The Evolution of the Spatha and its User
The early medieval sword has been the subject of a large amount of academic studies. These studies mainly deal with either the typology, construction, or symbolism of the sword. How the sword was used is a subject which is rarely studied, due to various reasons, the most important of which being that the relationship between person and object is difficult to formulate and proof. However, within anthropology it is understood that tools are shaped to be used with a certain set of bodily techniques, a principle which is slowly finding its way into the archaeological study of tools. Letting the body adjust to these enforced bodily techniques takes time. This learning curve is very difficult to capture in a traditional experimental archaeological experiment. For this study of the use of the early medieval sword, personally collected data from 31 early medieval swords and 13 seaxes from Dutch archaeological depots and museums was combined with 2.5 years of using various reconstructions of early medieval swords within the framework of HEMA to distinguish the bodily techniques enforced by the original objects and determine how these artefacts tell the story about how they were used and how their use changed.
On the same topic, see the introduction workshop to Viking sword and shield here.
Training with Aliveness
This class consists of two parts:
Part one is a theoretical lecture about using the Aliveness system and I-method in your training and how to cover the necessary phases of teaching a technique, so it can be applied in sparring. You will also learn how to develop your own drills with aliveness. The Aliveness system was written down by Matt Thornton and is used in his worldwide chain of schools to teach everything from BJJ, MMA and (Thai) Boxing to stick fighting.
Part two is a practical workshop teaching the Zornhau. More informations here.