Class Descriptions
How to stab good (according to Fiore) – Camilla Fraizer
This class is a detailed study on developing the mechanics necessary to have an effective thrust. We will study these mechanics from the lens of the first master and exchange of the thrusts in Fiore’s system. This class requires a mask, gloves and a gorget.
Heavy Medel! – Christian Trosclair
A walk through the texts of the greatest and most beloved Master of the Liechtenauer Tradition. Master Hans Medel of Salzburg’s unfinished gloss is an amazing addition to the Liechtenauer corpus that is often overlooked not only for having been written in the unfashionable 16th Century, but also that he apparently disagrees with the earlier glossators. We’ll be walking through the text and witnessing the unspeakable horrors of his terrible mutilation of the true and rightful gloss of the most perfect 15thC masters. Bring an open mind and a sense of humor.
Krumpin’ and Twerchin’ and Breakin’ – Christian Trosclair
Learn janky moves straight from the early modern period of the great Liechtenauer tradition from the Sultan of Schlag, Master Hans Medel. Learn to twist and turn your body, your sword and your footwork to catch angles, break strikes and guards and defend yourself from all manner of blows. There will be heavy drilling, bring full longsword kit.
Practical Tactical Brilliance: Learning to Win – David Rowe
All fencing is a game. The difference between a duel, friendly bout, or gold medal match is the stakes: The rules never change. In this workshop participants will learn what it means to win and the conditions needed to achieve it. Drills and exercises will focus on developing the fundamental skills of reading, understanding, anticipating, and steering opponents into your gameplan: control the opponent and you control the outcome. Participants will leave with an understanding of the essential concepts in fencing theory necessary to grow their tactical thinking and hone their skills as a fencer. Open to all fencers and weapons types. At least 6 months of experience recommended. Participants will need their fencing equipment, including safety gear and weapon.
Intro to Mounted Combat – No horse, no problem! – Elizabeth Scott
Participants will get to explore plays from Fiore and handle a sword on foot and from the back of our trusty (non-horse) falsemount. Learn how tempo and targeting change when handling a sword from horseback, how modern sport dressage originates directly from 15th century Italian military horsemanship and finish with Q&A on how to achieve your horsey-HEMA dreams. Gear: fencing mask, gorget, heavy gloves Optional: wooden or metal arming sword (if you have one) – we will supply weapons
Help Doc, My Everything Hurts – Learn how to avoid (and self-treat) some of the most common injuries in HEMA from a Sports Medicine Surgeon. – Elizabeth Scott
Useful for practitioners old and new, as well as coaches interested in helping students avoid overuse injuries. Includes group stretching & injury prevention exercises – yes its more boring than swinging swords but your body will thank you tomorrow! Q&A is welcome throughout the class, so bring your questions and the doc will attempt to answer.
Island Walking: Personal Duels in the Viking Age – Ian Crowe
HEMA largely focuses on single combat, where two combatants have a go at each other without interference from everyone else. While the HEMA sources start around 1300, dueling is far older than that. People fought for honor, for vengeance, to settle legal matters, or even to gain wealth and fame. In the Nordic countries, particularly Iceland, these were all entwined in Holmgang, a duel with defined rules and expectations. Don’t show up? Well, prepare to forfeit everything. This lecture will cover Holmgang in the context of the Viking Age, including the social impact of duels, fame and what it meant to be a “man of honor.” Gear: A chair, a drink (mead recommended) and a warm jacket
Thrusts, Crossings, and Pummels – Ian Davis
This class will explore Fiore’s Art for sword in armor, highlighting what it takes to actually break maille and get thrusts into someone in armor, pairings of thrusts and crossings for high repetition training, and a simple pummeling drill for moving through close range positioning. You will need a gorget, mask, heavy gloves, and longsword rated jacket. No prior experience with sword in armor needed, as we will work from basics.
