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The Association for Renaissance Martial Arts (ARMA), is an international educational non-profit organization dedicated exclusively to the study and practice of historical fencing and the exploration and promotion of the martial heritage of Western Europe. Its efforts are directed toward resurrecting and recreating a legitimate craft of European fighting skills in a manner that is historically valid and martially sound. It relies for its source material upon the dozens of surviving manuals of Medieval and Renaissance Masters of Defence.

The ARMA was also established to promote the study of European fighting arts and arms and armor of the 14th – 17th centuries. The largest organization of its kind, the ARMA is very influential in the investigation and interpretation of lost European fighting arts. According to director John Clements, the primary aims of the ARMA are to advance the quality of skill demonstrated with Medieval and Renaissance weaponry, offer authoritative information (through historical manuals and study), and improve the relationship between practitioners and academics in order to improve understanding of Medieval and Renaissance martial skills.

History

The Historical Armed Combat Association

The ARMA concept grew from an original conception as a loose organization that would allow various Medieval and Renaissance sword practitioners and students of European arms & armor to train and practice together (and was previously known as HACA - The Historical Armed Combat Association).

The HACA was originally conceived around 1991 by Hank Reinhardt, then President of Museum Replicas Limited, and a few associates. His idea was to provide an umbrella organization for individuals seeking some sort of group affiliation to share their common interest in Western swords and historical weaponry. Reinhardt was not concerned with how people organized or what individuals called themselves whenever they got together—his concern was the rules they sparred with and the historical and physiological basis for these rules. He also desired a way to provide martial instruction in historical European weaponry. To this end, Reinhardt advertised his newly formed group around a few of his long-time friends and associates. For a small fee, interested persons could obtain a membership that involved obtaining sparring guidelines, networking, and information on future events for certifying weapon proficiencies. Due to various complications, time constraints, and other reasons, Reinhardt was unable to follow through on his original plans.

In 1993, after almost a decade of similar pursuits and seeing that the HACA was essentially defunct, long-time sword enthusiast and practitioner John Clements (now ARMA Director) obtained from Reinhardt permission to take over the HACA effort and try to make something out of the concept. Clements had begun a mentoring process through correspondence with Reinhardt starting in 1991 and had been growing increasingly distressed at the perceived emphasis on role-play, stunt, sport, and fantasy in contemporary efforts to practice Medieval and Renaissance fighting arts.

Desiring to bring greater legitimacy and credibility and a serious martial approach to historical Western fighting arts, in 1994 Clements reformed the HACA and developed its first small Study Group. Under the new Affirmations & Study Approach, the HACA was thus reinvented as a club for historical Western martial arts research and practice. By establishing a virtual headquarters online in 1996 as one of the first historical fencing websites, the HACA was then able provide a gathering point for similar students and scholars of the sword worldwide. The emphasis grew to focus on the study of the historical source literature of Renaissance Martial Arts, much of which was presented on the website along with example training methods. After that time, the HACA’s grew quickly. Some scholars feel that the HACA’s contribution to the Medieval and Renaissance martials arts was significant and its influence notable. Many of its innovations have also become standard for enthusiasts and practitioners. Throughout the 1990s, the HACA was one of the leading organisations in the revival of Medieval and Renaissance fighting skills.

The Transition to ARMA

As the HACA grew and developed, its leadership came to the conclusion that the subject was richer and more involved than they had previously believed, and in conjunction with perceived changes in the emerging historical fencing community itself (in part through the influence the HACA and its efforts), the HACA’s leadership decided that a change was in order. It has crusaded for serious treatment of historical arms and armor and recognition of the historical manuals as legitimate sources of study, and some scholars have noted that the HACA (and other groups with similar aims) have been successful in this regard. In 2001, the decision was made for the HACA to expand and evolve into what was believed would be a more effective educational organization for the study and practice of Medieval and Renaissance fencing. An efficient study curriculum for practice had also been developed at this time using the source literature.

As one of the changes, the organization was renamed "the ARMA." 2001 also saw the introduction of a national training program (a series of seminars and workshops), ranking and certifications in the curricula, and the implementation of the basic philosophy and methodology used by the ARMA today.

