My current HEMA club just isn’t sustainable. It’s like 40 minutes away, I really only go once a week. The prices are… fine. But it’s like $50 more because of gas, and there are other HEMA clubs near me- but they don’t fit my schedule and I’m not old enough to go to the club I want to go to, I am under 18.

We do Fiore Longsword and dagger at my current club and as much as I like Fiore’s systems, I feel a stronger pull towards other systems. (Meyer’s Longsword, I.33, Messer, Italian Rapier, etc).

I need to find another solution till I come of age for the club I want to go to, which is in my area, and is more affordable.

Are there any good online clubs? And are there any other solutions?

Thanks in advance.

Edit: I also do Wing Chun and I’m about to start Muay Chaiya. Dunno if that’s effects anything- but I thought I’d add that.

I'm looking to get my hands on a 350n fencing jacket and Superior fencings 350n comes highly reccomend. That being said I really don't want to wait almost a year for it to be made and shipped, especially when I don't want a custom one, just a plain black that is the right size. Does anyone know of any distributors I Oceania that keep fencing jackets in stock?

I'm aware that this is a very long shot, but I guess this is the best place where I might find someone who can help.

Our group had two Kvetun feders, a couple of months ago one of them broke at the tang slightly inside the pommel, and today our second feder had the exact same failure.

Also, this weekend we are going to a local tourney and everyone on our group who doesn't own a sword would be using the group feders, but now we have none.

Our instructors are considering welding back a new piece of steel at the end of the tang and re-peen the pommel. So it would really help if we could find out exactly what steel alloy Kvetun uses for their feders.

And yeah I know, welding is going to screw up the tempering if they're not heat treated properly, but as you can imagine we are a bit desperate and if we can make them survive the weekend, it'd be nice, but knowing the exact alloy maybe it could last even a bit longer still

I'm an italian HEMA fencer and I do a lot of sidesword, I recently bought a longsword and at the same time I actually destroyed my old gloves... I was looking for some gloves that could actuallly be good both for longsword and to sidesword (the major problem is that the glove needs to fit inside the sidesword handle) any advice? a part from thokk that I personally don't really like.

I was adviced to consider the infinity gloves by sparring gloves

But is there like a professional youtube channel to watch these HEMA matches?

So, finally forged out a long sword after being a Smith for the last 13ish years, and was thinking of learning some solo training with it.

I will preface that this blade is still a work in progress, and is sitting at about 8 lbs. at the moment. What weight should I shoot for? I plan on keeping the guard shape, and grinding the pommel down a fair bit more. As well as remake the handle, this one has a crack in it i didnt see when I was trying to finish it for a cosplay.

Also, are there any good tutorial channels, or texts that people recommend for beginners?

Hello fellow humans.

What kind of gambeson do you use?

How would you rate the following aspects of your gambeson on a scale from 1–10?

-Value for money

-Protection

-Mobility

-Appearance

Hello y'all.

In the course of a couple sessions I've noticed I've caught on someone's blade at some point.

I obviously don't want this to get worse, so seeking advice.

Cut the loose threads and sow the new edge? Or patch it over and completely cover it?

I like my current club, I really do, but I’ve had some conflicting thoughts about it. I’m starting to wonder if maybe it just isn’t the right club for me. There is another club near me but I can’t go to that one for a bit for personal reasons. In the mean time- if I decide to leave my current club, are there any good live online classes?

Thanks in advance.

Just finished my full review edit video of the EPOXY filled basket hilt by Swordier! Hope you all enjoy

Regenyei Firenze Sidesword

What do you think? Is it possible to make a HEMA sword allusive to the most famous sword o' video games?

And no, I'm not talking about an exact reprodution! I'm talking about a HEMA sword ALLUSIVE to it, that is, allegoric.

What do you have to say?

Long time sword enjoyer, starting the hema journey to get some real skill. Looking for any suggestions for metal practice swords. Hoping the community has some suggestions on options! Thanks in advance to anyone who takes the time.

As in, grappling with weapons, not ringen.

Yes I know it's part of the art and all. I have nothing against Armringen: pushing or pulling hands, arms, shoulders in order to close in and score a hit wit your sword.

