The Belgian Federation organises a series of lectures. This is the first one:
Dear friends,
Due to a enquiry from one of our member federations whose subject is mentioned above, we are to inform that, regarding “competitors’ licences”, IFHEMA issues no such documents, nor prescribes anything in this regard.
In case of need, please contact your national federation.
This is the major HEMA event in Greece that will be held in 2019. Lectures, workshops and tournaments.
Find the Hellenic Federation of HEMA Facebook page here https://www.facebook.com/hemathlon
Visit Website https://hemathlon.com/
5… Five. A really nice round number. 5th GA, practically 5 years and IFHEMA does not only exist, but even managed to grow in numbers, through regretfully losing a member on the way. After Sweden joining last year and Russia increasing our ranks this year, we are 14 members strong. On the way we also managed to create an IFHEMA dedicated tournament, the IIC, that had its second event this year in Lisbon, and we are looking forward to not having such in every second or third year, but yearly: for 2019 Toulouse in France, for 2020 Győr in Hungary will be host of both the yearly General Assembly and the IFHEMA International Cup. Seeing the success of this year’s event in Lisbon with 130+ athletes I am very optimistic and looking forward visiting the venues.
Until then we continue our work. While Falko Fritz from Germany (former Vice President) and Matyas Miskolczi from Hungary (former Treasurer) are leaving the board after being part of this journey straight from the very beginning, we welcome new members in the person of Karin Verelst from Belgium (Vice President) and Filipe Martins from Portugal (Vice Secretary) to the present group of Wiebke Etzold from Germany (Secretary), Dieter Bachmann from Switzerland (Treasurer) and Gábor Németh form Hungary (President). Falko and Mátyás have left huge shoes to fill being solid and devoted members of the Executive Committee. They are stepping down with the firm promise, and I won’t doubt it for a minute, that they won’t disappear into the mist but stay around to offer support for the cause of IFHEMA in one way or another. I am grateful for all their hard work and contribution and really appreciate any help they can offer in the years to come. Thank you!!!
It is worth looking back at these 5 years, because they are not without achievements. But we also need to look forward and take those matters into account, that come as a kind of warning sign from the past years.
It is worth looking back at these 5 years, because it is not without any achievements, but we need to be even more forward looking taking those mattersinto account, that come as a kind of warning sign from the past years. In short: ensure, that IFHEMA is visibly, clearly working towards goals that are meaningful for its members and the HEMA community in general. However, we are looking at a chicken and egg problem: the members are hopeful (at least I assume), that IFHEMA will grow and fulfil its purpose. Yet, IFHEMA will not be growing simply because we wish it would.
I see three challenges for the coming years: 1) identify, how we can extend our reach and involve more groups into IFHEMA, one way or the other. Whether it comes through membership or meaningful, strategic alliances, it is somewhat secondary. 2) convince the member federations to dedicate more resources to IFHEMA: work in the commissions, bring our social media alive by sharing news and making noise, express expectations to which they are also willing to dedicate resources and allow our patronage, now only in name at least, for any event that is meant for HEMA public beyond borders. 3) engage the HEMA community: primarily those of our members, but not in an exclusive manner. I expect and partially experience, that there is scepticism towards IFHEMA: either people don’t understand, what IFHEMA was founded for and they don’t even care, or it is not actively promoted among or members.
What can IFHEMA do for you? For now, it is rather the case and please rather consider: For now, and in this situation, please consider: “What can I do for IFHEMA?” It is our kid and it’s still small. We need to nurture and help it grow so in the future it can really be the institution, that represents HEMA in all manner according to the values and goals that the HEMA community itself holds dear. Sure, it is cool to say, but sorry to bring it to you: none and nothing is born ready, not even you.
You are not yet there you say? In experience, in organizing, in whatever. Does not matter. We will never really be “there”, because there are always new goals to pursue. But we will definitely never get there if we don’t act on it.
You don’t have time? That I understand: we all have our family and our work to consider first, then our free time activities, our own club and own federation. I hope there is still some time there that you can offer to this cause. Or look for those, that are willing and can do and bring them on board.
You have doubts, concerns, dreams. Perfect! Please, share them, and do so in a constructive way. I have great ideas, but I would rather act on what is important for you. My task is not to bring my own dreams come true, unless they match that of the community.
