I and a few members of the GHFS have been focusing on the transitions between the longsword stances in Joachim Meÿer’s treatise of 1570.
Hi everyone! I would like to share a bit of my vision for the new HROARR site. First of all, its purpose is simply to help research, material development and practicing of HEMA. This is done by providing tools, source … Continue reading
Since 2009 I have been working on interpreting the polearms section of Joachim Meÿer’s treatise of 1570 entitled “Gründtliche Beschreibung der Adeligen und Ritterlichen Kunst des Fechtens“. This research has evolved into a regular course in Meÿer quarterstaff at Gothenburg … Continue reading
The HROARR site focuses on different aspects of Historical European Martial Arts. It is meant to serve both as a help to active HEMA practitioners and as a source of inspiration for people that are unfamiliar with this form of Martial Arts.
At its core the HROARR site is a free online HEMA magazine with contributions from the whole community. It is also a neutral meeting ground where we can all connect, share and learn from each other using the tools provided by the site.
Last week I visited the Hallebardiers/Sint Michielsgilde in Brugge, Belgium having been invited to assist the excellent Kevin Maurer of the Meyer Frei Fechter Guild by teaching the Halbenstangen (quarterstaff) of Joachim Meyer.
Here is a short travel diary from that visit. Continue reading
Joachim Koppen was a Phil. and Med. Doctor in Magdeburg who wrote this treatise after having been taught to fence at the University of Wittenberg by a certain Heinrich Beler(n) von Bautzen. His treatise is also inspired by Italian fencing master Salvator Fabris.
Furthermore there are notes from 1630-35 about a Fähnrich and Capitain Joachim Köppen in Swedish service fighting against the Catholics. If this is the same person is at this stage still unclear.
Here’s an old but still always relevant question for us HEMA practitioners to ask ourselves: When we read the old fencing treatises, should we only practice what we are told to do in the treatises or should we try to continue with the next step of playing with it and even do things that we are not explicitly shown or suggested to do in the various stücke? Continue reading
SPANISH HISTORICAL FENCING FEDERATION (F.E.E.H.) COMMUNIQUE:
After several years of meetings, exchanges and cross trainings, some Spanish HEMA groups have decided to create a common structure that allows, in the near future, the recognition to their investigation, interpretative and promotion efforts and the defense of their interests. To achieve this, the founding Associations (list attached) have created a National wide entity liable to be reckoned for its specialists in Historical European Martial Arts. Continue reading
Throughout my years involved with martial arts I have seen, time and time again, instructors in the most varied arts who spar effectively but do not know how they do it.
The reason I say this has to do with the fact that:
We just added a rather unique new, but uncompleted treatise to our database. This time it is the Codex Guelf 83.4 August 8°, entitled “Das ander Theil des newen kunstreichen Fechtbuches, darin alle fürnembste nutzbarliche vnd geheimbte Stücke, so im Schwerdt, halben Stangen, Helbart, Tolch, Dosacken, Tolchnehmen vnd im Ringen vnd Werffen nützlich können gebraucht werdenn, zu befinden seindt. Anno 1591. Mit handschriftlichen Erklärungen dazu”, written by an anonymous author in 1591.
What makes it unique is the fact that it is not a Liechtenauer treatise and yet teaches both Ringen, longsword, dagger, staff, halberd and dussack. Continue reading
For some time now I have searched and collected information about the Swedish fencing Master Didrik von Porat. This is what I have found out.
According to his Letter of Nobility, which he got when he was knighted, Didrik von Porat was tutored during his youth. In 1662 he travelled with a Swedish embassy to Russia. It’s unclear what kind of role he had during this trip. But after the return to Sweden he went to Germany to study the art of fencing. Continue reading
Quite recently, while exchanging all sorts of points of view with everyone’s good friend Roger Norling of GHFS, and upon stating that Jogo do Pau’s footwork does not entail any deliberate positioning of one’s feet, but simply managing one’s body in order to manage distance with proper balance, Roger presented me with his different view on this topic:
“… you move in a sometimes rather particular way that I don’t think is just a matter of stepping back/forth or to the sides to be able to hit at a specific distance, but also to hit/parry in a special way that requires certain footwork. The most typical examples would be the tornado …”
Continue reading
We would like to wish you all a Happy Easter!
A lot of really exciting things are going on in our community. The number of practitioners is constantly growing and we appear to be a couple of thousand more than we were only two years ago, totalling an estimated 12,000 worldwide.
Longpoint 2012, the east coast’s premier HEMA gathering and tournament is now three days long!
