Diana started HEMA in 2013. Her main weapon is Longsword. Starting traveling in 2014 and visiting schools not only over Europe, she was able to train with a lot of great fencers.
Since 2017, she’s not part of any school or club, a fact hat brought her the nickname “the Mercenary”.

Fighting with a Sword is a conversation you have with your opponent.
In this workshop, you will learn to listen again to give the right answer.
We will mainly focus on the aspect of “fühlen an der Klinge”, learn about angles and lines, understand the meaning of different pressures in the bind to be able to react accordingly.

Minimum/Recommended/Ideal gear : A longsword and a Blindfold 

praticers’ level: Intermediate / Confirmed

 

At school age he practices boxing becoming regional champion in the category. Always passionate about history, he approaches historical fencing as a boy; he became a student of Roberto Gotti in 2016 with a study focused on Achille Marozzo and his work of 1536, especially for the two-handed sword and polearms. Since 2016 he has achieved many victories in competitive tournaments, especially in two-handed sword and polearms, he participates as assistant instructor in 2017 at the WMAW in Chicago and as an instructor in 2018; he taught in 2017 and 2018 at the Montpellier event “Marozzo Day” and in 2017 and 2018 at the Ton Puey event “Torre d’Ercole”. He regularly teaches and supports teaching in the Sala d’Armi Guardia di Croce in Brescia in the Scuola Opera Nova. He regularly devotes himself to the study and development of the interpretations of Maestro Marozzo and the Italian Renaissance Masters. Happily married with Laura, he has always lived in Brescia, works as a salesman and has land that he cultivates as an orchard and vegetable garden and a few chickens.

Chapter 180 – Opera Nova1536, Achille Marozzo. A dry and ruthless system of use takes shape with accurate and precise gestures that make the partisan an extremely effective weapon. the teaching will take place thanks to the exposure of the assaults darkened in the treatise and brought back to life with the application of them with and without an opponent.

 

Ayant découvert l’escrime médiévale et le traité de Fiore dei Liberi en 2016 avec Excalibur Dauphiné, je me suis rapidement intéressé aux AMHE, en particulier au travers des stages proposés par Gilles Martinez à Académie AMHE (Rochemaure) que j’ai rejoint en 2021. J’ai ainsi pu approfondir ma compréhension du système de combat proposé par ce maître italien, tout en découvrant d’autres armes, épée / bouclier XIIIe en tête.

Le but de cet atelier est de montrer l’importance de la progression de pointe dans le système présenté chez Fiore dei Liberi, avec en particulier la pièce 28v-a (Getty). Dans un premier temps, les élèves travailleront le mouvement d’estoc avec une couverture du côté de leur jambe avant, passant d’une posta breve à une posta longa, ainsi que le jeu de jambes associé à l’exercice (Fora di Strada). Ils réaliseront ensuite ce travail en opposition, face à un adversaire passif en posta breve puis ils réaliseront l’échange de pointe face à un adversaire leur portant un estoc. Une fois cet exercice maîtrisé, un jeu infini pourra se mettre en place, chaque élève réalisant un échange de pointe en réponse à la même technique. Pour finir et pour casser le jeu infini, le coup du vilain (colpo di villano, 28r-a, Getty) sera montré lorsqu’un élève réalisera un appui sur la lame plutôt qu’un échange de pointe.

 

Chris is director and instructor of the Academia da Espada Deutschland, which is the German chapter of Academia da Espada under Maestro Ton Puey. Since the end of 2019, he has specialized in fencing according to La Verdadera Destreza. He also trains fencing according to Ridolfo Capo Ferro da Cagli at the fencing school Krifon in Edingen-Neckarhausen near Heidelberg under fencing master Christian Bott. Chris completed the trainer course of the Bavarian Fencing Association in the field of historical fencing in 2021. In sporting terms, he participated in several tournaments and won the title of German Champion 2021 in the discipline of rapier and was awarded “Best Technical Fencer” at the International Rapier Seminar in Copenhagen in 2022. Since 2022 he has been a member of the DDHF National Team in the discipline Rapier.

In this workshop I will give an introductional overview of important La Verdadera Destreza concepts, like Angulo Recto, Medio de Proporcion, Atajo and some more in a nutshell. With a more playful approach even beginners will become Diestros step by step, who perform fencing from the bind. The result will be like light sparring, which will probably look like a dance.

Minimum/Recommended/Ideal gear : Mask, gloves, rapier

 

Andrew started his martial arts journey in 2000 studying Wing Chun Kung Fu (because it lead to the use of the paired broadswords). He started training HEMA with the HSD in 2014, quickly attaining the rank of Scholar with Longsword and Messer and then Free Scholar with Polearms and Dagger. Andrew passed the British Federation for Historical Swordplay (BFHS) Instructor Level 1 qualification in 2016, before becoming an assistant instructor within the School and then being invested as Sergeant at Arms and then Provost Chapter Master of the Newcastle school. Andrew has just set up his own chapter of the HSD in Middlesbrough. He has taught at HEMA events in Spain, Ireland, South Africa, The Netherlands, Malta and Romania as well as within the UK. Andrew has an outstanding level of attention to detail, coupled with a dynamic practical approach to historical fencing.

An exploration of the close plays of the Langes Messer focusing on how to bridge into wrestling/ringen range and how to survive once you get there. W will look at how the footwork, and body mechanics change once you have closed in to wrestle and how to use your Messer to maximum advantage as well as how to prevent an opponent closing to grapple.

Minimum/Recommended/Ideal gear : Rondel Dagger trainer/Waster, Mask, forearm protection are required, Jacket, gorget and light gloves are optional. 

praticers’ level: Beginner

 

Daniel Hambraeus is an instructor from North Sweden, he focuses on the Spanish art of Destreza using rapiers, based on Rada’s Nobleza de la Espada, which he has a video series on. Daniel competes using the style with some level of success. Daniel is also an instructor in modern fencing and gladly fences smallsword with anyone that wants to.

The atajo is the core to the whole art and everything else flows from it. One of the trickiest parts to it, are the discordant rotations of the body to achieve it. This workshop will focus on this tricky step.

 

George Livermore is a Provost of the 1595. Club. He began his Martial Arts journey in 2002 in Brighton under the tutelage of club founder Chris Chatfield. In 2005 George became the 3rd Free scholar of the club and began his journey to become Provost, which he achieved in 2012.
He has recently moved to Milan to open his own school and to pursue his journey towards earning the title of Master, for which he needs to teach a student to the level of Provost. During his career, studies, and journey, he has participated and has been invited to teach at numerous events around the world: HEMAC Dijon, WMAW USA, MHFA… to name but a few. Teaching all forms from unarmed to dual weapons with staff weapons thrown in for good measure. Although the 1595. Club uses the treatise of Vincentio Saviolo as one of its main avenues of exploration for the art of fence, it is not limited to his teachings, and has evolved its martial system by incorporating other forms of Martial Arts, for example the bare-knuckle boxing of Victorian England, the French martial system of Savate, and other weapon based systems, including the naval sabre/cutlass treatise of Angelo, as well as contemporary classical sabre. The goal being to create a holistic and robust martial system using the martial principles and philosophy of Saviolo as a foundation on which to build our study.

