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Learn about HEMA

HEMA Guide collects Historical European Martial Arts resources for practitioners and instructors. Our articles contain the kind of resources that I would have loved to have when I started out.

If you’re into historical fencing or medieval sword fighting in general, HEMA Guide is the place to visit!

Of course, neither me nor anyone else has the final say over how you or anyone else should train and teach HEMA. The collected material mostly reflects my personal experience of what helped me and it’s fine to disagree with me.

If you have suggestions for great Books, Blogs or articles that you would recommend to me, send me an E-Mail at post[at]hemaguide.com

Sources for Beginners lists modern books that are a good place to start reading if you’re new to a specific weapon system or HEMA in general. Of course, the most direct way to access  historical knowledge is by reading the manuscripts directly in their original language, but since that’s pretty hard from the get go, modern books will ease your way into swordfighting (or Rapier or Sword & Shield or whatever else you want to learn).

Books for Instructors contains further reading material that addresses everything but the source material, required for running a successful club and good classes. You will find texts on structuring classes, coaching students and further reading on the possible context of the time.

Under Insightful Blogs I collected the online resources that have helped me become a better instructor and coach and improve how our club is run. The big plus of Blogs is that there’s a wealth of available knowledge out there that could fill many books, accessible for free.

Even the most dedicated and hardworking beginner can’t learn Historical European Martial Arts on his own. The easiest way to start is to Find a HEMA Club near you.

If you want to know more about me, where I teach and why I made this page, check out the About section.

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