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
- 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 … - Self-fulfilling prophecies in training
I find the idea of self-fulfilling prophecies to be quite an interesting concept. Whether for good or for ill, there are many examples that can be found in any martial arts school, both for students and for instructors. I would like to examine a few of the most common self-fulfilling … - Which details really matter depends on the question
Details are incredibly important when learning and performing a martial art – but which details really matter at any given time? Should you focus more on techniques or skills? Yes. Should you focus more on general physicality or martial arts skills? Also yes. Although incredibly unsatisfying as an answer, “yes” … - The role of senior students in a martial arts club
Any martial arts club that has been open for a reasonable length of time will have some senior, more experienced students. These will be the people who have invested plenty of time and effort into training at the club, who have learned well, and who can showcase effectively what the … - The intended audience and purpose of Liechtenauer’s art
Who was the intended audience for Liechtenauer’s art? What was the intended purpose of the Zedel as written? These are questions that are quite often posed and answered in one way or another – during training, at the pub, at events, and online through social media. Often, the answers are …