Historical European Martial Arts
Following the curriculum of the Cateran Society, Blackfeather is the Historical European Martial Arts (HEMA) face of Blackbird Training Group. We focus on the Scottish broadsword, and by association, British style military saber fencing. We believe that the barrier to entry to Longsword fighting given the weapon systems increased expense for training weapons and safety gear means that single hand European sword is relatively accessible to beginner HEMA fighters, and consequently became our focus.
Scottish Broadsword
Why the Broadsword? Easy: It's as far removed from our other training as can be, while also having easy to read primary sources printed in English. Filipino swords often have little to no hand protection, whereas Scottish broadswords have relatively elaborate baskets protecting the hands of their users. Once we got our teeth into the meat of the training, we discovered many more similarities than differences, but still we loved to practice as close to traditionally as we could.
How much do I need to spend?
To start, we have quite a bit of training gear. From polymer swords and knives, to single sticks (a historic style training tool), to blunt steel trainers, we have practice weapons available for beginning students. We also have a selection of training masks, gloves, and other training gear for use when a student needs. After a while, most students decide they want their own gear that fits them specifically or gives them a custom fit.