HEMAC GROUPS
v.0.1
NB. Please, to all the members, to update/add to this list, contact your webmaster: fredd@submultimedia.tv
 
 

Group name: ARMA-PL
Location: Main group in Cracow, Poland (http://www.bog.org.pl/arma)
Description: ARMA-PL is the Polish division of the ‘Association for Renaissance Martial Arts’. It is informal group of people dedicated to the reconstruction of Historical European Martial Arts. Our focus lies primarily in the Middle Ages, the Renaissance being, so far, secondary. The group consists of both practitioners and scholars from the whole of Poland.
Primary areas of study: Master Liechtenauer's Kunst des Fechtens, other German medieval fighting traditions.
Primary sources: Hanko Doebringer, Peter von Danzig, Goliath, Sigmund Ringeck, Jud Lew, Codex Wallerstein, Gladiatoria.
Primary weapons used: Long sword, messer, dagger, unarmed.
Secondary areas of study: English, Italian and French Medieval fighting traditions
Our publications include the translation of Codex Wallerstein made by Grzegorz Zabinski with Bartlomiej Walczak. Hopefully soon Grzegorz's doctoral thesis on Master Liechtenauer's Kunst des Fechtens will also be published.
More info (in Polish only) can be found on www.bog.org.pl/arma/. Information about ARMA can be found at www.thearma.org
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Name: Leeds Sword Club(provisional)
Location: Leeds, West Yorkshire
Membership: 7
Main focus: Classical fencing/duelling

• At the moment the focus is mostly upon developing and practicing the techniques of pre electric sport fencing, with an 'if they were sharp' orientation. Practice consists of full sparring, some repetitive training, lots of trial an error and some study of pre-electric fencing manuals and earlier material.
Weapons: foil, epee, sabre, schlaeger, swept and cup hilts fitted with either epee or schlaeger blades
Meetings: Meetings are eratic at present, but when they are held, they take place outdoors on private land on Sunday afternoons.
Direction: Until the group becomes more stable, and a more serious investment in arms and armour become possible the only
other weapon that we would like to add to the program is singlestick.
 
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Group name: The Exiles - Company of Medieval Martial Artists (http://www.the-exiles.org)
Location : London
Description : We are an informal study group that research and practice martial arts that were employed in Europe form roughly 1300 until the early 1700's, our main concentration being on late 14th/early 15th century Italian Martial Arts. Involved in displays both at National Museums and at venues of local historical interest and have been approached as consultants on by various media organisations. The Exiles have also been involved in various activities to help with the conservation of various national historical treasures.
The focus of our training is on:
Appreciation of weapon effectiveness (test cutting)
Systematic and Holoistic Approach Drills (for training muscle memory)
Games ( for isolating aspects of training in a fun competitive manner)
Sparring (to test whether the above can be perfected in a highly competative situation)
We take on people from all levels of practise and our members experience range from having little or no knowledge to people that have been involed in Martial Arts in other disciplines to a national level. Weapons Unarmed (striking and wrestling) and Armed - both with a view to the historic and modern perspective.
Associations: Members of the BFHS and Affiliates of the AEMMA
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The School of the Sword (http://members.lycos.co.uk/rapier/)
The School of the Sword is a small group dedicated to researching and providing accurate public displays of historical swordplay. Our primary goal is to provide educational and entertaining displays of historically accurate swordplay from c.1540 to 1740. These displays are either stand-alone events, workshops/seminars, or provided as part of larger re-enactment events.
 
Primary areas of study: Italian Rapier of the early/mid 17thC (Alfieri, Fabris,Capo Ferro), Smallsword (Hope, McBane etc), Backsword (Silver, Hope).
Primary weapons used:- Rapier, Small Sword, Back Sword and Spada di Lato (Side Sword). Long Sword and dagger are also covered.
It is our intention to publish both historical analysis and training articles
Our current project is the translation and analysis of Francesco Alfieri's "La Scherma" (1640) Originally formed in 1998 by Gary Stewart and Jason Haggerty, the group has since grown and is now a member group of the British Federation for Historical Swordplay. We are also represented in the recently formed Historical European Martial Arts Coalition (HEMAC) by Gary Stewart.
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Group name: Albion Academy of Armes (http://www.albionacademyofarmes.org/)
Location : Lancashire and Yorkshire
Description : We are an informal study group that research and practice martial arts that were employed in Europe form roughly 1300 until the early 1700's.
The focus of our training is on: Appreciation of weapon effectiveness (test cutting)
Theory of weapon use (a grounding on how to fight without loosing)
Drills (for training muscle memory)
Sparring (to test whether the above can be perfected in a highly competative situation)
We have two social events a year a summer barbeque and a birthday banquet; anyone who would like to ease themselves into the subject will be warmly welcomed to any of these events.
Main Areas of Study :
I33, Silver
Areas of Peripheral Study:
DiGrassi, Hale, Hope, McBane, Pallas Armata, Saviolo, Swetnam, Talhoffer.
Weapons :
Great sword, Short backsword, Short bastard sword, Short rapier, Spada di lato, Dagger, Buckler.
 
