Tremonia Fechtschule 2025

Dierk teaches both unarmoured fencing with the long sword and armoured fighting in his club. He has been involved in historical fencing since before the term “HEMA” even existed. He has transcribed over 30 of the more than 80 surviving fight books in German and made them available on various websites or published them as an edition in book form, which some time ago earned him the honourable nickname “The Sourcerer”, which he has proudly borne ever since. His publications include editions of manuscripts by such well-known authors as Hans Talhoffer, Jörg Wilhalm and Albrecht Dürer. Apart from that, he works for the IT subsidiary of a major German airline on numerous creative matters such as user experience and corporate design, however, his unconditional love of aardvarks is much more significant.

Foto: @Diana Matthess

The (Re)Construction of a Kasten-brust armour in the Style of Gladiatoria – or: Why Settle for One Harness When You Can Have Two? (Lecture)

No further information.

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The source is always right. Or is it? (Seminar)

Where would we be as historical fencers without our fencing book sources? Minstrels or charlatans perhaps. We have centuries of written knowledge in words and images that we can always rely on. Or do we?

What if the source suddenly goes haywire? What if it babbles unintelligible stuff or presents us with bizarre illustrations?

We pick out a special technique from a special source, let it work on us and see what we can do with it. Possibly it will be about the Krumphau.

Wes der krieg rempt Oben nÿden wirt er beschempt (Seminar)

The war – be it noble or not – is synonymous with winding; and winding, in turn, can only be carried out with true mastership if you have a thorough command of the feeling at the sword. This is what the old manuscripts teach us. By looking at several fight books, we will deepen, confirm, refine or – who knows? – even revise our understanding of the noble war.

Equipment: A sword might be helpful. A so-called feder will also do (just kidding).

I have been active as an instructor in historical fencing for over ten years. Before discovering historical fencing, I trained in karate for many years. In addition to the longsword, I also work with the rapier, dagger, and both the theoretical and practical reconstruction of mounted combat techniques. I’m also active in reenactment.

Up Close and Nasty (Workshop)

Talhoffer’s dagger fighting is uncompromising, close-quarters, and direct – and that’s exactly what this workshop is all about. We’ll look at what happens when the distance collapses and the real fight begins. Whether it’s dagger versus dagger or unarmed transitions: to hold your ground here, you’ll need to handle pressure, stay calm in the chaos, and seize opportunities in close contact.

This workshop is aimed at historical fencers with some prior experience – or practitioners from related disciplines – who want to dive into the world of close-range combat.
Please bring light fencing gloves, a mask if possible, and of course a dagger.

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Victoria Clow is an Instructor at Saorsa in Glasgow.
Victoria started getting interested in sword fighting through performance. She attended East 15 Acting School and earned her degree in Acting and Stage Combat. She then returned to Scotland and sought out HEMA to learn more about sword fighting historically.

She is very involved and interested in physical preparation for sports. Having worked with fencers, cyclists, gymnasts, ballet dancers and the odd hammer thrower, she has worked with a huge range of needs and abilities.

Alongside working with various sports, she’s also particularly interested in working with people with hypermobility.

Making your blade actions work for you! (Workshop)

Finding yourself fencing a tall and long opponent is a daunting task but it doesn’t have to be! Think they have all the advantages? Think again. We will look at some key opportunities, skills and how to adapt your favourite blade actions for fencing a taller opponent without having to be bopped on the head … too many times at least! This lesson is for military sabre and broadsword and is accessible no matter your level.

On the first day, we will look at some key skills which will utilise your footwork such as distance, voiding and time cuts which will be applicable to all fencers but particularly helpful for those of a smaller stature. Next, we’ll dive into various blade actions, looking at the details of bearing, ambuscades and glissades alongside when to use each one.

On the second day, we will be refreshing our skills from day one and pressure testing them. We will look over the same techniques as the day before and solve problems that may arise in real time and learn how to counter the common defences against blade actions. We will also be using some constraints based games and coaching cues to help fencers turn these skills into reliable parts of their toolkits under pressure.

Peter has been practicing historical fencing since around 2009, focusing mainly on what is generally known as British military fencing.

His primary sources are Alfred Hutton’s works on the light infantry sabre and Roworth’s The Art of Defence, covering all military swords used during the Napoleonic era. Additionally, he has occasionally explored other weapons, such as bayonet fencing.

Since around 2013, Peter has also been teaching with the Freifechter group in Cologne, primarily on Tuesdays focusing on sabre and related weapons, and occasionally stepping in on Thursdays to cover Messer and similar disciplines.

