Historical European Martial Arts
Modern reconstruction of medieval and Renaissance European sword arts — longsword, sabre, rapier, sword-and-buckler.
👥1 per team🌤both
What is Historical European Martial Arts?
Historical European Martial Arts (HEMA) is the modern reconstruction of European fighting arts from surviving fencing manuals — longsword by Liechtenauer and Fiore, rapier by Capo Ferro, sabre, sword-and-buckler and more. Tournament fencing uses federweichen or blunted steel and protective gear. Federations like IFHEMA organise national and world events.
Quick facts
Category
Combat Sports
Type
Individual
Players
1 per team
Where played
both
Country of origin
🇩🇪 Germany
Estimated origin
Medieval fencing manuals (Fiore, Liechtenauer, ~14th century); modern revival 1990s
Olympic
No
Popularity
major
Sources & provenance
Last verified 2026-08-24.verified