We offer several instructors with various profiles, experimented and acknowledged by the international community. They come from many countries and continents to transmit their knowledge and share their passion with practitioners.
Martin de Jong (NED)
Martin started practicing HEMA in 2015. Like the majority, he started with the longsword but was soon drawn to one-handed weapons. At one point, his girlfriend (now wife) Anouk suggested he pick up the klewang, given the fact that his grandfather, who was a Moluccan soldier in the KNIL (Royal Netherlands East Indies Army) from 1947 until 1950, used the klewang himself.
Finding suitable simulators to safely practice this way of fencing in HEMA turned out to be the next challenge. The wooden training rifles from the former German Democratic Republic proved to be extremely suitable, and a safe alternative to the klewang was found in a custom project started together with Black Fencer (now a regular production model in their arsenal). To complete the mission of making klewang fencing accessible for everyone, Martin wrote together with Anouk Post-de Jong and Peter Frank Fighting with the Klewang (Fallen Rook Publishing, 2022). This transcription includes a translation in English and adaptation for HEMA from the KNIL “Regulation for the training in fighting with bladed weapons”, so not only about fencing with a klewang but also riflefencing (bayonet).
During the years, Martin gave lectures at various HEMA events, but also for groups like the HSSK Pro libertate, a student rifle corps association affiliated to the Dutch armed forces. Martin was also instructor and president of HEMA club HSSV Ludolph van Ceulen.
Workshop:
Fighting with the Klewang
Ju Garry-Combet (FRA)
My name is Ju Garry-Combet, I have been practicing HEMA for 14 years, I teach war fencing with bayonet, saber or spear, on foot or on horseback. Practicing HEMA gave me the will to learn more about this dark and not well known branch of History : battlefield fencing. My researches led me to take back History studies, first with a master, in which my thesis has been rewarded by a publication, then a PhD defended in November 2024, about war fencing in France between 1789 and 1918. I was also able to publish some books on those topics.
I teach military HEMA of the 19th century in “De Taille et d’Estoc” in Dijon. I also give conferences and workshop since 2011. My specialties are saber (French, Swiss, Spanish and or many other), bayonet, mounted combat (I also teach equestrian sessions when I can in “De Taille et D’Estoc”) and onboard fight according to French and British sources.
Workshop:
Swiss bayonet fencing
Conference:
HEMA pioneers in the 19th century
Emanuel Meyer (CH)
Emanuel Meyer started out in 2016 at Gladius and Codex with the longsword, but it was too heavy. So he switched to the rapier, but it was still too heavy for him. It was also too long and impractical.
In the end, it was with the small sword and the staff that he found his weapons. And with Donald McBane and William Hope, he also found his sources. And when he’s not in Scotland, he’s teaching small swords at Artes Certaminis or working on a modernisation of Hope’s Compleat Fencing-Master, due for publication this year.
Workshop:
Scottish style of sword fighting
Auri Poso (FIN)
Auri Poso started in Historical European Martial Arts in 2002 under Guy Windsor, and founded Gladiolus School of Arms in 2021. In between these dates there’s been more life, work and children than HEMA, which Auri finds actually quite healthy – but is glad to be back in the world of blades. A Fiorist and a history geek, Auri loves the research aspect of HEMA and would quite happily spend the next 30 years going over Fiore’s treatises with a magnifying glass in one hand and various weapons in the other.
Workshop:
Fiore dei Liberi’s Armizare system
Maarten van der Auwera (BEL)
I am Maarten Van der Auwera, Instructor of Sumus Soldani in Belgium. I have been doing HEMA for almost 10 years and have focused mainly on tournament fencing. I have participated in a lot of tournaments and have conquered several medals. I am also an experienced referee, judge and livestream commentator. I mainly train longsword based on the Liechtenauer tradition, but I also have some experience with sabre, sidesword and sword & buckler.
Workshop:
Longsword efficiency
Veronica Young (USA)
Veronica serves as one of the Assistant Instructors at the Atlanta Historical Fencing Academy (AHFA) in Atlanta, GA. They are currently ranked within the top 10 in the world for URG Longsword and within the top 1,000 in Open Longsword worldwide. Her primary weapon is Longsword, but also is proficient with Sword & Buckler and Spear/Quarterstaff.
She also founded and leads the resource group called ‘Arc’ at AHFA, for under-represented genders to promote good club culture and to provide a focused training environment. They have a focus on Sports Psychology and its unique interaction with HEMA. Veronica has been competing in HEMA since 2019. She has also taught workshops and classes at the IGX 2022, Mid-Continental HEMA Open 2022, King’s Cup 2023, and AGO 2024.
Workshops:
The Height Differential
Introduction to Meyer’s Quarter staff/ Polearms
Contact us with the form below if you want to give a workshop.