Historical Fighting Guide

The goal here is to list basic resources,mostly those available freely online, that one can use in research of historical fighting.Aimed primarily for beginners but hopefully useful for senior practicioners as well. Another aim is to answer most commonly asked questions that new practitioners might have. And a further aim is to showcase a culture of solidarity,comradery and diversity.To openly work together and offer constructive criticism but where sexism,racism,fascism,xenophobia,ableism,transphobia,queerphobia in general and similar issues are not allowed.

[historicalfightingguide]

"I have worked on this article on and off over the past half year or so. I started it right after my club’s tournament Revolution Rumble, because I was fascinated by the variance of skill in the tier of almost all unrated fencers, and also how that shook out in terms of HEMA rating. This led to a bit of a deep dive into how HEMA ratings works, what it’s good for, and what it isn’t. Because of that, I have decided to make this the first of a three part series about HEMA ratings. The second part will be about why HEMA ratings is not the best system for a world ranking, and the third part will be about how the pandemic affected the ratings. I’m sure I will talk more about HEMA ratings beyond this, but that’s all I have in the immediate future. 

HEMA Ratings Series:

Part 1: Tiered Tournaments and Unrated Fencers

Part 2: World Ranking

Part 3: Covid Recovery"

An interesting piece on how to approach tiered tournaments and why. Not relevant to every historical fencing practitioner, but a useful read for any tournament organizer looking to consider the various relevant factors.

For anyone who hasn’t yet seen the following links:

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Some advice on how to start studying the sources generally can be found in these older posts

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.

.

Remember to check out  A Guide to Starting a Liberation Martial Arts Gym as it may help with your own club/gym/dojo/school culture and approach.Check out their curriculum too.

.

.

.

.

Fear is the Mind Killer: How to Build a Training Culture that Fosters Strength and Resilience by   Kajetan Sadowski   may be relevant as well.

.

.

.

.

“How We Learn to Move: A Revolution in the Way We Coach & Practice Sports Skills”  by Rob Gray  as well as this post that goes over the basics of his constraints lead, ecological approach.

.

.

.

.

Another useful book to check out is  The Theory and Practice of Historical European Martial Arts (while about HEMA, a lot of it is applicable to other historical martial arts clubs dealing with research and recreation of old fighting systems).

.

.

.

.

Trauma informed coaching and why it matters

.

.

.

.

Look at the previous posts in relation to running and cardio to learn how that relates to historical fencing.

.

.

.

.

Why having a systematic approach to training can be beneficial

.

.

.

.

Why we may not want one attack 10 000 times, nor 10 000 attacks done once, but a third option.

.

.

.

.

How consent and opting in function and why it matters.

.

.

.

.

More on tactics in fencing

.

.

.

.

Types of fencers

.

.

.

.

Open vs closed skills

.

.

.

.

The three primary factors to safety within historical fencing

.

.

.

.

Worth checking out are this blogs tags on pedagogy and teaching for other related useful posts.

.

.

.

.

And if you train any weapon based form of historical fencing check out the ‘HEMA game archive’ where you can find a plethora of different drills, focused sparring and game options to use for effective, useful and fun training.

.

.

.

.

Check out the cool hemabookshelf facsimile project.

.

.

.

.

For more on how to use youtube content for learning historical fencing I suggest checking out these older posts on the concept of video study of sparring and tournament footage.

.

.

.

.

The provoker-taker-hitter tactical concept and its uses

.

.

.

.

.

Approaches to goals and methodology in historical fencing

.

.

.

.

.

A short article on why learning about other sports and activities can benefit folks in combat sports

.

.

.

.

.

Consider getting some patches of this sort or these cool rashguards to show support for good causes or a t-shirt like to send a good message while at training

[historicalfightingguide]

For anyone who hasn’t yet seen the following links:

.

.

.

.

Some advice on how to start studying the sources generally can be found in these older posts

.

.

.

.

Remember to check out  A Guide to Starting a Liberation Martial Arts Gym as it may help with your own club/gym/dojo/school culture and approach.Check out their curriculum too.

.

.

.

.

Fear is the Mind Killer: How to Build a Training Culture that Fosters Strength and Resilience by   Kajetan Sadowski   may be relevant as well.

.

.

.

.

“How We Learn to Move: A Revolution in the Way We Coach & Practice Sports Skills”  by Rob Gray  as well as this post that goes over the basics of his constraints lead, ecological approach.

.

.

.

.

Another useful book to check out is  The Theory and Practice of Historical European Martial Arts (while about HEMA, a lot of it is applicable to other historical martial arts clubs dealing with research and recreation of old fighting systems).

.

.

.

.

Trauma informed coaching and why it matters

.

.

.

.

Look at the previous posts in relation to running and cardio to learn how that relates to historical fencing.

.

.

.

.

Why having a systematic approach to training can be beneficial

.

.

.

.

Why we may not want one attack 10 000 times, nor 10 000 attacks done once, but a third option.

.

.

.

.

How consent and opting in function and why it matters.

.

.

.

.

More on tactics in fencing

.

.

.

.

Types of fencers

.

.

.

.

Open vs closed skills

.

.

.

.

The three primary factors to safety within historical fencing

.

.

.

.

Worth checking out are this blogs tags on pedagogy and teaching for other related useful posts.

.

.

.

.

And if you train any weapon based form of historical fencing check out the ‘HEMA game archive’ where you can find a plethora of different drills, focused sparring and game options to use for effective, useful and fun training.

.

.

.

.

Check out the cool hemabookshelf facsimile project.

.

.

.

.

For more on how to use youtube content for learning historical fencing I suggest checking out these older posts on the concept of video study of sparring and tournament footage.

.

.

.

.

The provoker-taker-hitter tactical concept and its uses

.

.

.

.

.

Approaches to goals and methodology in historical fencing

.

.

.

.

.

A short article on why learning about other sports and activities can benefit folks in combat sports

.

.

.

.

.

Consider getting some patches of this sort or these cool rashguards to show support for good causes or a t-shirt like to send a good message while at training.

