Art of the Sword

http://histfenc.com/productcart/forearm-and-elbow-protectors-v-2-0   "The forearm protectors help to lessen the threat of injury during frequent historical fencing training. Additionally this model has elbow protection. Made of sturdy fabric and super-hard profiled plastic inserts, gives you high level of protection during fight. The elbow protection, an extension of the forearm protector, is specially shaped to provide the most protection for the elbows possible without impeding movement."  Ordering review I ordered these from the HEMA Shop rather than directly from SPES. This had the main advantage that I could pay with credit card rather than bank transfer. The HEMA Shop has an automated messaging service that does a really good job communicating the status of your order. Postage was reasonably priced and arrived within a week from the UK. Pros These provide significantly better levels of protection than simple motocross/skateboarding arm protector...

I'm curious about how long it takes to achieve any accomplishment in weapons mastery when the motivation is purely to have competency as quickly and efficiently as possible. At the moment the club I'm involved with is revising and putting together an updated training regime with the idea to bring a more organised program of development for the members, rather than the ad hoc instruction that had been the norm for some years. One of the many interesting parts of this discussion is hearing the many views around how long a course of basic instruction should take to bring someone up to competence. Based on my experience I've been putting forward the view that we should be looking to produce a good level swordsman after a year's training. Out of curiosity I also did a little research about training in the military and interestingly there seems to be a fairly consistent time periods for "basic" training from the Roman army to the modern military: 2-3 months fo...

"Fechterspiel translates to "assault of arms"—an apt name for this western martial arts training weapon. Combining quality and historical accuracy, this sword is an excellent piece for the longsword practitioner looking for a period style and handling."  The fechterspel sword from Arms and Armour. I originally bought this sword on sale from "The Grange"  back in 2009 but they have since stopped selling HEMA goods. It has remained in my arsenal through many sword culls and reorganizations. At the time I bought this sword there were two feders on the market, this and the Hanwei . Pros Of all the blunt steel or  nylon sword  trainers I've used this feels closest in weight and handling to a sharp sword, which is cool.  It "swishes" through the air far more like a sharp than the thick edge of a more substantial steel sword or even thicker nylon sword. It's great to keep a perspective in training with what a "live" sword is l...

"a serious over emphasis on defense before closing and a serious lack of emphasis after closing -- either one will get you mauled, if not killed." -  Marc 'Animal' MacYoung I have previously suggested that how longsword practitioners approach the onset phase of combat could be improve d to make the system work better. Working with this has also been generally successful but it's also led to me refining my approach to the middle measure. Middle measure should be the killing zone because unless you are being spectacularly masterful or your opponent is being particularly unskillful it is extremely unlikely that your attacks from the onset will land. This is simple geometry/body mechanics: an onset attack involves stepping and cutting which is a far more complicated and therefore slower action than simply cutting without needing to step. Within middle measure, where there is no need to step, you can crack out your cuts faster than your opponent should be able to ...

This:  to my mind is the best way of responding to the USFCA certification. If you don't like something, do it better.

See the follow up post  here  with the completed heavy sparring glove. So I've given up waiting for someone to produce a HEMA glove that is lightweight, fully mobile and fully protecting. There are many out there, just beyond the horizon, that are promising but time drags on and nothing happens. Therefore I recently had some inspiration and decided to simply pool two different purchases, neither of which was good, to make something that works. Initially I'd bought these "Cherburg Gauntlets"  and I'm not going to review them as basically they are unsuitable for HEMA or any swordsmanship. It's obvious that whomever designed them never used them with a sword in their hand as the shell does not allow you to grip or swing a sword correctly. I also had the Absolute Force HEMA gloves which you can see my review here . Again I was not happy with them. It occurred to me however that between the two I probably had the workings of one good set of gloves: if I c...

When considering potential injuries in historical fencing with the highest risk after head injuries, for which we have excellent protection with the fencing mask, it occurred to me that the trust with a relatively inflexible long sword to the torso was very high up there. Even a heavily rounded point will piece a human body with enough momentum behind it and in the unfortunate situation that both fencers are stepping towards each other at the same time as the thrust; well it doesn’t bear thinking about. While there is plenty of padding available it’s really hard armour that’s required here. Fortunately plastic plastrons for sports fencing are easily and cheaply available such as this: http://www.qpsport.co.nz/index.php?route=product/product&product_id=54 Problem is that this only covers the upper torse and getting accidentally disembowelled doesn’t appeal to me much either. So, my solution was to wear two plastrons one as normal across the chest and the other upside do...