#historic fencing

Each month, we interview one of the members of our federation to give an idea of what’s going on in the Dutch H.E.M.A. scene.

Buongiorno! Manuela here. I am Italian and when I do not train I am a system engineer. I have four cats, one husband, I love contact sports and I moved to the Netherlands from Italy about 10 years ago.

How did you end up doing H.E.M.A?

It was a sunny Sunday almost 3 years ago. I was visiting a knives fair and Petra and Cem from Zwaard & Steen had a stand there with swords and manuals. Cem gave us a quick lesson just behind the stand. I still remember how clumsy I was while trying to understand what to do with the weapon. A few months later I had my first lesson at Zwaard & Steen and am still going strong.

Where (and what) do you train?

I train in longsword with Zwaard & Steen in Nieuwegein, near Utrecht. In the past, I’ve participated in various workshops in sword and buckler, pugilism, quarter staff, military sabre, and rapier and dagger. I would like to start training regularly in pugilism and learning more of rapier and dagger in the future.

What do you like about your club?

Zwaard & Steen is very diverse. We get the opportunity to spar at the end of the lessons and are actively encouraged to do so with experienced and beginning fighters alike. They all have their own way of fighting and every exchange is a learning experience. From time to time instructors do parts of exercises with us, which increases our understanding of the drill and gets us as close as possible to a good execution of it. The instructors also join in with sparring at the end of the class.

You have been to several international events. How would you compare ‘Dutch’ H.E.M.A. to H.E.M.A. in other countries?

I do not see any difference between international events or Dutch ones. Every event is pretty unique and has its own appeal. I like that there are always new events coming out and sometimes it’s difficult to choose! In the end, they’re all good events, and it’s up to the event planners, crew and fighters themselves to make it special. Having trained in Italy as a guest in Davide and Federico’s school, Sala d’arme dell’Appeso, I haven’t found a distinctive difference between Dutch H.E.M.A. practitioners or practitioners from other countries. I was truly happy to see that H.E.M.A. is good no matter where we go or where we train.

You participate in both open and women’s competitions; how would you compare fighting in these competitions?

I like to have the possibility to choose. I fight totally different when I am fighting in a women-only competition or an open tournament. I know most people will despise me for this, but in women-only competitions, all my focus goes into not hurting my opponent, into making sure I am not disappointing her. I feel a very strong mommy–instinct towards my H.E.M.A.-friends. In open tournaments, I am still afraid to hurt my opponent but somehow the feeling is less, the pressure is lower. This makes me enjoy the fight more, even if I don’t stand a chance. As far as fighting women in an open tournament goes, I haven’t had that opportunity yet, but I am looking forward to it!

Do have any ambitions or dreams?

My current goal is to keep learning from my mistakes and to keep on getting fitter and stronger. I have a big crush on pugilism, so my dream is to pick that up seriously. For now, it’s just practicing at home and reading all the materials I can find. I like pugilism because it’s a completion of boxing and I’ve always loved boxing. The difficult part of starting with boxing is accepting that you’re going to be hit. Getting punched is very close and personal.

Do you have any advice/good starting points for others interested in pugilism?

My advice, and I am not an instructor so this is simply a student’s advice, would be to learn to take a punch first. It will make everything else easier. Also never forget to train the neck. The wrestler bridge is my favorite exercise for that.

What does your training schedule look like? How often do you do H.E.M.A. and what do you do outside of H.E.M.A., training-wise?

I train H.E.M.A. three times a week: Monday, Thursday and Friday. Every morning and evening (when I do not train H.E.M.A.) I have a 15 minutes training session, either HIIT (High Intensity Interval Training), weight lifting, or simple exercises (push-ups, planks, crunches, squats).

What will H.E.M.A. be like in the future, what are your expectations?

I want to see all our disciplines in the Olympics! Having it recognized as a sport was already a huge victory, now I truly place my trust in the bond to make the rest happen.

What is your fondest H.E.M.A. memory?