When you play the game of thrusts you win, or you practice and get better until you win. We’ll have a look at four thrusts described in Saviolo’s treatise, and in others, and through some exercises we’ll develop a sequence that should help you in your fencing game.

 

Marine started HEMA 12 years ago with the 1.33 sword and buckler and has never stopped. She started in the “Ost du Griffon Noir club” in Toulouse (southern France) where she quickly became co-instructor and soon after instructor in 1.33.She moved to finland about 10 years ago and co-founded the Tampere HEMA club in Finland, where she stayed until the end of 2021.
She is a member of the Sword and Buckler family since 2014, which is a group based on sharing knowledge and experience. In 2022 she became a member of the Board of directors of the FFAMHE, as well as an executive board member of the IFHEMA. Over the years she gave several workshops internationally (Switzerland, Germany, Denmark, Netherlands, Finland, France). She also participated in organising seminars, tournaments and other kind of event in Finland, as well as in France. In 2019, she participated in the gala tournament of the European Games in Minsk with the French team and also took part in the public technical demonstration.
Her main practice is 1.33 sword and buckler, the 19th century French cane and langes messer. But she also enjoys practicing dagger, longsword and wrestling.

What is it? How to avoid injuries and maintain your arm in the practice of HEMA. For health and scientific accuracy, this workshop was created in cooperation with a physiotherapist. The goal? Give the participants a better understanding of why injuries happen and how to prevent and manage them. The content? Basic biomechanics, some reinforcement and mobility exercises, and a couple of massage technics. Pre-requisite? None, all levels are welcome. If you are an instructor in your club, this workshop is ideal for you. What do I bring? Yourself and your arms, a weapon (longsword, one-handed sword, a stick/cane is even better)
All the content of this workshop will be made available, so you will be able to take all this workshop’s knowledge back with you and bulletproof your sword friends 😉

Jan is head instructor for knife and dagger at Tremonia Fechten in Dortmund, Germany. Having trained Ju-Jutsu for several years, he had decided to look into weapons based martial arts and eventually discovered HEMA for himself in 2012 when he visited the AHA in Glasgow to study the broadsword. After returning to Germany he found Tremonia Fechten and started studying the longsword, but soon focused his own studies on Ringen, Bowie Knife fighting and its roots in Spanish and Scottish arts and eventually the Italian and German dagger sources. Jan’s interests lie mainly with one-handed weapon systems and – obviously – first and foremost close quarter systems like knife and dagger. As a HEMA instructor his focus is more on the Martial Art itself and its realistic training than on tournaments and the Martial Sport side of HEMA. In this, he tries to comprehend historical systems in their context whilst looking for modern (e.g. forensic or biomechanical) insight to bolster his hypotheses and improve his training methods. Furthermore Jan is a friend of absurd metaphors, advocate of the otterisation of European Martial Arts and supporter of hop juice fuelled socialising.

In this workshop we will look at a few selected plays from Fiore’s (unarmed versus) dagger section to become aware of the physical processes and properties/quantities at work behind the scenes of a fight. We’ll do this in order to be able to consciously influence them and (ideally) optimise our applications of techniques.To picture two fighters as bodies with momentum or to ask oneself if and where one is creating a lever in a certain situation, might sound dry at first. But as this is basically about learning how to hit our partners with the planet one does not need to fear that this workshop might be overly intellectual.

 

Bastian is a Messer enthusiast for more than ten years. He has a soft spot for early new high German texts and buried the myth of carrying Messers being a legal loophole.

We will be looking at the fundamentals of Messerfechten, including footwork, cutting technique and basic tactics. This workshop is ideal if you want to peek into Messer. There will be plenty of room for experimenting for people with experience.

 

Michel Rensen started practicing German longsword at Zwaard & Steen in 2013, and hasn’t looked back since. In 2014, he started ramping up his training, and it wasn’t long after this that he started teaching, too. Currently, he has been teaching longsword workshops at many different events throughout Europe. His teaching focus is mostly on practical body structure and movement. Besides teaching, Michel also often competes in national and international tournaments, most notably placing high at large events such as the Dutch Lions Cup and Swordfish, and becoming the longsword champion at the first Dutch national championship.

No, this workshop is not about magical spin attacks, throwing bombs or how to yell HYAH HYUH HUH HIIAAAAA while fencing. Rather, we’re going to take a look at the three parts of the Triforce: Courage, Power and Wisdom, and why you need to balance all three of these aspects to fence well. This random video game lore applies surprisingly well to the historical techniques laid out by Liechtenauer and his students; each of these aspects is extremely important, to the point where omitting or even underrepresenting any one of them will negatively impact the way you fence. This workshop aims to give you an easy diagnostic tool and foundational framework to improve your fencing. Prior knowledge of the Legend of Zelda games is not required to attend the workshop.

 

Tea Kew started fencing nine years ago with Cambridge HEMA, and quickly began to teach longsword at the club. Since then, Tea has taught workshops and classes at events across the world, including Fightcamp, HEMAC Dijon, Longpoint and Festival of the Sword. Their primary areas of practice are early Liechtenauer longsword fencing; refereeing and referee training; and helping HEMA instructors improve their coaching skills. Currently Tea coaches in London at New Cross Historical Fencing.

This workshop is for new instructors; experienced instructors who want some other perspectives; and for individual students who want some notes on how to be a good practice partner and improve their own skills faster. We’ll look at several simple ways to level up your teaching and practice them with some drills and sparring games.

 

Jordan has been studying martial arts and forms of swordsmanship for most of his life starting with kendo and sport fencing in school, through re-enactment until he discovered HEMA. His interests are in the older medieval weapons such as arming sword, longsword, messer through to renaissance sidesword. Though he studies and teaches various fencing treatises, his first and true love is Fiore de Liberi. He’s coached both students and other instructors in Fiore’s system so that they can apply it to their own fencing. He opened the Academy of Steel in 2018 and it has rapidly become the largest HEMA school in Wales.

This Workshop is on Fiore dei Liberi’s three turnings and how they fit contextually into his system. I will compare these actions to contemporary and modern martial arts and how they can be used to steal distance, upset an opponent’s timing, disrupt an opponent’s balance and effectively execute some of Fiore’s more complex plays such as the Tor di Spada.

 

Martin Enzi first got in touch with martial arts by practicing classical boxing, but finally found his passion when he switched to HEMA in 2001 to train longsword, wrestling and dagger. 2003 he got his hands on the first draft of the transcription of Johannes Leckuechners “Kunst des Messerfechtens”, while work was still in progress. This gave him the possibility to be one of the first persons to dig into this manuscript.
Instantly fascinated while reading the first pages of the manuscript, this was when his fascination with and passion for Messer started. After intense studies and training, he started as a trainer for longsword, Messer, and eventually also for the so-called “peasant weapons” and spear. 2006 he took part in the transcription of parts of Paulus Hector Mair’s manuscript (scythe, sickle and flail) for the Higgins Armory Museum, which will be published by Jeffrey L. Forgeng. Even though training in Liechtenauer school of longsword and the peasant weapons from PHM has always been close to his heart, his main focus and deep passion lies with the Messer according to cgm582, taking also into account other Messer-related sources like Talhofer, Codex Wallerstein, Pauernfeindt, or Falkner. After teaching for 19 years now at international events and martial arts gatherings, Martin Enzi was honored to be the first European HEMA-teacher to get an invitation to Tokyo, where he held a masterclass in Messer fencing – in fact, the first Messer class to be taught in Japan.. He was also asked to contribute 4 articles to the book series “Meditations on HEMA”, and writes articles in magazines and does surveys about finds and originals in museums. Apart from HEMA, Enzi has practiced stage fighting for 22 years and he also coaches and trains actors and stuntmen and works as a fight choreographer for movies, theatre and TV production.

