HEMA and FMA
HEMA and FMA
Bolo, arnis sticks, anyo, padded stick sparring, and
others, are the common things or activities that most people would say it is
arnis, or escrima. The arnis is known especially in public schools, in parks
where you can see guys practicing martial arts using a stick; these are proofs
that arnis is now more popular with the public compared to the decades of the '70s
and '80s.
(Top: Luna and his student playing fencing, Bottom:
Old photo of GM Floro Villabrille as Escrimador)
Source: https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj7Bre69M0HzQoeFO53qQwAfp2qvFAB7WBxz5hk5NztjHMNIGiEpx8t93yxt7vaSp1LeEwExC0PF-5iESkXRUsfjWuV3DVgRjF1Vs2DvJ_xWHnGXFVbasihDwLn2gTj6A0GgJRH2j6AjyLc/s1600/AL3.jpg
But when they see someone practicing another weapon like a longsword or saber, the person who doesn't know what it is might say "King Arthur," "Gladiator," or "Zorro." Others may also say that this is "fencing" although what he has in mind is modern Olympic fencing.
It's called HEMA or Historical European Martial Arts, there are already groups practicing it in the country, and there are some tournaments that have been held in the Philippines.
What is HEMA?
HEMA is an academic research and training of martial
arts that were used during the era of medieval Europe, they were the martial
arts of using different weapons on the battlefield and in conducting a duel
between two swordsmen. Every country in Europe has its type of weapons, and
there are many written documents about the techniques, tactics, and strategies
regarding it.
Not only during the Medieval period, the use of handheld weapons in the so-called classical period until the advent of World War 1 can be said to be HEMA. That is why it is also called Western Martial Arts or WMA. Not only the use of weapons but also includes empty-hand martial arts such as pugilism or ancient boxing and the various types of European wrestling.
HEMA is currently a type of reborn martial arts based on the written treatises of well-known sword masters and some sword and war historians and it is practiced according to modern training methods, pedagogy, or teaching methods according to academic and theoretical concepts, biomechanics, and cultural context.
Some
parts of HEMA continue to exist such as stage fighting in films and stage
performances. Some masters of modern Olympic fencing know HEMA particularly the
masters who lived in the time before World War 1, or who have been taught by
those maestros that lived in classical times.
Although the original Western martial arts have disappeared or evolved into other forms such as modern fencing, modern boxing, and modern wrestling, it has once again become popular in Europe and the United States.
Typical HEMA Swordplay
Longsword Fencing – Longsword
fencing is the most popular form of HEMA swordplay, here players use a
longsword, a two-handed, double-edged sword that was used in Europe in the
1300s to 1500s.
Military Saber Fencing – a saber is a long single-edge sword with a handguard, commonly used by military officers in the 1700s to 1930s.
Smallsword Fencing – playing
HEMA with a blunt smallsword, this is a pointed non-edged sword used in dueling
during the 1700s. This is believed to be the predecessor of the foil fencing of
modern Olympic fencing.
Rapier Fencing – swordplay using the rapier, a long thrusting and cutting sword during the Renaissance in 16th and 17th century Europe.
Although these are the most popular types of fencing at HEMA, there are many other types such as spear fencing, poleaxe fencing, bayonet fencing, and melees.
Forge Pioneer was established around the later part of 2019. The HEMA part of Forge was Jericho Viejo's interpretation of Liechtenhauer and combined his knowledge of Dos Manos FMA.
In June 2023, Forge Pioneer introduced themselves to the Asian HEMA community by participating in the Clash of Steel tournament held in Taipei, Taiwan where we finished 5th Place at the Rapier Event and 4th Place for Longsword.
They also participated at the Einherjar Cup in Hong Kong where we came home with two silver medals for the Mixed Weapon and Two-Handed Weapon events.
True Edge HEMA Guild, a group of HEMA practitioners based in Baguio City, headed by Maestro Quintin Tanseco and Maestro Michael Bugnosen. This group is practicing longsword, rapier, and sort of archery. Most of them are also cost players.
Filipinas Sala de Armas is the group founded by Joel Anajao and Ariel Ramos, the aforementioned are escrimadors and martial artists, they learned HEMA when they worked as immigrant workers in Europe. This group is known in the HEMA Philippines community for teaching singlestick fencing and military saber fencing, HEMA is taught by them at Cavite State University as part of the physical education of college students. They are acknowledged mentors in regimental broadsword fencing by the Cateran Society of Broadsword.
Part of their swordsmanship courses is their interpretation of Don Jaime Merelo y Casademunt's treatise on Spanish Destreza military saber fencing, bayonet fencing, spear fencing, singlestick fencing, archery, and Filipino escrima.
FMA and HEMA: Are they relatives?
Is HEMA related to Filipino Martial Arts, particularly
to arnis/escrima? The more than three centuries (300 years) of colonization of
most areas in the country, the Filipino identity was formed from the mixture of
Latin culture and indigenous nature of native Filipinos. Arnis/escrima as the
recognized national martial art and sport is a manifestation of being Filipino.
A martial art that may have developed from its colonial and historical context.
2. Based on the records that the common weapon of the warriors at the time they “found” the archipelago of "Las Islas Filipinas" the natives usually used spears and shields, and a small type of bolos. If we observe the native Lumads, Moros, and Ygorotes, the use of various types of spears and shields is common among them. But these are not found in the training of arnis/escrima which usually uses rattan sticks.
3. The natives before the colonialization were divided into ethno-linguistic groups, they had their type of community, and they had a period of war or peace, slave hunting, and trading. There was no unifying government and there was no one type of culture, maybe also in the type of martial art.