I don’t have a ‘fondest memory’ yet. I suppose I’m still working on it. If I have to pick the funniest, it was my fight against Michela at swordfish 2015. I had no idea the top 16 fights would start so quickly and I had never made it out of the pools before. I was dead nervous and they had to come find me (I was on the toilet!) and I started the fight with half a protein bar in my mouth. I lost of course, but the thought of that still makes me giggle.

What are you proud of?

Everybody that is making progress makes me proud, from the beginner that put himself in the ring the first time to the students ending the heaviest trainings full of sweat and smiles. Students moving up to become instructors, instructors distinguishing themselves in various tournaments (I am not talking about winning, but putting on a good fight, I’d rather see good technical exchanges than a win just for the sake of winning).

Do you have any advice for those just starting out in H.E.M.A.?

I’d like to say to anybody new starting H.E.M.A. to not be afraid or concerned if they didn’t train in years, or they’re lacking confidence, I’d recommend to just join a school and try it out. If that school is not comfortable or if it just does not feel right, just change school and try somewhere else. Do not give up!

The last few months have brought little content from me. I simply haven’t had much to say about starting a club. I have simply been training my students and myself. In my personal life I have been busy. I’m going to school to decide what career I will do.

So let’s cut to the meat of the post. Your online presence is important. We can use social media to quickly coordinate classes, share pictures and video, and discuss this hobby. What’s more important is your offline presence. You need posters, cards, and to reach out to local communities. This may involve demonstrations and workshop classes. This may also involve lectures at local schools. One thing the NSA has had success with, is practicing in the public parks.

That said, a good online presence can make up where you fall short in local outreach. HEMA is getting larger. People are more likely to find your club through a website, Facebook group, the HEMA Alliance club finder, and local forums.

You will need Twitter as a quick way to make announcements for your club. It’s useful for that. And many people who are physically active use Twitter. You will need a Facebook group and page. Everyone uses it. If you don’t exist on Facebook, you don’t exist at all. Instagram and Tumblr are great for image sharing and micro blogging respectively.

Much of the HEMA community exists on YouTube. However many clubs use it for sharing interpretations, sparring, tournaments, and lectures. If you’re not ready for that content, hold off on video. However you can use it to upload private videos to share with more experienced instructors. Which can be a benefit to you.

You will also need your own website. I am personally allergic to technology, despite being twenty nine. Swords are pretty low tech, and the most new thing on my motorcycle is the steel braided brake lines. But I went out and designed one for the club. And using wordpress, it wasn’t that hard.

Tim Beerens studies archeology in Leiden and is a trainer at the official student and (H.E.M.A.!) sport association Ludolph van Ceulen. He also trains with Historisch Vrijvechten Nederland, sees a future full of growth for H.E.M.A., and would like to study not just the old manuscripts, but the weapons themselves as well.

My name is Tim Beerens. I’m currently 24 years old and originally from the general area of Den Bosch. I started my study in Communication and Multimedia Design there, but stopped after my first year because the focus was less on the creative elements of the field that I enjoyed, and more on subjects I didn’t care as much about. Now, I’ve been studying archeology for the past four years in Leiden and I’m working on my master thesis, which I hope to hand in this year.

How did you end up in H.E.M.A.?

I (sadly) didn’t realize there was such a thing as H.E.M.A. until I started studying. I often talked about weapons with my fellow archeology students, and at one point Casper van Dijk mentioned there being medieval manuscripts about swordfighting. We quickly realized there was quite some interest amongst fellow students, so we started looking for a place for us to practice. Eventually, we ended up with a pile of wooden swords in an area in the faculty that is now a library.

Now, 2,5 years later, we train with nylon and steel in a gym as the official student and sports association Ludolph van Ceulen, where I have spent the past year as both trainer and chairman. The club was named after a mathematics professor of the university in Leiden in the 16th century. Besides being a mathematician, he was also a fencing master. We train mostly in messer, but occasionally try our hand in dagger, quarterstaff or wrestling. Oh, and then there’s also Jasper Boelsma, our Viking, who regularly picks students out of the regular class to experiment with spathae and Viking shields.

Where do you train?