[historicalfightingguide]

"Inspired by the incredible true story of composer Joseph Bologne, Chevalier de Saint-Georges. The illegitimate son of an African slave and a French plantation owner, Bologne (Kelvin Harrison Jr. in a tour de force performance) rises to improbable heights in French society as a celebrated violinist-composer and fencer, complete with an ill-fated love affair and a falling out with Marie Antoinette (Lucy Boynton) and her court. Cast: Kelvin Harrison Jr., Samara Weaving, Lucy Boynton, Marton Csokas, Alex Fitzalan, Minnie Driver"

If you are interested in learning more about his fencing feats you may want to check out these older posts.

Furthermore if you specifically want to learn how to use a smallsword you may find the Smallsworders facebook group or the Smallsword Symposium facebook page useful.

Similarly this video may be a fun intro to smallsword fencing.

Honorable mention to the sparring clips embeded here.

For anyone who hasn’t yet seen the following links:

.

.

.

.

Some advice on how to start studying the sources generally can be found in these older posts

.

.

.

.

Remember to check out  A Guide to Starting a Liberation Martial Arts Gym as it may help with your own club/gym/dojo/school culture and approach.Check out their curriculum too.

.

.

.

.

Fear is the Mind Killer: How to Build a Training Culture that Fosters Strength and Resilience by   Kajetan Sadowski   may be relevant as well.

.

.

.

.

“How We Learn to Move: A Revolution in the Way We Coach & Practice Sports Skills”  by Rob Gray  as well as this post that goes over the basics of his constraints lead, ecological approach.

.

.

.

.

Another useful book to check out is  The Theory and Practice of Historical European Martial Arts (while about HEMA, a lot of it is applicable to other historical martial arts clubs dealing with research and recreation of old fighting systems).

.

.

.

.

Trauma informed coaching and why it matters

.

.

.

.

Look at the previous posts in relation to running and cardio to learn how that relates to historical fencing.

.

.

.

.

Why having a systematic approach to training can be beneficial

.

.

.

.

Why we may not want one attack 10 000 times, nor 10 000 attacks done once, but a third option.

.

.

.

.

How consent and opting in function and why it matters.

.

.

.

.

More on tactics in fencing

.

.

.

.

Types of fencers

.

.

.

.

Open vs closed skills

.

.

.

.

The three primary factors to safety within historical fencing

.

.

.

.

Worth checking out are this blogs tags on pedagogy and teaching for other related useful posts.

.

.

.

.

And if you train any weapon based form of historical fencing check out the ‘HEMA game archive’ where you can find a plethora of different drills, focused sparring and game options to use for effective, useful and fun training.

.

.

.

.

Check out the cool hemabookshelf facsimile project.

.

.

.

.

For more on how to use youtube content for learning historical fencing I suggest checking out these older posts on the concept of video study of sparring and tournament footage.

.

.

.

.

The provoker-taker-hitter tactical concept and its uses

.

.

.

.

.

Approaches to goals and methodology in historical fencing

.

.

.

.

.

A short article on why learning about other sports and activities can benefit folks in combat sports

.

.

.

.

.

Consider getting some patches of this sort or these cool rashguards to show support for good causes or a t-shirt like to send a good message while at training.

[historicalfightingguide]

A great read for any potential tournament organizers, judges or referees. Even if you do things differently than this article lays out you still may benefit from going through it. For anyone who hasn’t yet seen the following links:

.

.

.

.

Some advice on how to start studying the sources generally can be found in these older posts

.

.

.

.

Remember to check out  A Guide to Starting a Liberation Martial Arts Gym as it may help with your own club/gym/dojo/school culture and approach.Check out their curriculum too.

.

.

.

.

Fear is the Mind Killer: How to Build a Training Culture that Fosters Strength and Resilience by   Kajetan Sadowski   may be relevant as well.

.

.

.

.

“How We Learn to Move: A Revolution in the Way We Coach & Practice Sports Skills”  by Rob Gray  as well as this post that goes over the basics of his constraints lead, ecological approach.

.

.

.

.

Another useful book to check out is  The Theory and Practice of Historical European Martial Arts (while about HEMA, a lot of it is applicable to other historical martial arts clubs dealing with research and recreation of old fighting systems).

.

.

.

.

Trauma informed coaching and why it matters

.

.

.

.

Look at the previous posts in relation to running and cardio to learn how that relates to historical fencing.

.

.

.

.

Why having a systematic approach to training can be beneficial

.

.

.

.

Why we may not want one attack 10 000 times, nor 10 000 attacks done once, but a third option.

.

.

.

.

How consent and opting in function and why it matters.

.

.

.

.

More on tactics in fencing

.

.

.

.

Types of fencers

.

.

.

.

Open vs closed skills

.

.

.

.

The three primary factors to safety within historical fencing

.

.

.

.

Worth checking out are this blogs tags on pedagogy and teaching for other related useful posts.

.

.

.

.

And if you train any weapon based form of historical fencing check out the ‘HEMA game archive’ where you can find a plethora of different drills, focused sparring and game options to use for effective, useful and fun training.

.

.

.

.

Check out the cool hemabookshelf facsimile project.

.

.

.

.

For more on how to use youtube content for learning historical fencing I suggest checking out these older posts on the concept of video study of sparring and tournament footage.

.

.

.

.

The provoker-taker-hitter tactical concept and its uses

.

.

.

.

.

Approaches to goals and methodology in historical fencing

.

.

.

.

.

A short article on why learning about other sports and activities can benefit folks in combat sports

.

.

.

.

.

Consider getting some patches of this sort or these cool rashguards to show support for good causes or a t-shirt like to send a good message while at training.

[historicalfightingguide]

"Cécilia Berder is well and truly back with a bronze at the 2023 Orléans sabre Grand Prix and a 5th national championship gold medal"

As noted before observing others fencing, whether in person, or via video is a great way to learn more about fencing. One does not have to enjoy the modern olympic fencing game as a sport or want to partake in it to use it as a tool to learn from. That being said this compilation has some pretty cool exchanges overall and shows impressive athleticism all around.

