The Beginning of Your HEMA Journey

Inaugural Post: Where to Begin?

The First Step

Most of us start our HEMA journey with hopes of being an elegant, effective, and impressive sword fighter. We hope we will learn quickly and impress our instructors and classmates. We hope we hope to win tournament gold one day. Some of us do just that, but most of us mere mortals don't. Things are tricky, the lingo is hard to remember, and some stuff just takes a while to figure out. In our first tournament we might not even win a single match.

And that's perfectly OK.

If this were easy, everyone would do it. There are a few rare, talented individuals to whom everything comes easily, but measuring ourselves by their abilities is never helpful. There is only one person you need to compete with, and that's the person you were yesterday, and you won't even win that competition every day. 

That's also perfectly OK.

But we have to start somewhere, and there is only one piece of advice that truly matters: never give up. Just because we can't see over the next hill doesn't mean the road won't lead over it. Or to quote a sempai of mine in Judo: "It's not who's best, it's who stays". When he started Judo, he was in a beginner class of 10 white belts or so. He was the only one left of that group still training by blue belt. Likewise for the person above him, and the same for me. The chances of being the most talented person in a group of people is slim, but the chances of being the one who stays is for the most part within your control, so focus on that. Your determination is your own.

The Moment

That being said, telling yourself that might not be enough. Mind you, I did get an honours degree in music performance in part because Mrs. Johansen (my elementary school music teacher) said I'd never be any good at music. So there's that. Sometimes sheer cussedness is sufficient, and my personal motivator is best described as "I'll show YOU". Perhaps not healthy, but effective at times.

So, how do we follow through? For most of us, we'll be in the middle of training one day and the exhaustion, frustration, and self-doubt hit us and we think "Why on earth am I doing this to myself? This sucks!" That is the moment of truth. Right there. That is the tipping point where we decide to quit or continue with the journey. If you can push through that one, absolutely crucial moment and keep going, HEMA will open up to you, and your chances of becoming the fencer you want to be increase dramatically. Word to the wise, you might have The Moment more than once, but the first time is the hardest. It happened twice for me. The second time was after my ankle and fibula were broken in Judo. Three screws (one right through the ankle) and a plate on my fibula slowed me down for well over a year, but I came out stronger for it.

Stacking the Deck

Knowing that moment is coming, we can be ready. Fortunately, preparing for that moment is reasonably simple, but also requires determination. Being good at HEMA (or any other martial art) requires a whole host of virtues, but I'll go over three things here: Intelligence, Physical Fitness, and Physical IQ. 

So You're a Rocket Scientist? That Don't Impress Me Much

Intelligence is the easy part. We're not talking rocket science, it's just fighting. You have to be smart enough to accept correction and to execute a basic plan. You've already shown you're able to do that by clicking this blog and then deciding to read it. That's like seeing an opening while fighting and then attacking it. Perhaps smarter people would decide NOT to read this blog, but whatever, here we are, sorry for your luck. We cannot undo the things we've done. Oh, read the sources too. Go to Wiktenauer and read all the things pertaining to your art, and some things that are related to it. For example, if you do Liechtenauer, read all of that, and then read Fiore too.

♪ Ba dum daaaaaa, ba dum daaaaaa ♪ (That's the Rocky Theme, Can You Tell?)

Physical Fitness is also comparatively easy. You don't have to be able to run a marathon, though it certainly can't hurt. Whatever your level of fitness is, you're fit enough to start. Starting HEMA will improve your fitness all on its own, but the fitter you are, the more resilient you will be to the urge to quit. If you have the time and ability, go for walks, runs, take the stairs, or whatever is within your current level of ability. Don't forget a good old skipping rope. If physical activity is a completely new adventure for you, check out Tank Tolman on TikTok. He does videos where he cosplays a barbarian and starts you off with the very basics of fitness. His positivity is infectious, and his advice is excellent. Even if you have trouble physically getting off of the couch, he has something to help you. If you have the resources, lift weights, get on an exercise bike, sign up for fitness classes, whatever. The goal is to get as physically fit as you possibly can given your available time and resources so the The Moment is easier to push through.

Julian Patrick Swayze

Physical IQ is probably the hardest, especially for those in HEMA. Many come to HEMA with no athletic background at all, and have trouble figuring out where their body is in space, where their hands are, where their feet are, and have generally poor posture and body awareness. In short, few of us (except John Paul Tremblay) should be cast in a Dirty Dancing remake.

Again, that is perfectly OK.

When you're in class, practice as slowly as you need to in order to figure things out. You might be the slowest learner in the class, or the fastest. Both are completely OK, but there are things you can do to make it easier on yourself: 

Number one is start doing Yoga. I say this as someone who hates Yoga with the burning intensity of a thousand suns. But I still do it. Will it make you super flexible? Probably not. Flexible people excel at Yoga (obviously) and stick with it, and that's why Yoga is full of flexible people: they were already flexible to begin with. It will, however, make you more flexible than you are now, and will help you learn to navigate your body in space and it will improve your posture. The improved flexibility will help prevent injury as well. But I really, really hate it. Every damn moment of it. Ugh.

Secondly, have other fun things you do that are physical: climbing, soccer, dancing, anything that moves the whole body. This body awareness will translate directly into your HEMA. Of all of them, ballroom or swing dancing would probably be the most directly applicable given their obsessive focus on footwork. But climbing will turn you into an ultra-beast, and soccer is great for cardio. The choice is yours. The most important thing is that you enjoy it enough to keep going back. If you don't like it, find something else to do! 

That being said, if you do all of these things, it’s a huge (and frankly unrealistic) commitment of time and resources. None of us are Olympians. Do what is doable in your own personal situation. If the gym is a 45 minute drive away, but rock climbing is right next door, climbing is more time efficient. If the gym is too expensive, body weight exercises are free. Take the time to explore what works for you. Even just five minutes with a skipping rope most days can do wonders. 

There You Have It

I hope that was helpful. Of course, there are a myriad of other things that will help you on your journey as well, but this is what has worked for me and my students. Maybe it will work for you, or perhaps you'll discover something completely different. Maybe you'll be one of the lucky ones who never experiences The Moment! If so, I'm kind of jealous.