Welcome to HROARR
Resources for the Historical European Martial Arts and Sports Community
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.
Latest posts
From the HEMA Blogosphere
- Leonis Belgici, by Claes Janszoon VisscherThis map is considered...
Leonis Belgici, by Claes Janszoon VisscherThis map is considered one of the finest map engravings of the 17th century (Van de Heijden) and it celebrates the Twelve Years’ Truce (1609-1621) between Spain and the Netherlands. There are many references and symbols of the peace in the map - as such, ... - “Overlearning” fencing actions
makoivis: One way to make fencing actions easier to learn is to use what some people call “overlearning”. That means that you take an action that has been drilled, and make it a part of a few longer sequences. The idea is to make the action automatic. Instead of having the ... - askhistorians:
This portrait (on the right) shows King Charles...
askhistorians: This portrait (on the right) shows King Charles II of Spain in armour. Interestingly, it is not his armour; it is not even the armour of his own time, the late 17th century. Instead, it is the armour of his great-grandfather, Philip II (on the left); this particular ... - speciesbarocus:
Freydal (c. 1512).
speciesbarocus: Freydal (c. 1512). ...
From the archive
Recent news, articles and reviews
Fighting with a monkey ghost on your back
In our studies and practice of HEMA many of us do it to get a bit of a refuge from other things, from worries and concerns, to get away and narrow reality down to a tight focus on just the fun and excitement of fighting. However, for some of us reality tends to still...
The Flower of Battle of Master Fiore Friulano de’i Liberi
Last week, in the same spirit of information freedom that inspired Wiktenauer's creation, I released a free ebook version of The Recital of the Chivalric Art of Fencing of the Grand Master Johannes Liechtenauer, one of the two books produced as part of the 2015...
Fighting as a communicative skill
Since the elements described and explained up to now are properly just a beginning and primer from which all combat devices with the sword can be learned, it is necessary that before I derive some devices from them, first I should show in what way this shall take...
The Recital of the Chivalric Art of Fencing of the Grand Master Johannes Liechtenauer
Though long delayed, this book represents the most complete picture possible of the Liechtenauer tradition of foot combat as it was recorded in the mid 15th century. It’s the text I wanted for my students when I was leading a study group, and I’m happy to finally offer it in print. I hope it serves in some small way to advance the study of Johannes Liechtenauer’s art.
Support Fighters Against Racism
Here is a campaign we support 100% and strongly encourage you to consider supporting as well. So, what is Fighters Against Racism? The Fighters Against Racism movement was started by David Rawlings of the London Longsword Academy to promote and provide a positive...
The point of sparring
While sounding like a simple thing to define, sparring can have quite a few and very different goals and purposes that are sometimes hard to keep in sight in the heat of the sparring session. With experience this becomes easier to separate as you get accustomed to the...
"Take great pains in your knightly practices" - A brief review of Medieval and Renaissance training methodologies
Few men are born brave; many become so through care and force of discipline. - Flavius Vegetius Renatus Many pages have been written on the subject of medieval and renaissance combat treatises, every year new translations, books, essays and blogs are added to the...
Basic Meyer Quarterstaff Techniques 01: Ruck & Truck
This video was recorded by the MFFG at the 4th Meyer Symposium in Iowa, USA, 2016. It is a small sidetrack from the series and shows two basic techniques with Meyer's quarterstaff; Ruck and Truck. Ruck requires a soft or medium bind to work and just won't work with a...
King and Fool - The Vier Leger of Liechtenauer’s Tradition
King and Fool - The Vier Leger of Liechtenauer’s Tradition and their relationship with common medieval German archetypes. Exposition includes three things: The letter, the sense, and the inner meaning.1 “Vier leger allain da von halt und fleuch dye gemain ochβ pflueg...
Basic Meyer Quarterstaff 02: Long & short edge
This second video in the Basic Meyer Quarterstaff series brings up a few topics: First of all the stance and angles of the legs, which has been debated a bit with different arguments concerning whether one really should stand and move in such low stances. My firm...
Basic Meyer Quarterstaff series
For the last seven years I have dedicated myself to the study of Joachim Meyer's combat arts, and his quarterstaff in particular. In this I have had some very good friends accompanying me over the years in my club, and also some in other parts of the world. While the...
The Last Duel, Part 2: Death by Sodomy
Part One of this article examined the famous judicial duel between Jean de Carrouges and Jacques Le Gris, which was held in Paris in 1386. As it turns out, the description of the event in Eric Jager’s book The Last Duel is rather different from the five surviving...
What Really Happened at the Last Duel? Part1
According to the website Deadline Hollywood, Studio 8 has hired a screenwriter to turn Eric Jager’s book The Last Duel into a script for a Hollywood movie (Fleming, 2015). This tale, published as nonfiction, is an account of the judicial duel in 1386 between Jean de...
Troublesome Student -The Winner, the Solver, the Heretic
As a teacher, you prepare to show a student a technique from the treatise of your choice. You have art, text, and experience, you're qualified, you know what you're doing. Everything is set as you prepare to share your hard-earned wisdom. Besides! Said student came to...
All is Not Lost; Or HEMA on the Cheap
My first contact with what I know now as HEMA took place in the spring of 2009. I was attending a military re-enactment event at Jamestown Settlement in Williamsburg, Virginia. One of the re-enactors gave a demonstration on Fiore de Libre’s Armizare. I was intrigued...
When to hit hard in HEMA
This article describes how full contact martial arts handle sparring intensity like Mixed Martial Arts, Dog Brothers Martial Arts, Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu, Luta Livre, Freestyle wrestling, Kendo and what we can learn from this for HEMA.
Florius de Arte Luctandi: Challenges and Discoveries in a Contemporary Latin Translation of Fiore dei Liberi
Florius de Arte Luctandi is formally designated Ms. Latin 11269 by the Bibliothèque nationale de France in Paris. Based on the content and style of the illustrations, the style of the handwriting, and its probable relation to better-known texts, it was likely created...
How computer based systems can help improve our fencing skills.
Prolog: Epic Meaning The goal of every HEMA-fighter is to “survive” a duel - fought with protective equipment and as little rules as possible - achieved through years of training, practice and research. Certainly not an easy task as each group, club and organization...
Review: Fällkniven A1, S1 & F1
Today we will review three knives by a Swedish brand that oddly enough is little known to the common Swede, but which is a proper success story of a company that enjoys great respect for their high quality knives, by professionals and civilians alike, worldwide....
"The Use of Weapons", René François (1621)
The entry on fencing in René François' 1621 encyclopedia is a rich source of terminology and practices common in the fencing salles of this period in which France was developing its own native fencing style as well as trying to rid itself of foreign cultural...
Adolphe Corthey: A French 19th Century HEMA Pioneer
In the introduction to The Sword and the Centuries (1901),1 Alfred Hutton mentions a curious incident. His fencing group in the London Rifle Brigade were invited to Belgium to put on a display of historical fencing. What can we discover about this Belgian event? What...
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