At the moment I train with two clubs. That started, as I said, with the student association Ludolph van Ceulen. Once I knew about H.E.M.A., it wasn’t long until just messer wasn’t enough for me anymore and I wanted to expand my arsenal. That’s how I ended up in Oegstgeest, where I’ve been training since February this year with Historisch Vrijvechten Nederland. I started off going there so that I could train in longsword, but by now I’ve also picked up sabre.

What do you like about your club/school/association?

The nice thing about LvC is the growth we have had in a relatively short time period. We started off training with wooden swords in a dusty room full of building materials and have become an official association in a gym where most members have their own mask and a messer made of nylon or steel. Apart from that it’s nice that the association focusses on less well-known or obvious weaponry.

What I like about HVN is the dedication to the sport, but also the dedication the instructors and members have to the club. The ‘HVN orange’ is often well-represented at events, and the great amount of activities organized within the club itself also creates a good atmosphere. I appreciate as well that there is plenty of room for individual feedback during trainings. Especially when it comes down to the details, I like to hear about where I still have room to grow.

What is your favorite weapon?

Oh, that’s a tough one. I don’t believe I have a favorite, but I have noticed that training with many different weapons really works well. For example, when I started training in longsword at the HVN I recognized a lot of techniques that are also used in messer. Fighting with longsword, and especially fighting in a competitive setting like a tournament, taught me that taking the initiative is not only a good way to score points, but also to prevent them, which obviously is not just applicable to longsword.

Do you also study manuscripts?

When we started training with messer at Ludolph van Ceulen, we based our fighting on Johannes Lecküchner. As trainers, we come together with our ‘reading club’ to go through certain chapters and to discuss our interpretations. Those discussions give us the advantage of being able to try out on the spot what works best and what interpretation is therefore the most logical. The anonymous manuscript from Glasgow also has a modest piece on messer that we have used.

Because the trainers at LvC, myself amongst them, are at the brink of finishing our degrees, we have started going through the lessons with new people who can take over from the current trainers. In doing so we also take inspiration from Fechtregeln, an anonymous manuscript from Cologne, though I have to admit I have not studied it yet myself.

What are your ambitions? Do you have a dream?

I want to be the best I can. I strive to become the best fighter that I can be, whether it’s technique-wise, endurance-wise, or speed and creativity when fighting. I hope, in time, to be able to stand my ground and occasionally be able to step on to a podium here and there.

What are you proud of?

I recently fought in the beginner’s tournament that was held at Castle Hernen. After a close fight over third place I eventually finished fourth, but before that time I hadn’t expected to get even that far. I was glad with my results and it also gave me a sense of satisfaction to notice that I was building up confidence during the fights, and that I felt like I knew what I was doing. I am especially proud of the hits that came forth from good techniques, used at the right moment and in the right way for that specific situation.

What are your expectations for the future of H.E.M.A.?

I expect that H.E.M.A. will only continue to grow. I have noticed that, outside of practitioners, few people realize that sword fighting is an actual sport. However, when you have explained this to people, many are interested. I have noticed that especially at Ludolph, where the membership is very dynamic because many people are only members while they study. That means that we get new members each year, but also that people leave when they have their degrees. That moment is approaching for me as well, though I know I want to continue with this sport no matter where I end up.

What question would you have liked to have answered, that hasn’t been asked?

The Dutch H.E.M.A. Federation has a board with fixed members, but who are these members? What inspires them? In order to introduce these people to you, we will be interviewing a different board member every two weeks.

Read this post on our official website here.

Tell us a little bit about yourself.

My name is Anouk Post, I’m 28 years old and I’m the new board member for external communications. I’m responsible mostly for the Communications Commission, which is in charge of keeping the Facebook page up-to-date, making sure members are informed of what’s going on, and spreading interesting news and articles.

I live in Waddinxveen with Martin de Jong, who, like me, practices H.E.M.A. (which prevents a lot of irritation about weapons and books lying around). In my day-to-day life I work as an audiology technician in a laboratory in Haarlem. I make custom earpieces for, amongst other things, hearing aids, and ear protection for festivals. It’s incredibly fun and varied work, but I do need to be extra careful with my fingers because I work with my hands a lot. This doesn’t make it quite an ideal combination with longsword and military sabre training.

