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Sport and History: two disciplines that we have too rarely the opportunity to
see to coexist, however, it exist awesome effort who tend to bring closer
this two universes. It’s particularly the case of the Historic European Martial Arts : the HEMA.
HEMA, it’s trully making researchs on how one fought in Europe, before,
during the periods of the History that are interesting us. So, it can start
at the Antiquity to, let’s say, the first World War. But from
the moment when, on the battlefield there is a majority of firearm
we said : it’s not the Historic European Martial Arts, we don’t work it
this in the same way so we restrict ourselves in time.
We study armless martial arts as well as martial arts with arms. Without weapon, we can speak,
for example, of Glima (of wrestling)
It’s in HEMA until it’s a one-on-one and without remotely weapon.
HEMA is really specialized on a knowledge who has been lost and that we must
recover from origins.
The interesting thing is the research process. We’re not only quarrel with each other,
or fighting, there is, finally,a huge intellectual work : we study, we emit theory,
we look at what the others do.
We spent hours reading sagas, searching, looking for slightly
full details.
It’s almost 50/50, there are equally researchs and struggles.
And researchs, how are they undertake ? On wich sources leans
the HEMAers so that their work is justifiable ?
We eventually have direct springs medieval script, historical greek
or latin texts wich will allow us to understand and perform how
one could fought and we also have a whole bunch of secondary springs who are
the medieval iconography, sculpture iconography, some archeological results
-let’s say : excavation part- or even paleopathological analysis,
that means when you study a battlefield, you can study damages
on human corpse and thanks to this, we can understand wich bone was the most handled
or not. What can I touch from behind
his shield to only hit his body ? Alright ? Effectively, the majority
of the keystrokes that we recovered, the paleopathology tell us that we found more hits
on lower libs, specifically on the left lower member, alright ? The
left tibia is the most broken bone in almost every springs.
We are looking for the truth, but we don’t know if we will reach one day and next,
all that we do to reach it, we approach it gradually. The more we go back in time
and the less we have sources. The more we move away from the source, the more we are bound to have
secondary assistant sources and we can also have a wrong work.
With Vikings, it’s the major problem : we don’t have straight sources. We know
what have been done before-not on Vikings but on other peoples as
the Gallic-and, for the Vikings, there are sources wich date of the XIIIs century,
often written by christians (they were not really friends with
Vikings), so this sources should be taken with tongs. It’s all of us
to make the work, and remove what is wrong, what we perceive
strange and find what is right. Its really really tough, it’s a huge work.
So here, it’s an english spring of the XIII century in wich we see guys
who catch each other by the belt. We don’t really know, at a time by the belt and by
the frock, wich means that it’s a real tradition, a prori,
who is quite ancestral and we find it everywhere.
When a practicing comes in a HEMA club the interest is to give him some
documents on wich he deserve to work if we have them.
All the HEMA members must have access to the sources and to a member who’s there, since
something like a week, who can read the spring once I introduce the technic, he
can say “Hey, Benoit, this technic, I would see her like that” and, as
what he says isn’t contradict by the text, he will be right as much as me.
We never come, in fact, with a full bowl. We always come with an empty one or an half
empty one and the others will bring their knowledge, who will fill it, we will exchange a lot
and it’s rare to find clash, it’s rather the exchange. We share,
we offer, we try, sometimes we success in something, we find that it’s good
and indeed we find that it’s bad, and finally once we shared it and it
make defused, it’s really interesting this kind of exchange. And the
internships as today, allow this, to meet people from a lot of
different environment, and each bring his touch wichever the skill of the fighter.
The final aim after all of this is to pass in the practice, to put protections
and go to fight, apply all the technics at real speed and try
to set them. So, there is some fight, we are doing sport, it’s a fun ride.
The community, today, develop herselve around a federation that we created
3 years ago, the FFHEMA(French Federation of the Historical European Martial Arts)
and we are in full explosion, let’s say, demographic explosion, as we have more
and more practicing and we have just passed the symbolic course of 1000 practicing.
What is very innovative, is that we interest people who, basically weren’t
interesting by sport. Among the HEMA practicing, there are who were, we are going
to say, considered as huge fans of fantastic medieval, or GN practicing
who wanted to pass in something stronger , or story buff
end even gaming elitist, and at this moment there is
a part of peoples which were not toward traditional sports, wich
turn to us and make a big part of our 1000 members today in France.
I came to the HEMA because I always have been interested in Middle-Age.
At the beginning we are attracted by this romantic image of the warrior
and all of this, and after a while due to accentuating we discover that it exist
handbooks, there are some things to rework and to take over, that moves are lost
but it exist technics, that we still know them and it’s that what
attracted me.
So we really have a fun side were we can cast off and were we can go openly
and it feels good.
It’s a pleasure to beat on the end with our friends, in optimal conditions
of safety with a fencing mask and all this.
In this connection, is it expensive to set about HEMA, is this practice
accessible to everybody ?
It’s necessary, I think, to forecast approximately 1000 euros for a full equipement
wich means have a mask, gloves, jacket, a breastpalte, a collar, a protection for
for the back of the head, and of course a sword who is quite expensive but
if you are an handyman and buy it second-hand, you can start with a hundred
euros I guess.
But if you really don’t have money and you want to do HEMA, at least you come
with your jogging and your sneaker and you practice the dagger or struggle : no need for a sword,
no need for a mask : it’s what I want to do : it’s open to everybody
wichever yours resources.
If you want to join the HEMA movement, do not thus hesitate any more
: for myself who have held a sword between hands, it’s quite funny. Thanks to the club
HEMA of the Maine and of Tours to helped me in the realisation of this reportage, and if
this sport particularly interested you, it’s very possible that you will be intrigued
by the next reportage of the channel : the Béhourd. See you soon !