Keith Farrell is one of the senior instructors for the Academy of Historical Arts. He teaches HEMA professionally, often at international events, and has an interest in coaching instructors to become better teachers. His main area of expertise is fencing with the two-handed longsword according to the teachings of 15th century masters in the Liechtenauer tradition. However, he also enjoys fencing with the Scottish basket-hilted broadsword, with the sabre, and with a variety of different swords!
Keith has authored several books for Fallen Rook Publishing, including Scottish Broadsword and British Singlestick and the award-winning AHA German Longsword Study Guide. He maintains an active blog, posting at least once a week, and has also had several articles and interviews published in a variety of magazines and journals.
I teach regularly at Liverpool HEMA, and help behind the scenes with running HEMA in Glasgow at the Vanguard Centre.
He has been a member of HEMAC since 2011 and was awarded a HEMA Scholar Award for Best Instructor for research published in 2013. Although not a competitive person by nature, Keith has won several medals in historical fencing tournaments around the world, and has a strong rating in the HEMA Ratings initiative.
Read my recent articles
- Pressure, threat, and stress in martial arts
People often use the word pressure when talking about martial arts. It is quite a useful word, and it can be used to mean many different things. However, that also means that it can sometimes confuse matters slightly, when the instructor uses the word pressure to mean one thing and … - Sparring with different levels of intensity
A question came up on Reddit recently (thread) about fencing with synthetic or steel swords, and I made my usual reply that I don’t think it matters much from which material the swords are made (from the perspective of safety), but that it is much more important how you act … - Review of the Thokk WeaponMaster gauntlets
I have been in the privileged position of having been able to test and use the Thokk WeaponMaster BladeProof gauntlets since August 2021, a couple of months before the gloves started being shipped out to customers in October, with delivery increasing dramatically in March 2022. I have been involved in … - You have to make money to spend money
We are probably all familiar with the phrase that you have to spend money to make money. However, I’d like to talk about the less well-known version of the phrase: you have to make money to spend money. Martial arts clubs often struggle with their finances. This is especially true … - Pairing whisky with antique swords
It is quite well-known that you can pair wine with food if you want to “do things properly” at the dinner table, but what about whisky? You can certainly do a whisky tasting experience, or just open a bottle of two and enjoy it by yourself or with some friends … - Technical lessons and skills lessons
I find it helpful to divide the lessons I teach into two kinds of lesson: technical lessons and skills lessons. The same training session might even involve two parts, first one kind and then the other. By separating how I think about these two kinds of lesson, I can set … - Martial art training games with a pack of cards
With holidays approaching, it can be useful to know some training games so that you can keep up with your training even while clubs are closed. I quite like to use a normal pack of cards because they lend themselves to endless variation and opportunity! In this article, I would … - Some thoughts about teaching the fundamentals
Every martial arts instructor needs to teach the fundamentals in some fashion. This may depend greatly on the art in question, or on the flavour and focus of the club, or on a variety of other factors. However, everyone should probably agree that the fundamentals are important and that instructors …