Guest article by Rukas
There is something appealing about martial arts: the ability to improve your discipline, self-control, strength, reaction etc. There are plenty to choose from yet the popular choices may not be for everyone. Today the reader will be presented with an alternative.
HEMA stands for Historical European Martial Arts. Simply put HEMA is about using historical weapons in combat (swords, sabres, spears, etc) based on known historical sources which are known as treatises. Naturally, one may raise a question: what martial arts? Aren’t these activities part of the East? Such inquires are common and it’s not surprising knowing that most people are exposed to this through various mediums. Also, one has to pay in mind that the tradition of such arts wasn’t lost in the East as it was in the West. Thus, this gives an insight to that the European arts and combat were just as sophisticated and complex as their Eastern counterparts which is a stark contrast to the common myth ‘it was only brute force with smashing and bashing’.
One can always start at the beginning of it all: the source. As mentioned above the sources are known as treatises. Such works were written all the way from Middle Ages to the early modern period. Basically, a treatise is a text or a book which describes how to fight in a particular situation(s) and weapon(s). Treatises can be divided into two major groups: manuscripts and manuals. Usually, manuscripts are dedicated to students or fighters who already have an idea of basic concepts and are ready to advance whereas manuals are dedicated to beginners. One has to pay in mind that this explanation is for historical and not modern context. As mentioned before treatises cover all kinds of situations including judicial duels, armoured and unarmoured combat. In addition, there is a wide variety of weapons to choose from starting with swords and sabres ending with polearms.
This poses a question of availability and linguistics as these sources were written so far back in time. You may fear not as most the treatises are publicly available in English at Wikitauer (įdėti nuorodą).
Another important aspect of practising these arts is equipment. Most of the treatises are dedicated to unarmoured combat so the majority of HEMA clubs practice exactly that. However, to prevent injuries modern modified fencing equipment and nylon/plastic or blunted steel weapons are used instead of sharp ones. Nowadays there are plenty of suppliers in both protective equipment and weapons at affordable prices. One has to keep in mind that protective equipment for HEMA is very different from Olympic fencing as the variety and weight of weapons are far greater when compared to their Olympic counterparts.
Finally, join a club which practices weapon or style you like the most and start training. This martial art isn’t restrictive towards age, sex, body type. Initial training gear is usually supplied by clubs. All you need is a desire and will to train.
Unlike Olympic fencing HEMA is not so streamlined in regards of the direction you need to take. There is plenty of room for all kinds activities from scholarly to pure combat. Some practitioners dedicate a lot of time to studying the sources as an academic pursuit whereas others dedicate themselves to tournaments and competition with many other activities in between. All of this is needed to get a whole picture of the historical context and mechanics of these arts. With no scholars everything would soon turn into streamlined sport and without tournaments or active sparring there is no environment to apply the knowledge. Which direction you want to take is entirely up to you.
Having explained the basic outline of HEMA one may have a question: isn’t Olympic fencing the same? Short answer is no. First and foremost Olympic fencing is a sport and not a martial art with defined rules and narrow choice of weapons: foil, épée, sabre. In Olympic fencing, both opponents hitting each other at the same time is not a problem as the score is dedicated by slight differences in timing whereas in HEMA this result is unacceptable as, regarding the historical context, such endeavours would grievously injure both fencers or kill them outright. This also leads to differences in equipment and weapon choice as it was mentioned above. Also, the rules are different but it’s a different topic as there is no single ruleset for HEMA.
All in all HEMA offers a wide variety of activities and possibilities for anyone interested, from competition to academic pursuit. If you feel that popular martial arts aren’t for you then HEMA is a great place to start.