4. Arnis/escrima were developed only in the conquered communities, from among the plainsmen who became Christians. There are no native arnis among the Lumads, Moros, Aetas, and Ygorotes. Only when were they taught arnis/escrima because it is part of physical education in schools
5. The written histories about arnis are usually full of legends and lies, not written by historians.
Similarities between HEMA and the Filipino Martial Art
1. Abecedario - this is the name used by the classical masters of arnis/escrima to refer to the "basic"; 'abecedario' is 'basic alphabet', that is what are the curricula to be taught. This is a method of teaching swordsmanship that is typical in Europe. Unlike the indigenous ways of warfare such as the Lumads and Ygorotes, there is no linear teaching method, the learning begins at a young age on how to play and hunt.
Typical arnis/escrima masters who know how to teach have their version of 'abecedario'. Except for the elderly who do not have the teaching skills or knowledge to teach, they mostly resort to painful ways of teaching.
2. Slip – this is a technique of avoiding an opponent's attack, the leg slip is similar to the 'lutang' of some arnis/escrima styles. The body slip is similar to the 'elastico' method.
3. Recurse cuts – this is a cutting method that repeats the cutting patterns or returns to the opposite cutting method, these are visible in the classical striking techniques of arnis/escrima such as rompida, doblada, doblete, cruzada, ocho-ocho, banda y banda. Recurse cuts are common among European swordplay in can be used as remise cut, combination cuts, or just simply a moulinet exercises.
4. Subjection – this is a method of controlling the opponent's attack by hitting the opponent's weapon/sword on the flat side of it before it enters the line of target, and is usually followed by a counter-attack slash or thrust to the opponent (much like the ‘tutsada’ of arnis), subjection is usually used with non-weapon hand checking on the opponent's sword side. This is somewhat similar to what is called a 'bagsak' in some styles of arnis/escrima. Subjection techniques are part of the blade management skill in European swordplay.
5. Propulsion – this is a method of controlling the enemy's weapon/sword that is carried out after parrying it, it will be quickly moved in a different direction to unbalance the control of the opponent when he holds the weapon, and it can create an ‘opening’ for a counter against the opponent. It is called in arnis/escrima as 'palis' or 'palis-palis.' Propulsion is a type of blade management technique that is common to Spanish swordplay of destreza.
6. Command – this is the method of controlling the opponent after blocking his attack, by using the non-weapon hand to control the sword or the opponent's arm itself. It's to stop his attack and immobilize him. It is often called 'trancada' in classical arnis/escrima, and 'disarming' in contemporary arnis/escrima. One of the very similar technique is the ‘cadena real’ with the “Turkish disarm.’
8. Posture - common postures in swordsmanship are the middle guard, hanging guard, and outside guard, but in Spanish swordsmanship using the saber, there is a so-called low posture where the sword is lowered, and its tip is pointed downward, maybe leaning right or left; this is similar to the common posture of the escrimador that only had a more distinct characteristic because it is low, it is called the 'maglulupa' posture.
9. Maestro-student – the typical teaching of swordsmanship especially in the classical period revolves around teacher-student drills, where the teacher acts as the attacker and the student applies techniques against the attacks. The usual way of teaching classical arnis/escrima is like this, it is also called the 'sangga-patama' training method.
10. Flourishing – this is a method of training with the use of a weapon/sword where an individual performs something similar to 'shadow boxing', he performs defense-counter, or offensive-defensive moves against an imaginary opponent. It is called 'floreo' in Spanish classical fencing; in arnis/escrima it is called 'uhido' or 'carenza.'
11. Numbered strikes – typical in the practice of arnis/escrima there is a sequence of attacks, starting from number 1 to number 7 or more. And every strike has a corresponding parry. It's like practicing Spanish classical fencing especially with saber and smallsword.
12. Paired practices – students of arnis/escrima practice offensive and defensive techniques and tactics where one is an attacker and the other is a defender, and this is done in a continuous, flowing manner. This was also common in classical fencing practices in Europe back then. This is called in arnis/escrima 'curidas,' 'tapi-tapi', 'sangga and patama', and 'sumbrada.' In European fencing practices, it is called 'plain playing' in English swordplay and “juego de espada” in Spanish classical saber fencing.
Epilogue
Although HEMA and FMA have similarities, there are
still many questions. It can be assumed that FMA is a version of HEMA in the
Philippines, a martial art influenced by Spanish HEMA that conforms to the
body, and movements of Filipinos, and conforms to the environmental context of
the country. Or it can be only the general similarities in the biomechanical
use of swords.
Possibly,
there was no single style or system of Spanish swordplay that influenced the
evolution of classical arnis/escrima. It
evolved according to necessity, place, and time during the three centuries of
colonial administration.
The only clear thing is that the aforementioned are not found in the so-called fighting arts of the Indigenous People such as the Lumad and Ygorot. These, along with some fighting arts of Southeast Asia that do not have Western martial arts influences may be the characteristics of the martial arts of the prehispanic Filipinos, but not the FMA we know.
A good academic study is needed to further establish some views on the relationship between FMA and HEMA. Research and preservation of existing classical or traditional forms of arnis/escrima should be done, most of the new generations of FMA practitioners keep on inventing, modifying, and assimilating various styles, which could be a good side for the perpetuation of FMA, but can have a bad side for the preservation of historical art.
The existence of HEMA will drive major changes in the form, method, and perspective of FMA studies in the coming times. The use of protective gears, rule sets, and blunt steel weapons will greatly help FMA practitioners to better understand its nature and strength.
Those who practice Filipino martial art should also study HEMA so that they can understand it better, just as we accept that Filipino is not purely Asian but Latinized Asian.
Joel D. Anajao
Indang, Cavite
11/22/2023
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