I thank you, if you have been on board and you decided to stay. I thank you if you are only joining and want to be part of it. I applaud you, if you offer us your ideas, time, devotion and trust. I thank you, if you took the time to read this trough and you find your message within.
With this, I would like to wish all of you and your beloved ones Happy Christmas! May the New Year find you in joy and good health.
Stay Well!
We offer sincere congratulations to Associazione italiana Maestri d’Arme (AIMA) and Società di promozione dell’Arte dell’Armi (SPADA) for their success at promoting historical fencing (scherma storica) in the modern Italian society.
We were happy to read the news of SPADA becomming officially attached to the Italian Fencing Federation and of the AIMA successful bidding for the Italian Fencing Federation to recognize AIMA teachers and titles.
Furtmore, more congratulations are in order, because of the news that scherma storica will feature as the guest combat sport at the 2019 European Games as presented by the Italian delegation. We eagerly await further news in that regard.
We wish the organizers and all participants further success and much joy in their work.
The Executive Committee of IFHEMA
IFHEMA upholds key values of transparency, good governance, responsibility and striving to contribute to better societies. These are a part of our mission statement and rules, which all members and offices have publicly committed to and on which they base their activities. We strongly encourage all HEMA practitioners to subscribe to them.
We firmly reject any form of discrimination based on gender, religion, age, sexual orientation, background, culture and ethnic origin. We reject every socially unacceptable, irresponsible and unethical activity, and condemn actions against human dignity.
HEMA originates from European history and traditions, but as a martial art, sport and modern concept, following the philosophy in spirit of which it was and is revived, HEMA is open for all and inalienable from anyone.
With friendly regards,
IFHEMA Executive Committee
Gabor Nemeth, President
Hungarian Longsword Fencing Federation (MHS) held its national championship in federschwert and padded longsword in Budapest.
22 fencers from four clubs registered to fight for the title in the discipline of the steel federschwert, while the padded longsword pools welcomed 21 fencers. After a day of hard and tense competition, managed by the expert MHS crew, the results list as below:
Federschwert:
1. András Módos (Kard Rendje)
2. Péter Regenyei (Ars Ensis)
3. Richárd Pávay (AULE)
4. Péter Faragó (Ars Ensis)
Padded longsword:
1. Máté Nagy (Ars Ensis)
2. Csaba Erdei (Ars Ensis)
3. Réka Gulyás (Ars Ensis)
4. Márton Kovács (Ars Ensis)
Congratulations to the winners and all participants of the championship!
The next tournament of the Hungarian Federation should be the Bicornio in August. More info to follow.
Dear HEMA communities,
with our first short message we would like to present the newly elected Executive Committee for the period of the next two years. We are confident, the challenges ahead of us and how we will tackle them will offer a fair chance to evaluate our actual contribution in the coming years.
We would like to take the opportunity to welcome Portugal among the members of this young Federation. All signs indicate that we can be optimistic about the future steady growth of our ranks as countless federations – and not only in Europe – show interest applying for membership. Of course all these federations need to be aware, that we have strong, definite values, which we expect all members to respect and firmly uphold as their own.
For the remainder of the year, we ask all of you to pause a bit and consider how far we have already gotten since our foundation in 2014. Yes, there is still much to be accomplished, but we always have to find time to celebrate and appreciate what we have so far achieved.
With this we would like to wish all of you and your beloved ones good health and peaceful, blessed Holidays.
With friendly regards,
IFHEMA Executive Committee
Gabor Nemeth, President
Falko Fritz, Vice-President
Eugenio Garcia-Salmones, Secretary
Matyas Miskolczi, Treasurer
Dieter Bachman, Vice Treasurer
Delegates of IFHEMA member federations shall convene in Hamburg on 3 December 2016 for the third session of the General Assembly.
Their mission is to represent their respective federations, so that they can build the future of their organization together.
The host of the event is the German IFHEMA member, DDHF, while the on-spot organization is managed by the well known local HEMA club, the Hammaborg.
The Executive Committee is in charge of the preparation of the Agenda, the key document for the General Assembly. As always, all preparations are undertaken in cooperation with the member federations and committees.