The ARMA’s conceptualization was also influenced by the work of Dr. Sydney Anglo, as presented in his work, The Martial Arts of Renaissance Europe (Yale University Press 2000). As an official advisor of the ARMA, Dr. Anglo was instrumental in retooling its understanding of historical fencing. Along with other advances in this subject, Dr. Anglo's research, which itself has been influenced from the HACA’s efforts, has, some have argued, changed the face of the emerging field of historical fencing studies and had a profound impact on the subject.

Philosophy and Methodology

The ARMA’s Credo of Renaissance Martial Arts Studies:

Respect for History and Heritage

Sincerity of Effort

Integrity of Scholarship

Appreciation of Martial Spirit

Cultivation of Self-Discipline

The Meaning of ARMA

The word arma (pronounced ‘ARM-uh’) in Latin as well as Italian, Spanish, and Portuguese means, appropriately enough, “weapon”. For knights in 13th century France, it also referred to “the valor of a fighter”, while in French it means to be armed.

The word “Renaissance” was intentionally chosen for the title for two reasons. First, because almost all of the surviving fighting manuals were written during the 14th to 16th centuries—the time period of the European Renaissance, an era of intellectual and cultural renewal and revival. It was also deemed appropriate in light of the fact that from the 1990s to the present there has occurred a “rebirth” of the study of historical fencing—a modern renaissance of ancient European martial arts.

Study Approach and Training Methodology

The ARMA Study Approach consists of researching period fighting manuals, literature and iconography combined with comparative analysis from hands-on experience using accurate replica arms and armor. Interpretations are not accepted as valid until their effectiveness is verified under as realistic conditions as possible, or in other words, at speed and power against a resisting opponent. The ARMA confines itself to historical sources and weapons, and tries to avoid techniques that are not historical or are drawn from other martial systems (such as Asian fighting arts).

The ARMA Training Methodology consists of using 4 primary tools for a well-rounded and comprehensive understanding. Wooden wasters are used for basic drilling and technique work, up to and including free-play. Padded contact-weapons, along with helmets and appropriate padding, are used for more intense free-play, including sparring at full speed and power. Federschwerter (“feather swords”), historical sparring swords, also fill this purpose. Blunted replica swords are used by more advanced students for drilling and light free-play, to accustom them to the different handling of steel weapons. Sharp replica swords are used only for test-cutting, to teach students proper edge control and cutting technique (blunt weapons are also used for this). Test-cutting experience and frequent intense free-play are heavily emphasized.

Curriculum and Armatura

The ARMA curriculum is based on the understanding that the martial arts of Renaissance Europe were not fragmented or subdivided—on the contrary, they formed a unified discipline that was largely unchanged for a period of centuries. With this in mind, ARMA scholars view all of the source texts as describing what are largely the same principles and concepts. Where many organizations emphasize the differences between each master’s writings, the ARMA focuses more holistically on the similarities, using the differences in description to illuminate subtleties in the techniques. Thus, instead of focusing on any individual master, the ARMA’s curriculum emphasizes martial theory and fundamental principles, drawing on many masters for its understanding of any given technique. The ideal is that in order to understand how one portion differs from another; you must first understand the whole and how things are alike.

The foundational weapon of the ARMA training program is the longsword. This is due both to its nature as the most popular and arguably the most versatile weapon of the time period, and because there is more source material available for the longsword than for any other weapon. All ARMA scholars begin training with the longsword, and with it learn universal principles of fighting that they then apply to other weapons as they continue their studies. The body of training techniques and methods used by the ARMA is referred to as Armatura (a term borrowed from Roman military writers so influential in the Middle Ages), and includes distance and timing drills, footwork and cutting drills, striking and counter-strike exercises, grappling elements, and Floryshe drills.

The ARMA curriculum encompasses a variety of weapons and weapon combinations, armored and unarmored, including longsword, greatsword, single sword (cut & thrust), sword & buckler, sword & dagger, messer, rapier, rapier & dagger, single dagger, polearm, and short staff. Kampfringen, the historical system of unarmed combat, is also taught, both as it relates to fighting with weapons and as a separate discipline.

Organization

Associate Members and Study Groups

Upon joining the ARMA, new members receive learning material. Lone members are Associates and three or four members who work together locally may apply to form official Study Groups. Non-members are allowed limited practice with members and Study Groups without prejudice, but are encouraged to join the organization.

