The first one is way bigger than the second and unfortunately offers way too big a target, so I made the second and it works great with my rec-specs. Both have an integrated leather suspension and impact padding inside as well as a hardened leather bib. Just felt like sharing and figured y'all would get a kick out of it.

Note: these are specifically for personal use and while I feel very safe in them I am not encouraging anyone to make their own equipment without significant skills in metalworking and a willingness to accept the risk

In the battle of Civitate in 1053, where the Pope's army fought against a Norman army, William of Apulia (first-hand witness and victor) makes a special note of Swabian (German) troops fighting in the Pope's army.

~700 Swabian mercenaries are said to have fought dismounted, in mail, and wielding "oversized" swords in two hands. It is said these troops were tenacious and fought to the last man.

Sadly William of Apulia didn't take exact measurements. The swords these troops used may be early examples of the European longsword. Hundreds of troops fighting principally with "longer" swords in two hands suggests metallurgy technology was sufficient to produce somewhat reliable longer blades and there may have been a martial tradition for using these weapons.

On the other hand, William of Apulia could be exaggerating some details. He also says these swords could cut a man in half long-wise. He also says they fought badly on horseback, but also says they fought on foot so maybe the Swabians changed tactics part-way into the battle?

It's kind of neat to image that European longswords may have been prevalent 50 years prior to the First Crusade. That is 300 years before Fiore. I wonder what the swords actually looked like.

Here is an artist's depiction from the web: https://encrypted-tbn0.gstatic.com/images?q=tbn:ANd9GcTIiORssWSvt4cMFf3mgwGpMXyzd-NXhgqxBPENBA9-zB7yZbam2gLe31o&s=10

I'm going to my first tournament this weekend, and I want to be prepared for it. How do I go about washing SPES women's padded HEMA pants? They seem to have foam inserts that I can't remove. Will washing and drying them in machines cause mold? Will the foam inserts catch fire?

Hello everyone,

I have a question about the "basic" stance in Meyer Rapier. How much do you turn hip? I see some people who basicly just stand straight forward some turned in a little and in our Club we learn like a full 90 degree.

Hi, I'm finally at a point I can dedicate time to studying HEMA.

I wanted to know if there was a proper HEMA group in Mérida, otherwise I'm going to start my own. But, I didn't want to step on toes if there already is one.

If there isn't, however, who wants to study together?

Thanks in advance <3

Has anyone ordered from US based company Alchem Inc? I stumbled across them digging through old posts when I was looking for US based sellers. There is a message on their home page that the store is temporarily closed but it also says they have left daggers and crossbow pages up which send like they are full follow orders on them? They also still have rapiers listed too. I'm hesitant to order if they are down. I emailed them and got no reply and no answer from the phone number listed and voice mailbox is full. Looking at their stuff though it's quite reasonable based on where i can see.

Does anyone know any other US based sellers for rapier and sidesword that are affordable? Castille is a bit pricey. Darkwood isn't bad but with the guy's latest political rant I'm not super enthusiastic about supporting them. I also stumbled on Bunishermaw they appear to have affordable blades but they are down at the moment too. I did exchange a few emails that said they will be up soon but I'm not sure how long that will be and they stopped responding when I asked about planning an order. Sellers like Purple heart are out of stock on everything.

I’m new to HEMA and relatively new to sports in general. I want to improve my fitness as quickly as possible so I can learn HEMA effectively and eventually compete. What type of training program/exercises would be best for building the strength, endurance, and mobility needed for HEMA?

Hello Reddit folks. Like all of you in this sub, I'm a Hema practitioner... and I'm quite unlucky with injuries, and I've noticed that of all the people I regularly spar with... I'm the only one who's ever gotten seriously injured.

So I'm curious: what are the most common Hema injuries? What causes them? If you'd like to help a fellow swordsman, please take 3 minutes to fill out the questionnaire! https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSfaV6Tl_Z-S8Ugjazv6uW2XMfjFt2JMrT7vxKLvRM8mXRBjlA/viewform?usp=header

Hi all,

For a while now, a company that makes collectable swords have been popping up on my feed, their website is Katana-Sword.com

Typically, advertisements like these never bother me; however, they recently started to advertise their products as "HEMA ready." They seem to believe that simply a "full tang construction" and being "unsharpened" automaticly means that is safe for HEMA. Needless to say, this is extremely unsafe and I am concerned that someone with less experience would buy one of their swords to spar with.

Anyhow, I have already emailed them regarding my concerns, but I want to share this here so that others can help spread the word.