Cracking challenging HEMA sources (P.H. Mair, J. Meyer, et al) – Jeff Tsay
Cracking challenging HEMA sources (P.H. Mair, J. Meyer) While the HEMA community is well over two decades old now, there is still plenty of technical source material that remains challenging to interpret. In the estimation of this presenter, Paulus Hector Mair and even Joachim Meyer are two such sources. The question we will attempt to address: over the course of these two decades, are there still key interpretation insights yet to be unlocked that might significantly (even exponentially) increase our understanding and practice of the techniques described by challenging sources like Mair and Meyer? (Spoiler alert — yes!) Come and find out how your practice of not only Mair and Meyer but of German longsword fencing can take a quantum leap forward. Equipment: longsword, mask, and gloves at a minimum; full longsword kit will allow attendees to train at higher intensity.
P.H. Mair: a hands-on transcription & translation workshop – Jeff Tsay
If you’ve always wondered what the process is of going from source material to translation, come and give it a try! This workshop will take sample passages from Paulus Hector Mair and show participants how to navigate the challenges of transcribing from the (multiple) sources and ultimately arrive at a translation. Along the way participants will gain better detailed perspective on handwriting variations, spelling inconsistencies, variations amongst sources, and of course challenges in settling on reasonable translations of the final transcribed words and characters. For anyone interested in looking under the hood of transcribing and translating directly from the sources, this workshop is for you!
German Stoßfechten According to Kreußler’s Principles – Jeremy Steflik
Wilhelm Kreußler developed a system of fencing in the early 17th century that dominated German thrust-fencing until the end of the 19th century. Aside from the Kreußler family dynasty, which included more than 20 Fencing Masters, his system was taught throughout the 19th century by two branches of the tradition: The Roux family and the Berliner Turnschule. In this class we’ll touch on the basics of German Stoßfechten according to principles established, but never written down, by Kreußler or his family. We’ll then take a deep dive into a section of the Berliner Turnschule teachings outlining drills and tactics for lefty vs righty. Required equipment: Mask, jacket, appropriate gloves, smallsword trainer (loaners will be available).
Oh, Hey! Free Swords! Basic Disarm Principles & Techniques for Rapier & Smallsword – Justin Aucoin
There are a myriad of reasons why you may not want to dispatch your adversary in a duel. Fortunately, you can disarm your opponent instead, stealing their sword (and perhaps a bit of their pride). This workshop will go over the basic principles & techniques for performing disarms with the rapier and smallsword. After looking at some example plays, students will then be sent off to work on their own sequences that end in a sword disarm — with optional show & tell at the end. PRE-REQUISITE: Beginner-level knowledge of rapier or smallsword in the Italian or French tradition. EQUIPMENT: Required: A rapier or smallsword with rubber or leather tip, a fencing mask and gorget. Recommended: A light fencing jacket, rigid chest & groin protection, and light fencing gloves. Limited loaner swords will be available.
Random Acts of Violence: Exploring the Weird & Quirky Plays of Rapier & Smallsword – Justin Aucoin
There are certain plays that are the bread & butter of Italian & French fencing, actions that pop up over and over again in every manual. Then there are some pretty peculiar, unique, and fringe plays that appear. This workshop will delve into the weirder side of rapier and smallsword play, including stabbing your opponent with their own sword, defending against an adversary who grabs you from behind, two-handing your rapier, and more. Some physical body contact appears, but all plays/drills are opt-in; students can jump in & out based on their own comfort level and interest. PREREQUISITE: Beginner-level knowledge of rapier or smallsword in the Italian or French tradition. EQUIPMENT: Required: A rapier or smallsword with rubber or leather tip, a fencing mask and gorget. Recommended: A fencing jacket, rigid chest & groin protection, and light fencing gloves. Limited loaner swords will be available.
The Longsword Devices of Das Ander Thiel – Kiana Shurkin
Das Ander Thiel Des Newen Kunstreichen Fechtbuches is a 1591 German fencing manual including material on longsword, staff, halberd, dagger, dussack, and grappling. In this workshop, we will walk through the longsword plays, begin to analyze their applications, and consider in what tactical situations and which fighting styles the featured techniques would best serve. We will also briefly discuss how to apply this style of interpretive thinking to other manuscripts. Intermediate students will likely derive the greatest benefit from this workshop, but all skill levels are welcome. Mask, gloves, and federschwert are required; knee and shin protection highly encouraged. Full tournament kit recommended for those who wish to explore the plays at greater intensity.