For anyone who hasn’t yet seen the following links:

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.

.

.

Some advice on how to start studying the sources generally can be found in these older posts

.

.

.

.

Remember to check out  A Guide to Starting a Liberation Martial Arts Gym as it may help with your own club/gym/dojo/school culture and approach.Check out their curriculum too.

.

.

.

.

Fear is the Mind Killer: How to Build a Training Culture that Fosters Strength and Resilience by   Kajetan Sadowski   may be relevant as well.

.

.

.

.

“How We Learn to Move: A Revolution in the Way We Coach & Practice Sports Skills”  by Rob Gray  as well as this post that goes over the basics of his constraints lead, ecological approach.

.

.

.

.

Another useful book to check out is  The Theory and Practice of Historical European Martial Arts (while about HEMA, a lot of it is applicable to other historical martial arts clubs dealing with research and recreation of old fighting systems).

.

.

.

.

Trauma informed coaching and why it matters

.

.

.

.

Look at the previous posts in relation to running and cardio to learn how that relates to historical fencing.

.

.

.

.

Why having a systematic approach to training can be beneficial

.

.

.

.

Why we may not want one attack 10 000 times, nor 10 000 attacks done once, but a third option.

.

.

.

.

How consent and opting in function and why it matters.

.

.

.

.

More on tactics in fencing

.

.

.

.

Types of fencers

.

.

.

.

Open vs closed skills

.

.

.

.

The three primary factors to safety within historical fencing

.

.

.

.

Worth checking out are this blogs tags on pedagogy and teaching for other related useful posts.

.

.

.

.

And if you train any weapon based form of historical fencing check out the ‘HEMA game archive’ where you can find a plethora of different drills, focused sparring and game options to use for effective, useful and fun training.

.

.

.

.

Check out the cool hemabookshelf facsimile project.

.

.

.

.

For more on how to use youtube content for learning historical fencing I suggest checking out these older posts on the concept of video study of sparring and tournament footage.

.

.

.

.

The provoker-taker-hitter tactical concept and its uses

.

.

.

.

.

Approaches to goals and methodology in historical fencing

.

.

.

.

.

A short article on why learning about other sports and activities can benefit folks in combat sports

.

.

.

.

.

Consider getting some patches of this sort or these cool rashguards to show support for good causes or a t-shirt like to send a good message while at training.

[historicalfightingguide]

"Every year, SoCal Swordfight hosts an Experimental Tournament in addition to its regular tournament lineup. This is to try out tournament formats that are less proven, and it changes each year. Sometimes it’s lame* (like using a historical saber ruleset) or really out there (like rotella & spear). This year I got a shot at picking it, and this is how I went about the design process. " (historical saber rulesets can be fun though!)

Full Rules: SoCal 2023 Mixed Weapon Relay Rules

Related Longsword Teams Is Awesome: Here’s What Went Down At AG Open

For anyone who hasn’t yet seen the following links:

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.

.

.

Some advice on how to start studying the sources generally can be found in these older posts

.

.

.

.

Remember to check out  A Guide to Starting a Liberation Martial Arts Gym as it may help with your own club/gym/dojo/school culture and approach.Check out their curriculum too.

.

.

.

.

Fear is the Mind Killer: How to Build a Training Culture that Fosters Strength and Resilience by   Kajetan Sadowski   may be relevant as well.

.

.

.

.

“How We Learn to Move: A Revolution in the Way We Coach & Practice Sports Skills”  by Rob Gray  as well as this post that goes over the basics of his constraints lead, ecological approach.

.

.

.

.

Another useful book to check out is  The Theory and Practice of Historical European Martial Arts (while about HEMA, a lot of it is applicable to other historical martial arts clubs dealing with research and recreation of old fighting systems).

.

.

.

.

Trauma informed coaching and why it matters

.

.

.

.

Look at the previous posts in relation to running and cardio to learn how that relates to historical fencing.

.

.

.

.

Why having a systematic approach to training can be beneficial

.

.

.

.

Why we may not want one attack 10 000 times, nor 10 000 attacks done once, but a third option.

.

.

.

.

How consent and opting in function and why it matters.

.

.

.

.

More on tactics in fencing

.

.

.

.

Types of fencers

.

.

.

.

Open vs closed skills

.

.

.

.

The three primary factors to safety within historical fencing

.

.

.

.

Worth checking out are this blogs tags on pedagogy and teaching for other related useful posts.

.

.

.

.

And if you train any weapon based form of historical fencing check out the ‘HEMA game archive’ where you can find a plethora of different drills, focused sparring and game options to use for effective, useful and fun training.

.

.

.

.

Check out the cool hemabookshelf facsimile project.

.

.

.

.

For more on how to use youtube content for learning historical fencing I suggest checking out these older posts on the concept of video study of sparring and tournament footage.

.

.

.

.

The provoker-taker-hitter tactical concept and its uses

.

.

.

.

.

Approaches to goals and methodology in historical fencing

.

.

.

.

.

A short article on why learning about other sports and activities can benefit folks in combat sports

.

.

.

.

.

Consider getting some patches of this sort or these cool rashguards to show support for good causes or a t-shirt like to send a good message while at training.

[historicalfightingguide]

A longform video on how to fence with a rapier, based on Bryant and Anthony of Austin Historical Weapons Guild's interpretations.

"⸺

chapters

⸺⸺⸺⸺⸺⸺⸺⸺

0:00 - intro

1:00 - salvator fabris and how the rapier came to be used

4:25 - the anatomy of the sword

7:46 - stance

12:06 - movement

21:08 - positioning the hand and orienting the sword

24:17 - rule 1: smooth advance and follow-through

25:17 - rule 2: square up and control incoming attacks

28:21 - rule 3: approach from just outside the opponent's line

35:01 - rule 4: lean into the foot that takes you to larga

39:38 - rule 5: not found

39:58 - rule 6: use rule 2 to gain advantage

43:11 - bryant and anthony face off against each other

46:01 - brian and jason fight each other"

If you want to learn more about how to use a rapier check out all the videos in Martin Fabians great video series on rapier fencing as well as  Rapierists group on facebook and the Wiktenauer section on rapiers and the rapier tag on this blog.