In every manuscript there is al lot of talk about the Strike/blow or the thrust. A lot of training time is spent on doing this with various techniques and version. But there is also one thing in our toolbox that is mentioned but often overseen and even less trained – the cut. So we will try to talk about efficiency goals of cuts, in techniques or were to add them whilst withdrawing, or as a finisher.

Jake Norwood fences, cuts, wears armor, organizes events too big for his own good, was a founding member of the HEMA Alliance and is responsible for at least 2 things you love about HEMA and 3 that you hate. Sometimes he pretends he retired, but just so people leave him alone. He loves Liechtenauer, the Messer, Harnischfechten, Gemeines Fechten, and reading old books.

Get hands-on training on how to effectively cut with a sharp sword, including correct form and technique, how to practice without a target, and how to use a target to calibrate your performance.

 

A medieval historian specialising in the rediscovery of martial gestures, Gilles Martinez recently defended a doctoral thesis at the Université Paul-Valéry Montpellier, entitled Des gestes pour combattre. Recherches et expérimentations sur le combat chevaleresque à l’époque féodale : l’exemple du Roman de Jaufré (Paris, BnF, ms. fr. 2164). Currently, he combines his activities as a researcher with those of a teacher at the University of Nîmes, a practitioner and professional instructor of medieval combat (for nearly 20 years), and a cultural mediator.

This workshop will propose a work of decision making around some pieces of the long game at Fiore dei Liberi, in particular on the 1st game at the half-sword (meza spada) and the blow to the legs.

 

Aurélien started the practice of AMHE (European Historical Martial Arts) in 2010 after a few years of artistic fencing. His main interest is the Bolonese tradition that he tries to spread as widely as possible, either through translations of its treatises, through workshops on various AMHE courses or through articles on his website nimico.org. He is also an instructor in the Nimico association, based in Lille, where he teaches Bolonese fencing in the various weapons of the tradition: bocle sword, two-handed sword, dagger sword and hast weapons

Sword and dagger provocations

The workshop will present a range of sword and dagger challenges based on Dall’Agocchie’s Bolognese treatise, and will integrate them into various games to understand their tactical aspects

 

Catherine started practicing AMHE in 2010 after a few years of artistic fencing. Her main interest is the Bolonese tradition which she practices and teaches with her husband in the Nimico association.

We’ve all had that moment when we’re faced with an opponent who is stronger than us, more experienced or just more gruff. Using principles and techniques from the Bolonese school, I teach you how to fight in a weak position.

Instructor: 65 Year old Englishman with 41 years of fighting with metal weapons, 39 years experience as an instructor. Currently researching Liechtenauer Longsword, Fiore, I.33 Sword and buckler, Langesmesse, Dusack, Medieval Dagger. Wide range of knowledge in other weapon systems especially Viking era weaponry.

We go through all the techniques that are found in the old treatises that render the Zwerchau attack impotent. Each technique is broken down into easy to follow steps so that you can execute them quickly and with minimum exertion. After this workshop the Zwerchau will cease to be difficult to counter. Participants should be reasonable at footwork, forming Ochs guard, cutting into longpoint and in using Kron or the crown guard.

Minimum/Recommended/Ideal gear : Mask, gloves and arm guards would be advised. Longsword in metal or synthetic material, bring an open mind as well.

 

Born in 1979, Founding member of Ars Ensis and the Hungarian Federation, a HEMAC member since 2005. Has been teaching in Mallorca, Swordfish, Dijon, Dreynevent and the Summer Camp, has won Gold at Swordfish in 2013. Science Fiction writer, Hema trainer, rough collie enthusiast.

This is a Lichtenawer longsword workshop about the vier vesetzen in the MS3227 and folow-up techniques.

Minimum/Recommended/Ideal gear : Any longsword

I started AMHE at the end of 2008 in the association De Taille et d’Estoc. I discovered several disciplines including Fiore and Ott wrestling. It is in 2012, by accompanying Vivien in the study and rediscovery of 19th century French wrestling and by giving workshops in France (Dijon, IDF, Toulouse…) and in Europe (Fightcamp, Noble Science) that I really developed a taste for this discipline.

My workshop will focus on ground techniques in 19th century French wrestling, mainly from the treatises of Fénelon, Paul Pons and François le Bordelais. When one starts wrestling, there can be a lot of apprehension. This is why I wish to propose only ground techniques, to help gain confidence and enjoyment.

 

I am Jeanne, I fell into the AMHE in 2008 with De Taille et d’Estoc, I practice the dagger, the long sword, the rapier and recently the bocle sword within the Confrérie de la Corneille in Rennes. Passionate about transmission and pedagogy, which are at the heart of my professional life, I like to use the Fiore dagger as a tool to help understand the fundamentals, to raise awareness of the work of the source or to experiment with biomechanical principles. I propose you a workshop in partnership with Léo, friend and guinea pig during my first steps as an instructor, Léo has been practicing AMHE since 2011 and teaches the dagger at REGHT in Lille every week. His approach allows a dynamic, even muscular dagger practice, which, combined with my search for suppleness and fluidity, is perfectly complementary to mine.

“They come to the dagger, so help them God.” Hans Talhoffer with this quote only moderately encourages us to engage in a free dagger assault in our modern practice context.

Faced with the importance Fiore gives to techniques designed to “break arms”, as he himself puts it, it would be tempting to limit ourselves to a simple technical study of the pieces, in total cooperation, without opposition. However, the dagger is a rich discipline and a formidable pedagogical tool which, in a secure context, can allow a free expression of simple and varied techniques calling upon the fundamentals of unarmed combat: suppleness, structure, movement. Through our complementary approaches, by working on the fundamentals mentioned above and a technical approach to the dagger as presented in the Fiore dei Liberi manuscripts, we will progressively lead you

 

My name is Julian Schrattenecker and I have been an active historical fencer for more than 10 years. The main focus of my fencing studies is the style of the early 17th century of Salvatore Fabris and the german fencing masters who followed in his footsteps. The interpretation work of Fabris’ I am doing in cooperation with Florian. In 2014 we decided to produce our own fencing swords based on original antiques to deepen our understanding in rapier fencing further. We took detailed measurements of swords from private collections and museums, such as the “Hofjagd- und Rüstkammer”. Also, we were not satisfied to improve our understanding of fencing by acquiring techniques from fencing books and producing our own sword. So, we also decided to transcribe different manuscripts about fencing of the 16th and 17th century, such as HS381 from the Palais Liechtenstein, and publicise our transcriptions for the historical fencing community.

