Stage Combat Swords

What are Western Martial Arts?

Western Martial arts is a broad term covering several martial arts diciplines that are European in nature. Many of us are familiar with Eastern martial arts includng one of the most recognized art forms; karate. WMA includes things like classical fencing which uses traditional rapier as opposed to modern adaptations like sport fencing. It also covers things like the Medieval longsword as well as modern adaptations on the original art forms.

These martial arts forms are more concentrated in HEMA which is Historical European Martial Arts. HEMA is focused on the period between 1300 and 1800 and covers a wide array of Western art forms including Ancient Greek Wrestling , folk wrestling and stick fighting. Some of the most popular areas of study are longsword, rondel or dagger fighting, messer, sword and buckler, halberd, spear and staff. Many of these diciplines are methodic in teaching using original training texts and the same training tecniques used during the pinnacle of the European knight. Mastering the arts tought in HEMA would essentially hone your skills to prepare you to face a real knight on the medieval battlfield.