training Center in Virginia, he had been trying to figure out a way to train with him again ever since.  When Kelly announced we was taking his Kembativs training on the road, Forteza jumped on the chance to be one of the first gyms to host him.  Students were introduced to Kelly’s boxing training, both in the sportive sense and bare knuckle boxing for the street.  We also did some classic Combatives training, doing everything from self offense, to stick and knife, and the dreaded pocket stick.  After a weekend full of bare knuckle boxing, chin rips, and combative throws, the amount of pain induced by the little pocket was almost comical, especially to Kelly.  It was an epic way to end an epic year of training.

COMBATIVES 2015

We are only a week into the new year, and 2015 is already shaping up to be an even better year of Combatives training.  To meet the demand of our students, we are going to be offering more weekend focus classes on specific self defense topics, and launch our invite-only Forteza Combatives Club.  Our first class of the new year is the Martial Blade Concepts Fundaments class.  More details to come.

Also, for our first big Combatives seminar of the year will be hosting Dom Rasso of Dynamis Alliance for a two day seminar.  We will be covering situational self defense, team tactics, car Combatives, and Dom will be showing the unique reverse grip knife tactics he used when he was an active Navy Seal.  To register, please follow this link:

https://www.dynamisalliance.com/gear/situational-combatives-course

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Video Recap of Urban Combatives Seminar

Posted under: Combatives, Events

This past July, Forteza played host to Urban Combatives founder Lee Morrison for a three day seminar.  Lee specializes in combining high intensity physical training, with the mental stress of scenario training.  The Forteza Combatives classes are integrating many of these training drills and methodology into our weekly classes.

On Facebook you can find a video compilation of some of the drills Lee taught over the weekend.  Featured in the video are Dom Raso and Dylan Murphy of Dynamis Alliance.  Dom is a 12 year Navy Seal veteran, and Dylan is the guy who Kelly McMann himself has said is one of the future stars of reality based self-defense.  These two gentlemen will be teaching a two day Combatives seminar at Forteza in March of next year.  More details to come!

 

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Hoch Hochheim Seminar October 11 – 12, 2014

Posted under: Combatives, Events
bannerhockhochheim3
2014 has proven to be Forteza’s year of combatives and practical, personal protection, welcoming famed instructors Michael Janich (Martial Blade Concepts) and Lee Morrison (Urban Combatives). Now we finish our “trifecta” by welcoming world-renowned instructor Hoch Hochheim for two days of training!
With over 30 years of military, police and civilian combat and self-defense experience, since 1996, Hock Hochheim’s mission has been to “bridge the gap between the military, the police, the martial artist, and the aware citizen.” Each group knows things about fighting that the other doesn’t. Today, we add to that mission statement the concept that you should: “use only that force necessary to win or survive.” All fights are highly, highly situational. We live in a mixed weapon’s world and a mixed peoples world with rules of engagement and use of force issues. This workshop will address two very different aspects of that world:
Saturday 10/11/14 11am-6pm
Day 1: Extreme close quarters knife training. Hoch’s close quarters knife module, called Death Grip of the Knife, will focus on face-to-face, nose-to-nose, grip-to-grip knife combat. Ground knife fighting will also be covered.

Sunday 10/12/2014 10am-5pm
Day 2: Military and police stick, as well as Filipino stick fighting. Hoch will cover striking, blocking, grappling and ground fighting. Hock has also organized Filipino single and double stick materials from so many FMA systems and programs down to their scientific, easily digestible essence.

About the Instructor

Hock Hochheim has taught force necessary combat strategies to citizens, the police and military all over the world in places like South Africa,  Australia, Germany, Europe, The United Kingdom, Southwest Asia for the military and of course, throughout the United States.  Hock has actually done more in real life than most people reputed to be…“ famous and experienced.”   Currently hock teaches hand, stick, knife and gun combatives in some 40 seminars in 11 or 12 allied countries a year. Hock served as an MP in the U.S. military both stateside and in Korea.  He also worked as a police officer and detective for 23 years in Texas working violent crimes and narcotics.  Also during his career he worked as a security guard, doorman, private investigator, body guard and security consultant, most notably for “America’s mayor”, Rudy Giuliani.
As a martial artist, Hoch began his journey in 1973 with Ed Parker Kenpo Karate. Since that time he has amassed black belts in Filipino Martial Arts, Kempo, Kajukenbo and Aiki-Jutsu, and was  voted by readers into the Black Belt Magazine Hall of Fame in 2001. Since the 1990s, he has been a pioneer in the integration of hand, stick, knife and gun training, and the use of the term “combatives” which was used by so few back then, but is now a widespread title today.
Seminars with Hoch fill fast, to register today by visiting Hoch’s site: http://www.forcenecessary.com/shop/combatives-seminar-hock-chicago.html

For more info, contact us at info@fortezafitness.com

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