I recently bought a side sword from them and know they tend to be on the heavier side (or atlest heavier than what I'm used to with side sword) and was wondering how they feel to be hit with? ie should I be extra cautious so as to not hurt my fellow club members

I want to get The Medici from Darksword Armory, but I would also like a training sword to practice handling before I start swinging a $700 sword. I found an Xtreme Synthetic Sparring Longsword on Medieval Collectables that seems comparable; does anyone have any experience with this or a similar item?

It seems like the original text for using this kind of weapon is The Flower of Battle, are there any other sources to consider for how to properly handle a longsword? I'm sure there are more contemporary sources as well, I just haven't found them.

Thanks!

I'm a longsword newbie, but I've been fighting sword and shield for years.

I'm looking to get my first feder and I'm unsure between the regenyei trnava slim, the regenyei standard or the VB fuller less.

Each of the regenyeis would be imported to England from France so come at a heavier price tag & waiting time than the VB that I can source from a UK supplier.

Can anyone point me to which would be the best option?

I was an online member for a while, although the videos weren't compressed so sometimes struggled to play, which is why I quit. The videos were great, I'd love to know if they play better than before.

Anyway, I'm more interested in the gearless sparring, from those who have done it. From the videos it looks very different to geared sparring, lots of flowing actions, feints, binds, etc. and they end in a sort of submission rather than a hit. Looks more like Meyer images. What are the rules? How does it work compared to geared sparring? If you have done both, how well does the gearless sparring carry over into geared sparring? I imagine that lack of thrusts and lack of hand hits change things a lot...

Ps I don't want this to turn into an Orwellian '5 minute hate', I just want to hear from some fencers guild members about their experiences.

Thanks

Hi all, I want to purchase my first sharp for cutting and training actions, does anyone know of a good replica so far I can find one by Universal swords on KULT O Athena, or there’s a Cold steel but for that price I can almost buy and antique. Would anyone have a recommendation in the 3-450 range for a functional Spadroon ? Thanks !

Big fan of sword and buckler, and extremely picky. I have been looking for years for MY sword without having to forge it myself. I finally found it, an arming sword, for my cutting/display/ren-faire/zombie larp/pass down to my kids as "Dad's Sword" piece.

It's not exactly historical, but it's got fantastic balance, a quality "Damascus" (pattern welded) blade, perfect Rockwell hardness, peened through, swept guard, black grip, and gold accents. It's impressive and has an air of nobility or upper-class construction, but not regal or ceremonial looking.

But now I need a functional buckler of equal stature... Where should I look for such a thing? I mostly just see plain ones everywhere.

There are two groups that practice rapier near me, the local SCA kingdom and a HEMA club which is a bit farther away

I've noticed that the SCA group uses less safety equipment (just masks/gloves) and heard that they also use different blades with more flexibility

Do people have any thoughts on this? I want to join the SCA group but I'm honestly not sure if it's the experience I want to get out of practicing rapier

I wil go to Korea to study next month so I want to continue training. Are there any HEMA clubs for me to train to?

I own a kit and have sparred steel with club mates swords in the past but this is actually my first sword buy. I have heard that the Krieger Messer is a stirdy and safe sword but the point of balance is further out (13cm) then the club mates swords I have used till now whilest the overall weight is lighter. I can't imagine what this sword feels like so if you have experience with the Krieger Messer I would like to know how it handels

Hello everyone, my association and I are thinking of starting to study the saber.

My teacher had seen the Radaelli as his first saber, but I haven't been able to find much information about it.

We've seen a few reviews on Reddit, YouTube, and elsewhere, and more or less the same names always come up, along with the best Kriegerweapons sabers.

P.S.

My school studies the Renaissance historical scheme based on Achille Marozzo's Opera Nova.

Link for Saber Radaelli:
https://pikearmory.com/catalog/sabli-i-messery/saber-radaelli/

Hi all I'm sure this has been asked plenty before but, me and a friend are getting into hema and we have decided to study longswords. There are no clubs in our immediate area so we've gone ahead and ordered some polypropylene training swords and have been watching some videos on YouTube to try and learn. What are some good books, videos, or channels to check out to help us along our journey?

I can't be the first person who noticed this. Does anyone have links to any articles which talk about this any deeper than my observation?

In i.33, the priest's special longpoint looks almost identical to Fiore's iron gate guard. Yes, the elbow is up in an exaggerated position in i.33, but i.33 exaggerates a lot of pictures.

Then, on the last two pages of i.33, the only woman I know of in a fighting manual shows up. She is using an over-the-right-shoulder guard, which then shows up as The Guard of the Woman in Fiore's Flower of Battle.

I have heard people say that Fiore was a Northern Italian and really should be considered part of the German martial tradition because of the similarities of his sword-fighting to the German masters, but I have not heard or read anyone pointing out this connection yet.

Who else has talked about this?