Proper Mindset with applied martial skill is key to victory!
The Gatesville, TX Chapter is our newest chapter and is lead by Nathan Laney (seen on viewer’s left), a fighter and instructor with nearly 9 years of experience training and fighting in tournaments, earning several medal along the way. You only need to bring yourself as loaner gear is available. You can contact Laney here: https://www.facebook.com/Nathan.Kenneth
We look forward to training with you! Come join us for what my prove the most rewarding experience of your life!
We are welcoming 2025 after having a great year of growth and expansion in 2024. While we continue to grow our headquarters chapter in Woodway, TX (right outside of Waco) we are also continuing to grow our newest chapter in Gatesville, TX.
We are also increasing our presence in Clifton, TX, known of as the “Norwegian Capital of Texas,” after being very warmly welcomed to take part in their annual Lighted Christmas Parade while wearing Viking Age period clothing complete with our blunt steel training weapons simulators. We have been asked to return for the 2025 parade as well. We want to thank the Clifton Chamber of Commerce for allowing us the honour of taking part in such a special event! We plan to start hosting training sessions in Clifton very soon.
Along with the many disciplines in which we train, we are pushing forward with the growth of our Viking Age living history division training more fighters as well as taking in members for our Hearth, the arts of craft division that is well-researched in what they do.
As we continue to increase in the number of members and expand in area, we are interested in taking in new members from anywhere in Texas, though we are initially targeting the following areas specifically to form new chapters and training new members: Ft. Cavasos, Killeen, Temple, Belton, Harker Heights, Corsicana, Salado, Clifton, Valley Mills, Bryan/College Station, Tyler, Brownwood, Coleman and Abilene. If you live in any of these cities or areas near them and you have 2 or more friends that are interested in taking part in amazingly rewarding training, building camaraderie and finding a sense of belonging with great people, contact us here or check us out on Facebook. That said, if you live anywhere in Texas and you have the friends that want to also join in, contact us.
We plan on taking part in a number of events in and around the cities named above this year and we’re very excited about it. Furthermore, there is the possibility of overseas adventures to places like Denmark and Poland, where major Viking Age fighting and festivals take place that have the attendance of several hundreds of participants each year. 2025 holds the potential to be an amazing year of growth for us, and we’d like for you to be apart of it. We hope to hear from you! Come join us!
At many of the training sessions for officers and sergeants of New Ulster Steel Fighting, we enjoy taking time to deal with some of the many questions posed by famed French knight, Sir Geffroi De Charny (c.1306-1356) pertaining to tournaments, jousts and war. We believe these questions are extremely vital to our growth as learners and practitioners of Historical European Martial Arts. To take the time to re-ask De Charny’s questions and contemplate, debate, and explore the possible answers together brings about some very critical thinking, and thus often deep discussion. What’s more, we find that some of the answer possibilities can apply to matters of integrity, and the exercise of good character in everyday life, and not just when undertaking martial activities. Continue reading “Questions from the Grave”
By: Jefferson P. Webb
Although there is a segment of the HEMA (Historical European Martial Arts) community that does not approve of nor are they interested in modern HEMA/Medieval Martial Arts tournaments, utilizing martial skill in tournament fighting (sport-fighting) is in no way a new concept. What reasons do some of the modern HEMA practitioners give for not engaging in competitions and what did fighting for sport mean to the medieval knights as seen through the eyes of one of chivalry’s most celebrated Medieval knights?
One thing that the author of this posting has noticed in researching other blogs, message and review boards, articles and other martial arts sites online is that there is a certain level of hesitation or lack of desire on the part of some (not all) HEMA schools, clubs, and organizations to engage in freestyle combat tournaments. And, when some of them do engage in such events, they are closed events within their own organizations. Naturally there are a number of HEMA schools that do indeed compete in open tournaments, but what is the mindset or philosophy behind others not doing so? There appears to be two main reasons that continue to recur the most as to why some HEMA groups will not engage in the tournament. Continue reading “Interesting Perspectives on the Modern Tournament”
Durban Sword and Shield Club in Durban, South Africa, will be hosting the first ACSMMA (The Affiliation for Contemporary Swordsmanship and Medieval Martial Arts) National and Open Swordfighting Championships 2013, and invites eligible fighters and teams from all parts of the world to attend and compete in this event. Below is a detailed listing of the events:
Venue: Hillcrest Scout Hall, Hillcrest, KwaZulu-Natal
Date: 09-11 August 2013
Events, Day one (Friday, 09 August):
Morning – Rapier (any combination of rapier and dagger, cloak, or case is permitted)
Afternoon – unarmoured longsword (weapon type to be decided upon)
Events, Day two (Saturday, 10 August):
Morning – Fully-armoured combat (sword and shield, longsword, greatsword and spear permitted) these will be steel, rebated weapons, & will be inspected for safety.
Afternoon – Dark Ages Holmganga (weapons chosen by chance and to include sword, shield, dagger, and spear)
At the end of Day Two, there will be a feast for all combatants and their guests. Continue reading “ACSMMA National & Open Sword Fighting Championships 2013”
Whitehall Fyrd 