- 2009-10-28 CSG North Practice Notes
by Karen Rose - 2009-10-06 CSG North Notes Addendum
by Karen Rose - 2009-09-30 CSG North Practice Notes
by Karen Rose - 2009-09-16 CSG North Practice Notes
by Karen Rose - Medieval martial arts keeping history alive
by George Hernandez - 2009-09-02 Intro Class Notes
by Karen Rose - The Battle of Agincourt
by Karen Rose - 2009-08-19 Intro Class Notes
by Karen Rose - 2009-08-05 CSG North Intro Class Notes
by Karen Rose
The Chicago Swordplay Guild (CSG) provides organized instruction in the serious study and practice of historical European swordplay.
Founded in 1999, the Guild is a modern school of swordsmanship and martial arts. We seek to be consistent with the methodology of the ancient European fencing schools by combining scholarship and research into the teachings of the historical Masters with the practical knowledge gained through solo and partnered drilling and fencing.
Since techniques are taught in reference to how effective they would be in a real encounter, the Guild practices with an absolute emphasis on safety, control, competence, and skill at arms.
What are Western Martial Arts (WMA) and
Historical European Swordsmanship (HES)?
The rich tradition of European armed and unarmed martial arts is documented back to the 13th century. While some of these arts have survived to this day, many were discarded over the centuries as new weapons and methods of combat rose to take their place. Western Martial Arts (WMA) refers to the overall family of arts, while Historical European Martial Arts (HEMA) or Historical European Swordsmanship (HES) refers to those branches of the WMA family that focus upon traditional weapons and may or may not be reconstructions of systems with no living lineage.
Fortunately, from the year 1300 generation after generation of Italian, English, French, German, and Spanish Masters at Arms recorded their methods in pictures and words. These treatises instruct students in unarmed combat, knife fighting and defense, swordplay, the use of polearms, and mounted combat. Currently dozens of these texts are undergoing translation and interpretation by a growing world-wide community of enthusiasts, martial artists, and scholars. The Chicago Swordplay Guild is proud to be part of the re-discovery and reconstruction of an effective and battle-tested Western martial arts tradition.