Or this older post on solo drilling with a rappier.

Or this recent post on various rapier grips.

Or any of the ‘the sword guy’ podcast episodes on the topic of rapier.

For anyone who hasn’t yet seen the following links:

.

.

.

.

Some advice on how to start studying the sources generally can be found in these older posts

.

.

.

.

Remember to check out  A Guide to Starting a Liberation Martial Arts Gym as it may help with your own club/gym/dojo/school culture and approach.Check out their curriculum too.

.

.

.

.

Fear is the Mind Killer: How to Build a Training Culture that Fosters Strength and Resilience by   Kajetan Sadowski   may be relevant as well.

.

.

.

.

“How We Learn to Move: A Revolution in the Way We Coach & Practice Sports Skills”  by Rob Gray  as well as this post that goes over the basics of his constraints lead, ecological approach.

.

.

.

.

Another useful book to check out is  The Theory and Practice of Historical European Martial Arts (while about HEMA, a lot of it is applicable to other historical martial arts clubs dealing with research and recreation of old fighting systems).

.

.

.

.

Trauma informed coaching and why it matters

.

.

.

.

Look at the previous posts in relation to running and cardio to learn how that relates to historical fencing.

.

.

.

.

Why having a systematic approach to training can be beneficial

.

.

.

.

Why we may not want one attack 10 000 times, nor 10 000 attacks done once, but a third option.

.

.

.

.

How consent and opting in function and why it matters.

.

.

.

.

More on tactics in fencing

.

.

.

.

Types of fencers

.

.

.

.

Open vs closed skills

.

.

.

.

The three primary factors to safety within historical fencing

.

.

.

.

Worth checking out are this blogs tags on pedagogy and teaching for other related useful posts.

.

.

.

.

And if you train any weapon based form of historical fencing check out the ‘HEMA game archive’ where you can find a plethora of different drills, focused sparring and game options to use for effective, useful and fun training.

.

.

.

.

Check out the cool hemabookshelf facsimile project.

.

.

.

.

For more on how to use youtube content for learning historical fencing I suggest checking out these older posts on the concept of video study of sparring and tournament footage.

.

.

.

.

The provoker-taker-hitter tactical concept and its uses

.

.

.

.

.

Approaches to goals and methodology in historical fencing

.

.

.

.

.

A short article on why learning about other sports and activities can benefit folks in combat sports

.

.

.

.

.

Consider getting some patches of this sort or these cool rashguards to show support for good causes or a t-shirt like to send a good message while at training.

[historicalfightingguide]

"In this video we cover the basic techniques of parrying described in Meyer's 1570 Sidesword/Rapier treatise. This is not intended to be a complete disassembly of each technique, rather it is a generalised overview with some consideration of important points in the movement. This is the first of at least 2 videos covering the techniques and principles of parrying in the context of Meyer's system."

You may find the other posts about Daniel Pope's work on this blog useful as well

Also here’s a masterpost of sorts of Meyer content on this blog

You may also enjoy this general one-handed sword according to Meyer video as well

(and keep in mind the dussack is used by Meyer within his 1571 book as a basis for all one-handed weapons).

As well as these videos on how to apply the Meyer square to a dussack, and some other dussack-handling drills.

The provoker-taker-hitter tactical concept and its uses are quite relevant to dussack as a weapon.

Lastly you might find the dussack tag of the blog relevant too.

For anyone who hasn’t yet seen the following links:

.

.

.

.

Some advice on how to start studying the sources generally can be found in these older posts

.

.

.

.

Remember to check out  A Guide to Starting a Liberation Martial Arts Gym as it may help with your own club/gym/dojo/school culture and approach.Check out their curriculum too.

.

.

.

.

Fear is the Mind Killer: How to Build a Training Culture that Fosters Strength and Resilience by   Kajetan Sadowski   may be relevant as well.

.

.

.

.

“How We Learn to Move: A Revolution in the Way We Coach & Practice Sports Skills”  by Rob Gray  as well as this post that goes over the basics of his constraints lead, ecological approach.

.

.

.

.

Another useful book to check out is  The Theory and Practice of Historical European Martial Arts (while about HEMA, a lot of it is applicable to other historical martial arts clubs dealing with research and recreation of old fighting systems).

.

.

.

.

Trauma informed coaching and why it matters

.

.

.

.

Look at the previous posts in relation to running and cardio to learn how that relates to historical fencing.

.

.

.

.

Why having a systematic approach to training can be beneficial

.

.

.

.

Why we may not want one attack 10 000 times, nor 10 000 attacks done once, but a third option.

.

.

.

.

How consent and opting in function and why it matters.

.

.

.

.

More on tactics in fencing

.

.

.

.

Types of fencers

.

.

.

.

Open vs closed skills

.

.

.

.

The three primary factors to safety within historical fencing

.

.

.

.

Worth checking out are this blogs tags on pedagogy and teaching for other related useful posts.

.

.

.

.

And if you train any weapon based form of historical fencing check out the ‘HEMA game archive’ where you can find a plethora of different drills, focused sparring and game options to use for effective, useful and fun training.

.

.

.

.

Check out the cool hemabookshelf facsimile project.

.

.

.

.

For more on how to use youtube content for learning historical fencing I suggest checking out these older posts on the concept of video study of sparring and tournament footage.

.

.

.

.

The provoker-taker-hitter tactical concept and its uses

.

.

.

.

.

Approaches to goals and methodology in historical fencing

.

.

.

.

.

A short article on why learning about other sports and activities can benefit folks in combat sports

.

.

.

.

.

Consider getting some patches of this sort or these cool rashguards to show support for good causes or a t-shirt like to send a good message while at training.

