417hema-blog

[417hema-blog]

First joined practice of the year 2025

417 HEMA visits the oldest HEMA club in Springfield, the SHFG. From the verge extinction to becoming a solid and active German Tradition based HEMA club. I met my first guild member around 2018 when I first moved to Springfield from the island. At that time I was sadden to learnt that the founder and former instructor of the group was no longer meeting for practice.

But thanks to a few obstinate guild members the SHFG kept meeting and grew with a new direction a clearer goals. And 417 HEMA have bee there at every step. We have practice, leanrt, spar and competed together. Minimum drama....always transparent , welcoming and cordial.

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417 HEMA Longsword: Snow vs Solid Ice as cutting mediums 1-11-2025 Springfield MO

SNOW

SOLID ICE

417 HEMA Longsword: Snow vs Solid Ice as cutting mediums 1-11-2025 Springfield MO

Both mediums are free and reusable….it s just water duh. But it s weather /temperature dependent occurrence, meaning availability at least for the snow would be a seasonal thing.

There is a bit of a learning curve on providing a standing piece large enough to be of consequence, but the possibilities are endless….You can add aggregates to the water for making ice or mix it with the snow…like straw and/or sawdust …or even add colorant.

Depending on how compacted and aerate is the snow it may behave different….ask someone with more experience. And the ice fuses almost instantly to a compacted snow surface. Also I have been using different diameters and dimensions for my ice .

If you don t execute your cut well the ice will let you know immediately lol

Please let me know if you had any experience cutting with snow and/or ice as mediums on the comments!

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417 HEMA 1-10-2025 Snow day flourish after Danny s passing-Springfield MO

I m glad we got some "decent" snow at the end of the week. I always enjoy doing some kind of training on the snow. Flourish or "Floreado"is the word we commonly use on the Historical fencing community to denominate a sequence of well coordinated movements .

These can be based on the historical source , either a literal interpretation of the text or an interpretation more loosely based on it. It can be completely made up or improvised on the moment. This particular flourish is commonly known as the 64 Cut Drill created by Matt Galas. It s based on some Iberian sources dealing with the Montante but it translated to longsword.

On the passing of my friend Danny it seem appropriate to practice this one. Mostly the first 16 Cuts.Since Danny was able to figure it out just looking at a few MAtt Gala s recordings executing the whole thing. At "Esgrima Antigua e Historica de Puerto Rico y el Caribe" and at 417 HEMA we have always incorporated flourishes taken and/or based on the historical sources.

As well as the ones created by students and instructors as the advance on the studies. It s something we kind of borrow from the Kendo Kata and the practice of Carenza from Filipino Combat Systems Puerto Rico. And it works incredibly well as a training and instructing tool. Flourishes on the HEMA community became specially known around the time of the pandemic.

Everyone had a lot of free time , they wouldn t be able to attend tournaments nor seminars so we showed our skills through social media. And it kept us sane.

Feder by Marek Tadeusz Helman

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417 HEMA at 417 BJJ Gym @ 12-15-2024 Basic/Intermediate Longsword: 1000 basic cuts on PVC pipes

Marv Marinovich popularized the use of pvc pipes on mobility training among many other unusual techniques.

Paratschwert by Marek Tadeusz Helman 

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417 HEMA at the 417 BJJ Gym in Springfield MO

Going through some of the bare basics of the Longsword class.

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Join the SWMO HEMA page!

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Some Dussack action in Southwest Missouria

Some Dussack Action at the Fall HEMA Gathering in Joplin MO. (Thanks to Pumpking Spike Babe to makes us feel so welcomed!)

Dussacks by Kevin Franklin(Dirty Rotten Pirate/Dirty Pirate Leather). They are perfectly safe and super gentle….perfect for full contact.

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Multi-club HEMA Gathering @Joplin MO-10/13/2024

Multi-club HEMA Gathering @Joplin MO-10/13/2024

Nice to met new friends and fence some old ones. It s nice to see the two clubs in Joplin-MO kindda working together, hopefully they would work out their conflicts of interest and the newer group would respect the day and time of the older one.

There was an overabundance of Rapiers, Sideswords and Sabres…..a little bit of Messer and Dussack…..Fingers crossed there may be a soon-to-be-manufacturer of Messers in the Iowa area…Nagels crossed!!!!

