Historical European Martial Arts in Australia
HEMA in Australia: from 19th-century broadsword bouts to modern clubs.
Historical European Martial Arts (HEMA) in Australia began with late 19th-century broadsword competitions that drew large crowds, then largely faded before a revival in the late 20th century. Today, HEMA is a popular activity with clubs in all capital cities, particularly in Sydney and Melbourne, which each host multiple clubs teaching various styles.
Quick Facts
- Notable early tournament attendance
- 25,000 people
- First umbrella organization formed
- 2002
- First umbrella organization dissolved
- 2014
- Second umbrella organization formed
- WMAA, by Scott Nimmo in Melbourne
- Third umbrella organization formed
- 2018 (Historical Fencing Association)
- Longest running tournament
- Swordplay (started 2009, still running in 2024)
Facts from the source article.
History
Unusually, Australia hosted relatively well-attended broadsword competitions in the late 19th century. Some of the earliest HEMA practice occurred when English broadsword champion Captain Duncan Ross fought British military instructor Captain Jennings in San Francisco. Ross won, but Jennings left the United States for Australia, where he fought a mounted sword competition against Sergeant J. R. Donovan, described as the Champion Swordsman of Australia. Ross then sailed to Australia and challenged Jennings to a tournament in December 1889, which was postponed after Ross broke his sword. Jennings was then defeated by Donovan, who eventually lost the title to Professor Parker, the last holder, who remained unchallenged until his death in Sydney in April 1916. Later, HEMA was practiced mainly within the Australian military, which conducted sword drills, competitions, mounted sword combat, and Assault at Arms exhibitions, sometimes featuring Bartitsu. The earliest modern HEMA activity began with Stephen Hand, Andrew Brew, and Peter Radvan, who researched rapier and sword from period manuals in the mid-1980s and began teaching around 1990, moving beyond the improvised reenactment practices of the time.
National bodies and associations
The Australian Historical Swordplay Federation formed in 2002 as the first umbrella group for HEMA clubs, initially with five member groups: Stoccata, ACA, Finesse, Gemeiner Academy, and Prima Spada. Stephen Hand served as inaugural president, later succeeded by Scott Nimmo in Melbourne. Support waned, and the Federation was wound up in 2014. Scott Nimmo then formed the Western Martial Academies of Australia (WMAA) in Melbourne, which has ten member or affiliate groups, liaises on syllabi, members, and safety, and has organized over 50 tournaments. In 2018, the Historical Fencing Association (HFA) was formed by Jerry Gullotti with fencers from Queensland, Melbourne, Adelaide, Perth, and Sydney, focusing on the sporting aspects of HEMA, providing unified insurance, and assisting with safety standards and club formation. By the close of 2019, the HFA had 17 member or affiliate groups.
Tournaments and conferences
The annual Australian Historical Swordplay Convention, primarily a teaching event, ran from 1999 to 2006, hosted in Brisbane (1999 and 2006), Sydney (2000 and 2004), Canberra (2001 and 2005), the Gold Coast (2003), and Melbourne (2002). In 2009, Scott McDonald started Swordplay, which became one of the largest and longest-running HEMA events in Australia, still running in 2024. Initially involving all Brisbane groups under a mutually acceptable ruleset, Swordplay has sometimes been called the national tournament, though organizers and participants acknowledge multiple tournaments exist and no official national event is recognized. In May 2015, Sword Fight Gold Coast was launched, building on Swordplay and Nordic models to provide a professional indoor event for Queensland fencers, with novice divisions using synthetic weapons. In 2016, it became the first Australian tournament to include a women's division.
Australian League Circuit for HEMA
Established in 2016 by Alexander Roberson, the Australian Historical Fencing League allocates points for placement in recognized tournaments across Australian states, divided into two tiers, and maintains a leaderboard. It encourages tournament participation and travel, supports participating events, and builds the HEMA community. State representatives are nominated and voted onto the committee annually by the HEMA community from their respective state; the first election in December 2016 saw representatives from six states elected.
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