https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Bb6PDjg86wY&My interpretation of the flourishes from the Anonymous Unicum, as a video submission for the So You Think You Can Sword 2020 competition for videos of solo forms and flourishes!Back in 2017, I was …
How to design drills and exercises for your HEMA club
Alex and James performing an exercise during a lesson at Liverpool HEMA. Photo by Keith Farrell, 2018.I often hear questions about how to design drills and exercises for a HEMA club. Sometimes it comes during discussions in person at events, or …
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Some thoughts about test cutting practice
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iLEf7IxPC1AKeith Farrell doing some test cutting in the garden at the end of April 2020.I believe that test cutting practice is an important element of our HEMA training. It keeps us honest and ensures that our …
Flourishes in the German longsword sources
Keith Farrell practising some flourishes with the longsword in the garden. Photo by Keith Farrell, 2020.Are there flourishes in the German longsword sources?Flourishes are solo forms, sequences perhaps a bit like kata, that can be used to …
Why I like to use the Red Dragon synthetic longswords in my club
Alex and Marc performing an exercise during a lesson at Liverpool HEMA. Photo by Keith Farrell, 2018.It is perhaps quite a contentious statement, but I do like to use the Red Dragon synthetic longswords in my club. Not everyone likes them, …
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The longswords I realised I like borrowing at events
I recently realised that there are certain longswords that I like borrowing at events. When I travel for teaching, I often ask the organisers if I can borrow a sword, since this makes my travelling easier and usually makes the cost of travelling …
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Training a new system of karate
Keith practising karate at a Shoto Budo course in 2010. Photographer unknown.Late last year, I returned to practising karate on a weekly basis (when I haven’t been away teaching, or in self-isolation due to the current coronavirus). I used to …
Thinking about your system’s doctrine
Marc and James performing an exercise during a lesson at Liverpool HEMA. Photo by Keith Farrell, 2018.Every system has a doctrine, an algorithm or set of instructions that describe the best advice for the vast majority of situations that will …
Some thoughts about screaming, kiai, and making noise in HEMA
Keith Farrell and Jens Geuens fencing with the longsword at the Bunny Bash event. Photo by Gert-Jan Laureys, 2019 (edited by Keith Farrell).Is it alright or frowned upon for people to make noise, to scream, or to make a kiai of some sort while …
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How to start training 16th century Germanic common fencing
Alex and Marc performing an exercise during a lesson at Liverpool HEMA. Photo by Keith Farrell, 2018.I teach several workshops each year on the subject of 16th century Germanic common fencing, because I find it an incredibly interesting subject, …
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Developing a personal style within your HEMA practice
Keith Farrell training with a dussack. Photo by Daria Izdebska, 2018.Is it a good or bad thing to develop a personal style within the practice of HEMA, which is essentially the recreation of fighting systems from the past? If we commit to an …
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Some thoughts about scholarship in HEMA
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 …
CPR and the position of Long Point
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 …
How to revive a struggling martial arts club
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 …
A framework for describing and comparing systems of martial arts
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 …
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Muddles or models?
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 …
How to begin studying HEMA?
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 …
What makes a good HEMA instructor?
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 …
5 good reasons to practise Meyer’s low stances
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 …
The basic strikes of different longsword systems
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 …