Salvator Fabris introduced a brand new concept in fencing: walking
towards the opponent with resolution and without stopping. In our workshop we will explainthe theory behind it and go through some of his rules to illustrate the
principles.

 

Daniel is a historian, focused on the study of European martial arts. He currently works at the Laboratory of Experimental Museology (EPFL, Lausanne), where he manages research projects, but he’s also affiliated with the University of Bern at the History Institute. While he owns a steel pyjama, he nowadays spend more time with his dussack or single sword. He’s the chief editor of Acta Periodica Duellatorum, honorary president of IFHEMA and a passionate HEMA practitioner exploring fun stuff.

Open warm-up according to Ling’s method (Swedish Gymnastics), based on the take of Tanner (Physical culture for men, women and children, London: 1894). You’ll enjoy a swift and gentle warm up, and maybe take home some warm-up routine for yourself.

Massage techniques and relaxing exercises in order to take good care of your sparring partner(s), according to the Swedish gymnastic method. Pehr Henrik Ling (1776-1839) is a pioneer of physical culture in Sweden, which later will become global as “Swedish gymnastic”. He is also credited as the father of Swedish massage. You’ll enjoy a good mix of exercises and simple massage techniques to relax and take care of your body after intense physical exercise.

nimum/Recommended/Ideal gear : none

 

Roman Vučajnk (1977) has been involved with HEMA since the early 2000s. At first he focused on mediaeval German martial heritage; now he is more attracted to styles of urban combat of the 16th and 17th centuries. The legacy of Joachim Meyer is of a particular interest to him, and he is pleased to see quality output by an increasing number of Meyerists taking root.
He teaches at Academia artis dimicatoriae (Slovenia) and has had the privilege of teaching and sharing at a number of workshops and events throughout Europe. Roman is a member of HEMAC and an honorary member of De Taille et d’Estoc and Asociación para el Estudio y Desarrollo de las Artes Marciales Europeas.

They say that sword is a weapon of a more civilized age. Perhaps. But there was an age when civilians carried swords at their side for an everyday occasion. Things gave rise to occasions when swords were drawn and used. Our workshop shall explore how “sideswords” were used according to different historical sources. We shall go through a few solo-perspectives and work in pairs.

 

Has practised the use of shields and spears in different forms for 15 years. Dancer and instructor (BA of dance and pedagogy). Worked at the National Opera of Finland as a stage fighter and dancer. Balances between being a father of a toddler and running a folk-dancing company. Thankfully trepak gives you an excellent sense of balance. https://hirdmenn.blogspot.com/2022/12/testing-thin-and-thick-shields-against.html

Drills with spear and shield for the over-arm grip. We will show how historically accurate spears and shields would behave, and what kind of weapon actions this implies. The focus will be on playing with the different distances while creating threats with the spear and binding the opponent’s shield with yours. After the workshop, there will be light sparring and we invite everybody to test out and compare different spear use interpretations in a small-scale movement laboratory. Location – inside or outside. Size – 10-20 ppl.

 

Has practised Fiore and Lecküchner for 18 years. He did not discover or invent the wondrous secrets of this art (known only by very few men in this world), but rather travelled through many lands and searched for the true and correct art for the sake of experiencing and knowing it. He learned these skills from many German and Italian masters and their senior students. Wrestling instructor. Worked at the National Opera of Finland as a stage fighter. In his free time, is a stressed father of small children and escapes them in his office at the National Library of Finland.

Wresting at a long distance and wrestling with different weapon contexts seems to be hard to do. Worry not, Baumann’s fight book has the twirch you are looking for. A repertoire of follow-ups from grabbing your opponent’s right hand
– Drills for bringing new techniques into your toolbox
– Wrestle at the long distance like 1470s never went away!
– PSA: Somebody might bring up messer as a context for usage

minimum/Recommended/Ideal gear : none

 

Iris Meijer (25) is a member of the HEMA showfighting group Bataille. With a background in theater and creative writing, she soon started to specialise in stage combat techniques when she joined Bataille in 2018. She now provides most of Batailles internal training and external workshops on showfighting. Besides that, she is one of the main directors and writers of the Bataille live shows.

Stage combat is all about creating the illusion of violence in front of a live audience and being able to keep yourself and your partner safe. In this workshop we will explore how to add a layer of realism to staged fights, by using the actual HEMA techniques in combination with showfighting elements. We will be covering various armed and unarmed stage combat techniques. You will learn to throw and take a good punch; and of course more spectacular techniques like hair pulls and choking will be covered during this workshop.

minimum/Recommended/Ideal gear : A mask, light gloves and a sword

 

Escrimeur touche-à-tout, je pratique, j’étudie et j’enseigne les Arts Martiaux Historiques Européens au CELACAMTHE à Annecy, en Haute-Savoie. J’ai débuté ce voyage à De Taille et d’Estoc à Dijon en 2007, puis, j’ai rejoint différents clubs – à Belfort, Strasbourg, Montréal (Arte Dimicatoria), Sherbrooke (LAMHES) et Nice (Medieval Combat). Je suis également actif au CA de la FFAMHE, que je représente à l’IFHEMA. Fasciné par l’interdisciplinarité intrinsèque à la pratique des AMHE, je m’intéresse à toutes leurs facettes – de la recherche à l’entraînement physique, de l’interprétation du geste à l’étude de son contexte d’application, ainsi que tous les aspects de la vie sportive et associative qui les accompagnent. Je partage librement la traduction en français de sources primaires issues de différentes traditions (Fiore dei Liberi, JG. Paschen, G. Briccio, G.dall’Agocchie, H.Medl etc.) afin d’en faciliter l’accès et de promouvoir leur usage. Je diffuse également mes travaux lors de différents stages sous la forme d’ateliers ou de conférences, et je contribue au tissu associatif par l’organisation de l’évènement Marquisattack.

The 7 positions and their work –Lessons from the Hans Medl Fechtbuch

 

Pedro San Miguel has been fencing since 2013, and is currently an instructor with Schola Gladiatoria. He focuses on 19th-century sabre and foil, with his main sources of study including the works of John Musgrave Waite, Captain Alfred Hutton, Louis Rondelle, George Chapman, and Camille Prevost, while also having a keen interest in Italian authors such as Luigi Barbasetti and Masaniello Parise, among others. Pedro also trains longsword according to Fiore dei Liberi, and is a senior student with The Renaissance Sword Club, where he studies rapier & dagger. Pedro is currently ranked #1 in sabre in the UK. He teaches at two branches of Schola Gladiatoria, runs private lessons in sabre and foil, and teaches internationally.

The ability to parry and riposte confidently is a strong foundation upon which to build your sabre play. But what do you do if your opponent is counter-riposting all of your ripostes with ease? You could stay in the riposte, counter-riposte loop, and hope they mess up first, or you could quit while you’re ahead and interrupt the riposte rally with something else.
In this workshop we will look at drills and exercises that will first help you build a reliable parry-riposte game, and then we will work on techniques and strategies to safely break out of any riposte rally. These will include compound actions, time attacks, actions on the blade, closing, and other methods of interruption, taken from a variety of 19th-century sabre and foil sources.

