About Us

Masterless Fencing is a HEMA club dedicated to giving fencers from all backgrounds a space for both sharing knowledge and sparring.

Our club is primarily focused on studying and practicing longsword, but our members enjoy fencing with a variety of weapons, including messer, sidesword, and more.

We welcome experienced fencers and novices alike.

If you are an experienced fencer, you will find at Masterless many challenging opponents against whom to hone and practice your skills.

For new fencers and folks merely curious about historical fencing, we offer an introduction to the fundamentals and an opportunity to learn and condition. It is our privilege and honor to help you get started and to welcome you to this exciting sport.

Four Masterless Fencing members standing together inside a large indoor event space for SoCal Swordfight, smiling at the camera. They are dressed in HEMA gear. The background shows tables, chairs, and other attendees.

Our goal at Masterless Fencing is to eliminate any difficulties in approaching and interpreting HEMA sources to get a sword in your hand, so you can fence with your peers safely, learn alongside them, and be part of the great HEMA community.

Our club offers a curriculum that focuses on the universal principles of fencing, rather than focusing solely on any one historical Master’s teachings.

Our club pedagogy follows the Ecological Approach (EA) to training, using constraints-based fencing games alongside sparring aimed at pressure testing and fine tuning lessons gleaned from historical sources.

Many of the words and terms we use are drawn directly from the German sources, as they form the lingua franca of HEMA. See the Core Concepts page for a glossary of key terms and a summary of what we study.

Structure:

We follow the Ecological Approach (EA) to training HEMA. As none of our members are masters, we use modern exercise science, HEMA games, and full-gear sparring to develop our skills.

The mission of our club is to be system-agnostic and to study weapons and sources from RDL to Leckuchner to Marrozzo to George Silver.

Leadership

Advisory Council

Advisory Council Expectations

By way of the Masterless bylaws, the Advisory Council (AC) was established as another way the Board and Officers could get a "pulse check" on club atmospherics, and to get direct feedback from club members who are vested in the organization. Per the bylaws, "Advisory Council members shall provide council to the Board of Directors at regular Board meetings, possess the desire to serve the organization, and support the work of Masterless Fencing, and to advance the goals and values of Masterless Fencing."

There are no set number of seats on the AC, though the Board aims to keep the number of AC seats manageable, and to ensure that all AC members are fully engaging with the club. Any member of Masterless Fencing may submit AC nominations to the Board before the club's Annual Meeting in October, and all nominees may advocate for themselves; the Board will vote on all nominees at the Annual Meeting.

Additionally, a limited number of Coordinator positions are available to AC members, which are voluntary positions tackling specific areas club Officers may need help with (e.g. Event Coordinator, Web Coordinator). Coordinator positions are nominated by members of the AC and Board, in advance of the Annual Meeting, and are voted on by the Board at the Annual Meeting.

One of the goals of the AC was to develop an onramp for future club leadership. Accordingly, AC members may nominate individuals to serve as an Officer when a vacancy exists, and AC members are able to run for an Officer or Board seat after serving one year on the AC. Accordingly, AC members are invited to most Board meetings, but are required to attend at least six Board meetings per year. If the Board meets without the AC, all members of the AC are credited one meeting to reach their six-meeting requirement. AC members are urged to stay apprised of club ongoings, and provide feedback as necessary. While AC members have no "obligatory duties" beyond the aforementioned, the Board will weigh overall club engagement for prospective AC members, and for those seeking reconfirmation to the AC. "Club engagement" is a multi-faceted variable weighed by the Board including, but not limited to, the following: attendance at regular training sessions, communication with new and veteran members, interaction on the club Discord, an understanding of club training methodology (e.g. the Ecological Approach, Constraints Led Approach), a willingness to assist newer members, engaging with historical sources the club is working on, attending Board meetings beyond the required six, volunteering for club functions and/or committees, providing useful feedback to the Board and Officers about concerns and club initiatives, and upholding an inclusive atmosphere of good sportsmanship. The Board, at each annual meeting, shall weigh the aforementioned factors among all AC nominees, and decide on AC seats/reconfirmations according to the relative club engagement of each nominee. As such, the number of seats on the AC may vary from year to year, and the lack of a reconfirmation does not prohibit the future seating of the same prospective AC member.

Minimum Requirements

While overall club engagement will be weighed by the Board for the purpose of selecting AC members, members of Masterless Fencing interested in potentially joining the AC should at least meet the following basic standards:

  • Consistent class attendance for at least six months prior to the Annual Meeting.

  • A basic working knowledge of the club's training philosophy.

  • Established rapport with club Directors, Officers, and AC members.

Examples

The following is a non-inclusive list of examples prospective AC candidates can do bolster club engagement:

  • Attend class 2+ times per week

  • Create a proposal for how to improve the club

  • Provide a suggestion of a source to study

  • Suggest a new ruleset to try at Fight Night

  • Volunteer to wash loaner jackets, and/or clean other loaner gear

  • Help repair loaner gear

  • Conduct inventory of loaner gear

  • Table at Fight Night

  • Provide expertise on a subject/initiative the club is addressing

  • Have a working knowledge of at least one previously-covered fencing source

  • Have a working knowledge of the club's current active fencers

  • Actively support club fencers at tournaments and/or community events