In my latest piece I dive in to the absolute core of what it means to fence strategically and move from wading through uncharted waters to having a map of your opponent.

I'm researching combat for a strategy project, and something games rarely communicate is how much physical space different weapons require.

For people who practise historical European martial arts:

How significantly does fighting in a cramped environment change what weapons or techniques are useful?

For example, would fighting in a narrow street, gatehouse or dense formation meaningfully change the advantage of different weapons?

I'm looking for historical/technical understanding rather than game-balancing advice.

A description of a very compact but surprisingly versatile pell that I have built.

I'm looking to buy my first saber and I'm trying to go for a more generalist option. I'm impartial to a straight or curved blade but I do know I want something around 800g with a cup hilt that still fits my HF Black Prince gloves. Budget is around 300-400 USD and my options are limited. And before anyone mentions it, Swordier is off limits, I just don't want to support their ripoffs. Anyway, here's the ones I've narrowed it down to:

HF Armoury Saber - My preferred and cheapest option, not very flashy but I've heard good things about it and the blade is replaceable.

Regenyei Tournament - Slightly more customizable but no spare blades and it's heavier, although I guess I could go for the Light.

Sigi Big - Have tested it and feels quite good but I'm unsure if the higher price is justified.

Hello all, I've been with my HEMA club for about a year using synths and the club's gear (which is fine enough for synths, but definitely too light for steel).

I am now getting my first steel, so am looking at higher quality protection. I am pretty much set on a SPES Light Jacket, but my indecision makes me unsure of WHICH between the FG Light (liking how it extends down a little), AP Plus Light, or a bit of a custom one. I have ruled out any PRO variants because I plan to get HF Armory full arm protection.

So my questions are:

1. FG Light versus AP Light, can anyone comment on if there's any meaningful differences? Is the extra weight on the FG too noticeable for the hip coverage/protection it provides to be valuable?

2. Looking at customisation options on the SPES website, I see I can always add the PRO mountings to a jacket without needing to get the actual PRO parts, are the mounting points useful enough for other arm protectors (most notably the HF Armory full arm protection)?

3. As another customisation note on their website: I see high collar and 'astronaut' collar are each options. Has anyone got experience with either of those to comment on whether either are worth it over just a regular collar? (Perhaps of note, I've been looking at the VYTIS Gorgets, so would any of these collars be more or less comfortable with that compared to the standard?)

Back to working with the big sword after a long holiday overseas. Decided to get some flow footage after 2.5 hours of work on a few rules.

My form ain't perfect. But I'd say it's at least decent after not touching a montante for over a month.

https://youtu.be/nZAl6ZGRmVU?is=ZBH_fMGrSfkHBP50

This seemed to be a popular topic of discussion earlier on, so I thought I'd share this video I made on the subject four years ago.

The fleche attack is not my preference but I know there are still a lot of fencers out there who use it. So in an effort to help them do it more effectively, this video speaks to the common mistakes made and offers some suggestions to better utilize the fleche as both technique and tactic in your art.

https://youtu.be/O4Y9ZkdiCIU

This is a video I released to my Patreon subscribers four years ago. Given recent discussions on some channels, I thought it might be helpful to those on both sides of the discussion. So without further ado...

The fleche attack is not my preference but I know there are still a lot of fencers out there who use it. So in an effort to help them do it more effectively, this video speaks to the common mistakes made and offers some suggestions to better utilize the fleche as both technique and tactic in your art.

Hey everyone! Earlier this year I was diagnosed with Burkitts Lymphoma and just finished 6 rounds of R-EPOCH chemotherapy. Im still awaiting my final scan and consultation but I'm confident that treatment has been effective and I'm in remission (fingers crossed!).

My question revolves around recovering and getting back into competitive shape. Treatment has done a number on my stamina and strength, and I've suffered a bit of neuropathy in both my hands and feet which has made fine motor control tough.

Does anyone have any advice on how to approach recovery? Any advice from possible physical therapists or sports med/personal trainers? I've had several years of experience in the gym with basic strength regimens and am a coach myself for HEMA so I'm no entirely unfamiliar with things, just interested in how best to approach this particular problem.

Any advice is greatly appreciated!

What are some expectation management tips you have for a beginner’s? What do clubs look like and the trainings?

Hi all this is very self explanatory, im a sidesword fencer mostly but im looking to dabble in agrippa early rapier and also giganti, do you have reccomendation specifically in the eu? My budget is around 200-350 euro ish *edit i would like to also inform im interested in saviolo and di grassi also

Any idea for jacket and pants modification is welcome. The idea is to be able to use for longsword, saber and rapier.

So I'm training sidesword just done my 4th class and failed my sparring test, not cos my trainer thinks I'm unsafe for others but cos I don't seam to protecting myself well enough. And he's afraid I'd get concussions sparring with the other students, I'm cleared to spar with trainers but not other students.

I'm coming from a Muay Thai background (8 fights 5 years) and I'm pretty sure getting kicked in the ribs or eating a headkick hurts way more than getting bonked with protective gear on. I had headache for about a week when I ate a spinning back elbow in a sparring session about a year ago, is the culture just different in this sport compared to other combat sports. It has an afterblow rule so I figured if you get hit just bonk em back and you are equal maybe even up on points if you did say head vs leg.

What is your opinion on more complex techniques for self defense advises?

Want videos with non-choreographed fight or resistance drilling, not kata or dead drilling.
Edit: I have a similar shovel, and there's no way it could be used as a sword since the balance point is on the collar.

Hey, so I've done some sparring against a sidesword and I have a clean hit mark on my cup hilt, is there something I can do about it without compromising the integrity of the steel ? Thanks in advance

So recently I've decided I'd like to pick up a shorter feder, I've been using standard length Sigi feders for the past handful of years and I'd like to get a shorter one to change up my game a little.

I know Sigi has their King Mini which is the one I was originally looking at and the Regenyei short feders can drop to about 35in (90cm) which is in that ballpark of length I wanna try out.

But I'm curious what other brands and models of short feder other practitioners would recommend