My club is similar but with Liechtenauer

Nice, it's starting to become more common, and that's great to see. For example a lot of the schools who did Meyer stuck to longsword, or even if they did play with a few of the other weapons they often left out rapier for example. We have always loved a broad training regime. There is a lot of fun to be had with it as well as a lot of understanding to be gained from cross weapon training, as well as improving mixed weapon understanding.

I think the way your club does Fiore is amazing. When I was taught Fiore at a club, I started with longsword and I had to wait a year to do wrestling and dagger. To me, I didn't feel prepared for longsword since most of Fiore's longsword plays are wrestling moves. By the time I got to wrestling, I was already too use to using bad mechanics since I never sparred and all the partner work had no resistance. The only things I know how to do were to stand in guard, do passing steps, dropping my weight, and do lots of forms and drills. I also mostly had to do alot of the work myself reading the manuscript and making interpretations to get better since my school only taught a select few techniques. I feel like if I learned wrestling and dagger first I would have known how to grab, throw, break someone's structure, feel bind preasure, defend attacks, tell distance, and lastly when to apply certain techniques. Sadly, I'm not doing Fiore anymore. I knew I needed to move to a more simple system that doesn't require wresting knowledge, so now I'm looking around for something new to learn. English systems like Joseph Swetnam, George Silver, and Vincentio Saviolo look promising so I might just move on to one of those.

do you know what manual(s) they teach from? You could get a bit of a head start by getting copies and reading through them. Most manuals are available for free online, or fairly cheaply if you want a physical copy.

I was the exact same, but I still haven't settled. I seem to lean towards sabre (NOT Olympic), but rapier is also interesting. I seem to have gone back in time then up again.

I want to see some well-trained Greek phalanxes going at it, personally. lol. It would be whacky to see!

I wonder if there would be interest in formal close combat disciplines that included both sword and musket + bayonet drills.

Well im a swedish man im intrestead in drabant rapiers hard time finding them

That's actually a wonderfully apt way to put it. (And mirrors my own experience as well.) Definitely gonna be quoting it in the future. :)

I have been doing longsword for several years in one awesome, albeit small, club run by a very talented and experienced student of one of the very important fencing schools in our country. I just moved to the right city and was actually lucky. Before that, I was self-taught and I occasionally went for some free training sessions and HEMA events available (not always near, but an opportunity appears sometimes), read the books, watch some videos and so on. I worked on myself by myself. And when I got to the club I marked myself as beginner so they asked me to show some cuts and positions and the club leader said: You are not beginner at all. And I am quite OK right now. All of that my own effort counts and gave me the chance to move forward fast when I got to the regular club so don't be affraid of it, you will need a club and good instructor if you want to get at certain level but waiuting for this is wasting of time and you could do a lot for yourself on your own! Just practice enough, the sword itself will show you the way and the rest you will get when the time and right opportunity appears.

What so you practice with? Looking to start myself

@@mashpotatoinasock I started off with a wooden gladius which I had lying around, then a bought a cold steel training tomahawk because I didn't want to throw cash at something I might not stick out (my thinking at the time) and I could use it indoors. Since summer I use a red dragon synthetic broadsword and the basket hilted cutlass.

Ok thanks for the info. How did you get started with training, did you read manuals and practice what they taught, watch KZfaq? What kind of stuff do you do? Thanks :)

Do you know what happened to Jay Maas' videos?

That's great! Glad to hear it is going well. So long as you stay dedicated to it you will keep improving.

Sounds like you're ready to start a club yourself

Funny, why use a club when you can use a sword?

Yeah I trained Korean Gumdo for 5 years before joining a HEMA club. Now I have moved and will wait a while before training again as the club is a bit away and wants you to have a lot of equipment.

Yes, I started with Wing Chun swords, and Chinese broad sword (Dao). Then stick fighting. The basics are going to be the same (or very similar)

@@TheAardvark42 It has much to do with body mechanics and how certain cuts are simply effective. Do you have guards in Chinese sword fighting?

