Question: Is a Kingston Arms federschwert worth buying? My verdict: No, probably not. …
Review: Stryker singlestick from Purpleheart Armoury
The Stryker singlestick is a rattan stick with a plastic basket for fencers who want to train with singlesticks. Leather baskets, although traditional, can be prohibitively expensive, and don't always provide enough protection against impacts to the …
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Responsibility to our training partners
Marc and Alex performing an exercise during a lesson at Liverpool HEMA. Photo by Keith Farrell, 2017. This article was originally posted on Encased in Steel on 27th February 2015. It has been edited and improved for posting here. We often take …
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 …
Unhelpful advice 5: Yet more myths of the short person in martial arts
This article was originally posted on Encased in Steel on 5th April 2013. It has been edited and improved for posting here. As a relatively short person (5 feet 6 inches, or roughly 167 centimetres in height), I have heard all kinds of “advice” …
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Introducing new students to sparring
This article was originally posted on Encased in Steel on 13th February 2015. It has been edited and improved for posting here. Most schools have a particular method for introducing new students to the exercise of sparring. The school will have …
Unhelpful advice 4: More myths of the short person in martial arts
This article was originally posted on Encased in Steel on 5th April 2013. It has been edited and improved for posting here. As a relatively short person (5 feet 6 inches, or roughly 167 centimetres in height), I have heard all kinds of “advice” …
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Unhelpful advice 3: Myths of the short person in martial arts
This article was originally posted on Encased in Steel on 5th April 2013. It has been edited and improved for posting here. As a relatively short person (5 feet 6 inches, or roughly 167 centimetres in height), I have heard all kinds of “advice” …
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“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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Recognising the early warning signs of pain for HEMA practitioners
As martial artists, we tend to be no strangers to pain. Bruises, bumps, small cuts or grazes, general aches and tiredness – these are nothing so unusual! However, not all pain is equal, and sometimes pain is the body’s way of warning us that we are …
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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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The value of HEMA in the modern world
What is the value of HEMA in the modern world? Why is it worth spending so much time (and so much money) in the pursuit of this activity? Why do we undertake such physical and mental exertion to do what we do? Why not just go to the pub directly and …
Doing it right, or just doing it
This article was originally posted on Encased in Steel on the 1st of January 2016. It has been modified a little for reposting here. One of the ideas that causes problems for a lot of people across the world is the idea that whatever you want to …
Five solo practice drills: Scottish broadsword
This article was originally posted on Encased in Steel on 23rd September 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 …
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 …
Fencing and driving: 5 similarities
This article was originally posted on Encased in Steel on 9th December 2016. It has been edited and improved for posting here. I think that fencing with a sword and driving a car involve some very similar skills. If you drive, then you may …
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 …
The importance of consistency in your training
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 …