The 'H' in HEMA

Week 12 Diary Entry

"Don't stab your horse in the arse."

For the past month our instructor has been overseas - during this time our class had guest instructors teaching us elements of pugilism and Bartitsu. I neglected to keep diary entries of these classes - but my most significant revelation was that I think I prefer learning how to fight when there is a sword in between myself and my opponent. Grappling (or extreme cuddling) while useful - is quite full on, and I'd say four weeks of it was just fine for me. 

I was glad to see the resumption of our normal sabre class this week. 

Our instructor had spent time with the man who translated/authored the manual from which we are training - and during this time he had come to learn that some of the ways in which we had interpreted the techniques were... Less than ideal. So, this weeks' lesson was spent 're-learning' some of the skills we had spent the last ten weeks trying to get right. I am going to be frank here. I was frustrated at the prospect of having to learn these things again, especially when I had just begun to feel like I was making progress. The new versions of the techniques made my muscles ache as they were placed in alien, unfamiliar positions. My knee became very angry at me as I tried to adjust my stance to become wider than it had been previously. I frowned as I tried to 'delete' the old versions of the techniques from my brain and replace them with the new ones. Once or twice I thought to myself: "What was so wrong with the old way?" 

I am not altogether proud of these reactions, but I feel it is important to document them regardless. 

The thing about HEMA - so I am slowly learning - is that nobody really has their particular discipline completely figured out. We have these very old treatises, books, manuals - some damaged, some incomplete. We make do with these and fill in the blanks wherever possible. We sub-in some more modern techniques when they seem more prudent. We do guesswork when we have nothing else to go on. What we are left with is a kind of jigsaw puzzle that we put together with some of the pieces missing. As far as I can see, there will never be a 'perfect' interpretation of anything that we do. 

Now, here is where I fear I will get controversial. I will be the first to admit that I have very little understanding of the historical relevance of the skills I'm learning. I know that some HEMAists will scoff at that confession. This lack of knowledge is through no fault of my instructor - I simply have not taken the time to read the material we are drawing from. I am in no way trying to be anti-intellectual, but I am not a history buff. I know that our particular discipline was used for cavalries. From the frequency that my instructor mimes sitting on a horse - I can only assume that some of the techniques are derived from horseback combat. 

To be entirely honest, placing these skills in their rightful historical context is not a massive priority for me. 

Standing in the unforgiving lighting of a primary school hall in Lycra on a Wednesday evening with a sore sword arm, ruminating on a long day at uni/work, replaying a crucial conversation with that cute barista, trying to remember if I still have eggs in the fridge - knowing the ins-and-outs of Radaelli's combat manual is kind of the last thing I'm thinking about. Such is the reality of the 21st century lifestyle - it's hard to place your mind anywhere else, let alone several centuries earlier. Does this make me a bad HEMA student? Should I be poring over every historical document I can find, with notes ready to bring to class, in the hopes that they will make me a better swordswoman?

From what I have observed of the community - people go nuts over discussing interpretations of Liechtenauer and Fiore and other old men who lived many, many years before me. Whilst I absolutely applaud this dedication to the art and its various minutiae - I still wonder what kind of a place that leaves for someone like me. Someone who sees HEMA as a hobby - who uses it for stress release and for self-discipline. Someone who is happy to swing a sword in the Here and Now, and maybe isn't so preoccupied with how they were doing it Back Then. I think about all the other casual HEMAists who have busy lives, who want to swing a sword but feel intimidated by all of the historical precedent. Is there a happy medium for all of us?

Perhaps, for me, this interest in the 'Historical' part of HEMA will ultimately come from prolonged exposure to the art. Maybe I will grow curious the more I hear my peers discussing the most historically accurate ways to cut at someone's head. But, for right now, I'm just trying to remember how to aim for the head. And I think that's okay too. 

For now, I think that all I can do is what I have been doing - which is to watch and listen to my instructor, and trust that they will impart the relevant information I need in order to improve. If a hunger for knowledge about the historical intricacies takes me - I will gladly follow it to its natural conclusion and stick my head in a book. If I am told that these new interpretations are better - well, fine. I am content to be a sponge. Maybe the curiosity to learn about the people who invented this stuff will grab me. Maybe it won't. I hope that fellow HEMAists will accept me regardless. 

Either way, I still enjoy hitting people with swords.