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
- Review of the Cold Steel synthetic rondel dagger
The Cold Steel synthetic rondel dagger is a good training tool if you want to practise 15th century dagger fencing according to the source material from that period. It is a cheap and cheerful tool and it looks the part while being acceptably safe for training purposes. - Two or more HEMA clubs in the same cityIf there are two or more HEMA clubs in the same city, how do you handle this from the point of view of marketing your own club? There is competition for members, so how do you advertise? How do you differentiate your club from the others and how do you …
- Review of the Red Dragon synthetic longswordI have been using the Red Dragon synthetic longsword for HEMA since they were first introduced to the scene. Although many people dislike them for being plastic and floppy, I find that they have many advantages and I use them regularly as loaner swords when teaching at my club.
- The importance of having a HEMA club website
When you are running a HEMA club, or starting a new group, it is important to have a website for the club. You maybe don’t need one right away, but it should be high on your list of priorities. Having a website for your club will bring significant benefits and … - What do you rely on during sparring?
We all have certain things that we like to rely on during sparring. It might be a technique, a concept, or a special trick – it might be something that you learned while studying this discipline, or something that you picked up by studying something else. Whatever it is that … - Review of the Albion Liechtenauer longswordI have been using the Albion Liechtenauer at different events over the course of several years, and recently acquired one of my own. It is one of my favourite swords and is unfortunately expensive to buy new in the UK.
- Review of the Regenyei museum replica federI have been using the Regenyei museum replica feder for a few years now. The design is according to measurements of the KZ 1030 “paratschwert” in the Swiss National Museum in Zurich. It handles quite differently to other “feders” that are not museum replicas. I think it is an excellent …
- Review of the Albion Meyer longswordI have been using the Albion Meyer for several years. I went through some periods of leaving it to the side as I spent time using other swords, but I always return to it because it is such a great training tool.