I’ve practiced Western and Oriental martials arts for several years and I’ve focused HEMA for the past 8 years

An aproximation of oriental and western martial arts footwork to the Historical European Martials

 

Longsword Enjoyer since 2005, Gabriel is an instructor and a competitor specialized in German Longsword. He’s also known as French Hema Boy on Youtube, or “The Yellow copter” by his friends or sparring partners.

Together, we will go indeep the German Longsword system, starting from the now well known Meisterhaw. For each of them, we will remember the basic exécution, then, we will unfoild them.
We will rely a lot on Hangen principe, Winden, and all minimal move we can do in Arbeit.

 

He is currently the director and principal instructor of the Sala de armas Pedro del Monte in Granada / Spain. His main interest is focused on the study of the Ars Palestrinæ – Palestrian Arts -, disciplines that within the HEMA – Historical European Martial Arts – put martial practice before sports, working on a panoply of weapons that is articulated in the same theoretical corpus. The sources of documentation of him are found mainly in late-medieval and Renaissance treatises, focusing the current investigation of him on Iberian and Italian authors. To interpret and put into practice the concepts studied in historical treatises, he uses experimental archeology through material culture, in addition to his experience in other martial arts and contact sports, for the execution of biomechanical concepts. In parallel, he is dedicated to historical dissemination by writing articles in magazines specialized in history and martial arts, as well as holding conferences in museums and other cultural institutions. He began his practice in martial arts in 1983.Since then and until 2006 he has practiced different disciplines among which are the following.

– Taekwondo – 8 years

– Full Contact – 5 years

– Jujutsu – 5 years

– Iaido – 2 years

From 2006 to the present day he has devoted himself exclusively to the study of the Ars Palestrinæ.

Wrestling is perhaps the discipline that receives the most attention in the publications of the Italian Maestro Pedro Monte.
In his writings, he shows us the particular way that Hispanics have to fight, using complex footwork to carry out techniques called “mañas”, with which they support a whole way of understanding movement in combat, transition of balances and disposition of the plants. All this is of vital importance, since it forms the basis of his subsequent work with weapons.
In this workshop, we will work on some applications of the mañas that Monte describes to us, such as the torno, the sacaliña, the traspié or the descaderada. And how to ultimately apply them to sword work.

 

Frédéric Tracy has been studying and practicing HEMA for over 12 years. At the beginning, he joined the first Historical European Martial Arts club of the French Riviera (South-East of France) in 2011. Rapidly starting to love the pratice, he discovers the sword-buckler and the 1.33 manuscript. He will never stop this practice and continues to perfect his knowledge with several instructors while following various courses in Europe. He became an instructor in 2012 and opened his first club: “In Custodia” in 2016. After winning several tournaments, he continues to participate regularly in seminars and leads workshops and courses in France and Italy. Today, as an independent instructor, he works to promote AMHE and the practice of sword-buckler, in particular by continuing the Sword and Buckler Family movement (grouping of sword-buckle practitioners) initiated during the HEMAC in Dijon and continued several consecutive years during the event.

During this workshop we will work on some exercises allowing us to understand and put into practice the fundamentals and mechanisms of the buckle sword in the MS.1.33 manuscript (bindings, movements, change of axis and line…) The work will be done in solo or in duet through sequences and active exercises. This will also give us the opportunity to see or review some Guards and postures (Prima Custodia, Sixta Custodia, Mutatio…)

 

 

Willeke started her HEMA adventure with Bataille in 2010 and has trained with multiple weapons, mainly focussed to be used in shows and demonstrations to entertain the audience while learning something about HEMA. During those lessons she was introduced to the sickle and it quickly became one of her favorite weapons. She has since done her own research on the sickle based on translations and transcriptions available to her, helped by other Bataille members. The last six years she has instructed sickle fighting in several different settings and hopes to spread the knowledge and love for the sickle around the HEMA community.

Paulus Hector Mair is the only master that we know of that wrote about fighting with farmers’ tools in his manuscript versions. One of those humble farming tools is the sickle and with Mair’s help it can be turned into a fast and nasty weapon. We are going to explore the possibilities of this lovely weapon and see if, and where there are similarities with other more well known weapons and how we can use that knowledge to expand our range of the sickle beyond the sixteen known plates. We will bring training sickles (a limited amount) for this workshop but if you have one of those synthetic training sickles you are welcome to bring and use it.

 

Esko Ronimus, Founder and main instructor of Tampere School of Arms, a HEMA school of some 50 members located in Tampere, Finland. Training and teaching the Bolognese tradition fencing. Have been practicing HEMA for 5 years now, have also been training and teaching, and still do, Chinese martial arts for 23+ years. Main focus is in learning the martial art and passing it on, not interpreting the sources. A firm believer that understanding and training the system under instruction of a qualified and experienced teacher is absolutely necessary to revive the tradition and to pass it on. All the material taught and trained is coming from Ken Harding (St. Louis School of Arms).

The workshop introduces a method understanding and using the distances, and tactics attached to the distances, when using the Bolognese tradition two-handeds sword or spada a due mani. It presents examples of utilizing the different distances of fencing according to the Bolognese tradition and how to move from one distance to an another. The distances covered in the workshop are long, narrow and close. The introduction to the three distances and the tactics involved is done through partner drills derived from Achille Marozzo’s and Anonimo Bolognese’s materials. The first distance is covered through footwork and provocation exercises, the second through examples of what-to-do when the blades are crossed and the third from the very close distance of crossed blades and grappling. The purpose of the workshop is to have a look at the theory of fighting according to the Bolognese tradition fencing. Additionally, strong emphasis will be put on the body mechanics of moving, using the sword and grappling.

Fortner Florian

My name is Florian Fortner and I am deeply in love with italian rapier
and sidesword fencing for over 12 years now — training, teaching, and
competing. To give the techniques more context, I also measure and
reproduce original swords and clothing. Julian and I work intensively
on the reconstruction of the fencing tradition of Salvator Fabris and
his german lineage.

Rapier & Dagger fencing can be reduced to a handful of first
principles. Salvator Fabris told us how – in this workshop we will
explain and practice them, which will raise your fencing to the next level!

 

Philippe started HEMA at De taille et d’estoc in Dijon, a small group that some of you might have heard from. There, he developed a strong passion for 16th century martial arts, specifically for Meyer’s longsword, dussack, dagger, a bit of pikes and the martial context around german fechtschule. He contributed to the world of HEMA by giving workshops in various events on longsword, translating parts of Peter Falkner, transcribing parts of William Pringle Green and teaching longsword for years. He now teaches longsword in Sherbrooke’s HEMA club (CAMMS) which he founded. He likes to fight. Come fight him, he’ll be happy and you too.

