Tremonia Fechtschule 2026

Alisha Schüller, a passionated HEMA fencer for the past four years and a qualified illustrator and graphic designer.

Whether the sword or the drawing pen is my weapon of choice is a matter of debate. In any case, I am passionate about both. I’ve been working with pen and paper for quite some time, but the sword, in its various forms and contexts, has also been a part of my life for four years now.

Since then, the theme of HEMA has recurred time and again in my work. Whilst most people rush to the old source texts, I often find myself getting lost in the accompanying illustrations.

Images as Sources – Why Historical Illustrations Can Mislead Us (Lecture)

We are constantly confronted with illustrations, prints and drawings in various fencing texts. What at first glance appears to be a great help can turn out to be a pitfall. As varied as the sources are, so too are the reasons why we should view graphics in fencing sources critically.

Is the pen mightier than the sword? Anyone who has ever studied historical fencing sources will have interesting thoughts on this.
Throughout the ages, it is not only the written (and often repeatedly translated) word that serves as our source, but frequently also a supplementary illustration.
Whether they were quickly sketched with a pen, elaborately illustrated, or even produced using intaglio printing for the purpose of an etching, illustrations still help us today to understand techniques and movement sequences in the HEMA context.
But what if the very technique behind the creation of an illustration presents us with problems? What if the fads of the time make our lives and our interpretation more difficult?

We will be exploring these questions – perhaps it will help some of you to see and understand visual sources in a new light.

Jordan Mock has fenced and taught across Europe and the USA. He has competed and medaled in tournaments all over the globe in several different weapon sets and is ranked amongst the top 10 for longsword fencers in Britain, as well as training up and leading teams to compete and win in melee tournaments.

He founded the Academy of Steel in 2018, which has since become the largest school in Wales and one of the largest in Britain. Author of Virtue and Steel, a guide to Italian longsword, Jordan’s passion for Fiore’s fencing system has given him a comprehensive understanding of body mechanics and grappling.

Using the sword as anything but a sword - Part I. Hand-to-hand and Dagger (Workshop)

When is a longsword, not a longsword? When it’s a dagger.

When two fencers collide in the fight, it can often turn into messy flailing as one or both panic. Fiore’s hand-to-hand fighting and dagger plays have taught me how to overcome these situations and take the initiative when we match our opponent in close range. The grappling and dagger instructions can teach us a great deal about how we can use the longsword and keep our wits when up close and personal.

In this workshop, we will play at working on closing with an opponent, finding their openings while concealing our own using grappling and nimble sword work.

Equipment required – mask, gorget, jacket and gloves and longsword.

Using the sword as anything but a sword - Part II. Spear and Poleaxe (Workshop)

When is a longsword, not a longsword? When it’s a Poleaxe.

What if your opponent is in armour? Or they’re armed with a spear or polearm? The conventional wisdom is to get in close, but how is that done and what do we do when we get there?

In this workshop, we will look at controlling a better armed opponent when entering close measure by drawing on Fiore’s sword in harness, spear and Poleaxe instructions.

Equipment required – full kit and longsword.

Nele Vansteenkiste is an instructor of Academia da Espada Belgium, the Belgian chapter of Academia da Espada under Maestro Ton Puey.

She began her martial arts journey in early 2009 with sport fencing, focusing on épée. After six months, she also started training longsword. When Filip Bonte introduced rapier classes, first in the tradition of Thibault and later in Spanish Destreza, Nele gradually shifted her focus fully toward the rapier, while continuing to assist with épée initiations and introductory lessons.

Following Filip’s example, she began traveling to fencing events, training with international instructors, and exchanging with practitioners abroad. Before formally joining Academia da Espada, she also trained with Juan Guilmain and participated in events in Spain.

During the COVID period, Nele became increasingly involved with Academia da Espada, first through private lessons, then by forming a study group, and eventually by establishing the Belgian chapter. She now teaches regularly and maintains active exchanges with practitioners and clubs in Spain, Italy, the United Kingdom, Germany and beyond.

In addition to her fencing background, Nele has around ten years of experience in judo and approximately two years of capoeira, giving her a broad martial foundation that informs her teaching and movement practice.

Discovering the feeling of the atajo (Workshop)

The ‚atajo‘ is one of the defining concepts of „La Verdadera Destreza“, yet many practitioners understand it intellectually before they truly feel it in practice. This workshop focuses on developing a practical and tactile understanding of the atajo through structured partner drills, sensitivity exercises, and guided applications.

Participants will explore how to establish, maintain, and exploit the atajo while managing distance, angle, and pressure. Emphasis will be placed on recognizing opportunities to create control over the opponent’s blade and understanding how the atajo serves as the foundation for both offense and defense. Suitable for newcomers or practitioners looking to deepen their technical understanding of Destreza through hands-on experience.

Nueva Destreza - Rada's 8 Atajos (Workshop)

This workshop examines the Eight Atajos described by Francisco Antonio de Ettenhard y Abarca and refined in the Nueva Destreza tradition associated with Rada. Participants will study the structure, purpose, and tactical application of each atajo, gaining insight into how these positions create control, restrict the opponent’s options, and open lines for attack.
Through a combination of explanation, solo practice, and partnered exercises, fencers will learn how the Eight Atajos function within the broader framework of Destreza and how they can be integrated into following up techniques and free fencing. The workshop is designed for newcomers as well as practitioners interested in expanding their technical repertoire and exploring one of the most influential developments in the evolution of the Spanish school.