In addition, regional Study Days, member Workshop events, and National Training Program Seminars are frequently held, and members in a given area will probably have the opportunity to attend at least one annually. Larger international gatherings are held less frequently. In both cases, senior students and expert instructors are invited to present classes, lectures, and National Training Program seminars to attendees. ARMA members are given priority in these events, and non-members may be prohibited from participating in certain Workshops (though most Seminars are open).

National Training Program

The ARMA National Training Program (NTP) is designed as a series of ongoing cumulative courses for members around the world wishing to begin serious study under the ARMA system of historical fencing training. The program content is a composite approach derived from the teachings of a variety of historical masters, and specifically deigned for students and practitioners over extended distances who are without the benefit of a competent instruction or practice partners. All of the knowledge required for rank advancement within the ARMA is covered in the NTP.

The National Training Program currently focuses on three main areas: Medieval Longsword, Renaissance Single-Sword (cut & thrust), and Rapier. Other weapons and skills follow from these. The goal of each focused course is to advance the student’s comprehension of the real nature of long-bladed combat and actual weapon handling. These are intense focused workshops in the ARMA Study Approach for serious practitioners, both the novice and the experienced, that closely cover much more material than larger group Seminars. The NTP is under constant appraisal and revision; curricula for other weapons, such as the short staff, are still being devised.

Uniform and Rankings

The uniform worn by members of the ARMA consists of a red T-shirt and black sweatpants. To this some members add high red socks to gather their sweatpants at the knee, to allow more freedom of movement and as a better approximation of historical fighting clothing. Non-members who practice with ARMA study groups are encouraged to wear a white T-shirt and black sweatpants. ARMA members of Provost rank (see below) wear instead a black T-shirt with red pants. (Senior students may also assume this uniform when offering instruction at official seminars.) There is also a recognized but optional ARMA formal “dress uniform,” which consists of period-style clothing in the same color scheme. Red and black, being the predominant colors used in the manuals, are considered by the ARMA to be symbolic of scholarship in historical fencing; this color scheme is used in most official materials.

ARMA ranking is somewhat informal, and is based on the four-teired system employed by the London Company of Masters. All ARMA members are considered to possess the rank of Scholar. Scholars who achieve sufficient command of the Armatura and basic principles of the ARMA program, and a matching knowledge of the fighting manuals and historical masters, are advanced to the rank of general Free Scholar. Free Scholars who demonstrate considerable expertise in all areas of the ARMA training program and an advanced knowledge of the source material are considered for Senior Free Scholar rank. Testing for either rank involves an extensive oral examination and the physical demonstration of technique, as determined by the instructors conducting the test. Qualifying for Senior Free Scholar rank also requires a Prize Playing. General Free Scholar testing may be administered by any Senior Free Scholar. Senior Free Scholar certification requires the oversight of two or more Senior Free Scholars or the Director; by custom, as many Senior Free Scholars as can be gathered are present to oversee such a test.

Unlike rankings in most martial arts organizations, Free Scholar rankings must be renewed; if a scholar has not advanced to a higher rank within four years of playing his prize, he must be retested in order to retain his current status. Free Scholar rankings are earned in a specific weapon, and a candidate must achieve a rank with the longsword before testing for any other weapon. At the present time, there are eight Senior Free Scholars in the longsword, and no rank has been awarded in any other weapon (though such rank likely will be once the curricula for other weapons is fully established).

Above Senior Free Scholar are the ranks of Provost, Senior Provost, and Master. At present there are no requirements for or current holders of these ranks. The ARMA considers it highly inappropriate at this juncture to consider naming any ARMA practitioner a “Master” of these extinct arts, as the ARMA believes that the restoration of Medieval and Renaissance martial arts is still in its infancy and no modern practitioner has contributed to the art enough to claim the title of "Master". The ARMA likewise criticizes any Medieval or Renaissance martial arts instructor using the title of “Master” for this reason.

Outside of this system, there is a purely academic distinction called Senior Researcher that is granted to ARMA scholars who contribute significantly to the general body of knowledge on historical fencing. The ARMA also has over a dozen Expert Consultants from different fields who have offered their knowledge and expertise to its efforts.

Other Programs

ARMA-Youth

ARMA-Youth is an additional program emphasizing history, physical fitness, and the ethics of personal responsibility and service derived from the best Chivalric values of Western Civilization. ARMA-Youth seeks to offer kids and young teens a healthy approach to learning about Medieval and Renaissance martial culture and Europe’s martial heritage.

