books | swords | teaching
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 …
The importance of books 10: Eugenio Garcia-SalmonesRead More
When I teach the position of Vom Tag to beginners, I do it very differently these days to what I used to teach even a year ago. My understanding of the Vier Leger (the Four Positions) has changed in general, for the better I think, and my cutting …
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 “survivor bias”, and why is it important in the study of historical artefacts? When historical items of any sort are preserved in a collection of any kind, they can give us information about the time period from which they originated. They …
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 …
I was recently given a DOHEMA sword sheath as a gift. The item was not given to me for reviewing, but I would like to take this opportunity to share my thoughts about it. The DOHEMA sheaths by Black Armoury are made from a modern synthetic …
This is the third part of a short series of articles on safety features on swords. The first part was concerned with "tipping solutions" for the point; the second part was concerned with measuring flexibility for the thrust; and …
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 …
Carnage Claymores is a new smithy that has opened in Scotland recently, with a focus on making Scottish swords for the HEMA community. Thomas McConnell is the smith behind the company; he is also the instructor at the Highland Broadsword Fencing …
In his 1570 book, Joachim Meyer included a brief paragraph and a small diagram to describe an exercise for learning how to strike to the four openings (the Vier Blossen) on an opponent. Both the diagram and the exercise have become popular in the …
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 …
When we are sparring, and certainly when we compete, we want to apply our skills successfully and we want to “win” the fight. This is only reasonable, and it is also the purpose of many sparring exercises, where learning the skill involves learning …
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 …
I was brought up as a stereotypical Scotsman, making many purchasing decisions with my wallet-brain. This meant I almost always went for the cheapest option, and didn't even consider more expensive options. However, this also meant that I ended up …
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 …
Sword and Shield: Basic principles and technique of medieval buckler combat is a DVD by Roland Warzecha and Tobias Wenzel, published through Agilitas in 2011. The subject is fencing with the medieval sword and buckler in general, as opposed to …
Review of “Sword and Shield” DVD by Roland WarzechaRead More
When people design rules for a HEMA tournament, a common idea is that the competition should simulate a real fight as closely as possible. This always involves a series of assumptions about what a “real fight” is, exactly, and also about how a person …
Obsesseo is a DVD by David Rawlings and the London Longsword Academy, recorded in 2011. The subject is the MS I.33 treatise, an early medieval manuscript from the late 13th or early 14th century that depicts combat using sword and buckler. …
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 …
This is the second article in a short series, discussing common pieces of advice that sound helpful but in fact can be detrimental to your practice of some HEMA systems. A common piece of advice in some unarmed martial arts is that it is alright …
Unhelpful advice 2: “It is alright to take a hit to give a hit”Read More
