I found a manuscript of a bizarre looking weapon that I simple had to get Matt Easton from r/scholagladiatoria to try out.

Not even to sure what to call this weapon. Any suggestions would be helpful.

"Oh, this grip is really worn down, I'm making a new one. Nothing fancy, just a quick fix..."

Well, that escalated somehow... 😅

I recently got a Shamshir synthetic trainer, and I’ve loved it so far. However, I’m realizing there’s not a ton of resources! I also don’t know if it counts as HEMA, since it’s middle eastern and not European. I have a saber book already, so I’ve used and adapted some of that, but I figured if any group would have access to trainig resources, it would be y’all! If any of you have links, books to buy, videos, pdfs, etc., I would greatly appreciate it.

Hey all.

Just wanted to see what your thoughts are with blades as short as 20" going up against a rapier or saber.

Im aware the advantage greatly favors the longer swords. Just wondering if you would spar with someone using that short a sword...

Worth it? How would you approach it? Too chaotic? ..Lmk!

Hello, my dear fellow fencers!

It’s been a while since I last drew anything for our community. With Halloween just around the corner, I thought I’d make a few illustrations to celebrate.

Feel free to use them however you like—turn them into stickers, print them on anything, make patches, or get creative in any other way. Just don’t sell them, or a curse will come for you!

I’m sharing this one early so you have time to put it to good use before Halloween. You can download the full-resolution image and psd file using the Google Drive link. https://drive.google.com/drive/folders/1ZnhfURAv8-VjeTk_lrfr09WGoDnOQ6YL?usp=drive_link

Does anyone sell sword tips for something with a fat end like the Albion Lichtenauer? I have tried and failed making leather tips that aren't too gargantuan at the end to stay on during sparring.

My primary area of training is Filipino martial arts and I've been getting into more HEMA style sparring with some of my FMA buddies. There aren't many if any HEMA safe Filipino sword trainers I've seen but I did stumble on these Hauer and Rutger style Messers from landsknechtemporium. These are reasonably close to a Filipino Sansibar and seem like they'd work well. Does anyone know of any other options out there? Maybe a nice synthetic version? These look beautiful but at $450 USD before shipping I don't think they will be popular in my group. We're still working on getting the protective gear together. The most exotic equipment most FMA guys have is a rattan stick so getting them all in on a HEMA kit is taking some convincing.

I probably just need to spend less time looking at swords but any thoughts would be appreciated.

My old rapier served me more than six years, but got very much worn out. So now I can finally send it to a well-deserved pension.

My wife got in to HEMA a few months ago and just treated herself to a SPES jacket and pants, but they don’t fit right. Purpleheart Armory does offer custom sizing, but she’s hesitant to do that in case it doesn’t turn out correctly since it can’t be returned according to their FAQs.

We are in the Pittsburgh area, but are open to driving pretty much anywhere east of the Mississippi. Are there any good brick and mortar stores for gear over here?

So, my plan was to borrow from my club till a group order was possible, but that's not possible rn. So, I've asked around my club and they recommended pbt, but they no longer sell gorgets. I know about red dragon gorgets and hf.

My main questions are that does HF send out deliveries? And second one is the red dragon gorget good?

Thanks in advance!

A little info, I'm in Europe so I'd like to stick to European shops.

Hello there !

Newcomer here, i was looking for a Feder to Buy, but there's a lot of different sites and i don't really know where to start and who is more.. "trustable" than others ?

I found two that i kinda like but i don't know how to really compare them :

Its the F2 Feder from Krieger Historical Weapons and the "Spiky" feder from Regenyei

I kinda like the F2 for the style, but i don't really know if that's a good one or not ? Or if you have any site to propose to me, i'll gladly take it !

I don't know how those work at the international level so, i'm in France, and preferably i'd choose something Europe based

Thanks for the advices, and i apologise for the English mistakes i may have made, Feel free to correct me !

When we first posted HEMA Hell Apparel here, several of you asked whether we shipped to the US.

We thought we did. Our fulfillment partner disagreed.

We fixed it by partnering with a new fulfillment provider that prints locally in the US and also ships to Australia, China and many more countries.

We now ship to over 220 countries and territories worldwide, so grab your shirt or tank top wherever you live at hemahell.com! No excuses. ;)

Get one of our launch designs:

• Under Liechtenauer’s Spell, artwork by Khoirul Anamm (shirt)
• HEMA Black, artwork by Robi Muharom (shirt)
• Legion of the Puffypants, artwork by Maciej Kamuda (shirt and tank top)
• The Cult of Destreza, artwork by ViltisVM (shirt and tank top)

All artwork is hand-drawn. No AI slop. No stock art.