Membership is open to kids 12 and older with parental permission. For those who have been an ARMA Youth for at least one year upon reaching their 18th birthday, they automatically attain full ARMA membership in the adults program for free.

This program is still in its infancy, and still lacks a great deal of structure and development.

ARMA InTheatre (Defunct)

While the ARMA is not about stage combat, ARMA InTheatre is, and in a historically valid and martially sound manner. Though its focus has never been on choreographed theatrical fighting or stunt combat, the ARMA has long perceived a need for a martially sound and historically accurate program of fight choreography instruction and certification. The ARMA Professional Stage Combat Certification Program was designed to fill this need.

ARMA InTheatre is a series of workshop classes as an alternative to more familiar and less realistic efforts. Designed and headed by a noted expert on stage combat, Keith Duklin, ARMA InTheatre is a complete system of weapon forms, allowing students to train from basic to advanced levels.

This program was disbanded shortly after its creation.

Controversy and Criticism

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John Clements, the director of The ARMA, has noted that he has "become something of a lightening rod in the historical fencing community and subjected to an array of amusing personal insults by 'saying it like it is' for the good of readers and asking others to back up their words with skill". Some of this criticism has come in the form of harsh reviews of his published books by Maestros, instructors, and researchers within the classical fencing and the historical fencing community.

Relationships with other organizations

ARMA has been the subject of controversy due in part to public criticism of what it considers misconceptions currently popular in the Renaissance martial arts community. ARMA also openly rejects the claims by some sport fencing and classical fencing maestros and instructors to possess a “living lineage” to Renaissance martial arts. They designate fencing maestros who claim to teach a living Renaissance or Medieval martial tradition as "frauds and deceivers". ARMA also regularly publishes material arguing against what it perceives as unrealistic and inefficient techniques employed by other organizations, holding their work to its own internal standards.

The ARMA’s focus on martialism (seen as more historical by ARMA practitioners) has been criticized by some other practitioners of Renaissance martial arts because of reports of injuries having occurred during ARMA demonstrations and open sparring that many feel are less common with a less aggressive martial focus. It is also claimed that John Clements has done things which other instructors consider dangerous, such as attempting to thrust his thumb into the eye of a man he had repeatedly failed to grapple at a seminar. An entire class witnessed the event, and his action led to negative views of his person by some in the martial arts community. While Clements has not been involved in the types of injuries experienced by insturctors and students of other groups, some of those people like to point out that Clements has also thrusted the point of a sharp longsword into his own thigh while performing a Floryshe, a non-rehearsed series of attacks and defenses. The wound was relatively minor, and he recovered fully.

Other groups have also taken issue with claims about ARMA published literature. Two books featured prominently on their site make the claims "The most thorough attempt ever to examine Medieval swords from the point of view of their historical function." (Medieval Swordsmanship) and "The most thorough work on historical European swordsmanship ever undertaken." (Renaissance swordsmanship). These claims have been called "self-serving and egotistical" by Maestro Ramon Martinez. In another article Maestro Martinez's student Ken Mondschein states "Mr. Clements adds little original research of his own—if it was research, indeed, since footnotes and documentation are few and far between."

Interpretation and Scholarship

Edge-on-Edge Parries

The ARMA stance that all parries of cuts with cutting blades should occur edge-to-flat has come under particular criticism. ARMA's interpretation advocates parrying a cut either by displacing the cut by striking with one's edge into the flat of the incoming blade or by displacing the cut by receiving the edge of the incoming blade upon the flat of one's own blade. ARMA claims this matches the techniques described by the historical masters and allowing quicker execution of counter techniques without damaging the blade. Some researchers interpret excerpts from period texts as advocating edge-on-edge parries of cuts . ARMA argues that these interpretations are rooted in the re-enactment, role-playing, and theatrical background of those researchers. ARMA finds that researchers who advocate "edge-on-edge" parries also fail to differentiate between cutting weapons and thrusting weapons (such as "true" rapiers - rapiers lacking sharpened edges most common in the 17th century). ARMA-affiliated sword expert Hank Reinhardt argues that archaeological evidence supporting edge-on-edge parries is virtually nonexistent, and other historical manuscripts on swordplay instruction specifically warn against parrying edge-on-edge . ARMA does, however, acknowledge that edge-on-edge parries were a part of later sword traditions, such as the saber, backsword, and smallsword. According to ARMA and its associates, edge-on-edge parrying is historical with thrusting weapons such as "true" rapiers or when thrusting with cutting blades.