In this workshop, we’ll make our way through the dussack section of the Cod.Guelf-83-4 Aug.8, also known as the little fat (and bloody) men treatise. We’ll start with a short introduction on the context, it will help us understand the logic behind the techniques and postures. Then, we’ll work on some dussack and body movements used in that treatise to facilitate the learning process. Afterward, we’ll train various technics shown in the treatise. Beware, some involve wrestling. The final goal will be to spar with an esthetical focus : to look like those fat and awesome men. No need to be fat, nor a man, to be awesome like they are, just a dussack and your fabulous self.

 

Tobias has been fencing for almost 20 years now, starting out with Olympic fencing, then moving on to traditional Italian knife and stick, to finally arrive at German 19th century HEMA. His focus is the Kreussler school of smallsword and the Fehn school of sabre. He is also Europe development coordinator of the Haitian Machete Fencing Project.

While most 19th century sabre sources have only one guard, Fehn´s system is one rather late example that features more than that. 3 guards are named explicitly, extrapolation can lead to even more than that. In this workshop, we will compare Fehn´s hanging guard and his steep guard in more detail, compare the two, see how they interact, and what this means for facing other positions not included in Fehn´s system.

 

Meet Asante Lawla, a dedicated student of Gurudev Nidar Singh and practitioner of Shastar Vidiya with over 12 years of experience in art. Asante has also explored various other forms of combat, starting with Lao Gar Kung fu at the age of 11 before moving on to boxing, muay thai, and wing chun. With a background in engineering and a being qualified corrective exercise specialist, Asante was drawn to the unique approach of Shastar Vidiya, which emphasises advanced tactics, geometry, and body mechanics designed for fighting on the move and breaking battle formations. Rather than the over reliance on reflexes and technique that he had become accustomed to in sport fighting. Shastar Vidiya challenges us to consider the complexities of battlefield fighting, where elements like armor, ground condition, timing and many other factors play a significant role.

In this session, I will cover some foundational principles that are crucial to understanding the evolution of battlefield combat. We will start by examining the close combat principles that stem from knife fighting, which inform our general movement. Then, we will delve into the geometry of omnidirectional skirmishing and explore how to set up winning plays. Lastly, we will focus on core mechanics derived from spearwork, and learn how to generate power and brace against charging forces.

 

Alain Cariou started HEMA in 2011 within the Cercle des Escrimeurs Libres Nantais practicing longsword, then buckle and wrestling before joining La Meute de Nuada a few years later. Today, he still practices these two disciplines to which he added the practice of Viking combat. This year, he had the opportunity to study a book on Catch As Catch Can which will be the subject of his workshop here in Dijon.

The goal of this workshop is to make you discover a way of wrestling in Catch as Catch can according to the book “Comment lutter au Catch as Catch can” of Jean Roland published in 1910. It will be an opportunity to explore the French particularities of this wrestling.

Georg S. Samatovic is the High school history professor, National Museum guide, expert consultant, certified appraisal – specialist for historical weapons and military equipment, and sword smith!
He is the HEMA researcher and founder (2010) of the first Historical European Martial Art (HEMA) school in Republic of Serbia/ Belgrade – the “HEMAS” Historical European Martial School.

 

President of the Swiss club Clair de Lame and long time practitioner, he has spent several years working on wrestling and dagger in armor

workshop proposing techniques usable in sparrings, drawn from several manuscripts, it is not a question of working on precise pieces but rather on their synthesis, practice of pieces found on several manuscripts spread over the period when full armor was used.
Simple techniques of wrestling and dagger used in sparring

 

Matyas represents Crosscut HRST, a Hungarian HEMA club focusing on sabre, rapier and wrestling. Matyas trains Hungarian sabre, his main source is Gusztáv Arlow. Beside fencing he is the managing director of Acta Periodica Duellatorum.

Arlow gives detailed advices on performing blade attacks and also on avoiding them. His drills help fencers to recognize situation when attacking the opponent’s blade may lead to an advantage and also, when the opponent’s attack on our blade gives us a nice opportunity to kill them.

 

Josh Furrate has been playing with swords in earnest since early 2016 and he hasn’t stopped. In fact, he has simply pursued more methods of sword fighting whether it’s longsword, messer, sword & buckler, or cutting, you can be sure that Josh has done it, seen it, and has insight on it. He brings this vibrant enthusiasm to all he does, but it shines brightest when he is teaching, which he does as a senior instructor at Nachreisen Historical Fencing. In addition to teaching at the sword club he has taught at various events and clubs over the years with the primary focus of KdF. Though instructing is a heavy focus, he is no stranger to competition. He has placed a multiple events for longsword and cutting but the most important is his win in the cajun cook off at Krumpow. While Josh is known for his southern charm and propensity for sparring at the drop of a hat, what he is perhaps most known for is his great, big heart. You will be hard pressed to find a more generous guy, but keep it in mind that no matter how sweet his smile, he will fight tooth and nail in the ring.

This work shop focuses on footwork upon your approach to the fight and building a system to utilize footwork from multiple sources, though centered around KdF. With this foundation we can explore options of the Vier Versetzen and other key concepts found in the KdF system.

Kindred started HEMA in Glasgow in 2015, quickly becoming dedicated to the sport. The Scottish broadsword was the first weapon he was taught and has remained his strong favourite to this day. He also looks at a variety of other Georgian Era weapons and systems such as Broadsword and Targe, Military Sabre, and Bayonet. Besides these, he is keen practitioner of earlier German systems for single handed swords such as Messer, and Sword and Buckler, as well as dagger fighting. He emphasises fencing with solid, historically accurate mechanics while utilising timing and measure to win the fight.

In the class I will cover blade bearing actions used in Scottish Broadsword and British Sabre, though it will suit any who have practiced European military sabre of the 18th century onwards. The technique is also used in 18th century smallsword, which would be suitable if paired with another smallsword. We will also look and more conceptual ideas for training/drilling advanced techniques. While a relatively simple technique many people struggle to perform it properly. We will address the specific mechanics of the technique which are often glossed over in the sources and when to best to attempt it. The second portion of the class will then take this technique and focus on training it at high intensity where timing and speed are key. Many people fail to train complex techniques at the speed and power found during sparring, so I will go over concepts and drills that should combat this and can be taken forward into your future training.

 

Ulrik started historical fencing in british military sources, but soon discovered his love for the Messer – which he teaches at Die Freifechter in Cologne. Beyond that he spends his time studying german sources from the 15th and 16th century as well as traditional “tribal fighting arts”. His focus in the Messer is on Lecküchner and “holy trinity” of Glasgow/Talhoffer/Kal.

“From static to dynamic” – We’ve all been there: We trained a certain item or technique in set and static positions, but once we start trying to use it in a free and uncontrolled environment, nothing seems to work any more all of a sudden.
In this workshop we are going to explore solutions to this problem.
Based on select plays and techniques from various Messer manuscripts we will work through different exercises and approach a better understanding of the concept of “Zufechten”.

 

After a childhood practicing karate, he started Celtic fighting and reenactment in 2008 and gladiator fighting in 2010. Joining the professionnal fighting team of Acta (France) in 2011 with Brice Lopez, he practiced many different weapons as an everyday job until the end of 2013 : gladiators, Roman legionary, Celtic, sword and buckler, longsword, wrestling… Instructor for the Trimatrici since 2014, he’s focusing on studying Celtic fighting in the 1st century BC. Doing so, he continued learning other styles of combat, like longsword, messer, dagger, viking… Always focusing on perfecting his skills to develop Celtic fighting knowledge.

