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!
By: Jefferson Webb
Although my great helm served me faithfully for the better part of a decade, I was starting to look around for another helmet to go along with some upgrades to my harness and gear. As I looked around at the various helmets on the market that are mass-produced, I really did not find anything that I thought would be a good replacement. When I looked at custom helmets from some of the outstanding smiths and forges that exist, the price was just much MUCH more than what I was willing to pay. Some of those custom helms are worth it, but I did not want to, nor could I afford to foot that sort of bill. Part of my issue with my great helm I think came from the human desire to change things up sometimes (like redecorating the house, getting a new house or car…). But my research into a new helm also comes from a knowledge that the great helm (in particular this style) was an earlier helmet and as far as we can tell, did not see much use with a harness of plate armour like the bascinet helmets, sallets, and such did. So, the idea that it would be out of place with my harness was lingering there. That said, as a good friend of mine stated in a conversation recently, “The people depicted in most of the sources in harnesses were royalty or nobility, and were able to afford the most up-to-date and complete harnesses. Others such a lower knights and men-at-arms often had to piece together harnesses and this was not so well depicted.” Something that makes perfect sense, and that I already had lingering in the back of my mind as well. Given this conversation and that fact that my great helm has saved my head and face some pain several times over the span of its service to me, I decided to give it an exterior makeover and continue on with this helm. Since it is historically documented that helms were painted from time to time, why not? I decided to share the basic steps with you. Continue reading “Painting Your Helmet”
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”
Although there has been a rise in interest for roughly the last three decades in Renaissance and Medieval European Martial Arts, or what some refer to as Western Martial Arts, there appears to be surfacing what may be a level of contention between what the author of this article will refer to as “Purists” and “Innovators.” What is the matter of contention, or problem between these two classifications of martial artists and why does it exist? Furthermore, should there really be any issue in the first place? Continue reading “Purists and Innovators: An Observation of Two Classifications of Western Martial Artists”
Whitehall Fyrd 