Liverpool HEMA is a martial arts club in Liverpool. We study HEMA, which is short for historical European martial arts, also known as historical fencing or Western martial arts.
We study textbooks written by medieval and renaissance fencing masters, who wrote their instructions for fighting with the different weapons of the day. These books survive in libraries and museums around the world. We study these books and train the fighting systems as modern martial arts, with modern (safe) training swords and protective gear such as fencing masks and padded gloves.
Our area of study is the 15th and 16th century German longsword. Initially, we focus on the “common fencing” of the 16th century, to teach important and fundamental swordfighting skills; later, we progress to the more complicated and sophisticated 15th century longsword fencing according to Johannes Liechtenauer.
At Liverpool HEMA, believe strongly in equality and inclusivity, and we welcome participants from all walks of life, including both adults and under-18s. Everyone has something of value to bring to the club, and hopefully the club has something of value to offer each and every member!
Why not come along to one of our regular weekly classes and give it a go? If you would like to speak with the instructor beforehand, please contact the club leader and we will be more than happy to answer your questions.