[historicalfightingguide]

On Rating HEMA Tournaments

So, how do you compare HEMA tournaments analytically? I’ve been thinking about this challenge for quite some time, and I think I have an ans

"So, how do you compare HEMA tournaments analytically? We can cross some things off the list right off the bat; some important quantities like “fun” are invisible to cold analytical filters. But even if we are looking at numerical analysis alone, it’s not so straightforward. I’ve been thinking about this challenge for quite some time, and I think I have an answer."

For anyone who hasn’t yet seen the following links:

.

.

.

.

Some advice on how to start studying the sources generally can be found in these older posts

.

.

.

.

Remember to check out  A Guide to Starting a Liberation Martial Arts Gym as it may help with your own club/gym/dojo/school culture and approach.Check out their curriculum too.

.

.

.

.

Fear is the Mind Killer: How to Build a Training Culture that Fosters Strength and Resilience by   Kajetan Sadowski   may be relevant as well.

.

.

.

.

“How We Learn to Move: A Revolution in the Way We Coach & Practice Sports Skills”  by Rob Gray  as well as this post that goes over the basics of his constraints lead, ecological approach.

.

.

.

.

Another useful book to check out is  The Theory and Practice of Historical European Martial Arts (while about HEMA, a lot of it is applicable to other historical martial arts clubs dealing with research and recreation of old fighting systems).

.

.

.

.

Trauma informed coaching and why it matters

.

.

.

.

Look at the previous posts in relation to running and cardio to learn how that relates to historical fencing.

.

.

.

.

Why having a systematic approach to training can be beneficial

.

.

.

.

Why we may not want one attack 10 000 times, nor 10 000 attacks done once, but a third option.

.

.

.

.

How consent and opting in function and why it matters.

.

.

.

.

More on tactics in fencing

.

.

.

.

Types of fencers

.

.

.

.

Open vs closed skills

.

.

.

.

The three primary factors to safety within historical fencing

.

.

.

.

Worth checking out are this blogs tags on pedagogy and teaching for other related useful posts.

.

.

.

.

And if you train any weapon based form of historical fencing check out the ‘HEMA game archive’ where you can find a plethora of different drills, focused sparring and game options to use for effective, useful and fun training.

.

.

.

.

Check out the cool hemabookshelf facsimile project.

.

.

.

.

For more on how to use youtube content for learning historical fencing I suggest checking out these older posts on the concept of video study of sparring and tournament footage.

.

.

.

.

The provoker-taker-hitter tactical concept and its uses

.

.

.

.

.

Approaches to goals and methodology in historical fencing

.

.

.

.

.

A short article on why learning about other sports and activities can benefit folks in combat sports

.

.

.

.

.

Consider getting some patches of this sort or these cool rashguards to show support for good causes or a t-shirt like to send a good message while at training.

[historicalfightingguide]

"Defining fencing as the art of time and measure is an age-old trope. In that regard, footwork determines the time and the place of the initial engagement. However, according to the core principles of the ecological approach, footwork cannot be divorced from a tangible goal one tries to achieve and the stimuli to which they are reacting. The point of this article is to discuss how to integrate footwork constraints to improve one’s game design."

For anyone who hasn’t yet seen the following links:

.

.

.

.

Some advice on how to start studying the sources generally can be found in these older posts

.

.

.

.

Remember to check out  A Guide to Starting a Liberation Martial Arts Gym as it may help with your own club/gym/dojo/school culture and approach.Check out their curriculum too.

.

.

.

.

Fear is the Mind Killer: How to Build a Training Culture that Fosters Strength and Resilience by   Kajetan Sadowski   may be relevant as well.

.

.

.

.

“How We Learn to Move: A Revolution in the Way We Coach & Practice Sports Skills”  by Rob Gray  as well as this post that goes over the basics of his constraints lead, ecological approach.

.

.

.

.

Another useful book to check out is  The Theory and Practice of Historical European Martial Arts (while about HEMA, a lot of it is applicable to other historical martial arts clubs dealing with research and recreation of old fighting systems).

.

.

.

.

Trauma informed coaching and why it matters

.

.

.

.

Look at the previous posts in relation to running and cardio to learn how that relates to historical fencing.

.

.

.

.

Why having a systematic approach to training can be beneficial

.

.

.

.

Why we may not want one attack 10 000 times, nor 10 000 attacks done once, but a third option.

.

.

.

.

How consent and opting in function and why it matters.

.

.

.

.

More on tactics in fencing

.

.

.

.

Types of fencers

.

.

.

.

Open vs closed skills

.

.

.

.

The three primary factors to safety within historical fencing

.

.

.

.

Worth checking out are this blogs tags on pedagogy and teaching for other related useful posts.

.

.

.

.

And if you train any weapon based form of historical fencing check out the ‘HEMA game archive’ where you can find a plethora of different drills, focused sparring and game options to use for effective, useful and fun training.

.

.

.

.

Check out the cool hemabookshelf facsimile project.

.

.

.

.

For more on how to use youtube content for learning historical fencing I suggest checking out these older posts on the concept of video study of sparring and tournament footage.

.

.

.

.

The provoker-taker-hitter tactical concept and its uses

.

.

.

.

.

Approaches to goals and methodology in historical fencing

.

.

.

.

.

A short article on why learning about other sports and activities can benefit folks in combat sports

.

.

.

.

.

Consider getting some patches of this sort or these cool rashguards to show support for good causes or a t-shirt like to send a good message while at training.

[historicalfightingguide]

Some background as to how attractors(movement solutions(ways of moving) for certain problems as seen within the Ecological Approaches model)

For anyone who hasn’t yet seen the following links:

.

.

.

.

Some advice on how to start studying the sources generally can be found in these older posts

.

.

.

.

Remember to check out  A Guide to Starting a Liberation Martial Arts Gym as it may help with your own club/gym/dojo/school culture and approach.Check out their curriculum too.

.

.

.

.

Fear is the Mind Killer: How to Build a Training Culture that Fosters Strength and Resilience by   Kajetan Sadowski   may be relevant as well.

.

.

.

.

“How We Learn to Move: A Revolution in the Way We Coach & Practice Sports Skills”  by Rob Gray  as well as this post that goes over the basics of his constraints lead, ecological approach.