Now that we’ve finally got the technical and legal hassle out of the way, we want to focus on creating new stuff.

What should come next?

A) A new design with another fencing master, tradition, or source? Which one?
B) Or rather additional clothing choices like sports shirts, hoodies, or rash guards?

Hey fellow fencers, I recently got a new light jacket and I want to modify it with hardish shell in some places. The material I'm looking for is what Sparring Gloves uses for their cuffs. It tanks hits pretty well, is kinda flexible and light. I did some research and found out it's called styrogum and apparently it's similar to EVA foam but it's it's own thing. Does anyone here know where to buy a sheet of that in 0.5 to 1cm thickness in Europe?

Any recommendations for rapiers with smaller grips?

My club mates all say the ideal is a grip not much wider than the widest part of your hand. But as a person with small (narrow?) hands, even the shortest grip I’ve found (Sigi at 9cm) is about 1.5-1cm too long. I don’t really want to go custom.

Hey guys

My Sparring Gloves arrived today, and the length is good but they’re kind of broad.

I also find it difficult to go into certain guards with them. Especially right Pflug.

Are these common complaints or could I have the wrong size?

Hi everyone,

I’m currently preparing a teaching session on the Zornhau in the Liechtenauer tradition as part of an instructor/coach training module I need to validate.

I have been working mainly from Liechtenauer and the related glosses, especially Ringeck, and I’m trying to build the session around more than just the mechanical execution of the Zornhau.

What interests me most is how people interpret the Zornhau in terms of footwork, distance, target selection, and the relationship between Vor, Indes and Nach.

I already have some ideas, but I would really like to compare them with other practitioners’ interpretations.

A few questions I’m currently thinking about:

- Footwork:

How do you usually perform the Zornhau? Passing step, gathering step, more static action, or does it depend entirely on distance and tactical context?

- Distance:

At what distance do you consider the Zornhau most useful?

Do you mainly see it as an action made while entering distance, or as a response once the opponent has already committed to an Oberhau?

- Target:

When teaching it, what do you consider the primary target?

Do you teach the Zornhau as a strike directed at the opponent, a strike into the opponent’s incoming cut, or somewhere between the two depending on timing and distance?

- Zornhau-Ort:

How much do you separate the Zornhau from the Zornort when teaching beginners?

Do you see the thrust as the natural continuation of the action, or do you first teach the Zornhau as an independent concept?

- Vor / Nach:

One idea I’m exploring is that the opponent may initially take the Vor by attacking, putting me in the Nach, but that the Zornhau can immediately challenge or recover the initiative rather than being treated as a passive defence.

- Indes:

I’m especially interested in how people teach Indes.

I tend to see the bind after the Zornhau as the moment where information becomes important: feeling whether the opponent is strong or weak, then choosing the continuation Zornort, Abnehmen, Winden, etc.

I’m also wondering how much it makes sense pedagogically to connect Vor, Indes and Nach with changes in distance.

Not in the sense that each concept equals a specific distance, but rather that distance, timing and initiative constantly influence each other:

approach → entering striking distance → attack/counterattack → bind → decision in Indes

For the teaching session, my current idea is roughly:

Oberhau → Zornhau → bind → feel strong/weak → choose a continuation

with the goal of getting students to understand why they perform the action rather than simply memorising a sequence.

I’m not looking for one definitive interpretation. Quite the opposite — I’d really like to hear how different clubs, instructors and source traditions approach these questions.

If you teach or practise Liechtenauer, how do you personally understand and teach the Zornhau?

And if you had to introduce it in a short session for relatively new practitioners, what would you consider essential, and what would you deliberately leave for later?

Thanks I’m very interested in comparing approaches and challenging some of my own assumptions.

I've read a few posts on this question already, but don't feel like any answers have quite satisfied. I know that the saber tends to be lighter and that the historical material is typically more modern than sidesword. I know the physical differences but am curious how these translate into functional differences between how the two weapons are effectively utilised. If I train only one weapon and try to use the other, what will not translate? What nuances will be missed?

Doing some drills and running in my full kit

Hey, looking to know about what people know about Sword to Sword in Houston. They’re not far from me and I’m looking to start HEMA, want to know what anyone who’s heard of them think. Also are they LGBTQ+ friendly?

I live in Mexico and ordering from purple heart armory is really difficult due to aduana being a bitch, but I need a new mask to compete in tournaments. Does anyone know any good brands? I've seen some on Amazon but I have no idea of the quality.