Historical European Martial Arts - (Contributors:
Kirk Lawson - lawson@dayton.net
Jason Couch - jason-couch@comcast.net
Paul Wagner - galloglaigh@hotmail.com
Stephen Hand - shand@ssg.com.au
Topi Mikkola - tmikkola@cc.hut.fi
Mark Rector - rmarkrector@yahoo.com
Eli Steenput - ulfberth@yahoo.com)

Intro:
Historical European Martial Arts groups are dedicated to re-creating the lost martial arts of Europe.
Different groups embrace styles and weapons of particular periods, which range from the Middle Ages to
the Industrial Revolution, although the majority focus on the Renaissance era. These arts are re-created by intensely studying and then practicing the techniques illustrated in various period instructional manuals.

Origin: Medieval and Renaissance Europe.

History:
Masters of defense are known to have taught the martial arts in Europe as early as the 12th Century. These masters wrote, and often illustrated, training manuals to pass on their skills and techniques; the oldest known existent copy dates to the 13th century.

Some writings are cryptic lines intended only for those students already initiated into the particular fight system; some are more accessible descriptions and illustrations intended to attract new students; and yet others are the distillation of the essential fight principles extracted from the teacher's years of experience.
Unfortunately, these writings are almost all that is left to the practitioner, as intact martial systems have not survived the passage of time.

Although certain sports such as fencing, archery, singlestick, boxing, and folk wrestling have retained portions of these skills, much martial knowledge was lost due to the changed focus of military science, the ever-fickle philosophies and fashions of personal self-defense, and the rules imposed by the evolution into sporting activities.

In the late 19th Century a renewal of interest in these "lost" skills emerged. This movement was led notably in Great Britain by a group of fencers that included Egerton Castle ("Schools and Masters of Defense"), Sir Alfred Hutton ("Old Swordplay", "Cold Steel"), and Captain Matthey ("Paradoxes of Defense"). These Victorian gentlemen not only collected antique arms and fencing texts, but also put their research into practice in the fencing hall. Theirs was the last gasp of swordsmanship practiced by men who still romantically viewed the
sword and the knowledge of its use as a necessity for the well-dressed gentleman and of those men who believed the historical texts offered very real and practical advice for contemporary soldiers who were still expected to wield the lance, bayonet and sword on the field of battle.

A burgeoning sporting safety equipment industry spurred the renewed interest in combat sports. Some believe that exposure to classical Asian martial arts through trade with Japan also influenced this revival. This interest was often viewed with an eye toward sport, as in the case of quarterstaff, or merely as a curiosity.

In the late 20th century interest in recovering the martial aspect of these European martial arts again gained in popularity. Forces behind the interest and research in this area included: medieval re-enactors of various philosophies seeking to fight in a more authentic manner; theatrical fight choreographers wishing to depict more authentic combat on stage and screen; modern fencers exploring the more combative roots of their sport; Western practitioners of Eastern martial arts exploring their own cultural heritage, and to some degree the public fascination with tales of European-style combat such as those spun by J.R.R. Tolkien or the adventures fancifully
presented in role-playing games such as Dungeons and Dragons (tm) may have helped pave the way for public interest and acceptance of the combative value of these arts. Other possible motivations for the resurgence of interest included: ethnic and nationalistic pride in cultural heritage; the backlash against religious or spiritual
elements found in some non-Western martial arts; Self Defense; and as a vehicle for establishing a connection to the past for some who would otherwise be uninterested in Martial Arts.

There is no accepted "standard" naming convention for these clubs or the martial arts that they practice. Some examples of school names include "Fechtbuch Society,"  "School of Fence/Defence," "Historical European Martial Arts (HEMA) schools/clubs/study groups/associations," "Western Martial Arts," "Historical Swordsmanship," "Academy of Arms," "Classical Fencing," etc.  Most will simply report that they practice "Western Martial Arts."  The trend is to select a name indicative of the focus of the organization or to select a name that would have been appropriate for the school during the period studied.

Description:
Historical fight manuals provide instruction in both armed and unarmed combat: standing grappling, striking, ground grappling, throwing, etc. Weapons instruction found in various manuals include dagger, longsword, arming sword, spear, quarterstaff, polearm, weapon and shield, club, cudgel, sabre (saber), smallsword, rapier,
two-weapon styles, and many more.

Illustrations for competing in judicial duels in particular show, in addition to the expected sword illustrations, techniques for fighting with hooked shields, polearms, and even techniques for the bizarre domestic duel wherein a woman swings a rock in a veil at a man waist-deep in a hole in the ground armed with a club.

Techniques and styles vary with time period and with location but can cover unarmored, armored, mounted, afoot, differently armed, and most other conceivable variations in combative circumstances.

While not addressed here in any detail, the civilian and sporting elements of Western martial arts are also a valid area of study for groups, including various pugilistic, wrestling, stickfighting, and other martial styles that may have different origins than the Medieval and Renaissance martial arts previously discussed.

There are a large number of Historical European Martial Arts clubs, both small and large, including The British Federation, Federazione Italiana Scherma Antica e Storica, the European Historical Fencing Alliance, the Association for Historical Fencing in the USA, the Australian Historical Swordplay Federation, The Company of Maisters in Great Britain, The Academy of European Medieval Martial Arts, The Association for Renaissance Martial Arts, and the International Masters at Arms Federation.  A web search on the term "Fechtbuch," "Historical European Martial Arts", "Western Martial Arts", "European Swordplay" and the like will net numerous
organizations and clubs.

Training:
Every society or club has its own curriculum, equipment, safety, and training requirements.  Some organizations offer simple guidance, information exchange, and fellowship; others may offer a regulating body to unite clubs in distant geographic locations. Since any regular training is necessarily very local, most local groups set their own standards regardless of affiliation.

Working from texts written by the masters of old, these groups may study techniques from earlier or later martial traditions to isolate the evolution of technical details. Perhaps most important, groups network with other re-creationists via the Internet to discuss details, make contacts, and arrange workshops and seminars to assist
in re-creating the particular art they study. In addition to the input from others studying the same or related material, modern and historical combat sports practitioners may also be consulted for further technical comparisons.

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