First Swordsmanship class free

Visit us at the Fulton Place Community League any Tuesday at 7:00pm for your first HEMA lesson.

We’ll hand you a sword and we can practice together!

Why Us

We practice the full range of Historical European Martial Arts (HEMA), with a special love given to the sword! Emphasis is placed on effective real-world techniques described in historical arms treatises. You can expect to study all period weapons including pole arms, swords, daggers, and hand-to-hand fighting. While we focus on the teachings of the great masters, Johannes Liecthenauer and Joachim Meyer, we are not afraid to learn from other sources.

If you seek an authentic martial arts experience in an inclusive atmosphere that emphasizes real-world techniques over stage fighting and repetitive forms, look no further than the Academy of European Swordsmanship.

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From our Blog

Nordschlag 2023 Winners.

Nordschlag 2023 Winners

We would like to congratulate all the winners of the Nordschlag 2023 tournament for a hard fought victory and extend our heartfelt thanks to all the fighters and volunteers that made this amazing event possible. We would also like to thank Miles Kinnee, the founder of the Maritime Sword School, for fighting in the tournament and hosting our after-tournament workshop.

There was a strong showing of sportsmanship this year. However, for going above and beyond, we would like to recognize Eric Edmonds for his honesty and courtesy. He is this year’s winner of the Sportsmanship Prize. A Cobra Mask courtesy of Sword Gear.

We hosted 4 events this year. It was a long fight, but everyone brought their best. We would like to recognize the following individuals for a tournament well fought:

Open Longsword

Tavis MckeeThe Forge Western Martial Arts1st place (gold)
Mikkel KlausenBlood and Iron Martial Arts, Victoria2nd place (silver)
Sihong FuAcademie Duello3rd place (bronze)
Lexa GiguèreThe Forge Western Martial Arts4th place

Women’s Longsword

Sheena HaugAcademy of European Swordsmanship1st place (gold)
Lexa GiguèreThe Forge Western Martial Arts2nd place (silver)
Lucie Cassie LoveThe Forge Western Martial Arts3rd place (bronze)
Natasha PageAcademy of European Swordsmanship4th place

Mixed Weapons

Samuel FedorukAcademy of European Swordsmanship1st place (gold)
Mikkel KlausenBlood and Iron Martial Arts, Victoria2nd place (silver)
Sihong FuAcademie Duello3rd place (bronze)
Joshua FelandAcademy of European Swordsmanship4th place

Sword and Buckler

Mikkel KlausenBlood and Iron Martial Arts, Victoria1st place (gold)
Tavis MckeeThe Forge Western Martial Arts2nd place (silver)
Samuel FedorukAcademy of European Swordsmanship3rd place (bronze)
Sancho Hernandez ArriagaAcademy of European Swordsmanship4th place

We hope to see everyone again next year!

Nordschlag 2022 Winners

Nordschlag 2022 Winners

For 2022 the tournament was held on October 22, with the workshop on October 23. An extra special thanks is in order for all the volunteers and participants that made this tournament possible.

Jason Wang, sportsmanship award, holding his Cobra mask.

We would like to recognize Jason Wang, who earned the sportsmanship prize; a cobra mask, courtesy of Sword Gear.

Tournament included four events:

  1. Open Longsword
  2. Women’s Steel Longsword
  3. Sidesword
  4. Random Weapons

Open Longsword

Alexander Williamson The Forge Western Martial Arts 1st place (gold)
Julian Schuetze The Historical Combat Collective 2nd place (silver)
Matthew Thompson The Forge Western Martial Arts 3rd place (bronze)
Aaron Babb Edmonton German Fencing Guild 4th place

Women’s Longsword

Marie-Annick Scott Edmonton German Fencing Guild 1st place (gold)
Lexa Giguère The Forge Western Martial Arts 2nd place (silver)
Natasha Page Academy of European Swordsmanship 3rd place (bronze)
Stephanie Szeponski Edmonton German Fencing Guild 4th place

Sidesword

Alexander Williamson The Forge Western Martial Arts 1st place (gold)
Tavis Mckee The Forge Western Martial Arts 2nd place (silver)
Hai Zhu Edmonton German Fencing Guild 3rd place (bronze)
Matthew Thompson The Forge Western Martial Arts 4th place

Mixed Weapons

Hai Zhu Edmonton German Fencing Guild 1st place (gold)
David Kenyon Edmonton German Fencing Guild 2nd place (silver)
Colton Strohschein Academy of European Swordsmanship 3rd place (bronze)
Aaron Babb Edmonton German Fencing Guild 4th place

A Few Words About Our Curriculum and History of The AES

Way back when our school was founded, in 1994, we had a very basic curriculum. The members of our school had already been involved in the Society for Creative Anachronism (SCA) for as much as eight years. We all fought in some manner or other, whether “light” or “heavy”, and wanted to understand the reality of mediaeval combat, as it was fought by those who lived and died by this martial art.

