Academic – Martial – Education
Skirmish (as defined by Google) ˈskəːmɪʃ/ noun: skirmish; plural noun: skirmishes an episode of irregular or unpremeditated fighting, especially between small or outlying parts of armies or fleets. “the unit was caught in several skirmishes and the commanding officer was killed” 2. a…
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You know, I don’t think I’ve ever heard anybody say “I do Agrippa rapier”. Considering that Camillo Agrippa’s 1553 “Treatise on the Science of Arms” is mentioned by Castle, Gaugler, Anglo and pretty much every other fencing historian as the…
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[I originally did this for HEMAC Dijon 2011, but revived it recently for our new Thibault rapier class. It’s a lot longer than I remember, so I’ll publish this in pieces. I’ve laid out the premise for this seminar in…
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Joachim Meyer’s 1570 masterpiece “A Thorough Description of the Free Knightly and Noble Art of Combat with All Customary Weapons” contains a wealth of information for practitioners of the German fighting arts. However, many practitioners don’t make full use of…
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I possess a very complete library of books about various aspects of historical martial arts, but not everybody is as fortunate. I often field questions about “which books to buy”, and so I’ve decided to start reviewing portions of my…
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Part 1: Historical, cultural and battlefield context I’ve always been fascinated by the true two-handed sword, the enormous Schlachterschwert used by the Landsknechts in the 16th century, but it remains a puzzling weapon within the HEMA context. Since there are…
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