We have two new interviews in our vlog, Alte Herren, with Rob Runacres and Hans Jornlind as hosts. Ilkka The first of the interviews is with the Finnish martial artist Ilkka Hartikainen talking about his love of the Italian ‘Bolognese’ form of martial arts. The Bolognese was a style originating in the fifteenth century, reaching its peak in the early …

A short video lesson on the girata, or evasion Girata is an Italian term for stepping off line to the sword side. It is commonly used as a reaction to a straight line attack. It can be difficult to execute as, in rapier and dagger, the body is held a little more square than in single rapier; this technique requires the …

Alte Herren, a new video blog starring the elder statesmen of HEMA, Rob Runacres and Hans Jörnlind. Alte Herren is for all things HEMA and blade based martial arts, with discussions, interviews and vlogs from all the events they got to. It’s a bit rough and ready, but we think you’ll enjoy it. The first video is a review of …

This was my fourth year at Swordfish; my third as Tournament Manager. Over the last six months, I’ve been helping to organise this premier historical European martial art (HEMA) event: designing the schedule, drawing up the pools for the tournaments,  and coordinating referees and judging staff. Over the weekend, I ran the Swordfish tournaments (including a special invitational Sword and …

When will I be good? Probably THE question we ask ourselves and our teachers. Some already know, or think they are good. Most of us stumble along hoping to be good, and irritate our friends for some form of affirmation. Most teachers in response to this question have a nasty counter of ‘well, what do you mean by good’. This …

The first question any organiser asks themselves when considering running a competition again is ‘why on earth would I want to do this?’ Starting a new event is usually an easier task, mentally, with enthusiasm as yet untempered by the difficulties and disappointments that come along the way. Often, as with birth, there is escalating pain, (unexpected despite all the warnings …

Been a little lax of late with updates,  but that’s because so much is going on. Next Thursday,  I begin two weeks of travels, teaching at three events. First, I have Rapier Vienna where I’ll see the lovely people at Klingenspiel and will be teaching alongside Karl Rapp,  Thibault Ghesquire and Ton Puey. My workshop will be on the transition …

Some single rapier sparring at our Thursday night class at Frimley Green in Surrey. We’ve been working on moving off line and manoeuvring, as well as fundamentals of engaging the blade

Available for some time as an Ebook, Cavalcabo’s treatise on fencing is now available in print here. Originally, I had not intended to publish in this format, but a number of you have expressed an interest. Available from the same site is ‘The Sword of Combat’, who is, shall we say, straight to the point on the matter of sword …