Historical European Swordsmanship
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Last year, my training partner and I finally graduated as free scholars in Medieval Italian Longsword. We had to travel all the way to Helsinki and sleep in the salle for a month in order to get through our gradings but it was worth it.
We are now allowed to start our own group.
We have brought the art back to Singapore and have started a society to promote it here. The art itself is nearly 600 years old and actually has a lot in common with Eastern arts. We strive to be as historically accurate as possible while keeping the training safe. For this we follow the three surviving manuscripts written by the Master Fiore dei Liberi in 1409 as closely as possible. From time to time we will also hold workshops with international instructors as well. Our next workshop is Mid-June with the internationally reknowned Guy Windsor.
The art is a lot of fun and develops self confidence, timing and balance. If anyone is interested in trying out this 'old but new to Singapore' martial art then drop by to http://www.phemas.com and register in the forums.
BTW: We do require that people use their real names in our forum as it keeps everyone polite. As Napoleon once said while lamenting the end of the duelling tradition: "Well, at least it kept people polite." -
where to to learn and whats the pricing? Any requirements? And how much is the price of the equipment?
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We are starting a new novice course fairly soon. Joining the society is $50 joining fee + $50 annually and you get a t-shirt and course notes for that. We train every Sunday night with a an extra free training during the week on most weeks. Fees are $80 per month.
We usually start people with a wooden waster which we get for around $110-$130 depending on how many people can split the freight charges. Steel swords will eventually be required but we want people to be sure they are going to stick with it before we ask them to spend so much. I have a batch of custom made wasters coming from Texas at the moment as some of the females prefer slighty shorter swords with a balance point back a little toward the hilt. The wasters we prefer are from www.woodenswords.com although if people want to source their own from other manufacturers then they are welcome to. We find the purpleheart stuff excellent value for money and mine is still going strong after more than a year. The link above also makes high quality EMA gear.
Fortunately, Caesar's gives us a good deal on Hanwei ($300+) and Cold Steel ($900+) depending on the quality that you are willing to pay for. These are actually good prices and there's the benefit of being able to take it back tot he store if there's a problem. Most of my swords came directly from the sword smiths so I have to swallow the loss if there's a faulty product. We also get 10% off at Caesar's with our membership card.
At the moment we are still negotiating for a permanent home so we are training in a MP hall at Yew Tee. Current Lessons are from 6-8pm on Sunday nights and if people want to try it out they are welcome to come down and have a freebie introduction. We put a lot of emphasis on footwork and balance and as you get to working on pairs drills, you will find out why. Our first batch certainly are. People need to get to a stage where their legs work independently of their hands so that the sword can take small efficient movements while the legs do most of the work while retaining a high level of balance.
Fiore wrote down a complete system. That's the beauty of it really. In his day, a man (but lots of women train today) would have to know a lot of weapons on foot and on horseback so Fiore developed a common set of principles built on wrestling that would apply all the way up. I can quite easily face Greg with a poleaxe and use the same drills and principles as I would using a sword. There are unique techniques of course but the general principles remain the same. We also do lots of Dagger disarms as this encompasses a lot of the core movement patterns. Much of Fiore's techniques are used in the modern art of Abraca.
BTW: All of our swords are blunt and rebated which means that they have about a 2mm square edge. That doesn't make them totally safe. Our training is safe because we put a lot of effort into teaching control of the sword. Form and movement are much more important than power and everybody becomes a much better fencer when they realise this. After Novice rank then a fencing mask also becomes important but there's a good range of them available in singapore. Check the links section of our web site for our suppliers. -
One small Q why u all dont use wooden sword all the way like in kendo.
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It's a good question and simple to answer. Wood bounces. Most techniques require the deflection of the incoming sword and quite often you need to control that deflection until you move to a position whereby you counter strike. Also, we have a lot of yeilding defences, e.g. you meet the incoming stroke with an incrossada (direct cross instead of deflection) and then yeild the pommel underneath and forward to the opponants face. If the swords bounce off each other then this becomes very difficult, very unpredictable and slightly dangerous.
Wooden swords are excellent for beginner and solo drills as well as pair drills at slow speed but in order to prepare for more advanced techniques, there's a point where people need to move to steel. I still use my waster for solo training though as it means I can train in the park without complaints. I just use steel for group training.
In Helsinki they start out from the beginning with steel but they have plenty of sword suppliers and much fewer weapons laws so that is practical for them. Steel swords are very expensive here and we have to make the entry level more accessable so we start people with wood. If they choose to continue, then they have more time to find the sword that's right for them.