The Late Iron Age provides a lot of indirect sources : archeological artifacts, iconography, Roman and Greek writings… How can we study the use of the Celtic spear through these ? After an introduction about the sources, we will discuss the theory of the handling of this weaponry. We will then train to use the spear and shield in a coherent way, in the perspective of a duel, practicing different techniques to attack and parry against an opponent.

 

Sébastien Romagnan has been teaching the verdadera destreza, the Spanish fencing system, for almost 15 years. He has participated in numerous events in France, Switzerland and Germany and is the author of several books on the topic

The role of the shoulders in the execution of the atajo

The atajo is a characteristic element of the Destreza. Without being difficult, its realization is complex due to the great number of factors to be taken into account. One of them, and not the least, is the correct placement of the shoulders. This workshop will explain how to correctly place one’s shoulders in the first vertical plane for the main atajos performed from the right angle position.

 

Carlo Parisi, Hemac member since 2003 has taught workshops in Hemac Dijon, Fightcamp and other events. Author of “dagger fencing the Italian school”. Captain of the Italian team at the Ifhema tournaments in Hungary, Greece and Portugal where the team got the fair play prize. His main interest now is smallsword fencing.

The workshop will cover the techniques of Bertolini’s thrust fencing, starting from the basics. Fianconate, incontri di filo, inquartate, intagliate are among the techniques that will be covered. The style is meant to be used with a smallsword sized sword or rapier with a 80 cm blade, but 90 is also fine.

 

Christian Trosclair began studying Martial Arts in earnest in 1992. Dance, yoga, movement, biomechanics and body work followed soon after. His multi decade journey has taken him through Bagua, Xing Yi, Capoeira, Systema, Bharat Nattyam, Flamenco, Argentinian Tango, Taoist and Buddhist Meditation, various yogas, and movement and body arts. In 2005 Jean Chandler introduced him to the Kunst des Fechtens and a new passion took the helm. He became a fellow and eventually an instructor at Systeme d’Armes New Orleans. Unhappy with the dearth of publicly available translations at the time, he started down the path research. Over the years he has produced translations of all available 15thC german longsword and many 16thC longsword, messer and other texts. He has added to the inventory of known treatises. He currently researches primary documents, collecting knowledge of context and practice. In 2012 he joined the Wiktenauer Project as Technical Director and began publishing his translations, culminating in the 2015 release of a critical translation and correlation of the texts of the Ringeck lineage. In 2017 he was awarded Best Rookie Researcher by the Hema Scholar Awards. He is a member of the Western Martial Arts Coalition and a lifetime member of the Hema Alliance and a former member of it’s Governing council.

This workshop walks us through the verse itself and the various glossa of Liechtenauer’s preface to the five attacks, building skills that stack and are applicable to armed combat in general. The skill set under instruction provides a firm foundation to apply the following five attacks in arbitrary situations. The workshop will be structured in a “lab” fashion with breakouts to explore the material and then returning with findings. The labs themselves will consist of applications and drills in opposition, with plenty of opportunity for exploration and stress testing. It is preferred that the participants understand the common nomenclature and practices of the Liechtenauer treatises and fencing/combat in general.

 

Georg S. Samatovic is the High school history professor, expert consultant, National museum guide, swordsmith, specialist for military history and certified appraisal for historical arms/armament and historical military equipment! He is the HEMA researcher/practitioner/ instructor and founder of the first Historical European Martial Art School in Republic of Serbia/ Belgrade – the “H.E.M.A.S.” back at 2010. He is the one who comes from under the hill and walk unseen! He is the clue- finder, the web-cutter, the stinging fly, and he was chosen for lucky number. He is friend of the bears, and the guest of the eagles! He is the Ringwinner, Luckwearer, and he is a Barell-rider!!

“But, before all, know and note that point of the sword is the center, and it’s also the center and core from which come all the fencing and all the fencing returns to it!” Cod. Hs. 3227a, 18v.

This class/lecturing/workshop is historical reconstruction by nature and it’s a relatively complex one! The workshop/class “Stich und Stechen” (Thrust and thrusting) will cover all principles and the mechanic of attack and defense with the point of the Long sword – according to codex Dobringer (Ms.3227a) and Sigmund Ringeks treatises (MS Dresden C487). We will systematically go through the ALL elements and principles of “Stich und stechen” and its practical application, starting with simple and followed by the more complex historical techniques dedicated to thrust and thrusting. At the end, we will include some comparative views of the same or similar thrusting techniques from other Germanic treatises which are closely related in origin, such as thrust and thrusting techniques from Joachim Meyer Grundlicche Beschreibung der Kunst des Fechtens 1570, (MS.A.4′.2), and Teodori Verolini -Der Kunstliche Fechter -1679, (HN 4′ 35).  Please, note the following! During the workshop no warming up exercises will be done and all attendants are obliged to do warming up for them selves before lecturing start!

 

David Pascal started fencing at a very young age, soon after he began to study ancient fencing and became interested in the French sword, he has been studying other Japanese martial arts for some time such as kenjutsu, aikido, iaido, etc. He is currently studying two traditions of ancient fencing while continuing his training as a fencer. The first is a general study of the French school of the late 17th and early 18th century with authors such as La Touche, Liancour and Girard.the second line of study corresponds to the Spanish mixed doctrine with the author Rodriguez del Canto.an original school of the Spanish 18th century that mixes the French, Spanish and Italian school in a single system.

The Spanish Mixed Doctrine was an offshoot of the Spanish Doctrine of Destreza that under a complex cultural and intellectual change was born as a new kind of fencing in Spain. It is characterized by using verdadera destreza as its central system, and incorporates part of the philosophy and technique of the Italian and French doctrines. In this way, a new system was born for the use of both the cup sword in the Spanish nation, that until that moment was under the dominion of the True Dexterity, and a new weapon brought from France. This new sword introduced by the French nobility and their masters of arms will become known as smallsword and will undergo adaptations and changes in relation to the original French sword to adapt to the fencing in Spain at the time. The Spanish Mixed Doctrine would become a union between the old and the new where the
body positioning and new guards, the refinement of the time and a more aggressive and athletic gymnastics joined with the characteristic circular displacements, ways of wrapping the adversary and philosophy of the so different Spanish discipline. This seminar will focus on the mysterious little book of “A.C.O”. A strange little treatise on Spanish smallsword from the mid-18th century by an unknown author that illustrates some techniques of this new system, although we will also mention Rodriguez del Canto, the great jewel of the mixed doctrine that has become our great project, and we hope to give an overview of this strange system of fascinating Spanish fencing.

 

Eduardo started in the world of historical fencing in 2011 with the master Ton Puey in A Coruña studying of the rapier sword following the discipline of Verdadera Destreza. Since 2017 he has been an instructor at the Academia da Espada school. He has also carried out studies on the two-handed sword following the teachings of the Italian author Achille Marozzo in his treatise Opera Nova in collaboration with other schools, and on the combination of the sword and the buckler by the Portuguese master Domingo Luis Godinho in his manuscript Arte de Esgrima.

