Practice

Session Structure

Standard session, about 1 hour 20 minutes:

1. Opening prayer
2. Warmup
3. Activity one
4. Water break
5. Activity two
6. Cool down
7. Closing prayer

After closing prayer, open sparring runs for 20–30 minutes until parents arrive. The formal session is done; this is free play for whoever wants to keep fighting.

The character of the two activities changes with the liturgical season. In Time after Pentecost (fall), activity one is a drill and activity two is a game. In Lent, activity one is calisthenics and activity two is a drill. Other seasons follow the character set out in the liturgical calendar, with activities selected accordingly.

Feast day lessons override the standard session structure. These involve more formation time, including seminar-style discussion of the saint's virtues and how they showed up in the activity. Assigned reading is expected for feast day sessions.

Rank Structure

The program advances through four ranks plus a reach level. The logic of the progression: a Page follows rules, a Squire demonstrates skill, a Bachelor Knight runs drills, a Knight runs lessons, a Knight Banneret creates lessons. Advancement is contribution to a living tradition, not just consumption of it.

Page (Year 1). No armor. Safety certification, recite the rules, identify legal strike zones, demonstrate safe handling across all program weapons, reasonable history of calling hits. Assessed at Ember Day demonstrations four times a year. The Page follows the rules.

Squire (Year 2). Right to wear a tabard. Maintains Page requirements, plus a defensive combat test (successful spear parry and retreat against the instructor) and an endurance test (shield held extended for three minutes). Defense-first aligns with the governing principle: enduring rightly is primary. Can be trusted with a newer student. The Squire demonstrates skill.

Bachelor Knight (Year 3). Right to wear metal (chain) armor; aluminum provided if needed. Combat test is the Kolbe drill: two Squires together perform shield pinning against the instructor; they win together or fail together, and no one advances alone. Endurance test is a spear-hold at arm's length. Can run drills with minimal supervision and can articulate the why at the seminar level. The Bachelor Knight runs drills.

Knight (Year 4). Right to wear chain mail with a rope crown. Combat test is a Bachelor Knight fighting two Squires and winning. Endurance test is the spear-hold, possibly longer. Can run a full lesson with minimal supervision. Assessment includes demonstrated ability to teach, not just to perform. The Knight runs lessons.

Knight Banneret (Reach Level). Right to wear personal heraldry over armor; designing and presenting heraldry is part of the test. Chooses a saint, designs an original feast day lesson embodying that saint's virtue, and submits the lesson to a panel of teachers and existing Knights for acceptance into the calendar. The Knight Banneret creates lessons.