It can take up to 6 months for a sword to be custom made and sent from the US. Whenever visiting instructors come from Helsinki we usually ask them to bring us one or two which saves about $200 in freight fees. -
Sounds good... But kind of expensive though... By the way, where do you train at?Originally posted by ChrisB:We are starting a new novice course fairly soon. Joining the society is $50 joining fee + $50 annually and you get a t-shirt and course notes for that. We train every Sunday night with a an extra free training during the week on most weeks. Fees are $80 per month.
We usually start people with a wooden waster which we get for around $110-$130 depending on how many people can split the freight charges. Steel swords will eventually be required but we want people to be sure they are going to stick with it before we ask them to spend so much. I have a batch of custom made wasters coming from Texas at the moment as some of the females prefer slighty shorter swords with a balance point back a little toward the hilt. The wasters we prefer are from www.woodenswords.com although if people want to source their own from other manufacturers then they are welcome to. We find the purpleheart stuff excellent value for money and mine is still going strong after more than a year. The link above also makes high quality EMA gear.
Fortunately, Caesar's gives us a good deal on Hanwei ($300+) and Cold Steel ($900+) depending on the quality that you are willing to pay for. These are actually good prices and there's the benefit of being able to take it back tot he store if there's a problem. Most of my swords came directly from the sword smiths so I have to swallow the loss if there's a faulty product. We also get 10% off at Caesar's with our membership card.
At the moment we are still negotiating for a permanent home so we are training in a MP hall at Yew Tee. Current Lessons are from 6-8pm on Sunday nights and if people want to try it out they are welcome to come down and have a freebie introduction. We put a lot of emphasis on footwork and balance and as you get to working on pairs drills, you will find out why. Our first batch certainly are. People need to get to a stage where their legs work independently of their hands so that the sword can take small efficient movements while the legs do most of the work while retaining a high level of balance.
Fiore wrote down a complete system. That's the beauty of it really. In his day, a man (but lots of women train today) would have to know a lot of weapons on foot and on horseback so Fiore developed a common set of principles built on wrestling that would apply all the way up. I can quite easily face Greg with a poleaxe and use the same drills and principles as I would using a sword. There are unique techniques of course but the general principles remain the same. We also do lots of Dagger disarms as this encompasses a lot of the core movement patterns. Much of Fiore's techniques are used in the modern art of Abraca.
BTW: All of our swords are blunt and rebated which means that they have about a 2mm square edge. That doesn't make them totally safe. Our training is safe because we put a lot of effort into teaching control of the sword. Form and movement are much more important than power and everybody becomes a much better fencer when they realise this. After Novice rank then a fencing mask also becomes important but there's a good range of them available in singapore. Check the links section of our web site for our suppliers. -
We're training in a temporary location at an MP hall between blocks 612 and 613 at Yew Tee. It's just behind Unity Sec School and a short walk from Yew Tee MRT.
We'll be there tonight (Thurs) from 7:30pm till 9:30pm if any of you want to come down and take a look. It's just a free training tonight and not a structured lesson so we can spend some time to explain things to anyone who comes. Just drop by and look for Chris (me) or Greg and we'll give you a demo. -
i do have some basic knowledge of Medieval MA...Being raised in Canada and enrolled in AEMMA helps
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Excellent! An Aemma person!
Are you here in Singapore? We are actually free scholars under Guy Windsor. He'll be coming down for a weekend seminar June 23 & 24.
Feel free to come down and join us if you are here in Singapore. We also study Fiore but use Guy's Cirriculum. -
We at PHEMAS are pleased to announce that we have concluded our discussions with those most excellent folk over at the Eurasian Association and starting in May, PHEMAS training will be conducted there in glorious air-conditioned comfort.
We will also be starting a new 12 week novice course from the first Sunday in May. I'll post again when I get a booking phone number as the EA will take over the bookings and administration.
http://www.phemas.com
http://www.eurasians.org
As always, PHEMAS training is open to all regardless of race or religion. -
Just a quick update...
The Guy Windsor workshop has been moved to July 1st and 2nd and will be at the Eurasian Association. Fees are $250 for public and $225 for PHEMAS/EA members. This is for 2 FULL days of training with one of the worlds best swordsmen. Book now as places are limited.
Regular training is from 6pm to 8pm every Sunday night at the hall on the 2nd floor of the Eurasian Association. Just tell the guards you are looking for the swords group and they should send you up to the 2nd floor. Fees are $80 per month with a once of $10 registration fee. Feel free to drop by and check it out sometime.
PHEMAS membership is no longer compulsary until steel swords are required although we do encourage people to join the society and give 1 free training t-shirt when they do (normally $18 ). -
Last Chance!
Guy Windsor Workshop, 10am-6pm this Saturday and Sunday. Be there around 9:15am on the Saturday (1st July) to register.
This is the PHEMAS premiere event of the year. Don't miss it! -
New beginner's course starting in October.
Check the 'PHEMAS notices' forum at http://www.phemas.com for details.