books | swords | teaching
I like to share my thoughts about life, business, and martial arts. I find writing a blog is one of the best ways to order my thoughts, so that I understand myself better. Sometimes my thoughts may even be of interest to other people.
I have collected a list of my most popular articles, as well as the various articles I have written with advice for shorter fencers. My various reviews of HEMA gear have been collected together for ease of reference.
Finally, I keep a curated page setting out my philosophy for training, teaching, and fencing. This links to the various pages and articles on this website that I believe help to explain my approach to these elements of life and martial arts.
A cup of coffee helps the work flow!Copyright is a complicated thing. Members of the HEMA community participate in an activity that is inextricably linked with material that may well be copyrighted in some fashion, and therefore it is helpful to …
Copyright and the HEMA Community – Part 1: What is copyright and how does it work?Read More
Back in April 2019, there was a post in one of the HEMA-related Facebook discussion groups, asking if anyone knew any biographical details about J.D. Aylward, author of such works as The House of Angelo and The English Master of Arms.[1] As he was …
A cup of coffee helps the work flow!We often talk about the importance of scholarship in HEMA, about the academic side of historical swordfighting. We acknowledge that there are many facets of HEMA and that they all play an important part in …
Daniel and Marc performing an exercise during a lesson at Liverpool HEMA. Photo by Keith Farrell, 2018.While attending a first aid course recently, we did the usual sorts of things, including CPR practice (the breaths and chest compressions). It …
A cup of coffee helps the work flow!I recently saw an interesting thread on Reddit, asking about how to revive a dying HEMA club. Having been part of a number of different sports clubs over the years, I know that this is quite a common (and …
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=X-6lGen6ffsVideo by Federico Malagutti.Bellatore is a Spanish swordsmith, and they make some rather lovely swords.They wanted to begin production of a relatively typical 15th century style longsword that would …
Review of the Bellatore 15th century style longswordRead More
Keith Farrell and Thomas Nyzell fencing with the longsword at the Bunny Bash event. Photo by Gert-Jan Laureys, 2019 (edited by Keith Farrell).Since it is quite a fun activity to compare and contrast different HEMA systems, I would like to propose …
A framework for describing and comparing systems of martial artsRead More
Keith Farrell teaching a lesson at the Bunny Bash event. Photo by Janik Puttemans, 2019.Muddles and models are words that sound quite similar to each other, but what they represent are really quite different things. In my experience, whatever the …
Silhouette of a longsword on the banks of Loch Lomond. Photo by Keith Farrell, 2012.A question that occurs regularly on social media is how to begin studying HEMA, or how to start studying HEMA if there are no clubs nearby. It seems that …
Keith Farrell teaching at the LangHEMA 2016 event in Alba, Italy. Photo by Le Spire del Lupo, 2016.I am sometimes asked about what I think makes a good HEMA instructor. Sometimes students ask me, because they are thinking about becoming an …
Keith Farrell teaching dussack at a seminar. Photo by Daria Izdebska, 2018.When you first read the books by Joachim Meyer, it is likely that you notice the low stances in the illustrations. Yet whenever you watch people sparring or competing, you …
Jon and Alex performing an exercise during a lesson at Liverpool HEMA. Photo by Keith Farrell, 2018.When we think about the basic strikes of the martial arts we practise, it can be easy to assume that other systems have a similar set of basic …
Keith Farrell and Jens Geuens fencing with the longsword at the Bunny Bash event. Photo by Gert-Jan Laureys, 2019 (edited by Keith Farrell).I travel to HEMA events all over the world and have the opportunity to examine and fence with many …
Practising tip control with focus pads. Photo by Keith Farrell, 2011.What do plastic straws, fad diets, and training HEMA all have in common? Quite simply, regardless of what we might be discussing, there is always the temptation to go after the …
Jon and Alex performing an exercise during a lesson at Liverpool HEMA. Photo by Keith Farrell, 2018.Observing details is a valuable skill in everyday life. You can notice things like opening hours for shops, street signs to help find your way, …
Daria Izdebska and Keith Farrell fencing with the longsword. Photo by Daria Izdebska, 2017.In Liechtenauer’s Zedel and some of the gloss explaining the verses, we find the statement about certain techniques and behaviours “that I will praise”. It …
Alex and Marc performing an exercise during a lesson at Liverpool HEMA. Photo by Keith Farrell, 2018.One of the most powerful things in the world today is a strong, enduring soundbite. A “soundbite” is a short phrase that can be repeated again …
Silhouette of a longsword on the banks of Loch Lomond. Photo by Keith Farrell, 2012.One of the enduring questions in the HEMA community is why do so few people wear historical clothing during their HEMA practice? Surely it makes sense to train …
Stuart Beattie and Keith Farrell sparring with singlesticks in front of the Academy of Historical Arts shop at FightCamp 2018. Photo by Jonathan Spouge, 2018 (edited by Keith Farrell).Any small and local business can thrive when given the …
The importance of supporting your small local business (and your club)Read More
Marc and James performing an exercise during a lesson at Liverpool HEMA. Photo by Keith Farrell, 2018.A statement that appears again and again in discussions about swords is that you should put the pointy end in the other guy, or variations on …
