Art of the Sword

You sometimes hear about "Meyers System" or "Foire's System." But what does that mean, what is a system? A system is a series of general principles, rules or a framework that acts as instructions for an optimal way of fighting. An exceptional  HEMA sourcebook will layout this system reasonably clearly and explicitly. This is why, on the whole, I prefer sources like Meyer, Di Grassi or Silver. Systems are different from fundamental fencing concepts (time, measure, body mechanics) which are the language used to describe all systems. A good HEMA sourcebook will have a good understanding, more or less, of these fundamental concepts and will be able to describe them in these terms. There are also techniques and combinations of techniques (plays), but these are not the "system" - they are examples of what could happen if specific circumstances are put through the system. I feel like plays are useful to determine if you have understood the system co...

My Club has just completed their 2018 open tournament. This post is a summary of my thoughts on this experience and follows from this  and  this  posts from previous years. As an overview, the tournament is now pretty convincingly the largest in New Zealand. A number of competitors this year called it the "national" HEMA tournament. It's not a target we aimed at but it's understandable why people think this. This year we had about 50 competitors from 6 different Clubs (not including mine) from throughout the whole Country. I wasn't organising this year though, as Club President, I did take on my share of tasks and general cat herding to keep things moving. This year we pretty much repeated the format of previous years so it was over two days with the Saturday full of serious competitions and the Sunday with informal fun activities. On Saturday we had: Synthetic Sidesword Steel Single Sword Tournament Beginners Competition  Longsword Spear Mixed...

Just a few thoughts about the above video. It's a nice idea that skill "vastly outmatches" size and strength. Unfortunately this idea that there is a spectrum with "physiology" on one end and "skill" at the other end isn't really true and it can be detrimental to your training to operate under this assumption. Generally speaking they go hand in hand. In all sports there's a "software" element and a "hardware" element, this means a element that is skill based and learnt (like Software on a computer) and there is an element that is physiological (like the hardware on a computer). Having better software can make a computer with bad hardware operate better but I doubt it would vastly overcompensate against a computer with better hardware. Likewise in fencing if I had the choice I'd definitely trade off for physical advantages. Why? Because those with physical advantages can achieve disproportionately greater outcomes ...

" these devices are not so set in stone that they cannot be changed in practice - they are merely examples from which everyone may seek, derive, and learn devices according to his opportunity, and may arrange and change them as suits him.  For as we are not all of a single nature, so we also cannot all have a single style in combat; yet all must nonetheless arise and be derived from a single basis"  - Meyer, 2.19r

A follow along from this post  about the length of time sword training historically took, this new translation from The Scholar San Marco was interesting, detailing the amount of time Lippo Dardi took to train his students. Clearly dividing his instruction into theory and practical sessions and also taking into account the physical attributes/intelligence of students: "I do not want to be obliged to teach anyone for less than a year, except as far as it pleases me, informing your lordships that if one were larger than the man from Buda [?], he would learn the theory of the two-handed sword in two and a half months, and the practice in the same amount of time  the theory of the buckler in one and a half months, likewise for the practice and so for each of the other plays as far as theory goes, they will learn each separately in one month and the practice in the same amount, such that each play requires two months, between theory and practice, such that everyone has over seven...

"To begin to understand how an advanced fencer thinks, we must understand the difference between opportunistic and creative actions... Opportunistic actions rely on your opponent making mistakes. Creative actions are more important since the attacker initiates what will happen next. Faced with the challenge of producing an all-important winning hit, a creative action will serve you best." Ed Rogers, Advanced Fencing Techniques 2013 The more I study the Bolognese School the more I come to understand that the "differences" between the "Italian" and "German" schools have been vastly overstated to me. In fact the more I learn the more continuity I see. Undoubtedly this is due to bio-mechanics: the optimal cutting and thrusting positions and techniques do not change, so you will find a Alta/Vom Tag position and a pflug/Coda Lunga position etc. It appears to me that the main difference lies in the tactical application of the mechanical actions rathe...

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

This is a great little article on cutting by Eric D. Mains. Beautiful presentation. Love the quote: "In true HEMA fashion, I disagree"

"Whatever this tool in the hand of man will produce depends entirely on the nature of the goals alive in this mankind." - Albert Einstein In my opinion most of the current big debates and antagonisms in the wider HEMA community stem from having ambiguous goals and the fact that many do not understand that the Historical European Martial Arts (plural) are tools that were intended for and can be used for many different purposes. Its easy to see why people get frustrated, they understand (sometimes incoherently) that they are trying to achieve something (let's say, to accurately recreate a practical fighting art from a treatise) and when others also use the same treatise to different ends (cherry pick technique to get better at fighting in modern tournaments) they feel like these other people are trying to deviate them from their One True Goal. In these arguments about the use of HEMA those people who espouse the One True Goal are confusing the means (HEMA) with their ...

“A Man may remember the whole parades of the sword, and yet not be able to act with such judgement as another, who perhaps has but an indifferent memory, yet knows the sum and substance of the art.” - Archibald MacGregor After many years of studying different manuscripts and practising different techniques I faced a conundrum: I could still be given a run for my money from someone who had only been in the club for a couple of weeks. My experience was that certain people could walk into the class, pick up a sword for the first time and within a week or two be beating everyone in the class, beginners and experienced alike. Why? Generally it was as simple as they had above average fitness.  This gave them the strength to move the sword with ease, they would have the stamina to hold their guards, the power to snap out the cuts and parries at speed. They would not be panting and dropping into low guards after 30 seconds. T hus they quickly picked up the basic technique...

Life is short, this is God's way of encouraging a bit of focus.  ~Robert Brault Most people do not have the luxury of being able to study or train full time. It is an activity that we fit in around day jobs, study, family, children, second jobs and all the general hubbub of our lives. Therefore when we devote ourselves to poring over manuscripts in the wee small hours, snatched sessions of personal training, or training sessions: we need to be sure we’re getting the most from our time. The purpose of this article is to draw from my own experience and to offer some practical advice to help people get the most from their time. So to start off I would recommend you ask yourself the fundamental question: “what are your goals?” I think most people who want or who do study the martial arts draw from a variety of different motivations and I think with a bit of reflection you can make these explicit and then rank them in terms of importance. To give an example, for me, it bo...