@@marcusappelberg369 The Dao has a disc guard, but the short swords have full D guard and quillon. Obviously, the stick is a stick, so no guard. With the stick I use some techniques from English stick fighting which uses sabre drills.

Basically, if you have no HEMA club close to you, instead try to join a even rarer type of martial art club! :p

Sport fencing is a great place to come from for HEMA, and many of our students have. As long as people can get out of the scoring a point over defence mentality, which most can, it's great.

@@AcademyofHistoricalFencing I agree. Winning does not equal living.

Dual wielding foil an interesting and effective drill. Could do strong parries even vs longsword using both plus multiple attack combos and angles. Bell guards got a little bent but still functional

I decided to pick up both at the same time, and it's been great. While Rapier definitely feels like one of the most physically intensive weapons, the place that's teaching me feels way too gentle and I really appreciate how much harder my sport fencing club pushes me physically, and the benefits transfer over significantly. The only issue is muscle memory occasionally causing me to obscure the target area with my off-hand and hesitation after a parry where I'm afraid of uncrossing and letting my opponent's weapon free despite winning if they try to counterattack due to right of way.

Great to hear it, good luck with your training.

Hi please start hema! If you like you can check out ma channel. Its not only about sparring, its about cutting as well

Have you ever considered the smallsword?

Try a Smallsword, Spadroon or a shorter Rapier (36").

That is unfortunate, but most HEMA clubs have started from nothing and so it is absolutely doable. Online resources are better than ever and many groups on FB will be useful too. It's worth getting to some national events if you can occasionally too.

This is the way.

Great to hear it. Smallsword is very accessible indeed. Domenico Angelo's smallsword manual, and 'The Army and Navy Gentleman’s Companion' by McArthur are both freely available online and are great resources. There are also two great budget trainers available in the form of the Leon Paul Smallsowrd Trainer and the Historical Fencing Armoury AHF smallsword. Or if you are in the US, Kraken swords are a great option. Good luck.

@@AcademyofHistoricalFencing Thanks! I'll be sure to check those out. Merry Christmas!

Hey Jaime! I know that Galicia has at least one nice club. :) Have you managed to find something to make it work?

Absolutely. We encourage this for anyone who does not have access to a club. Forming a modest study group of even just 2-3 people with basic equipment is where most HEMA clubs started. All you need is a few enthusiastic peope to get going, it doesn't need to be a big professional school from day one, if ever.

I tried making Rada my first style. Spanish is my first language but it is really tough to read through.

But... Meyer looks so much more interesting than anything else :c

Ah so after correcting me keyword search I've found the link! www.faitsdarmes.com/en/one-handed-sword/32-black-fencer-saber.html I'm quite excited thanks for the introduction!

Fait d'armes are a very good company and if they have stock its the fastest way to get BF products. In the US you have South Coast Swords who also stock BF products. Your other option would be Purpleheart Armoury who make similar training swords. Good luck with your training.

Your comment is the most recent in this video's comment section. Did you eber discover a working group in your area? In OJ I see zero every group's study.

We certainly will do some fights of that sort. Actually that Rob Roy fight is one of the better movie fights. Rob Roy's sword is a typical broadsword, whilst Cunningham's sword is either a late/transitional rapier, or sheering sword, depending on how you apply the terminology. Really Cunningham has the advantage in that situation, but the cuts will be compartively lighter and therefore not always fight stopping depending on where they land.

Excellent, it depends who and where you are training really. I would not recommend wood and it is rarely used in HEMA. At the AHF we use about a 50/50 mix of synthetic and steel. Synthetic is a great cheap and reliable way in, but it depends who you are training with.

No I'd not recommend it. Talhoffer was one of the first widely available translated manuals because it has so little text and was easy to translate and the artwork is fantastic. But it isn't really a great core system, more a load of awesome cool stuff once you have worked through other manuals within the German traditions.