My HEMA journey started in 2009, when a former classmate asked me to not only play the main role in his medieval movie project, but also to be his stage fighting expert. Shortly after that, I threw my first Zwerchhau. While at first I learned mostly from videos online and books, soon the various LARP and medieval reenactment groups and finally the wonderful people of the HEMA clubs of the Rhine-Ruhr-Region left their impressions on me. During that time, I tried all sorts of swordfighting: stage fighting, „Codex Belli“, some buhurt and, of course, historical fencing in different variations.

In 2018 I established my own HEMA club at the TVG Steele in Essen, where mainly longsword is taught, but also many other things like Langes Messer, sidesword, dussack, dagger, sword and buckler, montante, rapier and saber.

Meanwhile, the movie project sadly didn’t go anywhere, by the way.

Flamboyant Fencing (Workshop)

Equipment: A longsword or Federschwert (if preferred), as well as a fencing mask and gloves.

Nowadays, many fencing instructors advise you to aim for a minimalist fencing style in order to efficiently win tournaments with quick and snappy motions. But, especially in the later treatises, there are many fluent and wide swings, diverse and unconventional footwork and elaborate cut sequences with skilled application of both edges that can significantly enhance and improve your fencing with style.

According to various sources, e. g. Philippo di Vadi, Joachim Meyer or the Cologne Fechtbuch, our workshop’s focus will be to look outside the most-trodden paths of the Liechtenauer tradition of longword fencing. Along with various exercises in footwork and consecutive actions, it is our goal to incorporate various unorthodox ideas into our flow to not only hit our opponent better, but also to look great doing so.

On the first day, we are going to focus on more basic elements and create our own plays with them, while on the second day progressively more advanced sequences will be tested.

I began practicing HEMA in 2019 with Tremonia, though my participation has become occasional since. One factor contributing to this shift is my work as a scientific volunteer at a museum, where I nevertheless enthusiastically engage with blade weapons from the collection. Prior to this, I studied History and German Philology at Ruhr University Bochum, where I delved with enthusiasm into medieval original documents.

Driven by this passion, I am once again offering a workshop designed to introduce newcomers to historical source research.

Reading Medieval Manuscripts I (Seminar)

We will begin by exploring medieval German languages together. You’ll learn why the Benrath Line is not a tram route, and how to chronologically and geographically contextualize unfamiliar medieval texts. You’ll then receive an excerpt from a critical edition of sources to practice your first translations.

Reading Medieval Manuscripts II (Seminar)

Building on your initial experience with medieval German languages, the decryption challenge intensifies as we now add the script itself. You’ll learn that distinctions go beyond merely separating blackletter and cursive scripts, and also what a Bastarda is. Finally, we’ll examine a previously untranscribed fencing manuscript.

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. 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.

Using (Fiore's) guards to fight better (Workshop)

What are guard positions, and how do you actually use them? We’ll look at Fiore’s guards to get to some first principles and practice using them to achieve clear lines and strong actions.

Hannes has been fencing for 19 years and is a fencer and instructor at Historisch Schermen Brugge (Belgium). He picked up the longsword first in 2007 and has been fencing with longsword, rapier, sabre and smallsword ever since, and also took up the modern épée for which he has a teacher’s degree.

He’s been teaching longsword, saber and smallsword, and started his own club in Bruges in 2024 together with Nele Vansteenkiste. He has a preference for low gear fencing, 16th century longsword and French military fencing.

One Does Not Simply Stop Attacking:
How not to stop if your attack falls into empty air or the blade of your opponent. (Workshop)

A tactical and technical approach to renewing your attack after a direct attack: reprise, remise(de main), redoublement.

Assess the situation, choose the appropriate continuation of your attack, or retire if really necessary.

Gear

Required

• Saber, backsword, spadroon, sidesword, etc. (anything one handed cutting of decent length)
• Mask, medium gloves

Prefered

• Fencing Jacket

Optional

• All the other crap

Anaïs is a coach for longsword and saber at Leichtmeisterei. She started practicing HEMA five years ago, initially with the longsword and rapier. She learned longsword using a mix of the Meyer and Liechtenauer treatises, but is currently working on studying the individual sources in greater depth and refining her fencing style. As part of the DDHF women’s longsword national team, her focus is currently increasingly on participating in tournaments.
She practices and teaches saber fencing based on the treatise of Angelo Jr., which she’s teaching herself through independent study.

In general, she seeks to explore any weapon or historical source she can get her hands on; she has already worked with the montante, sickle, walking stick, and staff.

Since becoming involved in HEMA, her focus has been on empowering marginalized individuals—an effort she currently pursues through a dedicated training group and an upcoming event in November.

The Staff According to Paurenfeyndt (Workshop)

This workshop covers the fundamentals of handling this seemingly simple weapon. The aim is to develop a feel for the weapon and its unique characteristics. The workshop focuses on playing with the two points and the variable distance. Outline of workshop content: Stance and how to hold the weapon; Strikes and parries; How to use both points to threaten your opponent; Playing with distance; Free play.

Required equipment:Light gloves, sportswear

For free play: Longsword gloves