Bayonet (Workshop)

During my time at the fencing school, I would like to provide an introduction to bayonet and carbine fencing based on a Dutch source from Indonesia, the VOVBW. Although this source dates as late as 1937—quite recent for historical fencing—it is very concise and clearly written due to the circumstances of its creation, making it an excellent starting point for those interested in working their way back to earlier sources.
Equipment
15 training carbines will be provided.
A gorget, mask, and gloves are required for the later exercises.
If time allows or if there is interest, there will also be an exercise requiring longsword-appropriate equipment.

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Björn Rugstad is an instructor with Wisby Historical Fencing School in Gotland, sweden.

He has trained martial arts for 32 years, spending most of it on knifebased arts from south east asia, and taught these arts internationally for many years. In HEMA he has focused on dagger, specificly Joachim Meyers dagger and focused on fencing dagger vs dagger, but has even studied the dutch fechtboech BPL3281.

Step on Their Toes and Sweep Them Off Their Feet – Offensive Footwork for Daggers and Short Weapons I (Workshop)

In the first workshop I will present offensive footwork at close distance.

In the source material left to us by both Joachim Meyer and Hans Lecküchner, we see depictions of footwork used to trap, sweep, and unbalance the opponent while fencing at close distance.

This is done mainly using footwork.

It has been proposed that these images are just artistic freedom on the part of the illustrators. But it is both consistent and it does work in the right circumstances. However, doing so is a skill that must be developed through drills and understanding.

In the second part, I will tie together this footwork with setups and see how it is reinforced by and reinforces the use of the weapon.

The workshops will mainly be taught through the lens of the dagger, but are equally useful with any short one-handed weapons and even longer, two-handed ones, which we will also take a look at.

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Step on Their Toes and Sweep Them Off Their Feet – Offensive Footwork for Daggers and Short Weapons II (Workshop)

In the second part, I will tie together this footwork with setups and see how it is reinforced by and reinforces the use of the weapon.

The workshops will mainly be taught through the lens of the dagger, but are equally useful with any short one-handed weapons and even longer, two-handed ones, which we will also take a look at.

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Since 2020, Julia has specialized in fencing with one-handed weapons, particularly medieval single-handed arms.

Her focus is on analyzing documented fencing techniques—such as those for the Langes Messer or dussack—in a way that makes them practically applicable in sparring, even under stress.

As a coach and co-founder of the fencing school Astnide, she has also specialized in the integration of female-perceived members into regular training routines—for example, by offering targeted support when dealing with more aggressive or physically stronger opponents.

Perfect Parries – How Not to Get Hit (Workshop)

Parrying is one of the most fundamental—and often underrated—skills in cut-oriented fencing.

In this workshop, we will introduce you to a universal concept that will help you improve your parries effectively.

Special emphasis will be placed on how to parry successfully even when facing opponents who are taller or physically stronger than you.

As the workshop progresses, we will provide you with practical drills to train your parries, along with various riposte options—without resulting in double hits.

This workshop can be applied to all one-handed, cut-oriented weapons (such as messer, sabre, arming sword, sidesword, etc.) as well as the longsword.
We will also cover the subtle differences in execution depending on the weapon used.

Minimum equipment required: fencing mask, sparring gloves, and a suitable fencing weapon (one-handed weapon or longsword).

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I practiced Olympic fencing (foil and sabre) for six years as a child.

As a student, I discovered historical fencing in 2008 through seminars by De Taille et d’Estoc in France, focusing on Fiore dei Liberi.

Later, I trained for several months with Ad Honores, studying longsword according to the German tradition and started practicing rapier in parallel, based on the works of Giganti and Dancie.

I moved to Germany in 2015 and joined Schwertfechten Nordhessen in 2016, where I continued to focus mainly on Italian rapier and longsword.

From 2019 to 2025, I also practiced there as a co-instructor and eventually as a lead trainer.

Counters in the Longsword – Understanding and Applying Zornhau-Ort, Schielhau, and Absetzen (Workshop)

This workshop focuses on counter techniques in longsword fencing, with particular attention to Zornhau-Ort, Schielhau, and Absetzen. We will explore how to apply these techniques effectively by developing a deeper understanding of body mechanics and timing. The goal is to refine your technical game and expand your tactical options.

Experienced fencers will have the opportunity to test these elements in controlled sparring scenarios. Beginners are also welcome – if you’re not yet familiar with the named master strikes, you’ll be offered accessible alternatives.

Required gear: Mask, fencing jacket, and a longsword or feder.

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