.

.

.

.

Another useful book to check out is  The Theory and Practice of Historical European Martial Arts (while about HEMA, a lot of it is applicable to other historical martial arts clubs dealing with research and recreation of old fighting systems).

.

.

.

.

Trauma informed coaching and why it matters

.

.

.

.

Look at the previous posts in relation to running and cardio to learn how that relates to historical fencing.

.

.

.

.

Why having a systematic approach to training can be beneficial

.

.

.

.

Why we may not want one attack 10 000 times, nor 10 000 attacks done once, but a third option.

.

.

.

.

How consent and opting in function and why it matters.

.

.

.

.

More on tactics in fencing

.

.

.

.

Types of fencers

.

.

.

.

Open vs closed skills

.

.

.

.

The three primary factors to safety within historical fencing

.

.

.

.

Worth checking out are this blogs tags on pedagogy and teaching for other related useful posts.

.

.

.

.

And if you train any weapon based form of historical fencing check out the ‘HEMA game archive’ where you can find a plethora of different drills, focused sparring and game options to use for effective, useful and fun training.

.

.

.

.

Check out the cool hemabookshelf facsimile project.

.

.

.

.

For more on how to use youtube content for learning historical fencing I suggest checking out these older posts on the concept of video study of sparring and tournament footage.

.

.

.

.

The provoker-taker-hitter tactical concept and its uses

.

.

.

.

.

Approaches to goals and methodology in historical fencing

.

.

.

.

.

A short article on why learning about other sports and activities can benefit folks in combat sports

.

.

.

.

.

Consider getting some patches of this sort or these cool rashguards to show support for good causes or a t-shirt like to send a good message while at training.

[historicalfightingguide]

"Games don’t always work the way you expect them to. That can be serendipitous, leading you and your students to new ideas, but it can also derail a carefully planned class. Here are a few ideas for why things might go wrong, and what you can do about them." -in relation to games as a form of skill-development exercise, which can be done within the Ecological Approaches(EA) framework or more generally

For anyone who hasn’t yet seen the following links:

.

.

.

.

Some advice on how to start studying the sources generally can be found in these older posts

.

.

.

.

Remember to check out  A Guide to Starting a Liberation Martial Arts Gym as it may help with your own club/gym/dojo/school culture and approach.Check out their curriculum too.

.

.

.

.

Fear is the Mind Killer: How to Build a Training Culture that Fosters Strength and Resilience by   Kajetan Sadowski   may be relevant as well.

.

.

.

.

“How We Learn to Move: A Revolution in the Way We Coach & Practice Sports Skills”  by Rob Gray  as well as this post that goes over the basics of his constraints lead, ecological approach.

.

.

.

.

Another useful book to check out is  The Theory and Practice of Historical European Martial Arts (while about HEMA, a lot of it is applicable to other historical martial arts clubs dealing with research and recreation of old fighting systems).

.

.

.

.

Trauma informed coaching and why it matters

.

.

.

.

Look at the previous posts in relation to running and cardio to learn how that relates to historical fencing.

.

.

.

.

Why having a systematic approach to training can be beneficial

.

.

.

.

Why we may not want one attack 10 000 times, nor 10 000 attacks done once, but a third option.

.

.

.

.

How consent and opting in function and why it matters.

.

.

.

.

More on tactics in fencing

.

.

.

.

Types of fencers

.

.

.

.

Open vs closed skills

.

.

.

.

The three primary factors to safety within historical fencing

.

.

.

.

Worth checking out are this blogs tags on pedagogy and teaching for other related useful posts.

.

.

.

.

And if you train any weapon based form of historical fencing check out the ‘HEMA game archive’ where you can find a plethora of different drills, focused sparring and game options to use for effective, useful and fun training.

.

.

.

.

Check out the cool hemabookshelf facsimile project.

.

.

.

.

For more on how to use youtube content for learning historical fencing I suggest checking out these older posts on the concept of video study of sparring and tournament footage.

.

.

.

.

The provoker-taker-hitter tactical concept and its uses

.

.

.

.

.

Approaches to goals and methodology in historical fencing

.

.

.

.

.

A short article on why learning about other sports and activities can benefit folks in combat sports

.

.

.

.

.

Consider getting some patches of this sort or these cool rashguards to show support for good causes or a t-shirt like to send a good message while at training.

[historicalfightingguide]

The Knight in Art: 1066-1918 - V&A Academy Course at Online · V&A

2 million objects. Infinite stories. V&A Academy online art history courses bring you all the richness and rigour of V&A Academy art history

6 week online course by Dr Tobias Capwell. From his post:

"'The Knight in Art : 1066-1918' runs for six weeks, with two lectures happening back to back on Thursdays. Don't worry about time-zones, if you are distant from GMT everything is recorded for student catch-up, and questions can be asked anytime through the course portal, which will also provide course resources, reading lists, course chat, etc. We are going to cover A LOT of ground in twelve lectures, from cinema, the Bayeux Tapestry, the Crusades, Tournaments, Military Saints, Henry VIII, Negroli, the Eglinton Tournament, Electrotyping, medieval revivalism in fashion, medievalism in the First World War, and of course, armour. I'll be joined by several contributing lecturers, including of course Angus Patterson, Senior Curator of Sculpture, Metalwork, Ceramics & Glass at the V&A, responsible for metals and arms and armour. Angus and I will also be presenting a series of short films as part of the course, running round the museum and discussing things that interest us."

For anyone who hasn’t yet seen the following links:

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.

.

.

Some advice on how to start studying the sources generally can be found in these older posts

.

.

.

.

Remember to check out  A Guide to Starting a Liberation Martial Arts Gym as it may help with your own club/gym/dojo/school culture and approach.Check out their curriculum too.

.

.

.

.

Fear is the Mind Killer: How to Build a Training Culture that Fosters Strength and Resilience by   Kajetan Sadowski   may be relevant as well.

.

.

.

.

“How We Learn to Move: A Revolution in the Way We Coach & Practice Sports Skills”  by Rob Gray  as well as this post that goes over the basics of his constraints lead, ecological approach.

