Historical Fencing 2001 – Our Year in Review

The past year was another important one for us and for the historical fencing community. It was by far the most productive and active year we have seen for ARMA [under our former name, HACA]. 2001 saw new Study Groups form in Virginia Beach, VA, Tulsa, OK, Dallas, TX, and added almost 40 new members spread across 9 countries (that’s on average 3 a month). And we also acquired Dr. Sydney Anglo as our official senior advisor. ARMA conducted five successful National Training Program workshops in Provo, Utah, at West Point NY, in Baton Rouge LA, plus in Calgary, Canada, and a seminar for SFI in San Francisco. Our largest workshop ever was also offered in Fort Worth Texas for members in the Dallas area.

	There were presentations by Director Clements at the huge and very successful Livermore Medieval Swordsmanship Symposium event and at the Texas Medievalist Association annual conference in San Antonio. We also held our two-day Medieval and Renaissance Martial Arts Expo in Atlanta with three special guests of the EHCG from Leeds, UK.

The event covered long-sword, rapier, dagger, and grappling. In the summer, we held our first Test-Cutting Gathering in Houston that gave many attendees their first opportunity to use sharp blades.
In August, our Director and Deputy Director gave a special demonstration at the invitation of the esteemed Wallace Collection Museum in London and got to meet some of our English colleagues as well as spend valuable time consulting with our senior advisor, Dr. Sydney Anglo. Following this, John and Jeff attended an unprecedented historical fencing event, the huge Royal Armouries Sword Study Day put on in association with the EHCG. ARMA performed two demonstrations and participated in three days of study and practice with students from a dozen countries.


There was a range of activities across the historical fencing community, including, but not limited to, popular seminars on Fiore Dei Liberi by Bob Charron; the large WMA event in NY (sadly stymied to some degree by the events of 9/11); an earlier large gathering in Michigan, several battle reenactments, and the establishment of a historical fencing interpretation program at the Higgins Armoury in Worchester, Massachusetts.
On top of this, in 2001 the new European Historical Combat Guild (EHCG) was formed by our noted colleagues, John and Jonathan Waller. The “Guild” already has attracted some 100 members. Additionally, last year saw the announcement of the long anticipated CHEMA – Coalition for Historical European Martial Arts, set up to neutrally promote the subject openly in Europe. Their first event is set for France in 2002.
	The year rounded out with a successful first-ever ARMA [HACA] Euro gathering in Krakow, Poland, put on by Bart Walczak and members from five countries. The Wallace Collection also sponsored a unique Sword Study Day featuring lectures and demonstrations by several English groups and a keynote paper by John C. delivered by Ross Dean.
The past 12 months were also the most productive yet for new book titles including, the release of the Waller/Ducklin Sword Fighting, the publication of Oakeshott’s long-awaited Sword in Hand, and the Encyclopedia of World Martial Arts which covers substantial material on Western martial arts. There also was Hank Reinhardt’s 2 new videos, Myth of the Sword and Viking Sword, and the announcement of several major new historical fencing book projects for 2002. The year 2001 saw continued increase in new historical fencing groups, clubs, and organizations plus a plethora of new websites ranging across the board in their offerings.


To this we saw improvements in commercial sword replicas and new equipment such as jackets, wasters, and wooden weapons. We also witnessed the continued transition among practitioners from stage-combat and role-playing concerns toward serious research and earnest practice of “Renaissance martial arts”. There were also advances in scholarship, technical interpretation, archaeological weapons research, and announcements of many planned future events. Additionally, we added substantial material to our own website including more video clips, photos, articles, new manuals, revised study sheets, and expanded materials and curricula in the private member’s area.

	There is no question 2001 was bigger than 2000 and was rich in activities, not all of which can be noted. Now 2002 is already shaping to be bigger than 2001 (with 9 ARMA events alone already in tentative preparation as of January). Above all, the year 2001 saw a renewed commitment to raising the credibility and legitimacy of historical European martial arts and set a new standard.