In spite of my sedentary work I like to be physically active. I go to the gym regularly and also like to run. In my free time I enjoy reading, writing and partaking in other creative endeavors like leatherworking and costume design. In addition to this all, I have a fulltime job in keeping my two Abessinian cats happy. They see me as their personal valet, which is, of course, completely justified.

How did you end up in H.E.M.A.?

I’ve always been active in sports, which started with fifteen years of fanatic horse riding. After that came running and kickboxing – until, when I was 21, I was told that I had a vague issue with my joints, which meant they were too unstable for me to be able to exercise without any pain or issues. This was hard for me to take and for a long time I thought the doctors were right. Because of this, I didn’t participate in sports for almost two years. In 2012 a friend told me that I should be able to sword fight if I used an altered training. I was skeptical at first, but a ten-minute lesson turned into half an hour, half an hour turned in to an hour with sparring, and before I knew it I was actively exercising again.

Where do you train?

At the moment I mostly train with Historisch Vrijvechten Nederland in Oegstgeest. Besides the fact that it’s on my route from work to my house, training at HVN also gives me the ability to choose between longsword and sabre, which is my other great love. I also train at show and performance group Bataille in Utrecht, which is a fantastic group that focuses on using H.E.M.A. in stunt and fighting choreography.

What are your interests within H.E.M.A.?

As I mentioned before, I mostly train in longsword. My focus used to be very much on competitions. I went to the gym, trained multiple times a week and fought in any match I could. I took great pleasure from the challenges that competitions bring with them: the ambition, the drive to reach goals and the pressure that can greatly motivate you (or work against you). I didn’t only focus on the physical aspect, the training, but also on the psychological side; why am I nervous? How do I deal with performance anxiety and why do I have it? I was very busy with the sports aspect, and less so with, for example, reading the sources.

Recently my focus has been changing. In the past year and a half I’ve been training in sabre as well. I noticed that I was becoming tired of competitions, but I was also risking injury with every match. That’s something I can’t afford right now. Time-wise, my new focus also works better for me since I now work fulltime in a city that requires some traveling. When you’re sitting in a train, it’s a lot easier to read a treatise than it is to practice with a sword.

My love for sabre was awakened after a workshop in Siebenhaar sabre by Ties Kool during Swordfish 2015. I had already been looking around for a different weapon to train with in order to broaden my horizon, and during the workshop something just clicked. I dove in to research about different sources and styles as soon as I got home, and went on from there.

I enjoy and have an interest in every kind of sabre. It’s like having found a toy store and being allowed to choose just one item to play with. Because choosing to study ‘everything’ is a bit ambitious, I’m currently focusing on Roworth’s saber, an English style from circa 1800. I also have the ambition to some day continue with Radaelli’s North-Italian military-style sabre, but I can hardly do everything at once.

Recently I have been offered the chance to teach workshops during various events. Teaching, putting together workshops, translating information I find interesting into something useable, is a completely new challenge. I’ve noticed that my enthusiasm, which has seen a bit of a decline after choosing to compete less, has definitely been revived. I had to find a new way to give color to my hobby, and I think teaching workshops and being part of the board of the federation is definitely a way to do so.

What was your motivation to become a board member?

The Dutch H.E.M.A. Federation has a board with fixed members, but who are these members? What inspires them? In order to introduce these people to you, we will be interviewing a different board member every two weeks.

Tell us a little bit about yourself.

My name is Dirk Maats and I’m 43 (at the moment of writing this). Since February I’m the new secretary, after previously fulfilling the role of treasurer, last year. At the moment I’m mostly responsible for the board’s official communications towards members and clubs, as well as recording board meetings and general assembly meetings.