The following articles and forum discussions show both sides of the issue:

• The Myth of Edge-On-Edge Parrying in Medieval Swordplay by John Clements.
• On Damaged Edge: Historical Evidence, Practical Experience by John Clements
• The Physical Reality of Forceful Edge-to-Edge Impacts by Bladesmith & Swordmaker Kevin Cashen
• A discussion on SwordForum by Bladesmith & Swordmaker Kevin Cashen on damage caused by edge-on-edge parries
• A SwordForum discussion about edge-on-edge parries

Shield Techniques

In the book Medieval Swordsmanship (p. 172), which is one of the primary pedagogical texts on ARMA's web site this statement is made, "The historical method of employing shields and swords described here stands in stark contrast to the typical manner of static shield use witnessed in a number of popular Medieval role-playing organizations and historical re-creation groups." Stephen Hand rebuts this claim in an article published in SPADA 2 (p. 68) ISBN 1-891448-35-8 by saying, "Clements claims a historical basis for his style, referring to 'The historical method of employing shields and swords described here...' but presents no evidence to back up his claims."

Sparring Rules

Cuts with rapiers are well documented in the works of Viggiani (1575),Salvator Fabris(1606), Giganti (1606), Ridolfo Capo Ferro(1610), Pacheco(1600), Joseph Swetnam (1617), etc. Therefore, ARMA scholars do use cuts in rapier sparring. However, ARMA has been criticised because it does not consider such cuts to be incapacitating or lethal. ARMA position is partly based upon the fact that there is not a single historical record of anyone every being killed by rapier cut! ARMA's position for rapier sparring is that "For rapier fencing it is strongly suggested that the full body target be used (including the hand and foot). All thrusts to the torso, head, and neck should be counted as lethal. For true rapiers, slashes, slices, and draw-cuts should not be considered incapacitating or lethal." However, some insturctors from other orgainizations are critical of ARMA for not considering rapier cuts incapacitating or lethal in its sparring rules and claim that this introduces unrealistic artifacts to sparring that leads to more grappling than might actually be reflected in a realistic encounter.

ARMA Member-Published Literature

Anglo, Sydney. The Martial Arts of Renaissance Europe. Yale University Press, 2000. ISBN 0-300-08352-1

Clements, John. Medieval Swordsmanship: Illustrated Methods and Techniques. Paladin Press, 1998. ISBN 1-58160-004-6

• Review by Adrian Ko, Sword Forum International
• Reviews shown on the ARMA website
• Review by Brian Price of the Schola Saint George
• Review by Ken Mondschein on FightingArts.com
• Amazon.com Reviews

Clements, John. Renaissance Swordsmanship : The Illustrated Book Of Rapiers And Cut And Thrust Swords And Their Use. Paladin Press, 1997. ISBN 0-87364-919-2

• Review by Maestro Ramon Martinez on ClassicalFencing.com
• Review by Steven Reich of the Order of Seven Hearts
• Amazon.com Reviews of Renaissance Swordsmanship

Green, Thomas. Martial Arts of the World: An Encyclopedia. ABC-CLIO, 2001. ISBN 1576071502

Lindholm, David, & Peter Svärd. Sigmund Ringeck's Knightly Art of the Longsword. Paladin Press, 2003. ISBN 1-58160-410-6

Lindholm, David, & Peter Svärd. Knightly Arts of Combat - Sigmund Ringeck's Sword and Buckler Fighting, Wrestling, and Fighting in Armor. Paladin Press, 2006. ISBN 1-58160-499-8

Lindholm, David. Fighting with the Quarterstaff. The Chivalry Bookshelf, 2006. ISBN 1-891448-36-6

Vail, Jason. Medieval and Renaissance Dagger Combat. Paladin Press, 2006.

Zabinski, Grzegorz, with Bartlomiej Walczak. The Codex Wallerstein : A Medieval Fighting Book from the Fifteenth Century on the Longsword, Falchion, Dagger, and Wrestling. Paladin Press, 2002. ISBN 1-58160-339-8

External links

• http://www.thearma.org/

This article includes paraphrases of material copyright John Clements. Used with permission.

• Historical European martial arts
• Martial arts organizations
• Medieval warfare
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