June 15-17, 2012, at the Howard County Sports Center, just south of Baltimore, MD and only minutes away from the Baltimore Washington International Airport. Continue reading
The Joachim Meyer fechtbuch named MS A.4°.2, a beautiful hand-written and watercolour-illustrated fencing treatise dedicated to Herrn Otto von Solms-Sonnewalde is currently held at the University Library of Lund, but how did it end up there after having been given to the young Count Otto von Solms some time in the 1560s? Continue reading
Hi everyone!
I’m proud to announce a new book about the famous I.33 Manuscript.
Authors: Andrea Morini, Riccardo Rudilosso and Federica Giordani, of Sala d’Arme Achille Marozzo, published by “il Cerchio“.
The Royal Armouries have teamed up with specialist publishers of military manuscripts Extraordinary Editions to produce a full-size facsimile of the manuscript in a limited edition. Each copy of the manuscript will come complete with a companion volume containing a full transcription and translation of every page and a new introduction by Dr Jeffrey L. Forgeng. Continue reading
New book: La Scherma (The Art of Fencing) by Francesco Ferdinando Alfieri (1640) Translated by Caroline Stewart, Phil Marshall and Piermarco Terminiello. Get it at the site of The School of the Sword.
New HEMA club in Dundee, Scotland called The Institute for Historical Arts. The club is run by Mark Wilkie and James Burn, who also runs the University based group RMAS, which is affiliated with Academy of Historical Arts (AHA). The club has a strong focus on the Liechtenauer tradition, but will also be offering Silver’s broadsword , I.33 Sword & Buckler and in time even archery.
In honour of the 19th cent pioneers of HEMA, Cpt Alfred Hutton, Barton Wright, Gustav Hergsell, Egerton Castle, Cpt Sir Richard Burton, Cpt. Carl Thimm, Colonel Cyril Matthey, Sir Frederick Pollock, Prof. Dr. Panconelli-Calzia, J. Kpt Emil Fick, Major Nils Hellsten, Schmied-Kowarzik & H. Kufahl and others like minded and amazing forerunners.
A new baby is born: Kunst des Fechtens has had a 12th chapter, fathered by Peter Smallridge who has studied with KdF Nottingham before moving south. The focus will naturally be on Liechtenauer longsword with “an approach based around compact, efficient body mechanics, engaging with the source material and training KdF as an alive martial art.
The group will be meeting in central London starting from March or April. If interested, you can contact Peter at london.kdf@gmail.com
The “running through” is mentioned already in the pseudo-Hanko Döbringer (on folio 23), and is universally transposed throughout the so-called German martial literature. Durchlauffen, in fact, is a blanket term for a body of techniques, and many instances are characterized by various differing nuances according to the treatise in which they are found.
To understand the body mechanics involved in a technique we not only have to train our bodies so we are strong and agile enough, we also need to use tools that work together with our bodies in the appropriate manner. This may seem obvious but is really not and it can become quite apparent when interpreting the sources with tools that have very different characteristics. Continue reading
Glima wrestler and instructor Lars Magnar Enoksen of IK Sparta has been nominated as Traditional Martial Artist of the Year by the Swedish Budo and Martial Arts Federation for his “national and international Glima achivements”.
We congratulate both him and all Glima wrestlers for all their great work in keeping their martial art alive!
HEMA has gone through a lot of progressive development in the last decade. The community is growing rapidly and bouts, tournaments and other forms of sportive sparring have become a standard part of practicing Kunst des Fechtens. Continue reading
I and a few members of the GHFS have been focusing on the transitions between the longsword stances in Joachim Meÿer’s treatise of 1570. Continue reading
Here are some very crude video clips we shot today of the strengthening exercises we have begun working with in the Meÿer Halben Stangen class at Gothenburg Historical Fencing School. Continue reading
I thought it might interest some to see how a typical lesson plan for our Meÿer staff class in GHFS looks like. Continue reading
The Rules of Martial Arts
There are rules in martial arts. The rules in modern martial arts are many and varied. These arts are often oriented towards sporting applications or may be practiced for fitness or spiritual development rather than as fighting techniques with an application in the real world. Continue reading
The president is Niklas Mårdby of Gothenburg Historical Fencing School with Carl Ryrberg of Örebro Association for Historical Fencing as Vice President.
More details to follow.
After 12 years in preparation several French associations and clubs have gathered and managed to create a structure for a French HEMA federation. Continue reading
I just received some club details for a new Norwegian HEMA club located in Oslo. They are called Oslo KDF and can be reached through oslokdf@gmail.com or http://www.communitywalk.com
Hi everyone! I would like to share a bit of my vision for the new HROARR site.
First of all, its purpose is simply to help research, material development and practicing of HEMA. This is done by providing tools, source material, links and info.