By Roman Vučajnk
A success story of how an idea hatched on a bus grew into the first international competition of International Federation for HEMA
Competitions are not the only aspect of HEMA activities, yet nowadays they attract hundreds to modern arenas, where martial athletes fight to honour the European martial legacy in a respectful and regulated environment.
There are many systems to choose from, they vary in disciplines based on particular weapons, rule sets, judging infrastructure and in the local atmosphere created by the hosting clubs. Individuals can now fight in various club and event tournaments, leagues and national competitions.
Only years ago, competition were largely friendly encounters of enthusiasts exploring the sport side of historical martial arts. Today, the largest competitions take place in large gyms and sport halls, with trained crews of judges, referees, floor managers and administrators taking care of every detail.
Carefully planned rule sets keep getting re-evaluated and optimized for a maximum sport experience, equipment standards are focused on protection and efforts are made to have finals streamed live on the internet.
Teams and individuals alike pay attention to their training practices and fighting skills. While a number of fighters aim to win titles, there are many who join the competitions only for fun of the game. Regardless of their motifs, every competitor receives a big share of respect within appreciative HEMA communities. Rightly so, as with the effort and time invested into training, dedication and courage mustered, the HEMA athletes also nurture a vision that reaches over political and cultural borders, and display core values that larger HEMA community is based on.
The idea
A sense of belonging to this big family of Hemaists and a desire to contribute to the development of the community motivated a group of Hungarian Historical European martial artists returning from the Dijon HEMAC event to plan hosting the first competition within IFHEMA.
Very soon, a straightforward proposal was presented, first to the Executive Committee of IFHEMA and later to all delegates at the session of the General Assembly, the highest body of IFHEMA.
The plan was put forward in clear terms: the initiators – the Hungarian National HEMA Federation – would provide for the venue, the logistics and the staff, deal with the finances and support, and motivate the IFHEMA community to contribute towards developing a solid rule set and judging panels.
The IFHEMA fencers should just register and take part in the Cup.
Due to conflicting schedules, the unfolding of the plan was a bit more complicated, as the Hungarian Federation had to make certain assurances to the city council of Hajdúsámson, a small town to host the event. The city council had to grant the use of a sports hall, the sponsors of the event had to be brought in – all this before the General Assembly of IFHEMA even had a chance of granting a formal support to the event!
Szabolcs Waldmann, the leader of the Hungarian HEMA community, remembers: ‘Our problem was that we neither had the money, nor the assurance how many people would come, nor did we know what the decision of the General Assembly would be – if we can host the first IFHEMA Cup at all.’
There were lots of nails suffering a bite in Geneva on 6 December 2014 after the Hungarian delegate delivered the project proposal, but the final answer was positive and the team could plunge into the deep waters of organizing the event with IFHEMA backing them up.
The team
The organizing team of the IFHEMA International Cup included many able and motivated individuals of whom several deserve a special mention:
Tibor Pávay, Chairman of the Hungarian National HEMA Federation, was very active in securing patrons and supporters of the event, among them were mayors of surrounding municipalities. Furthermore, he brought necessary funds to the event and ran the PR activities.
Csabán Marika ‘Maci’ proved to be a very successful fundraiser. In addition to substantial pecuniary foundation of the event, she provided valuable help with designing and obtaining prizes (among those an original smallsword and several hundred years old pages from the Nurnberg Chronicles!).
Attila Weisz, one of the Vice-Presidents of the Hungarian Federation, was in charge of the fighting ring. He managed a team of 17 judges and kept an open eye on the competition running smoothly and without risks.
Várhelyi Zoltán was the event manager. He and his 35 assistants kept the floor ready around the clock.
Katalin Kajdiné Virág was on top of the provisions and supervised the cleaning of the venue. The food was catered for all the participants three times a day for the whole duration of the event.
Lászlo Fogl ‘Lazsi’ was steering the IT support. His software made sure the score was kept, pools set up and results displayed for the audience to see.
Zsófia Jasik made sure each participant was issued with an original Welcome Package, thus upholding the tradition of hospitality among HEMA communities.
Orsolya Waldmann designed the logo and all necessary digital art, in addition to managing the event website.
Gábor Németh ‘Hekka’ was the delegate who presented the project at the IFHEMA General Assembly. Furthermore, he took care of the participants from abroad and organized transport from the capital.