Footwork: a great feet of strength! – Mariana Lopez
In this workshop participants will learn how to properly use footwork to achieve their goals in any given fencing exchange regardless of weapon. From proper stance and body mechanics to speed, control, balance, management of distance and timing, and control of the fight, participants will engage in various games and drills to provide them with the right tools to develop and continue to improve their footwork outside of the workshop, as well to better understand how to integrate footwork into their strategy and tactics. This workshop is ideal for all students regardless of their weapon of choice and should prove challenging to competitive, advanced, casual, and novice students. Equipment Needed: · A soft glove (like a rapier fencing leather or winter glove). Participants should wear the shoes they use for training and tournaments. · This is an intense workshop so students are also required to bring water and take precautions (like bringing their inhalers if they are asthmatic and out of cardio) Further equipment will be provided by the instructor.
6ft away or 6 ft under. The art of distance – Mariana Lopez
Distance and timing are the pillars from which good fencing builds up, however, they are also one of the hardest concepts to master. In this workshop, we will explore and learn to exploit distance, we will go beyond the theoretical concepts and learn how to use space in order to control the opponent, increase the success of faints and fake attacks, and build strategies that will lead to a successful exchange, avoid undesired scenarios (such as unrequested wresting) and improve defense. -This workshop is a high-intensity workshop, students are required to bring water, and full gear. -This workshop works for all-level students, but it’s primarily recommended for mid-level students. Because this class works on core concepts of fencing, all weapons are welcome as long as there are at least 2 people using said weapon (Note that my footwork workshop also talks about distance, but it operates very differently so the workshops alone are entirely different and can build off of each other)
You’re (probably) Fencing Too Close – Patrick McCaffrey
We’re going to look at a small handful of plays and situations that are presented in the historical sources and discuss why it’s so hard to pull them off against uncooperative opponents. This is a tactics based class that focuses on distance and measure and how they relate to performing techniques. Students are expected to be familiar with either Fiore or Kunst des Fechtens and their respective manuscripts, though it doesn’t matter which. Gear Requirements: Mask and Gloves are required (and Athletic Cup for Men), Chest Protector/Jacket, and Fencing Knickers are recommended
Losing Pretty vs Winning Ugly or Your Posture is Terrible – Patrick McCaffrey
This class looks at fencing from a form/function and philosophical point of view. We will look at how we stand and move and present ourselves while we fence. We will also look at how we can change bad habits and look good while fencing. We will spend a good portion of the class fencing in front of each other and “”performing””, and take a lot of time in between to discuss what it means to Lose Pretty vs Winning Ugly. TL;DR Losing pretty leads to winning pretty, winning ugly leads to losing ugly. Requirements : Open to all levels, Full tournament gear recommended, but not required. Those without gear will be limited to drilling either solo or with a partner.
Constraints Led Approach for Learning and Coaching Longsword – Stephen Cheney
Modern coaching has established a status quo for teaching motor skills in sports and martial arts: in order to learn an action, its constituent movements are isolated and practiced free of context, which is later added only after the learner has improved their execution of the action. The constraints led approach flips the script on this traditional model; instead of isolating a movement and adding context later, this approach seeks to hone in on the context in order to allow the learner to immediately apply the action, and possibly even figure out the action on their own. In this class, we will explore how and why this system works, and how to apply it to learning how to fence with the longsword. While you can apply these concepts to any weapon or system, this class will focus on the longsword of the RDL glosses. No experience requirement. Full steel sparring kit required.
A Class on Directing or Speak Loudly, and Carry A Big Stick – Rebecca Glass
This class will look at how effective communication can improve your directing skills. We’ll talk about some basic public speaking strategies, ways to deal with stage fright, and all students will get a chance to make their voice heard as they call exchanges. Previous judging experienced is encouraged; volunteer students will be needed to fight test exchanges. Gear: For those fighting, full sparring kit. For those just directing, just bring yourself….and maybe a big stick.
