Women of HEMA, a good source of interviews and tournament coverage

The Youtube channel of highly-regarded HEMA instructor Martin Fabian. Ritterkunst, the website of prominent HEMA practitioner Jessica Finley. The popular Youtube channel of long-time HEMA instructor Matt Easton.Įsfinges, the first international network for women in HEMA. Hroarr, an online magazine for historical European martial arts. Wiktenauer, the largest online repository of medieval fencing manuals. Here are a few select links for anyone considering the study of historical fencing: If you’re looking for a Historical European Martial Arts club somewhere else in the world, then take a look at the HEMA Alliance Club Finder. Due to the requirements of their venue, they don’t allow casual drop-ins, but if you live nearby, signing up for the season is a great idea! Contact them for more info. They run classes on Thursdays from 6:30-8:30.

Thames River Historical Fencing run a great group in Ledyard, CT. Here’s a quick rundown of the other great HEMA clubs in CT: In fact, if you’re willing to drive a lot, you can swordfight pretty much all week! If you’re interested in historical fencing, and you live in Connecticut, you should definitely take the time to check out all the groups who practice Historical European Martial Arts within about 90 minutes drive of New Haven. This guy has nothing to do with New Haven, but he’s definitely holding a longsword, so I call it a win. It’s world famous, and it’s right in our backyard. If you live near New Haven, you might also want to read a bit about our resident late-medieval martial arts manual, the New Haven Gladiatoria. Our club’s impressive Latin motto ‘ Comites Para, Comites Perfora‘ means ‘ Make Friends and Stab Them.’ We believe this sufficiently expresses the seriousness with which we take our historical fencing. What does it mean?Īn intelligent question. Oh, and I see your club logo includes a Latin motto. Many of our beginners also use wooden swords, mostly just because they’re the cheapest way to get started. We also use sharp steel swords for solo practice, and to practice cutting targets. When we spar, we use those swords, as well as modern protective gear. (For instance, there are some lovely surviving examples in the Metropolitan Museum in New York) You can still find many examples of these steel training swords in museums all around the world. One of their solutions was to produce special training swords, still made of steel, but blunt along the edge, and also a little flexible at the tip so as to allow for safe thrusting. Medieval people faced the same problem we do: how to train with real steel swords, without hurting your training partners. Yes, we train and spar with real steel swords. Beginners and experienced fencers both welcome! Some questions people often ask 16th century training swords from the Met collection. We welcome anyone who is willing to be welcoming to others, regardless of class, gender, race, sexuality, physical capabilities, and so on.

Medieval sword training near me