Hello all, this is my first blog post.

I figured I’d use this to actually introduce the point of this Blog? Site? I touch on it in the rest of the site but that’s just because I suck at web design. “Oh it’s easy” says everyone else my age and younger. But ya know? It’s not my thing. What IS my thing is fencing and this; I want a space that’s not Discord or Facebook where people can share some thoughts on fencing and HEMA. Not to ragg on these forums but for some of us they dont quite hit the mark for discourse or interest. Also, there is going to be fencing and HEMA based art, cuz I like making it.

Now for a brief disclaimer, there are many other HEMA blogs out there that cover many areas of fencing and I’m not trying to say they aren’t good, or this one is better. That’s for others to say. That this one is better. I would input a winking smiling face here because I know as a group we have a hard time with reading jokes in plain text, instead; Please, NEVER take anything I say too seriously. I’m going to offer opinions and write stuff from time to time and I may assert them as facts. However, Pluto was a planet when I was younger and now look at it. So, basically I don’t trust that anything is certain anymore and neither should you.

HEMA as much as we love it, is still something we are reconstructing to a degree, we may come up with interpretations of fencing actions that are functionally correct, we may have linguistic explanations for them that make sense. At its core though HEMA is still relatively new on the scene. I’m not going to argue any sort of “If X then Z IIF Y” kind of formula for anything in these posts, that’s not the kind of guy I am, though I love philosophy. It’s just not a feasible position at this point. I will say that being functionally workable is maybe the only standard that we should be using, but that’s just because, well, it’s functionally workable and I like that standard. Clearly there are other standards that will work better for other people. These should be respected as well, as far as you think the standard being applied is one that you find useful. I find that being workable in HEMA means that you have to be able to execute the technique under pressure of some kind be it a tournament, sparring at other schools, low gear (Don’t fence in low gear) ect. That’s just how I feel about it though. I have seen many people reject an action or technique from the texts simply because they haven’t practiced it enough or tested it enough for it to be workable underpressure. I have ALSO seen many people come to an absurd conclusion about an action after testing without any pressure or with a compliant opponent only to have it fall apart immediately after contact with a good fencer. These problems are a shame and still a constant companion in our community.

This is really the heart of HEMA, well one of the hearts. HEMA is like an octopus in its number of hearts. Anyway, ONE of the hearts of HEMA is that it’s new. It’s growing and we’re still learning what we can get out of it and what it can give. Thankfully there is room for many versions of HEMA and of fencing in general that are useful to our many varied groups. There are those of us that are interested in the “Sport”, the competition. They look at HEMA ratings and judge fencing techniques by their usefulness in this context. They meet at tournaments and share ideas and bash each other around in a loving fashion. There are those that dive deep in the sources (not as many as there should be) and are concerned with the best translations, the most accurate contexts of actions. They bring us new translations, scour history and give us context for our practice. There are those that love the Martial Art of it and enjoy each movement or technique matched or echoed in other arts and their application. They “cut” , wrestle and study and look for more “real” applications. Still others are fascinated by the history and context of the Art and how it fits in with history, art and cultural practices. These are just a few of the infinite number of valid points of view. Many of us fall into a few of these categories at once. There is room in this community for all of these points of view to coexist. From time to time I lean more to one way then another, but they are all valid positions along with many others I am currently unaware of. I think this is good news! It allows us to look at any of any number of aspects and look for something that we like, something that we can improve on, something that we can help grow.

Back to the first paragraph, my issue with the aforementioned forums is that people post ideas and thoughts, and then are judged by unclear, or implicit criteria by others for those ideas. Now, certainly people say silly things and some things that by common convention are simply false. Many are unworkable in any context other than prearranged actions, compliant opponents or simply by not being tested in any stressful context. I would not argue that there are many HEMA fencers that are operating with imperfect information and technique, I think we all are really. However to say that “I have the right answer and I alone” is of equal folly.

All this permissiveness of other people’s viewpoints aside, for me, I think that we are probably approaching a common understanding of the basic components of several kinds of fencing, longsword German and Italian, rapier and others. Where I still think we lack is in our understanding of how to implement these components. Let’s take Zwerch for example, we all know it, we love it. I think we have a basic understanding of the mechanics of it. However, not only in competition but in sparring I see the vast majority of us attempting a Zwerch at odd times, without side stepping and against the wrong provoking action. I’m not going to sit here and lecture everyone on how to Zwerch properly, I mean I could, and I probably will at some point. You could ask “Who are you to lecture us” and the answer is, I’m no-one. But the sad truth is, none of us are, none of us have a rock solid claim on any truth.

This is fundamentally why I am starting this site, not to find “Truth” because, like what even is that. Instead, to have a place where I get to rant and share information, a place where others can share information and opinions without their content being buried immediately in a bunch of nonsensical comments. Clearly this is going to be curated by me, so some stuff is gonna make it some isn’t. It’s my site, I’m not going to pretend that I’m without bias, I’ll try and share things that I find interesting even if I don’t agree. My main caveat will be that when I assert things it’s because I have found them to be true under pressure and against some of the best fencers in the world. In closing I’ll respect anyone’s point of view if they can Prove it with Iron.