We came across a magazine article that talked about the martial arts of Germany in the Middle Ages. It had a few guards drawn for longsword, done with stick figures. The article was written before we even knew there were treatises available, and before our school was officially founded. This was probably in 1992, when we started doing all of this. At first, we practiced with the SCA, just stepping off to the side during their practices to do our own thing. It took a couple more years before we broke away from them. This was because we finally had something that was a bit of a curriculum of our own. We were going in a very different direction than those who were interested in re-enactment fighting. We wanted a martial arts club.

For at least a couple of years we worked off the article from 1992 and trying to figure things out from stories, sagas, and artwork. Johanus graduated with his bachelor’s degree in Education in 1992. For most of the next year Johanus didn’t participate, as he lived in Wetaskiwin from September 1992 to April 1993. In August he rejoined and started helping again with classes. Johanus’ knowledge as a teacher helped because he knew how to do proper curriculum design and teaching pedagogy. So, in 1994 we wrote up our first, simple curriculum. It consisted of basic body movements, balance, how to hold a sword, proper striking mechanics (which hasn’t changed much since then – we at least had the basics all correct), and a few tactics. There was no division between weapons, like our current curriculum. This was also the year we formalized our group, and The Academy of European Swordsmanship was officially created.

Talhoffers Fechtbuch

The first treatise we had a hold of was Talhoffer’s 1467 book. It was only available in German, from a transcription done in 1887, published in 1998. When we got the Talhoffer book, we started expanding that basic curriculum to include specific techniques. Naturally these were almost all from that treatise. The information from Talhoffer expanded our knowledge so much we can’t even quantify it! Thankfully, Johanus had a basic understanding of German. This was much better than when we had no formal curriculum and would just practice movement, sword techniques, and strategy as we saw fit. And even far better than the basic curriculum we had before we found this treatise.

2 women demonstrating swordsmanship at Edmonton heritage Days 2002

2002 1Heritage Days Demonstration

Over the years our curriculum has developed and expanded greatly. There is so much knowledge we have that we have divided everything after a certain point into the different weapons used, including unarmed combat (including wrestling), knife/dagger, longsword, polearms, Messer, rapier, arming sword, sidesword, backsword, saber, and axe. At the beginning levels of our curriculum there is common knowledge taught, and it only starts to differentiate when appropriate, by weapon type. All weapons have some common core in the curriculum. Basic movements, concepts, and tactics all have some overlap. Today, there is so much to learn that one couldn’t possibly internalize our entire curriculum without decades of study. So, people pick and choose. Most students want to know longsword. A few prefer some kind of one-handed sword, such as sidesword or Messer. And cross training is encouraged!

Nordschlag HEMA Tournament

Well, we’re finally having tournaments again in Historical European Martial Arts, as the pandemic seems to be near an end. For 2022 the tournament will be held on October 22, with the workshop on October 23. Tournament will include four events:

  1. Open Longsword
  2. Women’s Steel Longsword (pending enough registration)
  3. Sidesword
  4. Random Weapons
Mixed, random weapons in 2019

Tournament registration fee includes all events. However, you may choose to participate in all eligible events or only those you wish to (2022 Registration).

Workshop instruction will include grappling (by Johanus Haidner) and sidesword (by Julian Schuetze).

You may register for the tournament only, the workshop only, or both.

Payment may be sent by email transfer

2022 Class Schedule

Classes are up and running at Fulton Place! Every Tuesday starting at 7pm and going until 9:30 pm we are indoors and on Thursday evenings (weather dependent) we are outdoors at the same location. Join us at Fulton Place Community League, 6115 Fulton Road, Edmonton, AB for fun and learning with swords and more!

Please bring indoor shoes on Tuesdays. Thursdays, please dress for the weather and bring your bug repellent and/or sunscreen (as needed).

Sundays are sparring days. Every Sunday from 3 to 4 pm we get together and try out the skills we’ve learned throughout the week! When the weather is good, we will be practicing outdoors at various locations around Greater Edmonton. These will be announced at least 2 days prior on our Facebook Page and Group (https://www.facebook.com/AcademyofEuropeanSwordsmanship). When the weather isn’t as good, we’ll be sparring at The Little Sweatshop, 2301 Premier Way #180, Sherwood Park, AB (https://goo.gl/maps/yEaKGn1NLJ4ZpWyG6).

Join us when you can!