This stuff is pretty fascinating. The ARMA site, is a wealth of knowledge on ancient fencing techniques and medieval combat in general. In their own words.
"ARMA - the Association for Renaissance Martial Arts, is an educational non-profit organization dedicated to the study and practice of historical fencing and the exploration and promotion of our Western martial heritage. "
It seems since probably particularly from the late 1960's until the present, that Western martial arts have largely been ignored on any serious level. The karate craze of the 1970's along with kungfu, popularized Asian martial arts, and led to a string of what people commonly refer to as "McDojos" in a mocking fashion. That is, a chain school set up in Anytown America, usually in a strip mall. I understand this derogatory term, but I've been trying to avoid usage myself, as my first martial arts instructor was Master Sun Hwang, in Kirkland, WA. A man with some very serious credentials, whose school happened to be situated, back then, in a suburban strip-mall, in my hometown. Anyhow, personal reflections aside. ARMA offers a fascinating look into ancient medieval fighting techniques, complete with pictures and excerpts from "Fechtbuchs" (fight books). Absolutely fascinating stuff that proves there's a whole blade culture based on European martial arts that is NOT necessarily associated with acne-scarred role playing nerds taking up space with their foam swords in your favorite local park.
The ARMA.org
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