Aros Historical Fencing Guild (AHFG)
Aros Historical Fencing Guild is a Historical European Martial Arts (HEMA) club located in Aarhus, Denmark, and was founded in 2002. The club mainly practices early German Longsword fencing per the Johannes Liechtenauer tradition, and other weapons covered by that Master.
We welcome new students every September. The exact date will be posted on our Facebook page.
Follow our page for updates, and feel free to contact us to learn more.
We are members of the Danish Fencing Federation, which sorts under the Danish Sporting Union (DIF).
Our mission statement is: To spread the knowledge and practice of HEMA in a modern sporting context and to be inclusive of all peoples.
On this website you will find information about what we do and contact details in case you want to come and practice with us.
What is HEMA and what do we practice?
Historical European Martial Arts (HEMA, sometimes also know as Historical Fencing or Western Martial Arts) is a collection of martial art systems of European origin. The term encompasses a range of martial art systems that come from a variety of regions and time periods. Their shared feature is that they used to be practiced in Europe, but did not survive until the modern day. HEMA is about reviving these lost martial arts using historical material combined with modern training methods, protective gear and sword trainers.
HEMA is a martial as well as a scholarly art. As practically none of the martial lineages we study have survived until the modern day, our knowledge relies on historical and archeological records rather than on martial traditions or authority. As a result, interpreting the historical source material is as crucial to becoming a good "HEMAist" as the practicing of movements and the techniques. The ultimate goal is being able to apply complex historical techniques in a tactical full contact duel against an unwilling opponent.
The Aros Historical Fencing Guild mainly focuses on early treatises from the German school of fencing. This style of fencing was started by the German fencing master Johannes Liechtenauer, during the 14th or 15th century. The fencing master himself did not leave us any treatises, that we know of, but many of his students and followers did. We try to interpret these treatises and try to bring their martial content back to life.
The treatises we study mostly discuss the use of the medieval longsword, so this is what we practice most of the time. However, it also contains sections on other weapon combinations, such as the use of dagger, messer, pole weapons, unarmed fighting, fighting on horseback or even fighting in armour.
Der Zettel
Following is the prologue to Johannes Lichtenauer's Recital (Zettel). The full version is available here.
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Johannes Lichtenauer
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|Junck ritter lere
|Got lieb haben frawen |Jü ere
|So wechst dein ere
|vbe° ritterschafft vnd lere
|kunst die dich zÿret
|vnd in kriegen |zu° eren hofieret
|Ringe~s gu°t fesser
glefen sper swert |vnd messer
|Mandleich bederbñ
|vnd In anderñ henden verderben
|Haw drein |vnd hürtt dar
|Rausch hin trif oder la faren
|Das in die weysen
|hassen die man sicht preÿsen
|Dar auff dich fasse
|Alle ku~st haben leng |vnd masse |
Want to know more?
If you are interested and want to know more, we recommend you have a look at the following resources or give it a try at one of our training sessions.
What equipment do I need?
The style of fencing we practice at the Aros Historical Fencing Guild is called Blossfechten, or “naked fighting”. This is the style fencing that would be practiced when wearing little more than civilian attire. As a result we don’t use medieval armour and normal sportsgear works just fine. That being said we do wear (modern) protective equipment to avoid injury when practicing.
If you want to practice longsword fencing, you need at least:
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A (blunt) longsword
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A fencing mask
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A fencing jacket
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Fencing gloves
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All of these items can be borrowed from the club if you are a new member. If you want to buy your own equipment and want advice on what to buy we recommend you have a look at our equipment guide or ask one of the trainers.
Danish HEMA Clubs
These are some of the Danish HEMA clubs:
About us
We are a HEMA fencing guild located in Aarhus, Denmark.
Board
- ChairmanKrzysztof Kamil Kruczynski
- Vice ChairmanBenjamin Lentz Olesen
- TreasurerLeif Capparelli Pettersen
- AccountantGuglielmo Mirone
- AlternateAstrid Hannestad
Trainers
Guild
- CVR: 28939795
- Bank Account (Nordea): 2316 - 8969467977
- MobilePay: 3787WY
General Assembly minutes
The minutes from our annual general assemblies are available for download.
Contact
For inquiries about practice and attending this, please contact us on our facebook page:
For other inquiries, please contact us via e-amil:
fight@arosfencing.dk
Trainig:
Every Monday* from 19:00 to 22:00, GYM-1
Every Thursday* from 19:00 to 22:00 GYM-2
* Except during school holidays.
Our trainig facilities are located at Rosenvangskolen, Rosenvangs Allé 49, 8260 Viby, Denmark
