Coaching Coaches, with Nathan Weston
Nathan Weston is a lifelong martial artist and fencer, who discovered HEMA in his thirties and never looked back. He teaches KDF longsword (and assorted other things) at Athena School of Arms in Boston. he’s in charge of instructor training for the HEMA Alliance, where he’s developed a program based on the principles of ecological […]
Making seated longsword work, with Ella Rose
Ella Rose has been practicing historical martial arts since 2017. In 2023 she founded Black Cat Historical Fencing with co-founder Shane Scallin, where she teaches dagger, rapier and beginner longsword classes. She has competed across the US and internationally, and she has won medals in multiple weapon categories. Ella is the lead tournament organizer of […]
Armoured Martial Arts, with Jenny Häbry
Jenny Häbry is an armoured martial arts competitor who has crowned UK’s best female fighter in both 2022 and 2024, and again in 2025. And since 2024 has served as the Women’s National captain. She has founded her own team, and her favourite discipline is pro fighting, where she remains undefeated. In 2025 she secured […]
Swords are where I can be me, with Vera Martocchia
Vera Martocchia is a professional sword fighting instructor with nearly a decade of experience in historical martial arts. She co-founded the historical martial arts club Swordpunch in London, and teaches a wide range of weapons, including sidesword, longsword, dagger, sickle and more. In addition to her historical martial arts practice, Vera holds a master’s degree […]
Safety Testing Swords, with Jamie MacIver
Jamie MacIver is a historical martial arts instructor who co-founded the London Historical Fencing Club in 2016, which has grown to over 120 members and now has his own permanent training space. We start our conversation with Vadi, and why Jamie prefers Vadi to Fiore. We have a discussion about guards and whether Vadi is […]
Russian Dissidence with Romana Shemayev
Romana Shemayev is an American songwriter and performer, translator of contemporary Russian poetry, and one of the founders of “Bent Blades”, a gathering of Historical Martial Arts enthusiasts, who study German longsword fencing according to the principles of Johannes Liechtenauer. The interview is a bit different to the usual. It starts out normally enough with […]
Solo Training and an interview with Guy
Hello Sword People, and welcome to episode 192 of the podcast! Training alone is an essential skill. You can train anywhere, any time, and practice things that would be unethical with a partner. Enjoy some sample chapters from my book, The Principles and Practices of Solo Training, followed by a reprise of episode 100, where […]
Messers and More, with Bob Brooks
Robert (Bob) Brooks is one of the original generation of historical fencers, who began training with me in the Dawn Duellists’ Society in the early 90s. He founded the Hotspur School of Defence in 2003. So it’s turning 20 this year. He has been teaching primarily German historical martial arts and he has taught in […]
Community and the Club with Samantha West
Sam West is an instructor at the Dueling Weapons Academy of Renaissance Fencing aka DWARF, a historical martial arts club in Barrie, Ontario, where she teaches Italian longsword, 1.33 sword and buckler, and rapier. We chat about running a non-profit club and creating an open and inclusive space for everyone to take part in HEMA. […]
Swords in South Africa, with David Wagenfeld
David Wagenfeld is a fencing coach, creator of the En Garde model for teaching fencing in schools, and the co-founder of Table Mountain Fencing and Historical European Martial Arts. He lives in Cape Town, South Africa and has been instrumental in creating the HEMA scene in the country. We talk about how he got into […]