That's a great way to start, its what many call a study group, a few likeminded individuals without an existing club or instructor, it's how many clubs got started. All you need is 2+ people and some enthusiasm. I'd recommend you try and get to some one off events to meet and learn from a range of existing practitioners where you can. There has never been a better time to start with so much access to sources, interpretations and highly evolved training equipment.

@@AcademyofHistoricalFencing thanks

I would say no. FMA has far more in common with South East Asian and South Chinese martial arts. There may be some cross over with HEMA, but FMA is under a different umbrella.

@Marcus The hell are you talking about...

It's rare to see lots of different HEMA styles or weapon types go against one another in tournament. In large part because the safety equipment can vary a lot between each of them, the different risks and durability too. This is usually done at a more club level for a bit of fun where there aren't the larger risks linked to larger tournaments. It was easy to compare styles in the early UFC because it was simple two unarmed fighters in a one on one fight. There are some trends we can see overall though. Like how dominant pole weapons are, how good the rapier is against most other swords in a one on one unarmoured fight for example.

Possible if with similar weapon and safety equipment. Would love to see German longsword vs Italian vs Japanese nodachi

As in comparing the styles to one another? That is quite an odd one, them being so vastly different and anachronistic, though I suppose I could if you fancy it. I suppose from the perspective of choosing a weapon or style today that sort of makes sense.

@@AcademyofHistoricalFencing I was just curious because I kinda heard a little bit about it from jurek, the guy who does polish saber, and he was talking about how the longsword had some advantage to the saber.

There are hundreds across so many eras and cultures. We have a number of freely avaialble sources of the 18th and 19th century on our website - swordfight.uk/resources/ A great many are freely available here - wiktenauer.com/wiki/Main_Page Beyond this you will need to buy others inc some translations on Amazon and Lulu etc.

@@AcademyofHistoricalFencing Thank you a lot

That's a shame, in which case the best thing you can do is try and find a few like minded people and start your own study group, which can flourish into a club in time.

I believe the closest to you would be the York school of defence. Good people, I would suggest getting in touch with them as they will be able to help and point you to any other options.

Spadroon was typically taught under the same system as broadsword and sabre. As long as you have a broadsword or sabre system that uses plrnty of thrusting then you will be fine. As for trainers, Kvetun is the only production model really right now. Armour Class also make nice customs for a similar price.

@@AcademyofHistoricalFencing Thanks for the reply😃... I'll sure look into it.

Unless your opponent has studied his Agrippa.

@@EnglishDreadnought Which I have...

I have a group where there was katana vs longsword on a regular basis. We mercilessly mixed styles and I found putting some Japanese martial arts into my messer doable.

A British 1803 infantry officer sabre. This training sword was made by Black Fencer according to specifications I provided based on antiques I own and others I have handled. They did a great job.

@@AcademyofHistoricalFencing nice

I suppose it's not so surprising as it was a very self contained war. The reason it is an interesting one is because it was essentially a revolution, meaning the UK got their revolution over with well before many other countries, which ultimately resulted in our constitional monarchy and a strong parliament which was one of the major factors leading to the rise and success of the British empire in the 18th century.

Make use of all of the training videos by a wide variety of instructors across KZfaq. Try and get to some events ot do workshops. You could start a study group to begin with. That is how many clubs start, just likemidned people meeting up to try and work on things. These often evolve into a full club. Ultimately you don't need a vast amount of experience to start a club, you mainly need a positive outlook and a sensible approach to safety. A lot can be learned along the way.

@@AcademyofHistoricalFencing That is a fantastic idea to start a study group!! I love the positivity. Being negative usually prevents me from moving forward with ideas but this one I am going to follow. Again thank you for the great advice - David

Modern fencing will give you a great foundation for HEMA, and should help you recognise a good instructor as a result. The majority of good instructors will have at least some sparring footage on youtube. Even though you might not be familiar with their style, see what their distance and timing is like, and that will tell you a lot about their quality and understanding of fencing. Also see if they have travelled around to events, as this is a good indicator of a wider approach to training rather than isolationism. These are some of the easiest ways to get a good indicator. Good luck.

