Introduction Swords are fun, and knowing how to wield one will, without fail, bring you glory, money, improve your looks and make you a better lover. After all, that’s why so many of us do it. Right? Right? Well… Maybe not quite. It does make us look better, simply because HEMA black is sexy, and […]
Author Archives: Alen Lovric
INTRODUCTION So now we know how to hold a sword, stand with a sword, and walk with a sword. Now comes the fun part: striking with a sword! There is a LOT of things to cover here, so there will be several articles on it. We will start with the very basics: the strikes from […]
There are a few historical figures who are so very tough that movies about them can’t be made. They’d be considered to over-the-top even for Hollywood, see. But, we have one such figure to present to you today. Galvarino, the Mapuche warrior. Let’s set the scene first. It is mid-sixteenth century, and the Spaniards are […]
Introduction: After our last photo of Rearguard, showing how a GoPro mount can be attached to the rear mesh, we received a post expressing safety concerns (here is the link to the post). Here is the quote: “That is really dangerous idea. The world champion F1 driver Michael Schumacher got fucked up in a skiing […]
Introduction We recently posted a photo of one of our Rearguard 2.0 masks. You can find the post here. Leigh Corn has posted some concerns here, to which we respond in this post. Here’s the photo he marked up for us, for your reference. We’ll quote his words and then reply to them. The […]
We’re moving somewhere! We know some of the basics and how to step. Now it’s time to bring the sword into this equation. However, before we move on, I would like to make something clear: these are all guidelines, especially for the guards. The entire point of guards is that they put you in a […]
4. Footwork Footwork is the base of all good fencing. Practice footwork regularly, preferably every session as part of your warm-up. Practice it when you have 5 minutes alone at your school or job. Do it whenever you can, as this is the first step towards quick, precise strikes. Longsword sources are somewhat scarce on […]
3.1 The general stance The longsword is a two-handed cut-and-thrust weapon, and as such is mechanically different from both thrust-oriented and single-handed weapons. The most basic difference is that the center is turned towards the opponent with both shoulders, instead of having one side much closer to them than the other (with some exceptions in […]
Before we get into the historical figure, there is a bit of context that we need to address: namely, Bökh, or mongolian wrestling. It’s a tradition that spans back thousands of years, and is still very popular in Mongolia. It is considered as the main part of the “three manly skills”: horseback riding, archery, and […]
2.1. Holding the sword Holding the sword may seem fairly straightforward, but due to the complexity and versatility of our hands, it includes a lot of finesse and detail. Here are some general guidelines, which are true for all grip positions with the longsword: Always be relaxed. Don’t grip the sword tightly. If your hands […]
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