Thus far the work has been done mostly by me, with the good support of GHFS, but in the future I hope to expand on several existing collaborations and grow quite a few new ones.
It has occured to me, however, that the HEMA community currently has no common place to gather for connecting, finding news, share research and be inspired by what other people do. True, there are forums and blogs, but they are not quite what I speak of.
So, basically, what I and some other like-minded people are now hoping to be able to do, with your help, is to turn the HROARR site into a mix of a free online HEMA magazine and a research / project tool. A water hole for the HEMA community, if you will…
With the new version of the site comes a lot of new, interesting possibilities, as I can now open up the HROARR site to other researchers and practitioners.
For one thing, I can now add sub-pages for community projects and one is already up, where the GHFS Halben Stangen group will collaborate with anyone interested and share exercises, ideas and interpretations. Anyone can join in and have their own page where they can write their thoughts, post videos/photos etc.
Furthermore, I can also add “writers” and I would like to invite all of you to write reviews and articles and have them published on HROARR. Since I, from a legal standpoint, am the responsible publisher, I will act as editor. Copyrights to the material will of course remain with the original authors. And you will always be able to have your material removed or updated. Furthermore, your interpretative material, transcriptions and translations can be added to the searchable manual database, if you so wish.
Also, I have added a workshops/instructors list, so if you are interested in teaching at HEMA events, then it is a good place to list yourself. Several instructors and workshops have already been listed and more are coming in.
I am currently working on adding all stored manuals into a manual database where you can search for authors, dates, weapons etc. Each manual will also be accompanied by a short text and I thank Michael Chidester and Ben Michels for generously sharing info from Wiktenauer. The two first manuals that have been uploaded are Joachim Meÿer’s 1560 and 1570 treatises. There’s a lot more to come and with time I think the database will prove to be useful.
That’s some of the stuff that’s up right now, and I have more plans for further improvements that I will reveal later.
So again, I welcome you to join in here!
Roger Norling
Quarterstaff Instructor
Gothenburg Historical Fencing School.
Just some brief reflections on images from Chronicon Helvetiae by Christoph Silberysen, dated to 1576, currently kept in the Aargauer Kantonsbibliothek in Aarau, Switzerland. Continue reading
Here’s a interesting post on the front page of the Danish Royal Library. Amongst other things, the research of well-known HEMA-researcher and curator Claus Sørensen is presented and the whole news post is illustrated by an image from Talhoffer’s “Thott” treatise, located in the the Danish Royal Library.
The 640 page yearbook entitled Fund og Forskning i Det Kongelige Bibliotek, Bind 50, 2011 in which all this research is presented in can be bought for 500 Danish Crowns. Purchase details are provided in the news article.
If you are not so fluent in Danish, here is a Google Translation.
Welcome to the brand new site for HROARR. There are literally tons of interesting material to dive into and we have only begun to scratch at the surface.
If you wish to contribute with any material, then please let me know.
Furthermore, please accept my apologies for broken links! The news archive in particular will contain many broken links and links leading to the old site due to migrating the site from the old server and platform to a new. If you find any in articles and link pages, please let me know. I appreciate any help.
In a way I think one’s first real sword is like your first love. It is something you will always remember in a special way, since it was such a strong emotion experienced for the first time. My first, was a Pavel Moc Dürrer. Since then I have bought several swords of his making, both sharp and blunt.
Few HEMA-related products have caused as much debate as the Dave Rawlings/Knightshop range of Synthetic Swords. This comes quite natural as they were developed in close collaboration with the HEMA community, and the way we practice differ quite a lot inbetween clubs. So how has the Red Dragon Armoury succeeded in satisfying all our different expectations? Continue reading
Long overdue, work is finally being done to open up a treatise-database with more info on the authors, interpretors, translators etc. Appologies for taking so long to get it done.
