The classic art of swordplay

MYRNA BROWN, HOST: Today is Thursday, December 8th. Thank you for turning to WORLD Radio to help start your day.

Good morning. I’m Myrna Brown.

PAUL BUTLER, HOST: And I’m Paul Butler. Coming next on The World and Everything in It: Sword fighting.

It’s not fencing and it’s not choreographed stunt fighting. It’s an ancient martial art straight from the pages of history. And a few dedicated historians, athletes, and self-proclaimed nerds are bringing it to life. WORLD’s Anna Johansen Brown has our story.

FLYNN CASTELLANOS: We're cutting from below now, the lower right. Cutting up with the long edge, cutting down with the short edge.

ANNA JOHANSEN BROWN, REPORTER: Welcome to the Lake Forest Sword Academy. It’s no medieval castle…the school meets in a suburban CrossFit gym. Firm black mats cover the floor and exercise equipment lines the walls. Eight people stand in two rows: Feet wide, swords out.

AUDIO: Remember to use your hips while you're cutting. Ready, cut!

They’re drilling basic cuts: Slashing up and to the left, then back down again…

AUDIO: Cut! Two…

…and again…

AUDIO: Cut! Three…

…and again.

AUDIO: Cut! Four…

The students are practicing techniques that date back to the 13th century. Medieval combat from the time of the Crusades and the Magna Carta. It’s called Historical European Martial Arts or HEMA for short.

Charles Castellanos is an assistant instructor here at the school. He has a pointed white beard and wears a red bandana tied over his long curly gray hair.

CHUCK CASTELLANOS: What we study is German style, and the German masters. In addition to doing a physical activity, we're also doing a lot of historical research.

The earliest text HEMA fighters have is commonly called “I-33.” That’s its catalog number in the British Museum Library.

CHUCK: The speculation is that it was two monks, one was probably an older person, maybe a former warrior, instructing a younger monk how to fight.

Back in the day, most people practicing HEMA were probably aristocrats. Now, it’s a different demographic.

FLYNN: A bunch of weirdos. [laughs] No, no, in all seriousness, wonderful people…

That’s Chuck’s son, Flynn Castellanos: Tall and lanky, with long dark hair. He says there are usually three types of people who get into HEMA.

FLYNN: They're either scholars, they're very interested in the history of it. There are the You know, the sport minded people that are, I'm just looking for, you know, something, something new, something physical. And then there's the enthusiast, where they just, they might just like, you know, sword fighting, you know, they might be a fan of a popular franchise, you know, Lord of the Rings, Star Wars, all sorts of those things. And they're drawn in by that.

HEMA includes multiple fighting styles and weapons. Things like axes and sickles and glaives. But the school mostly focuses on swords.

AUDIO: Okay, dropping back down to middle guard gather with the left foot thrust again…

Students come once a week. They start with an eight-week boot camp on the basics of technique, vocabulary, and safety. If they stick with it, they’ll learn more advanced tactics and have a chance to test them in sparring matches. But first, a less formidable opponent: A wooden post wrapped in rope. It’s called a Pell. The students take turns stabbing it with synthetic training swords.

AUDIO: Also, guys, it’s not necessary to knock the Pell over.

There are four students in class today. Three are young guys. The fourth is Mancy O’Leary: petite, dark-haired…and 70 years old.

O’LEARY: I'm older…I'm short. [laughs] So I'm weak. But I try to keep up with everybody.

O’Leary is new to the world of HEMA. She was looking for an activity to do with a friend.

O’LEARY: But not yoga, not dance.

She likes the sword techniques because she doesn’t have to be the tallest or strongest. But she does have to adapt some tactics.

O’LEARY: I'm just getting a sense of what is natural for me because everyone here is taller than I am. So their stance is wider.

The instructors emphasize strategy over raw power. Exploiting your opponent’s weaknesses and avoiding their strengths.

Adam Ogle is the lead instructor here at the academy. He’s a historian and fencer originally. Ogle calls sword fighting a chess game.

ADAM OGLE: Everything is about the mechanics of the body…like going off to the angles and triangles of the body, I'd be like, this is the ultimate triangle that you want to get between your arms and your legs to offer maximum distance between you and your opponent.

HEMA clubs are few and far between. And many of them vary widely in their styles. That’s because the original source documents can only be so helpful.

Here’s Flynn Castellanos.

FLYNN: In most cases, images were not common…in these documents. So the vast majority of it is just written and again, ever tried to read a textbook and like that's the only thing you're given? like, you know, videos, no images…None of that…

On top of that, Adam Ogle says different swordspeople interpret those documents differently.

ADAM OGLE: One technique that we refer to as the Zorn has, what 10? 15?...different ways of doing it.

According to Ogle, there’s one deciding factor: What works in an actual bout?

AUDIO: [Steel swords striking]

ADAM OGLE: And it actually allows us a realm to test things out to be like, Alright, does this technique actually work? Nope, I just got my head bashed that maybe I did that wrong, I need to rethink it.

AUDIO: [Blades hitting]

The students take turns facing off against each other…or against an instructor. They’re using practice swords instead of steel blades, but they still wear full wire-mesh fencing helmets, padded gloves, and thick jackets or gambesons. The others watch and analyze the tactics.

AUDIO: Right there, he had control the entire time of the opponent's blade as he twisted… [Blades hitting]

The students try to use techniques they’ve learned recently. Sometimes they work. Other times…not quite.

AUDIO: What just happened so there was a little bit of a bait there were this one thing that we practiced earlier that Tom was trying to do where he cuts up high, and then fakes going low. And he pretty much almost had it if he just extended a little bit further—right there! But he forgot to guard his head…

In another bout, Adam Ogle locks blades with a student and presses forward. The student loses his grip on his sword and after a moment of panic, bolts across the room.

AUDIO: [Laughter] That’s exactly what you need to do! Alright, Miles, what did you learn? I learned that…if you lose your sword, run.

That’s why you always carry an extra dagger to a sword fight.

HEMA fighters love the art for its mental and physical exercise. But beyond that, Chuck Castellanos says it has a selling point that other sports don’t.

CHUCK: It's swords, come on! How much cooler is that? [laughter]

Reporting for WORLD, I’m Anna Johansen Brown in Lake Forest, Illinois.

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