Core Classes
Beginner Longsword
Sunday 9:15AM – 10:45AM
The Beginner’s longsword class is a new class on offer, with its first session beginning in January 2026. This class is a 10-week intensive on Italian Fundamentals, through the lens of Fiore’s il Fior di Battaglia and Vadi’s De Arte Gladiatoria Dimicandi. This class will walk students from the very basics of footwork and which end of the sword you hold (not the pointy end, usually) to crucial techniques that will provide a solid foundation to those beginning their HEMA journey.
Saber
Sunday 11:00AM – 1:00PM
Sabers with a long history, dating back to before the middle ages, and spanning multiple continents. Yet the modern form really gained popularity in the 17th century. While traditionally a cavalry weapon, the use on foot has been extensively documented over centuries of use. The curved cutting blade we know as Saber is a fascinating and complex weapon, taking many forms that each provide their own unique benefits.
NW Armizare’s saber classes primarily use late 18th century English traditions as our foundation, yet we don’t limit ourselves to a single source or fencing master. We draw from a wide array of works, such as Scottish Broadsword masters, Italian Dueling Saberists, the Hungarian traditions of foot and cavalry saber, and Polish Saber reconstruction. Even Modern Olympic Fencing has much to teach us. Each of these brings a new and interesting perspective on this diverse and prolific weapon.
Longsword
Monday 7:45PM – 9:45PM
Armizare is a martial art that was developed in 15th century Italy by one Maestro Fiore Dei Liberi who was a late 14th century knight, mercenary, diplomat, and fencing master. Near the end of his career Maestro Liberi wrote a book on his art which he called “Fior di Battaglia” or “The Flower of Battle”. Modern scholars and martial artists know of four extant copies of this work, each slightly different, and two further copies of the manuscript whose locations have been lost to us. This remarkable early martial arts text contains the core principles of Fiore’s system of unified martial art which encompasses wrestling, dagger play, swordplay, spear, poleaxe, and mounted combat.
Fior Di Battaglia is one of the earliest known treatises on martial arts surviving today. Only Manuscript I.33 from the Tower Armouries in the UK and HS3227a are older. The contents of this manual in its surviving copies make up the core of our martial art, and we strive to adhere to the principles set down by Maestro Fiore in our study and practice.
Sword & Buckler
Saturday 11:15AM – 1:15PM
Our Shield and Buckler class teaches how to effectively use shields, from the dinner-plate sized buckler to larger rounds and classic knightly shields. Our principles based approach draws primarily from the Nation of Georgia, where high in the Caucasus mountains, there were villages where people still wore mail armour and fought with swords and bucklers well into the 20th Century. In addition to the Georgian tradition we also spend time with and on plays and principles from MS I.33 and Bolognese to better raise awareness of the broader sword and shield/buckler community.
