Reading Archives

Some thoughts on playing the victim

Posted by Roger Norling | Sep 13, 2018 | Articles, Psychology & Mentality, Reading, Teaching, Teaching & training methods, Teaching Pedagogics, Techniques & interpretation, Train, Training exercises, Training methods |

A problem that we commonly encounter in the training and teaching of martial arts in general, is...

Fighting Successfully – Bridging The Gap Between Technique And Free Play

Posted by Alexander Fürgut | Feb 17, 2017 | Training methods |

Did you ever face the situation that you trained a technique over and over, again and again and it just straight out refuses to come out during free play? Then you know the frustration if expectations and results don’t match.

Failing time and time again, because you can’t pull of what you should be able to doesn’t feel nice. It can be devastating and lead the most dedicated of us down a path of frustration. It can be a reason why people quit HEMA altogether.

How to read minds and the value of tournaments

Posted by Alexander Fürgut | Dec 2, 2016 | Articles, Psychology & Mentality, Teaching & training methods |

Some month ago a nearby group decided to run a small longsword tournament as part of some local...

Fighting with a monkey ghost on your back

Posted by Roger Norling | Aug 22, 2016 | Articles, Fencing Culture, Psychology & Mentality, Teaching & training methods |

In our studies and practice of HEMA many of us do it to get a bit of a refuge from other things,...

Fighting as a communicative skill

Posted by Roger Norling | Aug 15, 2016 | Articles, Psychology & Mentality, Teaching & training methods |

Since the elements described and explained up to now are properly just a beginning and primer...

Use of opposite hand and muscle imbalance

Posted by Sven Horvatic | Apr 17, 2015 | Articles, Teaching & training methods, Training methods |

Should we use our off hand in order to further our skills as a fighter while also balance our muscle growth?

Making a wooden dummy for swordsmanship practice

Posted by Mattias Nyrell | Feb 20, 2015 | Articles, Teaching & training methods, Training methods |

The wooden dummies we use for sword practice are to us what the boxing bag is for a boxer. They are a great tool for practising basic techniques such as cuts and thrusts, and improving precision. Construction These wooden...

Review: Swordbag Liechtenauer

Posted by Roger Norling | Aug 21, 2014 | Bags, Reviews, Training Gear reviews |

As much as I love the pioneering aspect of Historical Fencing some aspects of it have, at times,...

Review: SPES Dussack Waster

Posted by Roger Norling | Apr 4, 2014 | Reviews, Swords, Training Gear reviews |

Given how important the dusack has been both in the fencing schools and tournaments, all the way...

Free Fencing exercises

Posted by Roger Norling | Apr 1, 2014 | Articles, Meyer Articles, Meyer Halben Stangen, Teaching & training methods, Training exercises, Training methods |

In our Meyer staff class we have been forced to develop methods that meet the simple fact that in...

The Art of Control – Fechtschule Manifesto 2

Posted by Mike Cartier | Jan 17, 2014 | Articles, Fencing Culture, Teaching & training methods, Training methods |

Fencing with the Sword is nothing other than a discipline, wherein your force strives together with your sword in placement so that one with the other, using care and agility, artfulness, delicacy and manliness, are at need the...

Art of Control (Fechtschule Manifesto) Part 1

Posted by Mike Cartier | Jan 10, 2014 | Articles, Fencing Culture, Teaching & training methods, Training methods |

“Fencing with the Sword is nothing other than a discipline, wherein your force strives...

Review: SPES HEMA Jacket – Axel P model

Posted by Roger Norling | Dec 27, 2013 | Protective gear, Reviews, Training Gear reviews |

Looking at how the HEMA community looks today it is easy to forget how hard we have been working...

Review: Black Lance 5-finger HEMA Gloves

Posted by Roger Norling | Jul 11, 2013 | Protective gear, Reviews, Training Gear reviews |

One of the most elusive pieces of protective gear for HEMA, the Holy Grail if you will, is good...

A mentality of fear – and its importance to fighting

Posted by Roger Norling | Apr 19, 2013 | Articles, Fencing Culture, Psychology & Mentality, Teaching & training methods |

“If you want to learn how to fight properly and effectively with the long sword, so that you...

Review: Where’s my fighting trousers?

Posted by Roger Norling | Apr 8, 2013 | Reviews, Shoes & clothing, Training Gear reviews |

“A telegram? Oh, dear. It seems someone has been “biting me”…? Fetch me my trousers at once! No, not those. Those are my time travel trousers. No, those are my tea trousers… That’s it! Those...

Meyer freeflow exercises

Posted by Roger Norling | Mar 11, 2013 | Articles, Meyer Articles, Meyer longsword, Teaching & training methods, Training exercises |

To begin with, just for clarification, this is not a typical article per se, but rather a text...

The Wreath or the Cash? On Tournament fighting

Posted by Roger Norling | Sep 26, 2012 | Articles, Fencing Culture, Study Articles, Training methods |

“Ey fåår Fächtare Krantz förn ändas Manlige Strijden. The Fighter shall not receive the...

Rope drill for HEMA.

Posted by Roger Norling | Sep 12, 2012 | Teaching & training methods, Training exercises, Training methods |

This is a very interesting exercise. The exercise is based on a boxing drill and can be expanded upon in different ways and looks worth exploring. Good and creative...

Footwork exercises by Ilkka

Posted by Roger Norling | Aug 29, 2012 | Community news, Study News, Training methods |

I found these exercises interesting and will be adding some of this to what we already do in our training...

Review: Arms & Armor Fechterspiel Sword

Posted by Roger Norling | Jun 18, 2012 | Reviews, Swords, Training Gear reviews |

Swordsmith: Arms & Armor Arms & Armor have been making swords for practice and...

Doing what we are told or what we are taught?

Posted by Roger Norling | May 2, 2012 | Articles, Meyer Articles, Meyer Halben Stangen, Meyer longsword, Study Articles, Techniques & interpretation, Training methods |

Here’s an old but still always relevant question for us HEMA practitioners to ask ourselves:...

The tools for the job

Posted by Roger Norling | Feb 26, 2012 | Articles, Meyer Articles, Meyer Halben Stangen, Meyer longsword, Study Articles, Techniques & interpretation, Training methods |

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...

Hands-on Preview: Pavel Moc Fechtschwert

Posted by Martin Fabian | Feb 21, 2012 | Reviews, Swords, Training Gear reviews |

HEMA has gone through a lot of progressive development in the last decade. The community is...

Review: The Dave Rawlings/Knightshop Synthetic longsword – Pro-Line Extreme

Posted by Roger Norling | Aug 2, 2011 | Reviews, Swords, Training Gear reviews |

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...

Review: Zugadore poly sparring sword by Revival.us.

Posted by Roger Norling | Feb 4, 2011 | Reviews, Swords, Training Gear reviews |

This waster came seemingly out of nowhere onto the market, at a time were we are seeing very quick...

Review: Norrlands waster by Plastsmeden

Posted by Roger Norling | Feb 4, 2011 | Reviews, Swords, Training Gear reviews |

The best longsword nylon wasters I have tried thus far were hand made by Pentti of GHFS....

Review: Synthetic Longsword Type II by Purpleheart Armoury

Posted by Roger Norling | Feb 3, 2011 | Reviews, Swords, Training Gear reviews |

This hand-made Synthetic Longsword II is actually a bit of an old Rolls Royce or a Bentley. The...

Review: Synthetic Longsword Waster by Pentti of GHFS