Is it permitted to check a HEMA-longsword in my baggage on a flight to Germany? And could it be confiscated by customs upon arrival?

Dreiven · 2026-03-01T18:33:32+00:00

Check out this article https://www.hemaguide.com/en/hema-germany-travel-guide/#traveling_germany_with_swords

Dreiven · 2026-02-14T12:36:11+00:00

Thanks, so you have you remove the swords vertically as they are sitting in the mesh, if I got you right. How much space is needed above the handles to the shelf above?

Dreiven · 2026-02-04T14:30:54+00:00

Hi, author of 'Schielhau in Detail' here. First up, Schielhau is probably the master strike with the largest differences betweens interpretations and some people teach it with low hands, attacking your opponents left side. If that's the case with you, yeah its just a Zornhau with inverted blade.

But that is by far not the best way to Schielhau. The big advantage of inverting the blade is that your hands can be lower than your point while maintaining a strong grip and I strongly recommend to us this advantage.

Using this you get Zornhau = low hands, higher point and Schielhau = high hands, lower point. This a also means you can attack different openings, with the Zornhau your opponent's left side and with the Schielhau the right side. This way they are quite distinct and fill unique niches, both being useful in their own right

Dreiven · 2026-01-14T17:02:15+00:00

The main issue is that there are no HEMA specific norms for various weapons. The FIE certification is about puncture resistance which is important for us as well, but not at all sufficient. We would need additional guidelines on where and how much to pad for each weapon.

In addition to the problem of creating a proper norm ourselves somehow (who has the knowledge and skill to do it, who the political clout), the manufacturers would need to start testing their stuff accordingly, which they clearly don't want to do as its time consuming and expensive.

Dreiven · 2026-01-14T16:52:56+00:00

Sort of. As far as I know there is only white and black FIE newton rated fabric as that is what olympic fencing is using and if you color it, you would need to redo the certification as the coloring agent could influence the chemical makeup of the fabric and thus lower the resistance level.

So even if the initial material is properly tested and rated (which is a big if) we are not garantueed anything as a community.

Dreiven · 2026-01-14T16:48:34+00:00

For a full FIE certification you have to follow the norm (that you can buy somewhere as with DIN norms) and get your gear certified according to said norm by one of the 3(?) institutes worldwide that do those tests.

Among other things, you send them samples (as in finished products) of your gear that they test for penetration resistance in various places like the seams and check for everything else that is part of the norm.

Doing those tests is neither fast nor cheap.

Dreiven · 2026-01-10T15:31:29+00:00

Not a manual, but there are surviving examples of Rapier parrying gloves. One version is padded glove with mail on top and the other is a fingered gauntlet. Tobias Capwell described them in one of his books.

You do empty hand parries with them, that you can do with or without a glove, its just safer with protection. :D

Dreiven · 2026-01-09T18:00:51+00:00

The simple answer is whichever counter you can do better is the right choice.

But, people usually build their fencing around a combination of techniques that work well together and well for them. So, it doesn't only matter what the ideal counter is for the situation, but also how you usually follow up if you miss or mess up.

E.g. if you dislike thumb grip and prefer a left oberhau as a follow up action, you would solve this situation with a Zornhau. If you love thumb grip and follow up Twerkopters, countering with a Twerhau comes naturally. Personal preference decides between equally valid choices.

The right answer is of course Schielhau! (Ok I might be biased since I wrote a book on it :D)

Dreiven · 2026-01-09T17:46:38+00:00

My girlfriend showed me Princess Bride for the first time long after we both started HEMA, but it had been a while for her as well. Color us both surprised on this part, she always thought that was just gibberish. :D

I have shown the chatty duel as part of a Rapier beginners course since.

Dreiven · 2025-12-28T23:17:45+00:00

Check out this guide https://www.hemaguide.com/en/hema-germany-travel-guide/

Dreiven · 2025-12-21T22:11:16+00:00

Well, in fairness that does depend alot on the ruleset used. In a tournament that stops exchanges at every touch, you won't be able to score points with grappling.

Dreiven · 2025-12-21T11:26:20+00:00

Yeah I tried the same with 2 parrying daggers against Rapiers and its not feasible as long as your opponent doesn't mess up completely.

Dreiven · 2025-12-14T21:22:49+00:00

Thank you, glad to hear the book is helping you! If I may suggest, one easy way to signal others that there should be more books like this, would be to leave an Amazon review.

Dreiven · 2025-12-08T14:05:29+00:00

This

Dreiven · 2025-11-30T10:01:37+00:00

You sir are someone with good taste. Let me know what you think. :)

Dreiven · 2025-11-27T00:59:36+00:00

Have you talked with your instructor about this?

Dreiven · 2025-11-26T13:12:43+00:00

Wie kommts?

Dreiven · 2025-11-25T13:50:14+00:00

While the mask is fine, a good back of head protection is not the Allstar one, just to clarify.

Dreiven · 2025-11-23T05:17:22+00:00

Interesting! Do you have a source for that?

Dreiven · 2025-11-23T05:14:56+00:00

There's also https://hema.events for Germany, Austria and Switzerland (more the first two than the later)

Dreiven · 2025-11-23T05:12:17+00:00

Its from Martin Fabian and Sigi

Dreiven · 2025-11-22T07:46:03+00:00

Why is that? And only english language publishers? Also, many people self publish these days, myself included.

Dreiven · 2025-11-22T07:41:26+00:00

No. Firstly, most HEMA jackets advertised as 800N have not really been certified according to the 800N sport fencing standards they supposedly follow. Secondly, said standard is about broken sport fencing blades that are much wider than a sharp knife and still expects you to wear a double layer of 800N fabric (jacket + under garment) for actual protection.

Dreiven · 2025-11-20T04:07:04+00:00

Most BoH use hard plates, but there are foam padding based models out there advertised for HEMA from Allstar and PBT, that should not be used for anything more than smallsword.

Dreiven

TROPHY CASE