Brain Games – Empowerment Strategies to Survive Competitive Longsword – Rebecca Glass
This workshop explores how we can address the most common anxieties we experience when compete, including fears of injury, of “looking bad”, and performing in front of a crowd. The class will be part discussion based and part active participation. This class is open to all, but may be most beneficial to those who have finished their club’s beginner-level course. Gear required: Mask, gloves, sword. Students have the option for full kit if they desire, but it isn’t required. Brain Games – Empowerment Strategies to Survive Competitive Longsword This workshop explores how we can address the most common anxieties we experience when compete, including fears of injury, of “looking bad”, and performing in front of a crowd. The class will be part discussion based and part active participation. This class is open to all, but may be most beneficial to those who have finished their club’s beginner-level course. Gear required: Mask, gloves, sword. Students have the option for full kit if they desire, but it isn’t required.
Constraints Led Approach for Learning and Coaching Longsword – Stephen Cheney
Modern coaching has established a status quo for teaching motor skills in sports and martial arts: in order to learn an action, its constituent movements are isolated and practiced free of context, which is later added only after the learner has improved their execution of the action. The constraints led approach flips the script on this traditional model; instead of isolating a movement and adding context later, this approach seeks to hone in on the context in order to allow the learner to immediately apply the action, and possibly even figure out the action on their own. In this class, we will explore how and why this system works, and how to apply it to learning how to fence with the longsword. While you can apply these concepts to any weapon or system, this class will focus on the longsword of the RDL glosses. No experience requirement. Full steel sparring kit required.
Tactics based judging – Stephen Cheney
Judging, reffing, and directing HEMA bouts is a notoriously difficult task, and yet almost everyone in HEMA will end up doing it at some point. This should come as no surprise, judges are expected to be able to see a wide variety of hits, determine their order, and often exactly where they landed. The ability to do this perfectly well seems superhuman, and can be daunting to prospective judges. Fortunately, there are some tricks that we can use to try to lighten the load in order to make it more possible to parse out when and where a hit occurred in an exchange. In this class, we will work on how to break down an exchange into its constituent tactical components, and how to apply that skill to increasing your judging accuracy. In addition to judging, the skills taught in this class can also be applied to general fencing analysis. No experience requirement. Full steel sparring kit required*. *We will be judging steel matches, so not everyone is strictly required to use steel, but everyone will be doing drills, which you can do in full steel or foam go-now swords with mask and gloves.
The Height Differential: Accounting for differences in height and reach – Veronica Young
Are you a shorter fencer and always getting hit on the head by taller people? Are you a tall person that’s always getting hit in the arms by shorter people? Do you have trouble when training to get some techniques to work correctly because of your or your training partner’s height? This is the class for you! In this class we will go over training methods, fighting methods, and techniques that can help your training and fencing to hopefully use your height to your advantage! We’ll be focusing on overall health, distancing, and fencing techniques to use. This class is for all genders and people of all heights, because everyone is shorter than somebody! Gear Requirements: Fencing Mask Fencing Gloves (Hard clamshell gloves preferred, Men’s Lacrosse gloves minimum) Steel or Nylon feder
Winning the Fight before the Fight – Veronica Young
Everyone has had that moment in HEMA where they’ve been nervous or even scared to step into the ring for a match. That moment where the butterflies in your stomach become almost overwhelming, either just training with your friends at your local club, or at a tournament with over 100 people. If you train in HEMA, you’re an athlete — and the goal of this class is to remind you of that. In this lecture, we will be going through tips and tricks from Sport Psychology (used across a myriad of sports) that can be applied to HEMA to: Gain a better mindset when competing or training for a tournament, Train smarter not harder, and how to let go of other’s expectations and just enjoy the fight.