I’m married, have three kids and live in Leiden. After getting my history degree I decided not to go into education, but instead ended up in project work. I enjoy practical and facilitating work. Thankfully, I’m now better at working with deadlines than I was during my college years. At the moment I work as a project management officer for a detachment agency in Utrecht, where I mostly work on projects for the government.

Sport had been a low priority for me for a while, but I’ve become enthusiastic about it again since discovering H.E.M.A.. The combination of historical fighting techniques and working on your physical ability is important for someone like me, who is mostly motivated by a healthy dose of interest in history and historical weaponry. They have made this sport very appealing, as well as very relaxing (in a way).

How did you end up in H.E.M.A.?

Since I was younger I’ve been interested in history and martial arts. As a teenager I mostly focused on eastern martial arts because it was easily accessible in the town I grew up with. However, I never really felt at home in Eastern philosophy. I only stumbled upon H.E.M.A. fairly recently, when I accidentally ended up on the website for Historisch Vrijvechten Nederland. I read on the website that there were classes in longsword, but also that there were plans to do classes in historical saber fencing as well. I joined in for a training and was immediately sold on the idea. Ever since the regular saber training has started that’s been my main focus and I try to dedicate as much as my time to it as I can, even with how busy it gets at home and at work.

Where do you train?

I train with Historisch Vrijvechten Nederland in Oegstgeest, and I can definitely recommend everyone to try the introductory course for military saber.

What are your interests within H.E.M.A.?

At this moment I’m following classes in military saber fencing according to Siebenhaar, but I’m open to trying other varieties of saber in the future. When I have a little more space in my planner I’d like to start following longsword classes again. Following a jury training course is also high on my wishlist, so that I can work on my understanding and feeling during competitions.

What was your motivation to become a board member?

(Photo by Annemieke Goudriaan)

Rick van Weert is 26 and lives in the beautiful province Brabant. He graduated in history and is, in his own words, ‘as expected, not employed in that field at all’. He was somewhat taken aback by the question of whether he would like to be interviewd, but was, thankfully also pleasantly surprised. Rick is a member of Bataille, where he acts as show fighter, training assistant, choreographer and director.

How did you end up in H.E.M.A.?

As a kid I was already fond of knights and castles (and the Wild West, by the way) and of course het Land van Ooit (a theme park) because of the knights. I’ve pretty much kept this youthful fascination, and it led to me deciding to study history. With a focus on the middle ages, of course!

Early in my studies I already felt the urge to dive deeper in to my field of study, and I went looking for a reenactment group to join. That’s how I came across Orde der Noorderwind. They did some reenactment, but mostly focused on medieval showfighting, with real swords, chainmail, colored banners, knights, squires, the whole deal. I knew immediately that this was the group I was looking for. I managed to sign up for the introductory training in the nick of time, and though I didn’t make it through the selection the first time, I tried again the following year. I couldn’t get this group out of my head. I was admitted after my second attempt and we’re four and a half years later now.

Where do you train?

I was a member of Orde der Noorderwind for almost four years, but Noorderwind was dissolved a a little under a year ago. A group of its former members started anew under the name Bataille, and that’s where I train now. For me, Bataile is not just training, it’s not just a sport. What was once a hobby has grown into a lifestyle, something I’m active with almost daily and really enjoy doing.

What do you like about your club?

That’s quite a list. Do you have a moment? One of the best things about Bataille is that it’s my childhood dreams come true. Being able to fight like a knight really gives me a big kick, and several factors just add to that. Learning to handle different medieval weapons, finding out which weapons I like fighting with and of course continuously expanding my collection are incredibly fun aspects of what we do.

In addition, Bataille is a tight-knit group of people who aren’t afraid to trust eachother when necessary. Although I’m fairly withdrawn by nature, I’m able to be myself and grow in this group. That’s worth a lot to me. The bond we build as members and the knowledge that we can rely on eachother makes Bataille a very strong team.

The ultimate kick I experience with Bataille is when we perform for an audience. That moment that we’re ‘on stage’, in character, and then get to fight.That moment when you’re high on adrenaline and time seems to slow down… (I swear, on videos I see of myself, everything seems to move a lot faster). During a showfight like that you just go for it full on, completely focused on choreography, your body acts by itself. Only when you are finished do you notice that you’re out of breath and probably steaming with sweat. If, at that moment, the audience applauses, it makes your day.

