And we are up to the third Video Digest so quickly!

Well, the holidays are coming up and I am expecting that next week’s HEMA videos will dry up.

So for the last week of 2018, I will make a selection of top videos of the year. Any videos that come out this week, but do not make that list, might appear in other holiday-themed articles.

I have decided not to go with too many this week and choose a more dynamic selection – sparrings, tourneys, promos, as well as a book review.

Sala d’Arme del Folle – 2019 Promo

A promo for a new school in Torino, Italy! I always like to see those. But we are not talking about a group of HEMA beginners, but rather some known faces – Italian brothers Dave and Alesandro Gallo. Until recently from the well-known La Sala d’Arme, they are now on their own in Torino, teaching German and Italian longsword, Bolognese sidesword, sword and buckler and dussack in a heatlhy Holy Roman Empire mix of traditions.

Those guys are well-known as both teachers and competitive fencers. They have also promised to do an update on their now unlisted video on the sword and buckler of Andre Liegniczer.

Before & After ep 1 – Sword and Cape

It is cool to see unusual formats and experiments in HEMA, especially presented through video. The concept is simple – how do experienced fencers look when they have just started a new weapon, and a month later, after they have had some time to practice it?

The guys from Sala d’Arme Achille Marozzo Gens Iulia will show us this, with episode 1 featuring the initial, unexperienced sparring with sidesword and cape.

This school from the Italian city of Udine, with 3 more clubs in the region around it, is certainly on the right track to building an interesting HEMA channel.

Book Review by Paul Wagner

It seems that I was not the only one to notice two books on late British isles fencing this year – Scottish Fencing by Ben Miller and the Scorners of Death by Christopher Scott Thompson and a few others. Australian Stoccata instructor Paul Wagner has bought, read and reviewed them on his channel in detail.

The opinion of a known Scottish broadsword instructor of books on Scottish and Irish swordsmanship is a good indicator if you should buy them.

SNF – Herbstfechten 2018 – Tournament Highlights

And finally, a tournament highlights video. What is special about this one? Well, it is from a local German tournament, organized by Studio Neues Fechten in the city of Essen.

I can completely understand why some schools don’t immediately go for international events – it is always best to try your organizational skills at a regional one first. In this case, however, the guys from Studio Neues Fechten do have an international event – Frühlingsfechten, the fourth edition of which is coming in 2019.

But it is also great to post video, even from such local events – so we all can have a glimpse of what is happening at smaller tourneys.