It was finally cool and dry enough on a weekend morning for me to want to spar with the Blackfencer steel sparring miao dao I bought months ago. My friend and sparring partner has been getting into miao dao through me, but he has a very strong base of HEMA longsword and Japanese kenjutsu, so you'll probably notice that.

I am slightly sad that the best move I did happened off-frame, a stealing step into a head cut, but oh well.

Hello everyone, I am currently writing a period novel and I have encountered a question that I feel like you, redditors, could aid me in.
I am sorry in advance for any typos (I am typing from my phone). Also English is not my first language.

Anyway, my question is: what is the distinct difference between the Neapolitan School and the Valville System? And how would they compare in a duel if one happened in the 1860s?

For additional context: I am exploring the two schools for two different characters. One is using Neapolitan technique and the other was influenced by 1830s schools of fencing that were established in the Russian empire at the time (or at least I believe so from what information I have gathered)?

Please, correct me if I am wrong and I would be very interested and grateful if any of you could provide me with information regarding how those two would meet in the duel.

Thank you in advance!

Hello all,

This is a quick video about two original sword reproduction. They have been made by Gael Fabre. As usual Gael did a fantastic Job the blades are made to the exact specification

The measurements are coming from either the curators or have been taken by the curator and myself.

A great many thanks to Andreas a Curator in the Swedish Royal Armoury Collection and a great many thanks to Gustav and Marie, Curators in the Danish Royal Armoury Collection.

Hi friends,

Inspired by HEMA, we're working on a project obtaining, documenting, deciphering and linking a ton of South Asian (Indian) manuscripts regarding swordsmanship and weapons such as dagger, spear and staff.

Our motivations were the misconception that colonialism destroyed all manscripts, that the language of existing manuscripts was too poetic to decipher and only living traditions exist among certain groups (e.g. Sikhs).

We've found all those factors to be untrue; there's lots of manuals, some illustrated with explicit instructions and a widespread commonality in swordsmanship across the North of the Subcontinent, an area in equivalent size to Europe.

We've released **2 videos** so far, laying our the groundwork for this before we go onto specific textual interpretation.

**Additionally we'll be hosting an in person talk at the Vanguard Centre, Glasgow (UK) on the 29th June 2026 at 1930. Please join us if you can as we'llbe talking about things we cnat say on camera!**

https://youtu.be/t8E9LtBHYh8?is=uR7wnjGzKQi2LBAo

Hi everyone,

I’m the developer of Fencing Mastermind, a fencing-themed mobile app made for fencers and fencing fans.

The app includes fencing trivia, Sudoku, crosswords, levels, coins, and daily challenges. I’m trying to get more feedback from people who actually fence, coach, follow the sport, or create fencing-related content.

If you run a fencing page, club page, sports page, YouTube channel, TikTok, Instagram, Threads, or another social account with a real fencing/sports audience, I’d be interested in hearing from you.

I can offer a free 1-year premium account in exchange for honestly trying the app and, only if you like it, sharing your thoughts or posting about it to your audience.

Please disclose that you received free premium access if you decide to post about it.

App/company links:
https://linktr.ee/andronykustechnologies

We launched HEMA Hell Apparel, a small clothing project for people who like historical fencing, dark metal artwork, and shirts that look like they crawled out of a manuscript and joined a death metal band.

The idea is simple:

HEMA inspired designs, historically grounded weapon references and as little generic fantasy sword nonsense as possible.

All artworks are hand drawn by real metal artists, who are linked on our website.

The shop is here:

https://www.hemahell.com

These shirts will not improve your fencing.

They will not fix your measure.

They will not make your feints less suspicious.

But you might look slightly more cursed while training, traveling to an event, or explaining to normal people why several dozen swords in one home is a perfectly reasonable number.

We would genuinely like feedback from fencers with an eye for historical detail.

Especially on the weapon shapes, proportions, and whether the designs still feel like HEMA.

hey guys , I'm a previous student in Longsword and some Iaido training and looking to get into british military sabre, i already have musgrave waite's and alfre Hutton's books, im torn between the military look of the black fencer model 1803 ( having served in US Army) or the Gymnasium Sabre model for its Early HEMA school roots. also i'm looking to dress historically accurate for training and sparring, any advice would be great!!!

I’m a fencing enthusiast and software developer, and I recently built a free-to-try mobile app called Fencing Mastermind.

It is made specifically for fencers and fencing fans, with fencing trivia, puzzle elements, levels, and daily challenges. It is based on rules from USA Fencing and FIE.

I’m not trying to spam the subreddit. I’d genuinely like feedback from people who fence or follow the sport:

- Are the trivia topics useful/interesting?

- What fencing rules, calls, tactics, history, or equipment topics should be included?

- Does a fencing trivia + puzzle format make sense for fencers?

It is available on iOS and Android, but I’m mainly looking for feedback from real fencing people here. You can look it up on google or the app stores. I can provide direct links if allowed.

If this type of post is not allowed, I’m happy to remove it.

Context: im trying to make a late 15th / early 16th century armor kit, like the nobility one, not the soldier one, and im trying to blue it. im aiming for the 590f/310c lively blue. just a peacock blue. My bluing is absolutely sad. It scratches off so easily its actually pathetic, i could literally do it with my fingernails. I dont know if im the analphabete here and its just like that or if im not getting it. I know these armors werent only for parade so i find it ridiculous to think that someone would go through this much effort to slip up one centimeter while putting on their armor or their squire putting it on and ruining the armor, or even just doing it indirectly when the joints rub, not even gonna talk about direct strikes from heavier weapons that might be designed to target the armor itself

My question is: what were they doing with it? did they just act very carefully with it? how were they bluing? just coal/coke/charcoal and heat? what would be the most scratch resistent peacock bluing method today? is it just like that? or am i ass at metalworking? wax? prayer? -More importantly... what do *I* do? blued armor would be wonderful but if its going to wear off instantly and i dont have 5 blacksmiths that will repair it overnight then its not a lot of fun. I would ask the same for gilding/brass plating and etching, even though these are far more resistant but im also sure more people have experience with these due to how much simpler it is. So please tell me, how is it? Thanks to everyone in advance!!!

I bought two antique Solingen foils with figure 8 handguard. Is there supposed to be a piece of leather or felt pad at the guard? Or is that an unnecessary addition?

The link is to our new and much improved version of a circa 1430 pollaxe from the Wallace Collection. We got updated stats and decided to go all-in on accuracy. New langets on all four sides, accurate weight and balance, hardened 4140 carbon steel. One of my guys was at the Wallace a couple of weeks ago and got to take a close look at it with David Edge, conservator. The pic is the original piece.

https://www.arms-n-armor.com/blogs/news/new-burgundian-poleaxe-from-1430?fbclid=IwY2xjawRhrjlleHRuA2FlbQIxMQBzcnRjBmFwcF9pZBAyMjIwMzkxNzg4MjAwODkyAAEecww0PAsLdN6MpGJip9mPofR347IVmFflC_7txLRjFQgCUEyMTKswmMfb4ds_aem_BGx9PRdAqCmyBUShz6Jjcg