.

.

.

.

Another useful book to check out is  The Theory and Practice of Historical European Martial Arts (while about HEMA, a lot of it is applicable to other historical martial arts clubs dealing with research and recreation of old fighting systems).

.

.

.

.

Trauma informed coaching and why it matters

.

.

.

.

Look at the previous posts in relation to running and cardio to learn how that relates to historical fencing.

.

.

.

.

Why having a systematic approach to training can be beneficial

.

.

.

.

Why we may not want one attack 10 000 times, nor 10 000 attacks done once, but a third option.

.

.

.

.

How consent and opting in function and why it matters.

.

.

.

.

More on tactics in fencing

.

.

.

.

Types of fencers

.

.

.

.

Open vs closed skills

.

.

.

.

The three primary factors to safety within historical fencing

.

.

.

.

Worth checking out are this blogs tags on pedagogy and teaching for other related useful posts.

.

.

.

.

And if you train any weapon based form of historical fencing check out the ‘HEMA game archive’ where you can find a plethora of different drills, focused sparring and game options to use for effective, useful and fun training.

.

.

.

.

Check out the cool hemabookshelf facsimile project.

.

.

.

.

For more on how to use youtube content for learning historical fencing I suggest checking out these older posts on the concept of video study of sparring and tournament footage.

.

.

.

.

The provoker-taker-hitter tactical concept and its uses

.

.

.

.

.

Approaches to goals and methodology in historical fencing

.

.

.

.

.

A short article on why learning about other sports and activities can benefit folks in combat sports

.

.

.

.

.

Consider getting some patches of this sort or these cool rashguards to show support for good causes or a t-shirt like to send a good message while at training.

[historicalfightingguide]

"How to fence with a rapier, or rapier and dagger, according to rapier fencing champion Robert Childs.

Book: https://www.freelanceacademypress.com/RevelationsOfRapier.aspx

https://www.amazon.com/Revelations-Rapier-Robert-Childs/dp/1937439658/ref=sr_1_1?crid=3I98BWYUE2TCF

Rob's channel: https://www.youtube.com/c/RobertChildsRapier "

If you want to learn more about how to use a rapier check out all the videos in Martin Fabians great video series on rapier fencing as well as  Rapierists group on facebook and the Wiktenauer section on rapiers and the rapier tag on this blog.

Or this older post on solo drilling with a rappier.

Or any of the ‘the sword guy’ podcast episodes on the topic of rapier.

For anyone who hasn’t yet seen the following links:

.

.

.

.

Some advice on how to start studying the sources generally can be found in these older posts

.

.

.

.

Remember to check out  A Guide to Starting a Liberation Martial Arts Gym as it may help with your own club/gym/dojo/school culture and approach.Check out their curriculum too.

.

.

.

.

Fear is the Mind Killer: How to Build a Training Culture that Fosters Strength and Resilience by   Kajetan Sadowski   may be relevant as well.

.

.

.

.

“How We Learn to Move: A Revolution in the Way We Coach & Practice Sports Skills”  by Rob Gray  as well as this post that goes over the basics of his constraints lead, ecological approach.

.

.

.

.

Another useful book to check out is  The Theory and Practice of Historical European Martial Arts (while about HEMA, a lot of it is applicable to other historical martial arts clubs dealing with research and recreation of old fighting systems).

.

.

.

.

Trauma informed coaching and why it matters

.

.

.

.

Look at the previous posts in relation to running and cardio to learn how that relates to historical fencing.

.

.

.

.

Why having a systematic approach to training can be beneficial

.

.

.

.

Why we may not want one attack 10 000 times, nor 10 000 attacks done once, but a third option.

.

.

.

.

How consent and opting in function and why it matters.

.

.

.

.

More on tactics in fencing

.

.

.

.

Types of fencers

.

.

.

.

Open vs closed skills

.

.

.

.

The three primary factors to safety within historical fencing

.

.

.

.

Worth checking out are this blogs tags on pedagogy and teaching for other related useful posts.

.

.

.

.

And if you train any weapon based form of historical fencing check out the ‘HEMA game archive’ where you can find a plethora of different drills, focused sparring and game options to use for effective, useful and fun training.

.

.

.

.

Check out the cool hemabookshelf facsimile project.

.

.

.

.

For more on how to use youtube content for learning historical fencing I suggest checking out these older posts on the concept of video study of sparring and tournament footage.

.

.

.

.

The provoker-taker-hitter tactical concept and its uses

.

.

.

.

.

Approaches to goals and methodology in historical fencing

.

.

.

.

.

A short article on why learning about other sports and activities can benefit folks in combat sports

.

.

.

.

.

Consider getting some patches of this sort or these cool rashguards to show support for good causes or a t-shirt like to send a good message while at training.

[historicalfightingguide]

If you want to learn more about how to use a rapier check out all the videos in Martin Fabians great video series on rapier fencing as well as  Rapierists group on facebook and the Wiktenauer section on rapiers and the rapier tag on this blog.

Or this older post on solo drilling with a rappier.

Or any of the 'the sword guy' podcast episodes on the topic of rapier.

For anyone who hasn’t yet seen the following links:

.

.

.

.

Some advice on how to start studying the sources generally can be found in these older posts

.

.

.

.

Remember to check out  A Guide to Starting a Liberation Martial Arts Gym as it may help with your own club/gym/dojo/school culture and approach.Check out their curriculum too.

.

.

.

.

Fear is the Mind Killer: How to Build a Training Culture that Fosters Strength and Resilience by   Kajetan Sadowski   may be relevant as well.

.

.

.

.

“How We Learn to Move: A Revolution in the Way We Coach & Practice Sports Skills”  by Rob Gray  as well as this post that goes over the basics of his constraints lead, ecological approach.

.

.

.

.

Another useful book to check out is  The Theory and Practice of Historical European Martial Arts (while about HEMA, a lot of it is applicable to other historical martial arts clubs dealing with research and recreation of old fighting systems).

.

.

.

