In the last few days, the HEMA community has been collectively groaning in wonder at the series of videos of YouTuber Shadiversity that claim to talk about historical European martial arts, but consistently miss the mark both in regards to … Continue reading The Shad Drama – background, context and responses
Recently, I have noticed that more and more people with miniscule or complete lack of experience in HEMA partake most loudly and actively in online discussions. One could say that this is a typical characteristic of online discussion – the … Continue reading Authority in HEMA
Many people practice HEMA as a casual hobby or a sport and they are in many ways lucky – they can enjoy the training and the tourneys and have fun. But if and when you get more serious in HEMA, … Continue reading Where the real fight is
There are two main types of HEMA teachers – the ones I like and the ones I don’t. British instructor Tea Kew is firmly in the first group. Founder of Cambridge HEMA, but now training at New Cross HEMA in … Continue reading Tea Kew: Cutting with a sword and what to do first
This is not a critique on HEMA manufacturers and their choices for how they name the products in the catalogues. Instead, it is a warning for new HEMA people for when they start shopping and some of the confusion that … Continue reading Model names in HEMA gear are nonsense
I wanted to make this perfect. It will never happen, of course, but I wanted the first one to set a standard, at the least. A standard for what you should come to expect. 10 days after Swordplay 2018, I … Continue reading Swordplay 2018 – the full report
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