Reflections from August 2025
August in the year 2025 has been a busy month for me on my sword fighting journey. In this post I will leave some thoughts on what I have gathered in my studies this month.
Fencing from the Sweeps
I've put many hours into studying the combat philosophy of "fencing from the sweeps". In short, fencing from the sweeps describes the action of off-setting your opponent's blade from albur with your short edge as they cast a parting cut to your head. From there a variety of plays can be explored. I've used this tactic in club discussions, casual sparring, and competitive ranked tournament play. In all three scenarios I found sweeping to be quite reliable and as the month progressed sweeping became instinctual for me. By following the codes laid out in the manuscript my double-hit (when both players hit each other at the same time) rate has decreased drastically. Also, most points scored upon me are less lethal targets such as the hands, arms, and leg. Rarely can an opponent cast a head or chest strike on me.
Coaching and Mentoring
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| Soul of Shields x Chase the Knight longsword training session (TikTok LIVE) |
I've had the opportunity to coach and mentor many sword fighters who have come my way. While I have given instruction before, this month was different as I was specifically sought out for mentorship in some cases. I suppose this is the effect of having a presence online, nonetheless it was an honor to help people. The people who sought me out ranged from a variety of skill levels and goals. Specifically, a colleague of mine, Alex, who teaches English longsword at the Guild of Knightly Arts in Columbia Missouri asked me to coach and prepare him for the Donnybrook 2025 tournament, which was a huge honor for me. Besides Alex, I've helped a handful of beginners both in person and online get started with their swordsmanship journey by posting comment-response videos on TikTok, answering private messages, and private lessons both in person and via online video chat.
A particular swordsman I've mentored who stuck out to me was Chase Bolling (aka Chase the Knight on TikTok), who had recently decided to explore German Longsword. Unlike most fencers I come across, Chase is an entertainer and historian specialized on the roles Africans played in Medieval Europe. Chase and I are fans of each other's content so this virtual training session hosted on TikTok Live was a blast to create! The experience helped me align with my personal goals of sharing my knowledge of swordsmanship, which is to not only inform fellow swordsmen, but entertainers who also wish to portray these roles. Although, Chase is as real as it gets between being both an entertainer and a capable swordsman.
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| Donnybrook 2025 lesson in stage combat |
Alongside giving many beginner lessons on German Longsword, I was given the opportunity to teach about stage combat and how to portray longsword combat that looked intense and cinematic. This was another highlight for me as stage combat is an industry I've sought to break into as my knowledge would be invaluable.
Donnybrook 2025
Donnybrook is the largest Historical European Martial Arts (HEMA) tournament in the midwest. Previously I had no plans of attending this year but that all changed when Alex asked me to be in his corner during the tournaments and to give him a private lesson before the event. A few days before the tournament I packed my things and hopped on a Greyhound to Columbia to begin my journey.
The tournament was much more pleasant than last year. The venue had adequate air conditioning and the overall mood was friendly and playful as opposed to overly competitive. I ran into a few familiar faces of swordsman I've come across in my Journeyman days such as Shelby and Austan. On the second day of the event I had the pleasure to play the role of a squire for the armored fighting tournament held by Kansas City HEMA. As a reward for my service I was given a nice reenactment grade squire's cap that I will be using in my costuming for the upcoming renaissance performances I've been recruited into.
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| Donnybrook 2025, Joel Conley (left) vs Jay Johnson (right) |
I had no intention of competing in the longsword tournament. However, on the morning of the tournament I was offered a spot in the tournament and decided to take it to see what would happen. This would be my third tournament and the one where not only am I much more skilled than before, but I also didn't take the results of the tournament so seriously. I didn't have my VB feder at the time but thankfully Austan loaned me his Regenyei shorty. You'd believe that I'd have a major disadvantage walking into the ring with a shorter sword but I used it as motivation to close the line with the Schielhau and work closely to my opponent. I was commended by my opponents on how well I fought with the shorter blade and getting through the tournament with no double-hits. In pools, I ranked 45/76 which I am satisfied with seeing as I didn't know I was competing until I saw my name of the board as the first fight in my pool.
