G
Gilbey
Guest
Hi folks,
I'm new here - I've enjoyed reading some of the threads and just thought I should comment on the difference between Western Martial Arts and Historical European Martial Arts.
WMA is usually used as an umbrella term for martial arts and combat sports of European descent. This list is much longer than many people realise - as well as savate, boxing, wrestling and fencing, there are dozens of folk-wrestling and stick-fighting arts that are still being practiced in places like the Canary Islands, Portugal, Italy, etc. Some of these are only just coming to light in the English-speaking world - not so much because they have been "kept secret", as because people outside these countries are only recently getting interested in them. Plus, language and other communication barriers can now be overcome due to the Internet.
HEMA is a more specialised sub-group of WMA, and usually refers to European martial arts that have died out or evolved into completely different forms over the decades or centuries, but are now being "revived". The revival process is sometimes controversial in EMA circles because people are so accustomed to thinking in terms of lineal descent - my master was trained by so-and-so, who was trained by so-and-so, etc. However, it is a basic premise of HEMA that the revival process is a worthwhile endeavor, to re-discover the martial arts as they were practiced within a particular culture and historical period. Luckily, many of the historical European Masters of Defense wrote and illustrated highly detailed combat manuals, and these are the basis for modern reconstruction.
Most of the activity in HEMA at the moment involves the martial arts of the 1500s - 1700s, including a wide range of fighting styles such as the two-handed sword, rapier, armoured dagger combat, etc. Other HEMA enthusiasts focus on more recent styles and periods such as Irish stick-fighting, bare-knuckle pugilism, Bowie-knife combat, etc.
The aim in HEMA is not so much to train for real self-defense, although some of these arts - especially knife and unarmed combat styles - can be applied that way; rather, just like people who play "old-time" baseball with the original equipment and rules, it is to rediscover a valuable part of our heritage that has been lost over time. Most people involved in HEMA also have quite extensive training in other styles, and the whole field is becoming more and more popular, with many websites, books, tournaments, conferences, etc.
I will be happy to help answer any questions about HEMA and WMA and look forward to conversations here.
Regards,
Gilbey
I'm new here - I've enjoyed reading some of the threads and just thought I should comment on the difference between Western Martial Arts and Historical European Martial Arts.
WMA is usually used as an umbrella term for martial arts and combat sports of European descent. This list is much longer than many people realise - as well as savate, boxing, wrestling and fencing, there are dozens of folk-wrestling and stick-fighting arts that are still being practiced in places like the Canary Islands, Portugal, Italy, etc. Some of these are only just coming to light in the English-speaking world - not so much because they have been "kept secret", as because people outside these countries are only recently getting interested in them. Plus, language and other communication barriers can now be overcome due to the Internet.
HEMA is a more specialised sub-group of WMA, and usually refers to European martial arts that have died out or evolved into completely different forms over the decades or centuries, but are now being "revived". The revival process is sometimes controversial in EMA circles because people are so accustomed to thinking in terms of lineal descent - my master was trained by so-and-so, who was trained by so-and-so, etc. However, it is a basic premise of HEMA that the revival process is a worthwhile endeavor, to re-discover the martial arts as they were practiced within a particular culture and historical period. Luckily, many of the historical European Masters of Defense wrote and illustrated highly detailed combat manuals, and these are the basis for modern reconstruction.
Most of the activity in HEMA at the moment involves the martial arts of the 1500s - 1700s, including a wide range of fighting styles such as the two-handed sword, rapier, armoured dagger combat, etc. Other HEMA enthusiasts focus on more recent styles and periods such as Irish stick-fighting, bare-knuckle pugilism, Bowie-knife combat, etc.
The aim in HEMA is not so much to train for real self-defense, although some of these arts - especially knife and unarmed combat styles - can be applied that way; rather, just like people who play "old-time" baseball with the original equipment and rules, it is to rediscover a valuable part of our heritage that has been lost over time. Most people involved in HEMA also have quite extensive training in other styles, and the whole field is becoming more and more popular, with many websites, books, tournaments, conferences, etc.
I will be happy to help answer any questions about HEMA and WMA and look forward to conversations here.
Regards,
Gilbey