Szabolcs Waldmann, the man who put himself at the end of the list, has been the driving engine of the IFHEMA International Cup from the beginning. The Hungarian HEMA community is grateful for his constant efforts to improve it and to have served as a liaise between the organizing team and IFHEMA.
The happening
IFHEMA International Cup 2015 hosted three disciplines: Longsword, Single Rapier and the Franco-Belgian Invitational Tournament, supported by the competition for the best team.
The list of the disciplines at IFHEMA International Cup has not been chiselled in stone and may change in the years to come.
Apart from an original blade and pages of a 500 years old book, protective equipment was offered as prizes, as well as a Regenyei black federsword.
Given this was the first time that IFHEMA International Cup took place, not all IFHEMA members sent their teams due to various reasons, mostly because of financial constrictions. Nevertheless, Austria, Poland, Slovenia, Slovakia and Switzerland national teams were joined with the Hungarian team in registering for competition.
HEMA communities from Greece, Italy and Mexico are not yet represented in IFHEMA, but had sent their delegations, who were warmly welcomed and made feel like home.
The General Assembly of IFHEMA was adamant in having the event open to combatants from IFHEMA and non-IFHEMA communities, if it was to support the Hungarian initiative. Thus, the key IFHEMA values of transparency, good governance, responsibility and striving to contribute to better societies were upheld in a better way.
A slippery slope
One of the most protruding rubs was the initial proposition of the name of the event – IFHEMA World Cup. IFHEMA as an organization is at an early stage, therefore many felt that the event cannot yet merit the designation of a ‘world cup’.
Therefore, the General Assembly of IFHEMA insisted of having the name altered. A new name was chosen, which remained unchallenged and gave the event its unique character – IFHEMA International Cup.
Unfortunately, the name change was not well communicated far and wide, which resulted in many global HEMA communities expressing their disagreement with the ‘world cup’ designation for many months later.
The lack of proper communication between the organizers and IFHEMA or the general public was evident in other instances, too.
However, lessons were learned and the first IFHEMA International Cup recognized and identified room for improvement.
Results
A software, coded especially for the occasion, kept the score well and provided the following result list.
Longsword
1 Maciej Zajac (Poland)
2 Rafal Kalus (Poland)
3 Jakub Wrzalik (Poland)
4 László Schunder (Hungary)
Single Rapier
1 Péter Faragó (Hungary)
2 Marek Helman (Poland)
3 Andrzej Starodumow (Poland)
4 Mátyás Miskolczi (Hungary)
Franco-Belgian tournament
1 Etienne von Gunten (Switzerland)
2 Francesco Perciballi (Italy)
3 Andreas Pavlidis (Greece)
4 Sebastian Alejandro Estivill Bustillos (Mexico)
The Polish team won the team competition.
The lessons learned
After the event, lists of future improvements started taking shape. The organizers, the participants and the world-wide communities contributed their opinions, suggestions and criticism.
Improved communication between various parties prior and after the event, improved co-operation with IFHEMA members in the planning phase, suitable rule-sets and venues, and clear guidelines regarding participating teams are at the top of the list.
One thing is certain – IFHEMA International Cup will remain open and willing to develop further.
The General Assembly of IFHEMA will convene for its session in December 2015, where the 2016 instance of IFHEMA International Cup will be considered. At this moment we cannot say where and when exactly it will be held, but offers for hosting the event have already reached the desks of IFHEMA officials.
IFHEMA members will have to acknowledge the legacy of the Hungarian initiative and promote the outcome for the benefit of IFHEMA.
IFHEMA International Cup 2015 is the proof of what can be achieved by hope, courage and co-operation.
Future steps
The first IFHEMA International Cup happened – a fact to consider with all due respect and pride. A bald idea conceived on a bus running high on post-HEMA event enthusiasm made its way through idealistic but rational planning and was embraced by IFHEMA communities.
A new level of IFHEMA activities was achieved and new possibilities emerged. Hopefully, the organization will be able to acknowledge its potential and will continue to promote and support further initiatives by its members.
Furthemore, IFHEMA members and organizers should not forget to turn to many experts outside the organization. There are many communities with vast experience sharing the same passion and striving for the same goals, excelling in performance. Regardless of affiliation, HEMA communities wish the same thing: to develop HEMA further and have lots of fun doing it.