The Academy of European Swordsmanship

Forget what you've seen in the movies, the man-at-arms from Medieval Europe was no brute!

Make no mistake, the fighting arts of the European masters were second to none in skill, finesse and ferocity. These were fit, highly skilled warriors, not the club-swinging brutes that Hollywood makes them out to be. The European Knight was a well-trained professional man-at-arms serving his lord and master in single combat, or as a part of a larger army in war. With all due respect to the Eastern masters, the Western masters are their equal in all respects.

Why WMA?

The lineage of Western Martial Arts is lost in ancient history but shows clearly in ancient Greek and Roman art and culture. While the weapons used in Medieval and Renaissance times are now considered obsolete in warfare, they are still alive and well in the civilian world. Knife attacks still out-pace firearm attacks, and you are more likely to be swarmed on our streets by thugs than shot. The fighting skills used to handle Medieval weapons transfer well to modern objects commonly found in your own home.

Despite there being no direct link back to the Masters of WMA, it never truly died out. Parts of it remained alive in other, newer martial arts schools as well as modern military hand-to-hand manuals.

Why the AES?

At the Academy we practice the full range of WMA from swords to polearms to dagger and hand-to-hand fighting (with a special love of the sword!). Emphasizing effective real-world techniques, the AES follows the teachings of several Medieval and Renaissance masters from all over Europe, while focusing on the teachings of the great German master, Johannes Liecthenauer.

Western martial arts offers one of the most well-rounded curricullums of any fighting style and includes weapons and grappling. We study all period weapons including polearms, swords and hand-to-hand fighting. If you seek an authentic martial arts experience in an inclusive atmosphere that emphasizes real-world techniques over stage fighting and repetitive forms, look no further than the AES.