A friend and I have been getting very into HEMA lately and with some thinking we decided to buy some gear and start practicing together. (unfortunately there is no club that teaches Swordplay anywhere near us so that's the best we can do) And I have decided for our safety and since we are total begginers to buy HEMA padded swords and some protective gear, however when I started searching for how much gear we needed I got too many opinions, from just a helmet and grion protection, to knee pads, throat protection, gloves, back of the head armor and so on, and I want to know what you guys think is necessary for practice with HEMA padded swords.

Is it true that swords absorb the force of the blow because they are metal, flexible and long objects? Is it true that even if a strong opponent hits you, it will not cause intense pressure on your hand?

I took my first long sword class at a club, and I want to get something to practice with at home for solo drills and other things. I'm debating whether or not to get a cheaper synthetic longsword or to wait and get a Sigi King Shorty. I know that Sigi takes a few months to ship the sword and I want to practice with something for the several months until it comes if I decide to get it. I've heard that Blackfencer synthetics are nicer than Red Dragon, but since I'll only be using it for several months to a little over a year if I stick with HEMA, I feel like getting the cheaper Red Dragon would be more practical. What are your thoughts? Thanks.

My hands are about 19 cm around, 8 cm finger length, and from the socal size charts it looks like the Michaels will be too big for me, but does anyone have experience with them fitting smaller than stated?

I'll probably go with Black Knights but I thought I'd ask first

I'm not sure if this is the exact right sub to ask about this but I was wondering if anyone could give me any insights into civilian sword carry in Portugal at this time.

Firstly, roughly what portion of middle to upper class men might be seen carrying swords? I understand by this period there was a slow decline in the portion of men who might carry a sword by the 1800s but in somewhere like Lisbon or perhaps taking the road to another nearby town would someone carrying a sword be entirely unremarkable or something people would take note of as they pass.

Secondly, I understand that while in the majority of europe the small sword had been the go to gentleman's sword for quite some time but I've heard that in Iberia the rapier was used longer than the small sword and I've seen reportedly napoleonic era rapiers as Spanish officer's swords. So one question I have is whether the full length rapier at this point have been considered a little old fashioned or extremely weird and archaic for a gentleman living in Lisbon to carry in 1808? What about specifically used for the purpose of a duel? Were there any other kinds of swords you might reasonably see every now and then carried by civilians in Portugal at this time? Would it be plausible to see something like someone walking around with a bodyguard or criminal wearing something like a hanger or the like? I've had trouble finding similar sources from Portugal but I did a search of Old Bailey proceedings and found some references to cutlasses and hangers being used by a few people like in cases of highway robbery, by patrolmen and the guard of a barge carrying valuable goods for example. While they're a little hard to identify some of the illustrations of civilians involved in the 1808 uprising seem to show them carrying fairly substantial swords, something like big straight bladed sabres or something like it.

Thirdly, is there any way to take an estimate at what portion of people who carried a sword would actually have had any practice and training with it?

Hey!

Sooo, I recently started taking up on Waite's sabre system and wanted to see how it performs in mid to high level sparring. Unfortunately, out of all the fencers I regularly watch on yt, none seem to really use it (or at least the engaging guard, which is a big part of the system) in their sparring videos.

Do you guys have any recommendations? Or maybe this system is just not viable enough to be present in tournament HEMA?

I was thinking a useless hypothetical scenario that for some reason or another, a martial arts has gone extinct centuries from now, but conveniently enough, there’s volumes of book about that particular martial arts, what should those books contain to make it easier for the ones reviving said arts should cover?

Like I guess illustrations/images and texts would be a good guess, and written as if your readers don’t know about said arts would be a start, I guess?

A couple years back one of our members tried a SupFen women's jacket, and it was so bad she couldn't use it, so it got taken apart, combined with parts of an older men's jacket, and remade by another member. The frankenjacket is good now, but took a lot of work. Others are asking if SupFen has improved their women's jackets at all. Has anyone tried out their women's jacket in the last year? What's it like?