Sword and Board and Sources – Mike O’Brien
This class will discuss the basics of how to fight using a sword and shield based on the teachings in the Bolognese tradition. The class is focused on the use of a large shield of any shape but is totally applicable to small and medium shields like bucklers as well.
Many people in and around HEMA are very interested in large shield combat like kite and viking shields but information on those shields is scarce. Additionally most of the HEMA community believes that there are zero sources for large shield combat. Luckily they are wrong. The early Bolognese sources (Manciolino and Marozzo) actually provide us with quite a bit of information on how to use a large shield in duels and combat. This class will cover the basics of their approach and give you enough knowledge to be able to spar with a historical framework when using your shield of choice.
Experience Level : All skill levels
Equipment : shield of any shape and size, 1 handed sword of any kind, gloves, mask, gorget
Is that a SCYTHE?!??! – John Morahn
Join us for a slow-speed introduction to one of the strangest weapons you’ll ever fight with. We’ll explore the basic mechanics of the scythe and cover two of the plates in Mair’s Scythe. We’ll even provide the scythe trainers! Equipment Requirements: Fencing mask and jacket, light gloves. Experience Requirements: None
Emotional Support Blanket – Fabris’ Cloak – Timothy Walsh
In his 1606 work, “”De lo Schermo, overo Scienza d’Arme,”” Salvator Fabris describes a concise, easy to learn, and extremely effective cloak system. In this class we’ll go through his concepts and plays for the cloak, and see just how effective it can be. Equipment: Rapier with a tip, mask, gorget, and a cloak or cloak substitute. (A largeish beach towel can work in a pinch!) Drills will have contact, but not full combat speed. Students should wear torso and other protection to their own comfort. Experience: Students should be familiar with basic Italian rapier concepts at a minimum. (Finding the blade, cavazione, tempo, and so on.) Familiarity with Fabris in particular will be a bonus.
Edging the Odds in your favor: you vs the world – intro into multiple opponents – DJ Nero
An intro course into the application of dealing with multiple opponents. Utilizing historical scenarios, weapons or hand to hand defensive measures involved in them (intentional and impromptu) across multiple arts and a mini simulation of a “mob” pressure to safely experience and understand facing multiple opponents Required gear: -Mask (depending on venue/ rules for COVID) -a “soft” item you can hold in front of you chest length, IE: a towel, a fencing jacket, an empty bag, a training pad/mat, etc (item will be reviewed upon entry)
Staff Class 1 – Don Kindsvatter
This class will focus on getting people comfortable using the staff by learning basic control and techniques, using the staff on both sides and in both hands. The class will begin with warm-up exercises to develop wrist and hand flexibility and dexterity, followed by solo drills for basic strikes and blocks, and conclude with two-person drills, and a flow drill. There will be no sparring. Students will get the opportunity to work with other pole arms such as spear, halberd, and pole axe at the end of the class. No prior experience necessary. Please bring mask and gloves for two-person drills. Staffs will be provided but if you have your own feel free to bring it along. Class size will be limited to 20.
Staff Class 2 – Don Kindsvatter
This class will build off of the skills developed in Class I and include more complicated warm-up exercises, additional solo drills focusing on staff manipulation while stepping, partner drills with attack and defense, and build on the previous flow drill. Please bring mask and gloves for two-person drills. Attendance in Class I or pervious staff training is a prerequisite. Class size will be limited to 20. A limited number of padded staffs will be available for sparring after the class for those interested and with protective gear.
Book history through the lens of Joachim Meyer – Michael Chidester
There is much more to a book than just the words printed on its pages. Why and how was it made? Who bought it and what did they do with it? Who read it and what did they think of it? And did anyone in the 16th and 17th centuries actually use the fencing treatises to learn about fencing? In 2019, I set out to examine these and other questions by creating a definitive catalog of the surviving copies of the treatise of Joachim Meyer. This lecture will discuss my preliminary findings from examining two physical copies of the 1570 edition, and what we’ve learned from assembling descriptions of most of the other 70 known copies (based on studying scans or sending other researchers to examine them in person). Requisites: None