.

Trauma informed coaching and why it matters

.

.

.

.

Look at the previous posts in relation to running and cardio to learn how that relates to historical fencing.

.

.

.

.

Why having a systematic approach to training can be beneficial

.

.

.

.

Why we may not want one attack 10 000 times, nor 10 000 attacks done once, but a third option.

.

.

.

.

How consent and opting in function and why it matters.

.

.

.

.

More on tactics in fencing

.

.

.

.

Types of fencers

.

.

.

.

Open vs closed skills

.

.

.

.

The three primary factors to safety within historical fencing

.

.

.

.

Worth checking out are this blogs tags on pedagogy and teaching for other related useful posts.

.

.

.

.

And if you train any weapon based form of historical fencing check out the ‘HEMA game archive’ where you can find a plethora of different drills, focused sparring and game options to use for effective, useful and fun training.

.

.

.

.

Check out the cool hemabookshelf facsimile project.

.

.

.

.

For more on how to use youtube content for learning historical fencing I suggest checking out these older posts on the concept of video study of sparring and tournament footage.

.

.

.

.

The provoker-taker-hitter tactical concept and its uses

.

.

.

.

.

Approaches to goals and methodology in historical fencing

.

.

.

.

.

A short article on why learning about other sports and activities can benefit folks in combat sports

.

.

.

.

.

Consider getting some patches of this sort or these cool rashguards to show support for good causes or a t-shirt like to send a good message while at training.

[historicalfightingguide]

Some very fun choreography "Performers / Choreography:

Adam Lytle

Ben Aycrigg

Camera: Joe Roark

Edit: Adam Lytle

Song: "What the Peephole Say" - Queens of the Stone Age"

For anyone who hasn’t yet seen the following links:

.

.

.

.

Some advice on how to start studying the sources generally can be found in these older posts

.

.

.

.

Remember to check out  A Guide to Starting a Liberation Martial Arts Gym as it may help with your own club/gym/dojo/school culture and approach.Check out their curriculum too.

.

.

.

.

Fear is the Mind Killer: How to Build a Training Culture that Fosters Strength and Resilience by   Kajetan Sadowski   may be relevant as well.

.

.

.

.

“How We Learn to Move: A Revolution in the Way We Coach & Practice Sports Skills”  by Rob Gray  as well as this post that goes over the basics of his constraints lead, ecological approach.

.

.

.

.

Another useful book to check out is  The Theory and Practice of Historical European Martial Arts (while about HEMA, a lot of it is applicable to other historical martial arts clubs dealing with research and recreation of old fighting systems).

.

.

.

.

Trauma informed coaching and why it matters

.

.

.

.

Look at the previous posts in relation to running and cardio to learn how that relates to historical fencing.

.

.

.

.

Why having a systematic approach to training can be beneficial

.

.

.

.

Why we may not want one attack 10 000 times, nor 10 000 attacks done once, but a third option.

.

.

.

.

How consent and opting in function and why it matters.

.

.

.

.

More on tactics in fencing

.

.

.

.

Types of fencers

.

.

.

.

Open vs closed skills

.

.

.

.

The three primary factors to safety within historical fencing

.

.

.

.

Worth checking out are this blogs tags on pedagogy and teaching for other related useful posts.

.

.

.

.

And if you train any weapon based form of historical fencing check out the ‘HEMA game archive’ where you can find a plethora of different drills, focused sparring and game options to use for effective, useful and fun training.

.

.

.

.

Check out the cool hemabookshelf facsimile project.

.

.

.

.

For more on how to use youtube content for learning historical fencing I suggest checking out these older posts on the concept of video study of sparring and tournament footage.

.

.

.

.

The provoker-taker-hitter tactical concept and its uses

.

.

.

.

.

Approaches to goals and methodology in historical fencing

.

.

.

.

.

A short article on why learning about other sports and activities can benefit folks in combat sports

.

.

.

.

.

Consider getting some patches of this sort or these cool rashguards to show support for good causes or a t-shirt like to send a good message while at training.

[historicalfightingguide]

Account of a Fechtschul in Dresden

Held by Duke-Prince Elector August in 1554

For anyone who hasn’t yet seen the following links:

.

.

.

.

Some advice on how to start studying the sources generally can be found in these older posts

.

.

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Remember to check out  A Guide to Starting a Liberation Martial Arts Gym as it may help with your own club/gym/dojo/school culture and approach.Check out their curriculum too.

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Fear is the Mind Killer: How to Build a Training Culture that Fosters Strength and Resilience by   Kajetan Sadowski   may be relevant as well.

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“How We Learn to Move: A Revolution in the Way We Coach & Practice Sports Skills”  by Rob Gray  as well as this post that goes over the basics of his constraints lead, ecological approach.

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Another useful book to check out is  The Theory and Practice of Historical European Martial Arts (while about HEMA, a lot of it is applicable to other historical martial arts clubs dealing with research and recreation of old fighting systems).

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Trauma informed coaching and why it matters

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Look at the previous posts in relation to running and cardio to learn how that relates to historical fencing.

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Why having a systematic approach to training can be beneficial

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Why we may not want one attack 10 000 times, nor 10 000 attacks done once, but a third option.

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How consent and opting in function and why it matters.

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More on tactics in fencing

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Types of fencers

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Open vs closed skills

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The three primary factors to safety within historical fencing

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Worth checking out are this blogs tags on pedagogy and teaching for other related useful posts.

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And if you train any weapon based form of historical fencing check out the ‘HEMA game archive’ where you can find a plethora of different drills, focused sparring and game options to use for effective, useful and fun training.

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Check out the cool hemabookshelf facsimile project.

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For more on how to use youtube content for learning historical fencing I suggest checking out these older posts on the concept of video study of sparring and tournament footage.

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The provoker-taker-hitter tactical concept and its uses

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Approaches to goals and methodology in historical fencing

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A short article on why learning about other sports and activities can benefit folks in combat sports

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Consider getting some patches of this sort or these cool rashguards to show support for good causes or a t-shirt like to send a good message while at training.