HEMA: Weapon safety
Following on from our post on Safe Conduct of Classes , and both posts on safety and protective equipment, with breakdown, here follows our guide to weapon safety. …
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HEMA: Protective items
Following on from our post on Safe Conduct of Classes and our general post on safety and protective equipment, here follows our breakdown of which items to wear for training and sparring. …
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HEMA: Protective Gear
You may be familiar with the all-white kit worn by sports fencers. Historical combat, however, demands greater protection against hits from heavier metal or nylon weapons.
HEMA clubs and competitions will each set their own standards for protective gear; the amount of protection worn in classes, and training sessions will also vary according to the intensity and the weapons used. …
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HEMA: Safe conduct of classes
Historical European Martial Arts (HEMA) is the serious study and live application of combat techniques from the early Medieval period, through the Renaissance, to the late Nineteenth century.
HEMA is not a fantasy activity like LARP (Live Action Role-playing), it is not historical re-enactment, nor is it choreographed stage fighting. It should be treated the same as other martial arts such as boxing, karate, ju-jitsu and the like. This means a constant and strict regard for the risk of injury, with appropriate steps (instruction, donning protective gear) to mitigate and minimise such risk. …
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HEMA – is it safe?
Studying historical combat techniques with heavy weapons is rewarding and fun, but, like most other martial arts, inherently risky. We all have proper jobs to go back to, families to look after, bills to pay; things that are difficult enough without the added burden of trips to A&E, bandages, splints, crutches and the long-lasting effects of concussion (genuinely no laughing matter). We are not 24/7 Medieval or Renaissance warriors. This is a hobby more than a lifestyle choice. …
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Priority weapons and the Circle of Attacks
By Robin Catling.
Teaching foil and sabre is never as easy as you’d like it to be, chiefly because in modern sports fencing, we have the challenge of ‘fencing time’ and the rules which make foil and sabre ‘priority weapons’.
I took up most of a group lesson with the following examination of the priority weapons and the circle of attacks. …
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In praise of plastic
by Robin Catling.
From Pirates of the Caribbean, to Star Wars and even Transformers, it seems every other movie poster features a character with a sword; there’s been a slew of TV and online ads featuring Olympic fencers in action, TV shows such as Arrow and the Musketeers keep the skill and the romance of the sword alive. It’s no wonder even the smallest children want to give it a try. …
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A Matter of Honour: The Duelling Tradition
by Victoria Pritchard:
If someone insulted your family, what would you do? Cast a glove at their feet and challenge them to a duel? Probably not. Yet, for gentlemen living between the eleventh and nineteenth centuries, duelling was the only way to defend your family’s honour. Men who didn’t ‘throw down the gauntlet’ were seen as cowards. …
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What is HEMA?
HEMA is the acronym for Historical European Martial Arts, also known as Western Martial Arts (WMA), or, less accurately, as Historical Fencing, which doesn’t cover the breadth of disciplines. …