@@AcademyofHistoricalFencing Thanks, man! I will take your advice in count for sure!

Where are you? There may be something nearby.

@@AcademyofHistoricalFencing I’m in mount shasta california!! which is a very small rural mountain town aka not a lot out here !!!! I’ve found a handful in the medford and southern oregon area which is about an hour north of me, not too bad :) Been watching your videos for quite a bit now and will be starting to get out there and really practice and train on my own soon; then work my way up towards finding a sparring partner or some kind of group to participate in. thanks for being so committed and proving sources of information to bring new people into hema!! I really respect your form and thank you for responding to my comment ❤️

Singlestick. Lots of Singlestick, and that's really easy to get manuals on, in modernish English, because they taught Singlestick for centuries, in Modern English. Singlesticks are also reasonably affordable. So, If I had to chose one, for people who can afford it, I'm going to have to say Singlestick. It also translates reasonably well to Broadsword/Backsword when you save up enough to afford one of those. Also, Singlestick, and Targe... So, roughly Highland School.

It's actually a major problem today that people widely believe every sparring bout should be "expert". It derives heavily from the sporting competition which grew to such heights in the 19thc. A great many who fought with weapons had little or middling training and/or experience. Trick is to just keep working to get better. HEMA can be many things, above all else it should be fun.

@@AcademyofHistoricalFencing I really love your Product Reviews especially. If you do requests, affordable/accessible stuff like Singlestick (I'm sure you know even better ideas) and Spears would be great. The vast majority of people who're interested in this sort of thing are poor-to-broke, so we just end up drooling over Matt Easton's walls.

Olympic fencing foil or epee would be a good place to start, and then pursue some studies of smallsword on your own to supplment it. Italian rapier also has a lot in common, being the predecessor of 18th century French smallsword. Smallsword is sadly still not very popular in HEMA, but its statting to make more progress recently.

@@AcademyofHistoricalFencing thanks...why is it not popular with HEMA people ?

I think it being seen as too close to olympic fencing is a factor, as well as more emphasis being put on older weapons being the norm until more recently. It also has some image problems. Some people see the smallsword as a bit flimsy and even toy like. Those are not fair characterisations but they sadly exist, within the HEMA community and beyond. But this has started to change in recent years. Rapier had the same image problems years ago. We are spearheading some progress with the FB group Smallsworders, and also by helping to develop training swords with Historical Fencing Armoury.

@@AcademyofHistoricalFencing That's so sad. Last week i had my first lesson with a hema group (they offered me to show smallsword even tho they don't do lessons for it regularly), and it was so awesome..the length and weight felt so perfect..i also had a rapier in my hands that day for the first time and altho they are very pretty, they don't feel so good and intuitive for me. I am very sad that it's so hard to come by this specific weapon lessons.. a sports epee/foil is just not the same :( i joined the fb group, thanks for mentioning it.

Well things are starting to improve. The rapier is no doubt much less intuitive as it's sheer weight and size takes a lot more getting used to. Things are looking up though, I have seen so many more people interesting in smallsword than ever before in the last couple of years. It's also easy to indoctrinate others, all you need to do is buy a couple and let people play with them and they are soon taken in.

You might be surprised. Some people have no clubs nearby and have no choice but to learn at home or with friends and make best use of online resources. Others have existing clubs and instructors but want to pursue other styles. The broad subjects covered in HEMA mean this happens quite a lot. Then there are study groups and young clubs who don't yet have set styles they work from or a determined focus and are looking for options. Lastly, there are many people who are willing to drive 1-2 hours to go to a club and have a choice of many clubs and therefore styles, this is particularly the case in parts of the UK, being a small country with many clubs.

Thanks (from Nick). I would say my best skills are with sabre and rapier & dagger.

@@AcademyofHistoricalFencing i was astonished u use dual katana like Musasi. I have a Question. Is rapier and dagger most strong in duel? High rate to win

If your near Leeds in the UK, look up KDF at the Royalm Armouries. They do pole axe, long sword and messed.