Edit: SupFen was given her custom measurements to start with. They were so off, she couldn't use the jacket at all.

The Leo Caligae set is 🔥 but they haven't been able to restock any but the smalls. I've seen a few other examples, but who's out there selling them? I'm super interested in going early modern on thy bad self

Can we say that sports performed with swords, poles and other weapons require more strength than MMA?

Does a little guy have a better chance in a polearm duel with full plate armor than in an MMA fight?

I invite experienced friends to answer.

I've updated my complete beginner's guide to HEMA equipment. (3500 views since I first published in January 2024!)

I now list many many more retailers and manufacturers from UK, EU, US and elsewhere.

I have linked to example equipment from UK, EU and US stores with prices, to give you an idea of costs involved.

And, inspired by a clubmate who bought a steel sword that has been recently banned by a major UK tournament, I have broadly described MY UNDERSTANDING of the 'current consensus' on competition or sparring 'safe' steel swords, along with multiple examples from many manufacturers of what are likely to be comparable swords that should meet the 'standard'. This comes with the caveat that I can't vouch for each sword, and such 'standards' will vary region to region - for example 'longsword shaped' blades such as Sigi King have been banned by a major UK competition on the basis it makes them hard to distinguish from reenactment blades - therefore you need to check local competition rules. This is not to stop you buying what you want, but just to warn you that you might not be able to use it...

I'm happy to tweak the guidance if you think I have gotten anything wrong or have missed important information.

https://www.hema101.com/post/complete-guide-to-hema-equipment-and-cost

Do any of the sources mention why?

I see very few options for capes that directly state a use for fencing, but it's niche enough that I also don't really know what I'm looking for. I'd like to know what you use?

I'm creating an app "Guidematic" that will let anyone convert their documents into an easy use app with AI Chatbot and Quiz. I'm just testing the concept to see if it generates interest, so for now you can see what the generated app looks like.

Since I am a big fan of military sabre, I converted Roworth's Art of Defense (4th Edition by Academy of Historical Fencing) into an app that you can install on your phone for free. Click here to check it out.

Please leave a feedback on what you think of the app and if you are interested in it. Then I will decide if I should continue building it so that all users can create their own guide app.

I've had lots of interest in my swording of late, and I intended to study with others, but I have a mother who very much wants me to teach her whole dang family. 😱 There is no HEMA out here, that's why I'm making it a thing and I did not oversell my knowledge. That said, can someone take me back a second and tell me what I should focus on with them first?

Has anyone bought a sword from Mr Sword, located in Warsaw, Poland? Have been looking at some and wanted to hear some thoughts. Thanks.

Hi all, not sure if this is a WMA question or maybe a personality one? I'm learning from this guy who is mixed (not just HEMA).

I do enjoy it, but sometimes I feel like I'm just not doing well. To be fair my teacher does tell me "to be able to reach this point I am doing really well". But I guess he teaches this other guy too and he is younger and started a few months later and well better in most ways due to training regularly and being very serious about it.

I think he wants to teach now so he's been sitting in on lessons and he tries to tell me I'm doing something wrong and I guess I just feel so inadequate when he does.

What makes it worse is the learning style is more instinctual, what I mean by this is you block and attack is based on feel in a way, so sometimes explanations only help so much because its more like a habit you need to drill in then a "oh we do it this way because of that" don't get me wrong, the explanation is great but when a sword is coming at you, you "react" you don't exactly sit and think so much (at least the way the teacher teaches).

Because of this its kind of like "yes thanks I get its wrong, but I need to drill it in" or its like "yes I'm not blocking the drill properly because I only instinctively block that way if you grab my sword hand and hold it down, and you didn't grab it so I instinctively block normally".

I guess its making me think I should look at more of an official club, but I don't know if I'm just running away from what is just a normal growth mindset?

Are there many reputable shops or suppliers with physical locations I can visit? Would be much more comfy buying this stuff if I could try it on and make sure it's comfortable and fitting before I spend money on this expensive gear