The famous Augsburg family Fuggers are still considered to have been one of the wealthiest families in the world of all times, and since they were based in Augsburg, and also lived in Nuremberg and other well-known centres of fencing, it would only seem natural that at least some members of this family trained fencing in the Liechtenauer tradition. Here are some clues that might just reinforce this thought. Continue reading
What kind of steel longsword should one choose for sparring? There are of course many aspects to consider. However, many instinctively discount the so called federschwert, since they look too weak and commonly are associated with sports fencing in late 16th century fechtschulen, rather than proper training for combat and duelling. They are simply not seen as “real” swords. Is this really a fair assumption? Continue reading
What was it like in a German 16th Century Fechtboden? Here is a glimpse written by Prof. Dr. G Panconcelli-Calzia in 1926, based on his studies of the manuscript entitled “Codex Guelf 83.4 August 8°, which still resides in the Herzog August Bibliothek in Wolfenbüttel. Continue reading
This waster came seemingly out of nowhere onto the market, at a time were we are seeing very quick changes and developments in the line of sparring swords available for HEMA fencers. Its sleek lines and, for a Liechtenauer-fencer, odd-sounding name has raised a bit of attention amongst the HEMA fencers, but how does it hold up to closer scrutiny? Let’s find out… Continue reading
The best longsword nylon wasters I have tried thus far were hand made by Pentti of GHFS. Unfortunately he no longer produces these, so they are near impossible to come by. However, the little known “Norrlandswastern” is the next in line and it offers quite unique features. In fact it excels in many ways and makes the Penttis look crude. Continue reading
This hand-made Synthetic Longsword II is actually a bit of an old Rolls Royce or a Bentley. The quality of the build and components is excellent and it is based on a design of wooden wasters that have been proven from more than ten years of use. It is very sturdy and will probably outlast many of the other nylon wasters. Continue reading
I consider myself very fortunate having had the chance to follow the development and having been able to practice with the infamous Pentti nylon wasters, which in my experience is amongst the finest nylon sword simulators, if not the finest; due to a very simple reason, the quality of the material in the blades… Continue reading
Never ever turn your back against your opponent sounds like a good, solid advice, but is it always so? What do you do for instance, when you face multiple opponents? This article will give a few examples of Renaissance sources that touch upon this topic. Continue reading
Knightly Arts: A true-hearted letter of warning of the sad state of current Christianity.
Author: Roger Norling of Gothenburg Historical Fencing School
How did one train soldiers and horses for war in the 17th century? These images give a small glimpse of how this was done in Germany, quite possibly in the city of Siegen, somewhere around the first quarter of the 1600s.
Well there is a right Vom Tag, and a middle one… so there has to be a left Vom Tag as well, hasn’t there? We make all master cuts cut from both sides, so it is simple logic, right? Continue reading
No, it’s not the hottest, new move on the dance floor. It’s just the old High Guard as it is taught by Master Liechtenauer and his disciples, may God rest their souls. But how should it be done, really?
A simple reply would be long enough to reach your opponent. Stupid answer, I know… But the question is also stupid… sort of. Let me explain.
Real longswords from the Middle Ages and the Renaissance can range from about 110cm – 150cm with a medium probably about a 120-125cm, which is the “standard” length of most sparring swords today as well, give or take a couple of centimetres. However, when we look at illustrations in the fechtbuchen, we soon discover that the swords shown usually reaches from well into the armpit all the way up to the forehead. We may also consider the advise of Filippo Vadi, which although slightly ambiguous may be interpreted as further reinforcing this notion;
Author: Roger Norling of Gothenburg Historical Fencing School
Gripping a sword may sound like the easiest part of fencing; I mean it is just a matter of grabbing a sword and holding on to it. However, as we will briefly examine below, at least with some fencing masters like Hans Talhoffer, things are just a little bit more complicated than that. In fact, the practice of gripping the arming and longsword in different ways may well have been a strong factor in the development of swords with complex hilts.
What defines a good sparring weapon? A common notion is that it should be as close as possible to the real, sharp weapon it simulates, but be designed with safety in mind, thus lowering the risk of permanent injury. However, since a sharp weapon is designed to injure, this is an inbuilt contradiction. Continue reading
The list have been updated with a bunch of upcoming, exciting HEMA events.
has been added to the events list at the bottom of the front page.
… six study groups are no longer members of ARMA. The club list has been revised accordingly.
Introduction
Finding good, suitable equipment for Hema is a problem we all wrestle with and there are few products aiming to fulfill our particular needs. I have been looking at shoes for handball, basketball, land hockey, boxing, wrestling, budo and regular sneakers, but none of them really hold up to closer inspection. Continue reading
Thoughts: The Regent belongs to a category of longswords that can be presumed to have its origin in the mid 15th century Germany. The pommel is a development of the fishtail type, the blade is hollow ground and thus has no fuller.
Thoughts: Lutel 15019 is a typical sword created for modern training or steel sword sparring. The blade is simple and the edge is designed to take a beating Continue reading
Sächsische Landesbibliothek - Staats- und Universitätsbibliothek Dresden
Universitätsbibliothek Wuerzburg
Universitätsbibliothek Heidelberg
Österreichische Nationalbibliothek
The Higgins Armory Sword Guild
Gothenburg Historical Fencing School
The Historical European Martial Arts Coalition
The Meyer Frei Fechter Guild
The HEMA Alliance