So, all armour we wear above the jacket. Except gorget, banana holder and the cuirass. But, why? Why do we wear the cuirass underneath the jacket. Historically this was ofcourse the other way around and i cant really figure out why we do it now. Is it solely to be able to take off the jacket quicker?

Good evening, I have a question, do you think HEMA will stay in the territories where it is already known or do you think it will eventually reach places like South America? I ask because when I search the internet I see very few places in South America where I can practice it and although I can do long sword exercises by myself at home I would like to do it in a more "professional" way.

I’m a complete beginner when it comes to hema and I’ve been trying to get my positions done but I’m very confused. When I’m in stance do I put my foot that’s the same as my dominant hand forward or do I put my foot that matches the side the my weapon is on forward? Also are you supposed to change which foot is forward based on how you want to move or do you keep the same position the whole time? Also does the foot position and stance apply to all weapons or is it just for long swords? I’ve been looking online but getting conflicting info so I figured I’d ask people who do this stuff.

Hi All,

Can anyone give a good break-down of the different between "slicing off" (abesneiden) and "hand-pressing" (hende drucken.) From what I can tell, hende drucken describes a subset of the possible actions labeled at abesneiden, but I can't find a real definition for either that I'm satisfied with. Mainly looking at RDL, since 3227a doesn't have much in the way of gloss on the subject.

Thanks!

I've heard Docciolini's manual is extremely simple but clear for an early 17th century manual. Are there any resources for the manual out there or instructors who are open to teaching it?

Hi I've been going through giganti and trying to come up with a structure of things to work on at my local group. I was wondering when people thought a dagger would be a good pick up for rapier. Everyone else in the club uses it. I'm not attached to goals as far as meeting or worried about not getting them. I just like structure looking ahead. Any thoughts on time frame? I was originally thinking at least a year with just rapier and off hand but it starting to seem a bit or a stretch. FYI the group doesn't drill much, mostly sparing.

My kvetun sidesword 2's hilt has started to rattle after sparring. The hilt and crossguard moves a bit in all four directions. I've been using hockey stick tape to make a wedge in between the gap in the hilt and then rolling it around so it stays in place. It has stopped the rattling for a little while but as the sword vibrates in use it has come back.

Suggestions for better solutions? I've been thinking about trying epoxy but I have no experience in how well it holds.

Hi everyone,

Sorry if this isn't the right place to be posting this. I'm looking to purchase one of these books for my partner, but have come across two versions. Reviews indicate that these are two different books, and I can only find the 1568 version as a hardcover. I also can't seem to find the page count for the 1568 version, but the 1570 version seems to weigh more so I assume that it is a larger book?

If anyone with more insight into the difference of these books could please elaborate, and share which they believe is better as a stand-alone book, I would appreciate it greatly!

Just wondering what the community thinks

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Does the community generally have a good experience with Superior Fencing?

I've read they are great for cheap, mid to high quality gear.

I've made a payment for a full HEMA kit nearly 3 weeks ago and I cannot get anyone to respond back confirming the payment or order.

What is everyone's experience with customer service?

I've been looking to get into the rapier side of HEMA and have been looking for a steel on a budget, ZWA came up but I've heard SCA flex blades can have trouble in the cut of the whole cut and thrust part of the sword. If anyone owns a ZWA rapier, is it worth it? What are the main flaws with the blades? Which ones work for HEMA? I've been trying to find more info on the different types of blades but have come up dry.

Ok, so just to recap I have no club in my area and so far have been messing around with some video sources that the lovely folks of this subreddit were so kind as to recommend (thanks for that btw), and free translations available online of historic sources, mostly Meyer,

But I'd like some additional sources to compare and contrast with, preferably contemporary ones with clear explanations and nice pictures that I could use to self study.

So does anyone have any good book recommendations?

Hey folks. I have a schedule travel Netherlands next week.

I want to visit Hema club or group in Amsterdam, but I can't find in google.

Can you guys inform Heam club of group in Amsterdam? I hope!

From the appearance, many people in training only wearing stockings, but what protective gear are they hiding inside. Do you know what is it? And do you think this method is safe enough.　

I'm just starting out doing a bit of sword and buckler, my club focuses on the bolognese tradition. Does anyone have any good videos on basic drills or introductions to it?

I've recently started to take a very cursory look into Rada and a little bit of Thibault, and I'm already completely enamoured with the movements and theory behind it. Problem is, I don't think I've ever seen someone do spanish rapier in a proper tournament setting, so I have no idea if you can make it work there.

My basic understanding is that destreza wants you to completely avoid any movements that are risky or not made with specific intent, which is great for not dying, but could put you behind in situations where going for those gambles might pay off for chasing points.

I'm not looking at it purely from a wanting-to-win perspective, I think even in tournaments the main goal should be having fun and trying to improve yourself, but I also want to learn something that's at least competitive with other styles rather than falling behind entirely.

I'm looking to outfit my school with some sideswords, but we don't have much budget. We do have several Hanwei Practical Rapiers with 37 inch blades.

I'd love to be able to buy some side-sword hilt furniture that we could just swap in and out with our rapiers.

Has anyone tried this? Do you know of any sidesword hilts sold ala cart that would work?

I'm interested in learning HEMA. I found an academy near where I live, so I can get some formal instruction. However, I'll be busy with school for the next month or two so I won't be able to start lessons for a little while. I still want to give it a try, by watching some videos and reading about the subject, and perhaps doing some basic drills and sparring with boffers and stuff like that. Would this harm my future technique once I take up classes?

Hi there! I thought I'd share with you the awful experience I had buying from the Black Armoury retailer. I'm not very active in this sub, so excuse me if someone else posted similar thing before me.

tldr: This is an awful retailer. Poor customer service, long time to wait, and very high prices.

On February this year, I decided to spice up my training and finally buy protective gear. I was initially drawn to their website since it looked professional, and had that nice eye-catching 9.5/10 user reviews. I placed an order and started waiting.

After two weeks with no updates, I became worried, but waited patiently. Surely they'd respond if something was wrong. Right?

After a month from my purchase, I emailed the support and just asked how long it would take. To which, after two days, they responded saying they're still waiting to receive some stock items, and that they should arrive soon. I was a bit annoyed, so I asked "how long should I wait?", and after another two days they said they don't know exactly but think they'll arrive sometime in April. So I waited again.

Soon April arrived, and as quickly as it begun it also ended. Without any notice or anything.

So this month I asked them again what's up with the wait. After 4 days they responded. Only now I was informed that some items they have on hand and were waiting for one item (fencing mask) to arrive. I asked then to refund me the mask, and just send the other things, to which they agreed.

And now we arrive to today. After nearly four months since the initial purchase, a long back and forth which I had to initiate, because apparently they don't believe in keeping the customer well-informed, I received the items but not my refund.

I do not recommend this website. After these months I educated myself, and found which retailers are more popular. The Knight Shop or SPES always respond quickly and are very nice.

Anybody know some good YouTube channels or even dvds teaching Meyer’s Dussack?

Ideally with good videography and in-depth explanations. Similar to Kyle Toelle’s dagger series on Amazon? Much appreciated!