This text is addressed to all pirat-queens, warrior-women, PE-skippers, nerd girls, girl-scouts, and moms who haven’t yet discovered HEMA for themselves.
This article was first published in German an can be read here
Aux armes, citizens! What will it be? Longsword? Knife? Sabre or rapier? We also fight with both hands or completely unarmed. We wrestle to the ground and help each other up. That’s HEMA.
Historical European Martial Arts (HEMA) is a multifaceted sport, though calling it just a sport is an understatement. HEMA encompasses a community, history, historical source research, and martial arts. Over the past decades, much has happened, with clubs being founded, events organized, and umbrella organizations established. The obvious benefits are apparent to everyone: fitness, new friends, and more opportunities for exciting photos for Instagram.
In the following, I want to delve into the hidden advantages of HEMA for women and girls, which are the reasons why I’m calling you to arms.
Rage – Aggression – Hysteria
That sexism and violence against women don’t spare the HEMA community was unfortunately demonstrated in 2020. Gerhild writes about it in the article „Frauenkampftag.“
The first point is related to a fundamental behavioral pattern inherent in all animals, which may feel somewhat foreign to us girls and women. Many women have been taught a very specific way to deal with their emotions, determining which emotions are okay and which are a no-no. The same happens with men, but with a very significant, relevant difference: women and anger don’t really go together. An angry woman is considered hysterical, experiencing PMS, or simply being „emotional.“ An aggressive woman has lost control, while a man is just „typically masculine.“
We women suppress our anger and aggression because if we didn’t, we’d be seen as assertive, bitchy, or impossible. We fear the strength that our own anger possesses, not only because we might hurt people in our surroundings but also because we could be assigned unfair labels. When all this pent-up anger needs an outlet and we cry, we are seen as childish, manipulative, or weak.
It’s time to make space for aggression in our lives, to reclaim it. I’m not thinking of a training montage where a difficult teenager punches pads and finally becomes an upright member of society. No, HEMA has simply shown me how normal aggression can be. How quickly it comes and goes, which outlets work, and that everyone should have it in a healthy measure. But also, how to handle it, use it, and control it.
Nothing leads to frustration as much as suppressed anger, and I don’t need to explain the negative consequences of that here. The times when hysteria was „cured“ with a vibrator and cocaine are long gone, and we women are too busy to ensure that our feelings are socially acceptable. It’s time to face them – time for HEMA.
Confidence – Self-Defense
The effect described below has so far only been associated with targeted self-defense, not martial arts in general. However, it occurred to me through HEMA. The effect is simple: women and girls who feel capable of defending themselves against an attacker, not only can do it but are also less likely to find themselves in situations where they need to. Their behavior changes so that they are not perceived as victims by perpetrators.
As strange as it may sound, the fact that I learned through HEMA that physically resisting something is an option has changed my life. In other words, being 100% ready to punch someone squarely in the face has reduced the number of catcalls I receive to zero.
Another side effect has occurred: Knowing that I can do that allows me to move through the world more freely and without fear, something that is still a luxury for women and girls in our society. Time for HEMA.
Community – Friends – Sparring Partners
And now I want to briefly address a point I mentioned among the obvious ones. New friends. The HEMA community stands out on many levels. It is open and diverse, fencers of all ages train together. It is international since, in individual countries, it is often quite small, and we quickly internalize that we are not only strong together but also bring much more fun and skill to the halls when we all meet internationally. We are not uniform; everyone can still do their own thing, only at a tournament do we agree on regulations, and that’s only for an afternoon.
A very special bond also connects all historical female fencers. I wouldn’t have made it past the pool rounds at my first tournament if a fellow female fencer hadn’t cheered me on like crazy. Our common hobby unites us, but also the fact that we are a bit of an exception to the rule. But that doesn’t have to stay that way. Because as a sport, historical fencing, as ironic as it sounds, is still young, wild, and on a journey of self-discovery. So now is the time to grab the weapons – join in – so that HEMA remains a sport, a martial art, and a piece of history for and by women and men alike. Because all the advantages mentioned here have spread far too little among us girls. It’s time for HEMA – let’s go!
written by Gerhild Grabitzer, this text is a translation of an article published in 2018
Sources
- Campbell, A., & Muncer, S. (1987). Models of anger and aggression in the social talk of women and men. Journal for the Theory of Social Behaviour
- Hollander, J. A. (2014). Does Self-Defense Training Prevent Sexual Violence Against Women? Violence Against Women, 20(3)
- Kogut, D., Langley, T. & O’Neal, Gender role masculinity and angry aggression in women, E.C. Sex Roles (1992) 26: 355
- Komisaruk, B., Beyer, C. and Whipple, B. (2006). The science of orgasm. Baltimore: Johns Hopkins University Press.
HEMA Graz 