This article was originally posted on Encased in Steel on 13th November 2015. It has been edited and improved for posting here. "Should I have siderings on my feder?" is a common question that people ask when contemplating the purchase of a new …
Should I buy a Tinker Pearce longsword?
Question: Is a Tinker Pearce longsword worth buying? My verdict: Yes, if you are interested in using them for solo practice; unfortunately, for practice with other people, probably not. …
Should I buy a Hanwei federschwert?
Question: Is a Hanwei federschwert worth buying? My verdict: No, definitely not. Just don’t. …
Buying your first feder from Regenyei Armory
This article was originally posted on Encased in Steel on 17th April 2015. It has been edited and improved for posting here. Many longsword practitioners choose to buy their first feder or training sword from Péter Regenyei at Regenyei Armory. …
Should I buy a Kingston Arms federschwert?
Question: Is a Kingston Arms federschwert worth buying? My verdict: No, probably not. …
Sparring is not always the best training method to become better at sparring
This article was originally posted on Encased in Steel on 11th October 2013. It has been edited and improved for posting here. I have often come into contact with the idea that the best way to become good at sparring is to practise lots of …
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Five reasons to learn foil fencing
This article was originally posted on Encased in Steel on 21st August 2015. It has been edited and improved for posting here. Many practitioners of historical fencing have little interest in modern foil fencing, preferring the historical …
What is a “Claymore”?
This article was originally posted on Encased in Steel on 6th February 2015. It has been edited and improved for posting here. A question that appears regularly is “what is a claymore?” There is a persistent misunderstanding about what the term …
“If you frighten easily…” and bravery in martial arts
Bravery is an integral part of fencing with the longsword, with Liechtenauer’s Zettel saying explicitly that “if you frighten easily, you will never learn to fight.” Although this may seem like fairly obvious advice (yet it may also seem counter …
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5 ways to train the Abzug (and to avoid an afterblow)
This article was originally posted on Encased in Steel on 31st July 2015. It has been edited and improved for posting here. The medieval and renaissance German martial arts (particularly those with the longsword) include the concept of the Abzug, …
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Five solo practice drills: longsword
This article was originally posted on Encased in Steel on 21st October 2016. It has been edited and improved for posting here. If you spend time working on your skills in between your regular weekly sessions, your skill will develop more swiftly, …
Review of “Cutting with the Medieval Sword”
I have been looking forward to the publication of Cutting with the Medieval Sword by Michael Edelson, and now that it is finally in print, I bought a copy immediately. It arrived a few days later and I immersed myself in it over the course of an …
When can we question the masters?
An interesting discussion that arises from time to time in the HEMA community is how much we can trust what the authors of our source material wrote, when we may in fact have better ideas and can improve upon these methods, and generally: when can we …
What to read to begin studying longsword
New people are always coming into HEMA, and many want to begin studying longsword. A common question is what sources or books to read? What online resources are there? How to get started? This would be the five resources I would recommend to new …
Fencing with mixed weapons
An idea that seems to be enduringly popular is to see what happens when fencing with mixed weapons; if one person as a longsword and the other a messer, or sabre against rapier, or spear against sword and buckler, for example. Some combinations are …
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 …
A sensible progression for buying longsword equipment
When people begin training at a club, it is only reasonable for them to be able to borrow some equipment from the club. After all, no one can reasonably expect that a complete beginner will run out and buy themselves all the protective gear to …
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5 business lessons from studying longsword
This article was originally posted on Encased in Steel on 27th March 2015. It has been edited and improved for posting here. For the last several years I have been running my own business. For a few more years, I have been learning Liechtenauer’s …
Review of the Armour Class sharp longsword (MS6T)
Armour Class has been around in the re-enactment and HEMA communities for at least a couple of decades. Their swords have an excellent name and reputation in re-enactment circles, although they haven’t always been so popular in HEMA clubs: the blunt …
Improve your footwork – play games like children!
A common problem for almost every practitioner of HEMA (and indeed, of many martial arts) is that footwork is difficult and could always use improvement. But how to go about improving footwork? Common exercises involve standing in line and practising …