And then there’s the summer courses! A full week of camping on castlegrounds and giving people who are interested in H.E.M.A. and/or showfighting workshops about what we do. Those are always great weeks, and I’m already looking forward to the next.

What do you train for?

I might have revealed it already, but with Bataille we mostly train in showfighting. Of course we do lots of things outside of this as well: reenactments, campments, workshops, kiddybattles.. But the strongest point of Bataille is the showfighting. Those fights are choreographed with a lot of effort and attention. Why then am I being interviewed by the Dutch H.E.M.A. Federation? Our basis is in H.E.M.A. We use manuscripts to learn about fighting like people in the Middle Ages did. Our goal is to keep that history in tact and to do so on our own way, using showfighting.

(photo by Cliff de Booy)

Do you have a speciality?

Sort of. I’m fairly light weight, agile and I can take a hit. That leads to me being fairly ‘throwable’ and has led me to be the ragdoll of the group. When choreographies and stunts call for people to be thrown around, I’m usually the person who gets to see every corner of the ring.

Apart from that I regularly hear that I pick up things fast. When unforeseen issues arise during events, people drop out, choreographies don’t work well, etc. I’m often the person who jumps in to take on a role, quickly put together a new choreography or otherwise fill in the gaps.

What is your favorite memory?

I definitely need to think back to the movie Michiel de Ruyter. As Noorderwind, we worked on the biggest action scenes of this film, provided stunt work, manned cannons and had a lot of fun. My two favorite memories of this are dragging two main characters to a squae to be executed, and jumping from a ship because the ship is being shot to bits.

Aside from this our shows at the Midwinter Fair in Archeon (a historical open-air museum) are generally very succesful. The shows have a different theme each year and it’s great to be able to build our own show around each theme. It doesn’t matter if we’re in the arena or somewhere in a corner of the park, the Midwinter Fair weekends are always fantastic to be a part of.

What is something you would like to do in the future?

I’m going to be particularly unsubtle for this and say I’d like to be in a leading role sometime in one (or multiple) of our shows. Just putting it out there. I had to be honest, right?

(photo by Anne Moss)

What are your ambitions?

I dream of seeing Bataille grow. I’d love to see the amount of members grow, so that we can put together big camps and shows. Besides that, more swordfighting friends are always welcome!

It is also a personal ambition of mine to become a better show fighter. In the years that I’ve been doing what I do, I have had the chance to meet and work together with a number of people that I admire. These are people who really excel at the finer things in this line of work, expertise with a sword and making a charismatic appearance on stage, and I try to follow their example. It’s a long way to the top, but my goal is clear and I know what I’m doing it for.

What question would you have liked to have answered, but have you not been asked?

I have two ideas for new blog posts in the near future. One is to talk about HEMA’s impact on how I view media. This would cover historic documentaries, shows and films, fictional stuff, and other things. Another is to possibly talk about how I’m not the best fencer in my own school. The expectation of perfection on the instructor, and how an instructor is capable of making mistakes. And how to correct those mistakes while not losing the confidence of your students. My school has been going great. We have an influx of new students. New swords are coming to my door within the week. Purple Heart Armoury was excellent in shipping them out quick. I reached out to the SCA and got some interested students. I had fun at their fight night. Three of their members had fun at our night. We all see this as more opportunities to get together and hit each other with swords. This arrangement so far can only work out positively.

I wish to reach out to other local martial arts communities. I know you can’t really steal students from other arts. Martial artists tend to want to focus their training. Trying to convert students is probably also not a good way to go. But I wish to make ourselves known in the local MA community. And to build good rapport with them. They also have easy access to mats. Those are good for practicing Abrazare. Gotta start getting thrown more. Getting thrown onto hardwood seventy two times sucks. I also wish to do more lectures, and maybe one specifically aimed at the community at large. That may have to wait until after I get some steel and gear.