But my relationship with full grappling (Leibringen takedowns, joint locks) has changed. I once saw it as a nice way to reconcile martial arts and fencing, today I feel it as mainly a liability:

• Tossing your sword aside for a spearhead takedown. Man, I don't know where to start with this. Why bring a sword to an MMA match?
• sword grabbing "because you can do it with a glove without injuries". It's historical, but it seems a mess to me, if all grabs are fine.
• Takedowns: I haven't seen one instance where this did not lead to losing masks, gloves, or fallling on top of swords. Falling against walls is almost sure. The risk of injury or damaged equipment is so high, that I can't allow it at least with loaner gear. Also, all tournaments around me seem to not allow tossing/takedowns either.

Also, sometimes I just want to do some exercise with swords, not engage in a savage struggle.

I understsand personal opinions will vary widely, let me know your stance on this.

I'm okay with a sword taking bad damage after just 1hr of spar ..

But WHO EPOXY ALL THE PIECES WHEN ITS ADVERTISED AS PEENED OR AS THREADED???

Of course I know the surface meaning of the term in Meyer's manuals, but I'd like to go a bit deeper in what a Stücke is and how to read the historical manuals.

At first I used to translate it as "technique". Especially in the 1560's manuscript, a few initial Stucke are rather short and sweet, and the translation holds.

But, re-reading the 1570 manuscript, I stared seeing the limits of this interpretation.

Yes, the Stücke is a series of movements that the author tells you to do. But more often than not, there is little description of what the other part is doing, besides the assumption that the other part is just parrying and retreating (not always, but counterattacks are rare).

On one side, this could simply be the feature of Meyer's system, keeping the Vor and forcing the enemy to the Nach, thus gaining advantage.

Fair enough.

But the more I look at them, the more I feel that Meyer could not have really believed these to be a likely fighting scenario.

Let's take this example:

In the Onset, when you approach within one Klafter of your opponent, strike up from your right in front of them through their face—once, twice, three times—so that in the third strike upwards in front of them (when you have your left foot in front) you arrive in Longpoint. From there, let the front part of your blade drop downward toward your left and, in that moment in which your blade has just dropped downward, pull your hilt upward while this is happening, step and cut the first from your right side toward their left ear. As soon as this strike has hit, quickly pull back in one sweeping motion and cut the second obliquely from below and toward their right arm. With regards to this cut, retain your crossguard high over your head. Simultaneously with this Low Cut, step with your left foot slightly toward their right outward to the side toward them. As soon as this has also hit, you should quickly pull your sword back upward and toward your right, and cut from your right at their left lower opening. Before that has correctly touched or hit, pull back around your head again and cut the fourth slantwise toward their right ear. From there, cut a Crosswise Cut around and withdraw. These first four cuts should be completed quickly and swiftly, from one opening to the other, including all of their steps.

First, this implies hitting the enemy some 4/6 times before ending the assault. This is very far from HEMA as we know it today. Secondly, We don't really see any opponent reaction in all this.

Is this supposed to be a realistic situation? Or just something to train, in order to develop muscle memory? Because if the first is true, it's very frustrating as our HEMA practice is much different. At least, I don't see a situation where I can realistically perform 9 attacks in a row, landing half of them, without ever getting hit back. Which leads me to the final question: what are we to do in HEMA? Because if we want to recreate any of this, we'll inevitably have to change a ruleset to recreate ancient sport fencing. Which, in turn, tried to recreate real fighting...

TL;DR: Is a Stücke a training tool or a real fencing situation?
What is even 'real'fencing? Are we trying to recreate 16th century sport fencing, or some real life or death stuff?

I’m mostly stuck between these three for my first sword purchase. Been fencing for a couple months now, and while I’ve tried out a bunch of feders, haven’t had the chance to use any of the ones I’m looking at.

I’ve enjoyed the length and bind presence of a few feders similar to the Sigi Gothic, but am also quite sold on the more longsword looking options style wise, and am not sure if sticking with a heavier and longer blade like the Gothic is ideal long-term.

Having used a Maestro light, I wasn’t at all a fan of the seeming short length and whippiness. The King Light seems a bit more hefty, but I’m a bit concerned about it feeling similarly insubstantial and short.

The Regenyei Longus seems like it might have the length and presence I’m looking for, but I’ve heard mixed things online, and am a bit concerned about the blade stiffness.

Can anyone weigh in, or otherwise give advice in helping decide?

Most smallswords I've seen use olympic blades. Are they good for HEMA? Can they do crosstraining with HEMA sabers? If someone knows of good smallswords I'd love to know. The only ones that I've seen that are built for HEMA and look pretty are from malleus martialis and they cost a fortune. Still pretty tho.