In HEMA the term longsword is used for the sword used predominately in two hands. The Cold Steel medieval practice sword is a one handed sword and so no, that will generally be called an arming sword today, and would commonly be used with a buckler, though not always. These sorts of swords are used in HEMA for sword and buckler practice such as i.33 and Lignitzer in earlier sources, and still into the early 16thc Italian Bolognese sword and buckler sources such as Marozzo and Manciolino.

@@AcademyofHistoricalFencing thank you very much for the information! Shall get on with researching tomorrow :)

Only in fiction :)

@@AcademyofHistoricalFencing sad but trye, it is a oretty ststem though and its light on my back e

See the HEMA alliance club finder and also join some of the FB HEMA groups, especially weapon/style spseific ones and ask around, I am sure you will have options.

@@AcademyofHistoricalFencing all I found was long sword wasn't really to big about it but I ended falling in love for the longest I thought longsword was corny but it's very versatile for many other weapons now I'm looking for Sabre

British Military Swordsmanship is doing pretty well all round the world, I regularly hear from people practicing it in dozens of countries outside of the British sphere, all about the globe. But, BMS is largely accessible because the sources are free and readily available, the online communities are prominent and helpful, and a wide variety of practitioners around the world practice it and regularly communicate in the language of the source material. However, what is accessible to one person will vary from another and so you should consider your own circumstances. If you do not speak English then of course you would be better off with something in your own language, but that really depends what was published historical and what translations are available to you. I give BMS as an example of an accessible style, but by no means the only nor best suited to all. I especially gave it as an example because we have worked so hard to ensure that the sources are widely and freely available.

Lots of parts of HEMA are rarely discussed (like bayonet for example). Because HEMA is a very broad category, and most people get into it for swordsmanship. When it comes to unarmoured you've really just got wrestling and puglism until the 20th century, and those have only a limited following among sword lovers.

I definitely recommend Fiore for his abrazare!

The go to plan B outlined in the video. There are now more online resources to help one train at home than ever before. They will also be back soon.

Me too, I have no one to practice with

This might seem strange to you but you can gain a lot by visualization.

I bought a plank from construction store when i started with hema. About the size of longsword. And just started practicing alone while sending videos to closest trainer and going to the same club once a month(250Kilometers away) and 3,45 hours away with bus. It can be done. With time you will improve and someone else will be interested in what you are doing XD

There are a few considerations here. Firstly there are people who do that and nobody is stopping you, but for most people they want to understand how the weapons were used for real, and not merely made up today. The next problem is as you say, using martial arts logic to develop effective fighting systems. Well the reality is that when you no longer use the weapons for real, carry them in the streets, and training for them on the battlefield, what you will be developing is a new sport, because you will be moulded by the core focus and reasoning of what you are doing. There is nothing wrong with that if it's what people want to do. But it is why the further you take swordsmanship, for example with Olympic Fencing, Kendo, and if you wanted to take it to an MMA level, the further it will deviate to not only how the weapons were used, by why they even existed. Yeh, HEMA is a nerds club, though most fringe martial arts/sport are, and that's fine. Everyone who particupates in something like HEMA needs to decide what they really want out of it. If it is merely to be the best sportsman to win a points contest in a ring, nothing wrong with that, though it would be truly foolish to try and re-invent the wheel when we have a massive wealth of resources written by people who did it for real in a way we never will today, and developing over centuries if not longer.

As an elderly man, I think you're wrong. These martial art's protocols stress agility, with strength, and discipline. That's not "nerd" stuff. That's a formula for success in education, health, and intelligent thinking. Disrespect is what inept people use, because they're incapable of doing it themselves, and they don't want others, or themselves, to see their personal failures. Your opinion? Opinions are like anal orifices. Everybody has one and everybody thinks everyone else's stinks.

Ahahahahahah sure bro. MAYBE in a duel, definitely not on Warfield.

People still have this sort of mentality in 2020?

Of course dude sword fighting is literally a turn based rpg in real life

*George Silver wants to know your location*

Now if you had said polearm...