Fencing Fatality, c. 1936

Did a recent find bring SHotS to the limits of our research ability? Who can help match the picture with its story?

25 years of Secret Sword History! (Actually, make that 30…)

Just when you thought there couldn’t be anything less interesting than endless Star Wars regressions, here comes The SHotS Origin Story...

Wha Wadna Fecht For Charlie

Bonnie Prince Charlie’s sword and, for good measure, a rare Jacobite wine glass will be shown in Perth, Scotland starting March of 2024.

Surviving COVID: How our Baltimore fencing club managed to outlast lockdowns and thrive!

As our recollection of the extraordinary events of 2020 begins to fade, here’s a living memory how our Baltimore-area epee group not only made it through social distancing and all, but is now bigger than it was before COVID.

by J. Christoph Amberger

Baltimore’s fencing community was hit hard by COVID-19. The pandemic interrupted all teaching and bouting activities as of March 13, 2020. From one day to the next, venues provided by schools or universities were shut down and students sent home. As the months went by, private clubs, looking at an undetermined period with no revenues, unable to pay the rent, were forced to close.

Masters of the Sword: MD Company to Claim Monopoly on Historical Fencing Accreditation

You’ve heard it here first:

SHotS is teaming up with Towson-based Secret Archives Press LLC to provide the historical fencing community with ultimate credentials.

Massed Assault: The Choreography of Group Instruction

Group class vs. individual lesson?

The armed and police forces of the world had their choices made for them by virtue of the very number of recruits needing instruction.

But how did they get them to look good from a distance…

New Feature: Books of the Sword

We’ve kicked off the new year with two executive decisions:

First, we discovered that the publishing rights of The Secret History of the Sword have reverted back to us. And we noticed that we’ve yet again  strayed far from pure “FencingClassics”—back into coverage of pretty much all eras and systems in which people pummeled each other with sharp iron. Hence, what better new-old programmatic name for our blog than “The Secret History of the Sword”?

In Memoriam: Bob Anderson

Millions enjoyed his sword skills on screen. And thousands took up fencing in all its facets after watching him perform.

Robert James Gilbert “Bob” Anderson, Olympic fencer and coach, military sword instructor, and most influential stunt performer and choreographer after William Hobbs, died on January 1, 2012.

Read the AP Obituary…

 

Fencers Magazine: Health benefits for older fencers

We’ve always known it: Fencing is a veritable health panacea. Not only for the young… but especially for old codgers like us:

Fencing in the News: Health benefits for older fencers.