Tire Machèt Workshop with Michael Rogers

In Haiti, the traditional art of machete fencing goes by many names, among them Tire Machèt (“Pulling Machetes”). Tire Machèt has roots in the Haitian Revolution, when the revolutionaries were often forced to fight with fewer guns than soldiers. Its combination of ancestral African combat systems proved highly effective both in battle and as a means of individual self-defense.

This exciting two-day training workshop is your opportunity to experience Haitian fencing from Master Instructor Michael Rogers in New York!

Professor Avril first asked his student Michael Rogers to introduce people "on the other side" to Haitian fencing nearly 20 years ago. Since that time, the Haitian Fencing Project has been dedicated to promoting and teaching this system worldwide; Michael has developed an intensive curriculum that can teach the basics of the Avril family system over the course of two 7-hour sessions. This introductory course uses sticks only, and is accessible at all levels of skill and fitness.

The workshop begins at 9:30 AM and runs until 5:30 PM on both Saturday, July 18th and Sunday the 19th.

All proceeds from this event go to support the Avril family in Haiti.

About Michael Dylan Rogers, Master Instructor, Project Coordinator:
Michael is an assistant professor of humanities at Pacific Northwest College of Art in Portland, Oregon. He first traveled to Haiti in 2002 and has spent over four years living and working there. He is the only non-Haitian known to have mastered the art of Haitian machete fencing, and is featured in the documentary short Papa Machete, which he worked on as a consultant from concept through post-production. He holds a PhD in history from the University of Cambridge.

Learn more about the Haitian Fencing Project here