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Matt Bernard has been studying swordsmanship with Aegis since October of 2003 with class Erde. He is the Commander and Banner Bearer of his class and continues training at the Specialties level. In addition to swordfighting he has experience in karate. When not swordfighting, he writes stories and songs, sings and plays guitar. Matt is a certified instructor for Basic, Intermediate and Advanced Swordsmanship. He lives in Kalamazoo, Michigan and is gathering students to begin teaching swordsmanship for Aegis in that area. He enjoys fighting with a variety of weapons styles but his specialty is knife fighting, which he has taught as a special topic at Sword Camp. Favorite music to fight to: Pirates of the Carribean and other movie scores Favorite swordfighting movies: Gladiator, Man in the Iron Mask and Kingdom of Heaven (“not for the fighting but for the tactics”) Favorite part of teaching swordfighting: Pointing out a small fix that makes a big difference, seeing the “click” and the resulting smile. ~~~ Heather Fish has been studying the Aegis style of swordsmanship since the official launch of the company in 2003 with class Alpha. She is the Commander of her class and continues her training in Aegis’ senior Specialties class. She is also a full-time teacher with a master’s degree in education from the University of Michigan and has taught students from age 3 to 60+. She designed Aegis’s swordsmanship program for children: Fight Like a Knight. Heather is currently a certified instructor for Basic, Intermediate and Advanced Swordsmanship as well as lower Specialties. She is the Operations Manager for Aegis and is heavily involved in the everyday workings of the company. She also participates in the Outdoorsmanship and Leadership tracks. Her personal specialties include tactics and command, ki and single-sword combat. She is one of Aegis’ most dedicated and well-rounded fighters and is constantly gaining skill in new styles. Favorite music to fight to: Red Tape by Agent Provocateur, Clubbed to Death by Rob Dougan and the Pirates of the Caribbean soundtrack Favorite swordfighting movies: Van Helsing, King Arthur and Batman Begins Favorite part teaching for Aegis: watching the way her students start walking with poise, confidence and self-possession: “it’s like we’re creating superstars!” ~~~ Lynda Gronlund began playing with swords when she joined the Albion College Medievalist Society as a freshman in the fall of 1998. Two years later Sal Sanfratello, who would later found the Aegis Academy, began the much more serious instruction of fighters at Albion and she has been training in the style since. She is the Commander and Banner-Bearer of class Furies and Sargeant of the upper Specialties class. Lynda is a certified instructor for the Basic, Intermediate and Advanced classes and is working on full certification for the lower Specialties program. In addition to teaching at Aegis, she teaches karate classes in Saline and is a substitute instructor at the Washtenaw Recreation Center in Ann Arbor. She is currently studying for certification in personal training through the American Council on Exercise. She is also the main marketing writer for Aegis. She specializes in single-sword and open hand as well as spear. She has experience with a variety of styles and often switches between weapons styles in tournaments. Favorite music to fight to: Flashdance by Deep Dish, Breathe by Prodigy and the Mortal Kombat theme. Favorite swordfighting movies: The Princess Bride, The Mask of Zorro and Conan the Barbarian Favorite part of teaching: The steady change in people as they not only absorb the material, but also apply the self-confidence they gain here to other parts of their lives and in many cases, start to really bloom! ~~~ Doug Scholl began his swordsmanship training at Albion College in 2002, before the official launch of Aegis. He joined class Alpha in the fall of 2003 and has continued to train with Aegis’ most experienced fighters as part of the Specialties class. Doug is a certified instructor for Basic Swordsmanship. Though fully certified to instruct independently, he prefers to play a supporting role as an assistant instructor and has repeatedly proven the importance of this function for multiple lead instructors. He is known throughout the school as “Mortis, The Death-Tortoise” for his propensity to crouch, cover all openings with his shield and pick off his opponents with quick sword shots from this defensive position. His specialty and preferred weapons style is unsurprisingly sword and shield. Favorite music to fight to: Bring Me to Life by Evanescence, Matt Bernard’s Pirates of the Caribbean mix and the Klingon theme from Star Trek Favorite swordfighting movies: The 13th Warrior, Kingdom of Heaven and the “Shindig” episode of Firefly Favorite part of teaching: “Showing people how to charge!” Apply for Classes |