When you train martial arts (or indeed, any physical activity), consistency is one of the most important skills to develop. It will improve your training and your resulting skill development in many ways. It will also improve how swiftly your …
The importance of books 30: Ilkka Hartikainen
This is a series of interviews with well-known HEMA practitioners from around the world. The subject is the importance of books in the HEMA community. Personally, I think books are immensely important to the community (and in general!), but I am …
What is HEMA to me?
This article was originally posted on Encased in Steel on 10th June 2016. It has been edited and improved for posting here. We all have different motivations behind our practice of HEMA, and we also tend to have slightly different understandings …
The importance of books 29: Anton Kohutovič
This is a series of interviews with well-known HEMA practitioners from around the world. The subject is the importance of books in the HEMA community. Personally, I think books are immensely important to the community (and in general!), but I am …
Curved Swords and “Polish Sabre”
This article was originally posted on Encased in Steel on 24th June 2016. It has been edited and improved for posting here. I have a curved sword. When I fence with it, am I practising Polish sabre? The reconstruction of 17th century …
The importance of books 28: Michela D’Orlando
This is a series of interviews with well-known HEMA practitioners from around the world. The subject is the importance of books in the HEMA community. Personally, I think books are immensely important to the community (and in general!), but I am …
Washing a SPES Jacket
This article was originally posted on Encased in Steel on 15th November 2016. It has been edited and improved for posting here. How do you wash your SPES jacket? There are some brief washing guidelines on the SPES website, but I feel that more …
The importance of books 27: Mike Edelson
This is a series of interviews with well-known HEMA practitioners from around the world. The subject is the importance of books in the HEMA community. Personally, I think books are immensely important to the community (and in general!), but I am …
Ethical considerations with antique swords, part 3: storage
This is going to be a short article, presenting an ethical consideration. Previous articles in this series discussed the problem of people sparring with antique swords, or using antique swords for cutting; in this article, the focus will be on …
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