Presence under pressure
Distance changes quickly. Training develops the ability to notice, decide and act without losing contact with the present moment.
Embodied knowledge · disciplined encounter
H.E.M.A.Historical European Martial Arts
Old European fighting traditions become a living practice: researched with care, trained with precision and experienced as a direct education in attention, timing and responsibility.
A living European martial tradition
The past is studied so it can move again.
Historical European Martial Arts reconstruct and practise European combat systems through surviving treatises, careful interpretation and embodied testing.
Research becomes movement through drills, partner work and controlled free fencing. The aim is neither theatrical imitation nor uncontrolled combat, but a thoughtful meeting of historical knowledge and contemporary training culture.
Bence László Tarr brings to this field the perspectives of a cultural anthropologist, martial artist and coach: tradition is approached as knowledge held in texts, bodies, relationships and communities.
Read the biographical background on Wikipedia
The longsword in practice
Technique, distance, timing—and judgement.
The longsword asks the whole person to take part. Hands, feet, eyes, decision and intention have to arrive together.
Modern HEMA practice commonly uses purpose-made training swords, including the flexible feder, together with protective equipment, progressive exercises and agreed rules. Blunt edges and rounded tips reduce avoidable risk; they do not replace control, sound instruction or respect for one’s partner.
At its best, training is a conversation in motion. Every exchange reveals how clearly we perceive distance, how we respond to pressure, and whether power remains connected to restraint.
Learn more about the longsword and federWhy HEMA for self-development?
The blade makes attention visible.
A practice partner gives immediate, honest feedback. The lesson is physical, yet its relevance reaches far beyond fencing.
Clear boundaries
Power is meaningful only with control. Partners learn to protect limits, communicate clearly and take responsibility for impact.
Honest feedback
An exchange immediately reveals timing, hesitation and excess. Curiosity replaces excuse, and practice turns failure into information.
Respectful encounter
Progress depends on trusted partners. Competition and cooperation cease to be opposites: each person helps the other become more skilful.
Read “Kyu-do: The Way of Sword and Arrow”The historical weapon can become a path of self-knowledge when attention turns from defeating an opponent toward understanding the quality of one’s own action.
For organisational teams
A shared challenge that makes team patterns tangible.
Adapted activities can bring attention, trust, communication and decision-making into a vivid shared experience—without asking participants to become fencers.
Designed around the team—not around spectacle.
The format is selected for the group’s purpose and context. Briefing, progressive preparation, clear boundaries, professional facilitation and reflection turn an unusual task into learning that can travel back to everyday collaboration.
Discuss a team programme
Lecture
H.E.M.A. as living knowledge.
An introduction to the historical, cultural and experiential dimensions of European martial arts.
The lecture opens a wider view of HEMA: how written sources become embodied knowledge, how a historical weapon can educate perception, and why disciplined martial practice remains relevant to contemporary questions of identity, community and self-awareness.
Watch on YouTube
Practice is carried by community
Learn through encounter.
For individual development, a team programme or a HEMA-related lecture, begin with the question you would like to explore.
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