First Swordsmanship class free

If it is you first time, come visit us at the Fulton Place Community League on the first Tuesday of the month 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.

Ready to go?

Upcoming:

Next up:

Thursday Class

On Thursdays, we take a deeper dive into the art of historical European martial arts. These sessions are ideal for anyone—from beginners to experienced practitioners—who wants to refine their techniques and develop a stronger understanding of the historical sources. Starting at 7:00 PM, our classes begin with a focused segment on advanced techniques, drills, and... Continue reading

From our Blog

SGT Blades Practice Longsword Review

This was a custom make that Garth loaned me to have a look at and evaluate. When I first looked at it, I thought it might be too light for sparring with, at least against a Federschwert. Was I ever wrong! If I were to give this a rating out of 5 stars, I’d give it 4.5. I’m tough, so getting a 5 is almost impossible. The only thing I would change is to improve the grip a little, which is something I’ve done with every practice sword and Feder I’ve owned. This is no different. Beautiful, awesome blade! Maybe... Continue reading

A Martial Artist’s Critique of Movie Sword Fights

By Eric Lowe, guest writer For me, the big thing that distinguishes great sword fights from good ones is technique selection.Long answer: I really can’t count a fight scene as good if it doesn’t serve the story well. But let’s assume that we’re looking at scenes where the story is there. I also don’t really care much about timing and distance. This is a big one, because timing and distance decide something like … I don’t know, 80% of exchanges all by themselves, and fancy techniques only work if they’re powered by a good sense of timing and distance. But... Continue reading