Thanks to Dustin and Meg for being out there and for representing Springfield MO HEMA clubs…SHFG and 417 HEMA.

The obvious absent….well your were not missed. It s difficult to be missed when everyone else supports you but you just ghost/slander the same people that supported you in the past.

Word of advise:

For those new club leader, take notes…..cancel culture is not about the truth, it s about imposing your views and taking out the perceived competitors not with skill but with BS. (Mateo 7:1-6,Lucas 6:37-42)

On the other hand it s nice to see another Gathering in the SW Missouri Area not too different to the one Mike and I helped organized on Norma Champion park-Springfield MO four years ago. Unfortunately it a long time to the same to happened again….and heck of a shameful ego fest in-between.

It s a shame that the under-performing club, with the least experience and the worst safety/accident record in Springfield….it s the one creating a rift , and becoming an obstacle to these activities to happen on their own backyard.

Time will tell.

PS: Congratulations to Joshie for starting his own practice under the name UHF!

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Back from a nice HEMA Gathering in Joplin MO...hopefuly the first one of many in SW Missouri area!

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The Filipino Kali/ HEMA connection

I m so glad my friend George H. could joined us on this local longsword tournament. He proved that living martial traditions can cross-pollinate in a mutually beneficial relationship with reconstructed systems like the ones we study in HEMA.

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August friendly local longsword tournament

Almost 50 years later and I m still beaingt the #$%^of historical fencers half my edge....got a really close second place lol. They are still wondering how lol.

Most of the participants did really good, awesome ( artificial for some) camaraderie , sportmanship et all.

On the downside...lack of control and poor technique from the same group. Almost got injured again by someone without HEMA background whatsoever.

All in all, it s all fun and games....

[417hema-blog]

The Knightly Art & Science of the Medieval Longsword I

We would be introducing the attendees to some of the history behind the Longsword.

The various historical sources still in existence to this day dealing with the knightly art of the longsword. The anatomy of the longsword. Common misconceptions. Fundamentals and physical conditioning in a relaxed and casual manner.

The lecture /class would have a demonstrative part and a practical part. Proper safety etiquette would be observed at all times and there would be no contact between the participants.

We would be using balsa wood historical replicas of medieval wasters around a pound in weight and 48 inches of overall length provided and under the strict supervision of the lecturer.

We are a Spanish /English language inclusive study group.

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El hábito no hace al monje....sólo la práctica y el estudio concienzudo.

"Under-performing and slandering are not Life skills"

"Some things never change." Abordar casualmente las fuentes históricas , no es lo mismo que estudiárlas. Enfrentar años de experiencia , sacrificios, de ofrecer talleres y clases bien estructuradas y de competir en distintas disciplinas y esperar resultados distintos cada vez.....no va a ocurrir gordito. Después de meses trabajando para reponérme de una lesión en la rodilla me encontré con un novelón.....falsas amistades y traición. Ahora que estoy recuperado me puedo enfocar en lo que me gusta....poner en práctica lo aprendido de las fuentes históricas en un contexto moderno sin perder de vista el transfondo histórico. Y aún cuando no estoy en el peso y condición que me he impuesto como meta en las cercanías de un medio siglo de vida.....estoy como quiera un 150% mejor que la lacra bananera ésta.

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The Knightly Art and Science of the Medieval Longsword 1 : An Introduction

We are live!

Once more let us thank the Springfield Libraries for lending us the space to share some Medieval and Renaissance culture with the Community.

We are 417 HEMA/Esgrima Antigua e Histórica de Puerto Rico y del Caribe:

The Knightly Art and Science of the Medieval Longsword 1 : An Introduction

We would be introducing the attendees to some of the history

behind the Longsword.:

The various historical sources still in existence to this day dealing with the knightly art of the longsword.

The anatomy of the longsword.

Common misconceptions.

[417hema-blog]

New friends in Springfield MO

My friend Bart Cardetti a colleague of Ken Harding casually mentioned he was practicing Kali in town.....and that s how after six years living here I find out finally of a place where we can practice Filipino Martial Arts. 417 BJJ has been a Godsend. Being a lifetime member of the Filipino Combat Systems Puerto Rico Brotherhood you may understand how happy I was. Not only that I had the chance to invite a couple of Filipino friends to enjoy and activity they were craving for as part of their heritage.After all We islanders look after each other no matter the Sea and/or Ocean.