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  Group Name: Ochs - historische Kampfkünste (http://www.schwertkampf-ochs.de/)
We are a Western Martial Arts group based in Munich/Bavaria, which was formed by Hans Heim, Alexander Kiermayer und Claus Drexler in 1999.
The group ~Ochs~ is a bunch of people interested in medieval martial arts.
Our goal is to reconstruct German fighting techniques of the 14th - 16th centuries, both theoretically and practically. Therefore we base our research on historical and German written sources, scripts and handwritings mainly.
In the effort to build a library well equipped we collected paper copies of Doebringer, Ringeck, von Danzig, Jud Lew, Kal, Speyer, Goliath, Talhoffer, Mair, Meyer to name only the most important.
In former times the German term "Fechten" meant not only fighting with swords but was a synonym for an extensive fighting system.
This system included instructions for the use of the longsword, the messer/dussack, the dagger, polearms and wrestling.
At the moment we study intensively longsword, messer and dagger. The other weapons and wrestling are to follow.
To exchange knowledge we cultivate relationships to various national and international groups and associations and hosted since 1999 several meetings and seminars with e.g. John Clements (ARMA Director) and Jörg Bellinghausen.
Ochs is a member of the Historical Martial Arts Coalition - HEMAC.
Contact:
Hans Heim - 1st Coach (Ochs Munich): johann.heim@freenet.de
Claus Drexler - Coach (branch Bayreuth): drexler.claus@web.de
Alex Kiermayer - Coach (branch Simbach/Inn): kiermayerab@web.de
Stefan Königs - Coach (branch Düsseldorf), Webmaster: stefan.koenigs@fechthalle-muenchen.de
 
 
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Group Name: Schola Gladiatoria (http://mysite.freeserve.com/scholagladiatoria)
Location: Ealing, West London, England
Primary Focus: The fighting treatises of Fiore dei Liberi (c.1409-1425).
Secondary Focuses: The book of Filippo Vadi (c.1485) and other Italian 14th-16thC material and using contemporary art and literature as a source material for martial arts.
Members Eleonora Litta and Matt Easton translated the ‘Getty’ version of Fiore dei Liberi’s book, and give lectures and presentations nationally and internationally, for example in London, Krakow, Dijon, Munich, Florence etc.
A website is being prepared (www.fioredeiliberi.org) as well as publications.
We train in all the sections of Fiore’s book, except the mounted section, which one of our members will be working with soon. We concentrate most strongly on the dagger, one-handed sword and two-handed sword, but we still practice the other sections (wrestling, spear, poleaxe etc).
Training:
Drills, basics (cutting, striking, thrusting, balance, footwork, distance, movement etc), reflex, strength and stamina, fencing attitude (tempere), special-situation drills, semi-free fighting, free-fighting ('sparring').
Contact: Matt Easton: matteaston@gladiatoria.freeserve.co.uk
 
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Name: Warriors Way, Location: Kristiansand Norway.
Size: Small (about 6 members).
Main Focus: Fiore Dei Liberi, Practice consists of Learning techniques through drills, learning basics, and sparring occasionally, test cutting.
Weapons: replica long swords in steel, wooden wasters, padded weapons, spears, daggers, and others.
Meetings: twice a week in spring or autumn, once a week in winter or summer. Erratic at present due to weather.
Also personal interest in staff, sword and buckler, sword and shield and all dagger techniques.
Contact: Colin Richards: Col@bbig-sh.demon.co.uk
 
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Name: SwaartGilde, Location: Amsterdam
Size: Very Small (about 4 members).
Main Focus: Fiore Dei Liberi, Practice consists of Learning techniques through drills, learning basics, and sparring occasionally
Weapons: wooden wasters, spears, daggers, and bare hands.
Meetings: once a week.

Contact: Federico Bonelli: fredd@submultimedia.tv
 
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Name: Schola Gladiatoria West
Location: North Devon

I would like to announce a new Historical European Martial Arts study group in the North Devon area of England. It is called Schola Gladiatoria West and the parent group is Matt Easton's Schola Gladiatoria based in London, UK.
We will concentrate on the Fiore die Liberi's work (Getty version) and the lead of Matt Easton while leaning heavily on the translation and interpretation work of Matt and Eleonora Litta (also of Schola Gladiatoria) and the experience of Chris Webb (my Countercut partner). The aim is to establish a study group (rather than an instructor-led group) with local people who may not have considered WMA before.
The "West" refers to the west of England - a distinct and ancient region of Britain.
The lead of our parent group Schola Gladiatoria is fundamental but the influence and ideas of other groups will be utilised and fully acknowledged.
If you would like to take part or receive further information, please contact Ross Dean on +44 (0) 1598 741390 (please leave contact details on answer machine if necessary) or email him at ross@countercut.com for further information.
All participants must be 18 years old or over. Ross"
 
 

 
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