Historical European Martial Arts

Welcome to the world of HEMA (Historical European Martial Arts), the resurrection of Europe’s martial heritage. No choreographed fight scenes, no costumes, just shiny swords and the effective, efficient use of them as a modern martial art.

At the Grange we specialise in the martial skills of 14th century Italy. Street fighting, defence against knife attacks & civilian sword play (no big suits of plate armour). An integrated system that was used for everything from self defence, to duels, to combat on the battle field. The originator of this system (Fiore), taught and fought for nearly 40 years (~1365 – 1405), in that time neither he nor any of his students, of which there were many, were defeated in single combat.

The Grange is part of the BFHS (British Federation for Historical Swordplay). Using the many detailed manuscripts left to us by medieval, renaissance and more recent fighting masters, the schools of the BFHS in partnership with groups around the world are restoring the lost arts of Europe. There are multiple styles from each country and each age, with research expanding our knowledge of these and adding to the list every year.