For the master-at-arms Domingo Luis Godinho, in his 1599 manuscript “Arte de Esgrima”, the combination of the sword and the shield called rodela is the most important, that is why he dedicates an important part of his work to the study of these two weapons. In this workshop we will study their basic positions and movements and some of the techniques described.

Mike Prendergast has been researching and practising historical European martial arts since 1999. His main focus is on the art of fencing of Renaissance Italy. He specialises in the system of Pietro Monte (1509), whose ‘Collectanea’ he has published in English translation. Initially studying Bolognese fencing, he also teaches the rapier of Nicoletto Giganti (1606) and the style of Fiore dei Liberi (c.1410). As a competitor, he has medalled in international tournaments in rapier & dagger, sword & buckler and longsword. He was delegate (team captain) and rapier & dagger competitor on Team UK and Ireland for the invitational HEMA tournament at the European Games in Minsk in June 2019. Mike is founder and chief instructor of the Historical Combat Academy (HCA) and also instructs with SCA Dun in Mara, in Dublin, Ireland. He coordinates the annual International Rapier Seminar (IRS) which he hosted in 2015. He has presented his translation work at academic and public conferences in France and Belarus.

Learn the fundamentals of the sword as taught by Pietro Monte in the Court of Milan during the 1490’s. This class will cover the Levata of the Sword, ‘the first blows which we begin to teach or to learn’, and how they illuminate Monte’s principles and tactics for fighting. Monte’s two-handed sword is his basis for all ‘short weapons’ and so his teachings apply to longsword and single-handed swords as well. Unlike many later masters, he teaches this weapon for single combat, so this workshop will include both solo and paired drills. This workshop is open to all levels of ability.

 

Susan has had a long standing interest in all things HEMA. She found her way to it 23 years ago following successful forays into sport fencing, stage fighting, reenactment and a career as an Officer in the British Army (yes, she really is Captain Kirk). Susan played a central part in the development of HEMA in the U.K. as a past President of the British Federation for Historical Swordplay (BFHS).  Susan has been an instructor for ‘many’ years now, and regularly instructs in a wide range of both armed and unarmed HEMA disciplines at events across the U.K and overseas. Her main focus of instruction over the last few years has been on Smallsword, Sabre, Bartitsu/Suffragitsu, WW2 Combatives and Indian Clubs. 

This session will cover the striking, grappling and wrestling combative styles developed and taught to soldiers and Special Operations Executive (SOE) throughout the Second World War. We will be covering moves from some of the manuals developed at the time by WE Fairbairn (“Get Tough”), and Gordon E. Perrigard (“Arwrology”), amongst others. These moves were designed to be quick and effective at defeating an enemy, so have none of the niceties of a martial. Arts tournament. As Fairbairn put it, “In war you cannot afford the luxury of squeamishness. Either you kill or capture, or you will be killed or captured”

 

Ton Puey is the technical director and Master of Arms of Academia da Espada, focused on the study of la Verdadera Destreza with the weapons of the moment of greatest splendor of the discipline, such as the rapier sword, alone or combined with dagger, buckler or rodela, and polearms in addition to work in the interpretation of the rules of the montante of the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries and the study and interpretation of the other current fencing of the peninsula, especially the, so far , the , only treaty not belonging to the Verdadera Destreza preserved, the “Art of Fencing” by Domingo Luiz Godinho. He is also deputy director and member of the editorial board of AGEA editora, one of the longest-running publishers in the world of European historical martial arts, specialising in the critical edition of treatises written in the Iberian Peninsula. In addition to his usual work as an instructor in A Coruña, Galicia, he has taught seminars in France, Austria, Italy, Slovenia, belgium, Holland, Ireland, UK, Greece, Cyprus, USA, Mexico, Australia, Poland, Belarus, Russia, Sweden, Denmark, China, Portugal and Spain. In 2015 he is recognized as Mestre de Armas by HEMA Portugal and in 2018 as the first Non-Italian Historical Fencing Master by the Italian Fencing Federation.

In 1625 Octavio Ferrara wrote a short treatise in which we can see illustrations of the tricks of the Hispanic opponents of the Verdadera Destreza, the diestros vulgares, as well as the approach to the system of the first moments, close to the treatises by Jerónimo Sánchez de Carranza and Luis Pacheco de Narváez about the grips of the sword, the application of the techniques, appropriate to the type of weapon they use, etc.
In this workshop we will work on the specific techniques described by Ferrara.

 

 

I started practicing HEMA in 2009 in the big club De Taille et d’Estoc. Now in Blain with La Meute de Nuada, I practice of course wrestling, but also viking combat. During these years, I held workshops in many training courses in France and abroad. It is with this experience and with a great pride that I come to present you with my first partner Alain Migotti a workshop where we will share with you our little tricks that sometimes make the difference…

There is no good technique without an optimal stance: From our first workshop at the Xth edition of HEMAG, we have taken our little habits and perfected some of our favorite techniques in sparring by stances, reactions to the opponent’s stance and experience (or vice according to some). Our eternal duo will take you on a journey through several eras and several types of wrestling to bring you our vision of applying our techniques or using our favorite fighting stances… A workshop for beginners as well as for the experienced, the idea is that everyone can leave with a bit of us.

 

You like animals? Martial arts? Then this special workshop is for you!

 

Jack Gassmann started HEMA in 2008. He has been teaching and competing internationally for over a decade using his competitive experience to pressure test his understanding of Liechtenauers 5 words. He has taught on both sides of the Atlantic taking Bronze at the European games. Jack also researches publishes on the military background of the Fechtbücher. His teaching style combines his research on historical training methods with modern sports science and his background in game design and horse training. He’s always happy to chat about historical context or Rossfechten.

Once people start sparring at speed most quickly find that working from the bind rarely works as a dominant strategy despite its emphasis in Liechtenauer corpus. I have found this is due to a few prerequisite lacking in most fencers foundations. In the workshop we will be laying the necessary fencing capabilities for you to start seeing solid sparring results when working from the bind.

 

Tiphaine Vialle has been practicing AMHE for 10 years and is an instructor at the Frères d’AMHE in Aix-en-Provence. She focuses mainly on the study of the Germanic longsword.

This workshop is a mix of several exercises that were given to me by very talented people and helped me a lot in my practice. Coming from a reenactment background, my movements were those of “show” fencing intended to be legible and predictable. My transition into HEMA required that I do a lot of work to become aware of my reflexes and postures in order to try not to transmit my intentions to my opponents.

Games and exercises in minimalism. It will be a question of erasing the useless or reflex movements which give too much information to the adversary during an exchange and thus to become lucid on the information which our body transmits.

 

Jay Maxwell has been practising as a martial artist in Historic European Martial Arts (HEMA) since 2004. He regularly teaches at high profile international events and in his competitive years was one of the top ranked HEMA fencers in the world. Starting his training in London and Oxford in British systems of swordsmanship, he quickly came into contact with the Italian schools and was taken by their elegance.