After the poor experience I had with a local HEM...living history green and yellow group here...

Mr Glenn Cozzens restored my faith in Humanity . He runs a longtime Boxing/Brazilian Jujitsu Gym in town. Great camaraderie, super safe, accesible and affordable. The gym schedule classes all week for all ages . And it s probably also HEMa friendly.

I cann t thanks enough to Bart for pin pointing me in the right direction.

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417 HEMA Springfield MO/ Esgrima Antigua e Histórica Puerto Rico-Cutting Summer Solstice 2024

417 HEMA Springfield MO/ Esgrima Antigua e Histórica Puerto Rico-Cutting Summer Solstice 2024

The rotating platform cutting stand is courtesy of Moi

Special thanks for their inspiration, tips and outright counsel and contributions to the Modern Art of Cutting with Historical replicas of Western blades...this is not a comprehensive list but the ones I remember right now:

*Richard and John from the Phoenix Society...you have no idea how many times I watched those early videos and wonder: how hot it s over there?

*Jordan Hinckley of course

*Jake Norwood duh

*Matt Galas

*Mike Edelson who s videos really hooked me up again with the art of cutting...and his book...fantastic...LEONARD!!!!

*Tristan Zukowsky another early inspiration form the NYFG

*Justinder Singh (also his awesome wife)and his awesome workshop that complimented so well Norwood's at our first KC Donney..love you man!

*Sean Frankling and the other enthusiast that started and kept running the HEMA Cutting Discussion group

* Miss Saint Leafy for all she does and shares with the community

*Sander Dijk for all the crazy stuff he comes up with...best of lucks on the up-coming tournament!

*and last but not least to Chuck Castellanos and his beautiful family and the Lake Forest Sword Academy for reminding me what HEMA is all about!

That budget sharp has not been sharpen in forever....with or without water volume a good structure, trajectory, body mechanics etc would cut...eventually...with practice....and good fundamentals.

The plastic was taken to a recycle plant here in Springfield MO.

The jugs are:

Purina Tidy Cats Clumping Cat Litter, 24/7 Performance Multi Cat Litter, 20 lb. Jug

Melissandra the cat was not amused...she likes to hoard the darn things. For more details about our classes, practice days, training days etc....send your inquiries to: springfield417hema@yahoo.com

Or just start a trash talk war below after subscribing....my trolling skills are better than my cutting skills. Soo be warned.

Pax!

P.S.:

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417 HEMA Equipment Review Paratschwert (Light Feder 1300gr by Bloss Armoury) by Marek Tadeusz Helman -Oborniki, Poland

417 HEMA Equipment Review Paratschwert (Light Feder 1300gr by Bloss Armoury) by Marek Tadeusz Helman -Oborniki, Poland

Paratschwert (Light Feder 1300gr by Bloss Armoury) by Marek Tadeusz Helman -Oborniki, Poland

Bloss Paratschwert w/Mushroom(or Olive) Pommel

Blade Type: Flat feder type profile, peened Blade Length: 97 – 100 cm (see drop-down menu for in-stock options) Schilt: Rectangular w/raised central element (Length 6 – 7 cm) Tip: Flared (approximately 2 cm width at tip) Crossbar: 26 cm squared. (black leather option has 24 cm) Grip Type: Waisted Grip Length (including pommel): 36 cm Grip Covering: Leather (see drop-down menu for current color options!) Pommel: Mushroom (Length – 7 cm) / Olive (Length – 6 cm) Weight: Approximately 1325 – 1390 grams Point of balance: Approximately 5.5 cm from cross

Bloss Entry-Level Feder

Blade Type: Flat feder type profile, replaceable Blade Length: 97 – 100 cm (see drop-down menu for in-stock options) Schilt: Flared (Length – 7 cm) Tip: Flared (approximately 1 cm width at tip) Crossbar: 26 – 27 cm squared. Grip Type: Waisted Grip Length (including pommel): 32.5 cm Grip Covering: Cord – see drop-down menu for current color options! Pommel: Spinning Top (Length – 4 cm) Weight: Approximately 1190 – 1260 grams Point of balance: Approximately 10 – 12 cm from cross

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