Shipping to the U.S.? Please read the new U.S. regulations before placing your order.
Martiality and Sport in HEMA: Why Language Matters
In this match I strike you with my foot in your testicles, and I do it to give you pain and to make your cover waver.— Fiore dei Liberi, 1409
In recent months, a handful of incidents involving injuries in friendly bouts and tournaments have prompted a broader conversation in the HEMA community. These episodes are not the norm. Over the past twenty years, the quality of simulators and protective gear has improved dramatically, and the community as a whole has grown in both size and professionalism. Most events are managed with care and competence.
But isolated incidents, precisely because they are exceptions, deserve attention. They invite us to reflect on a recurring question: what does it mean to be “martial” within a sporting framework?
Talking about concussions, broken arms, or excessive force is never comfortable. Yet addressing it clearly is how a healthy community protects its own progress.
Martial does not mean brutal
Historical sources often describe strikes delivered with full commitment of body and intent.
But in a competitive environment, we are not reenacting life-or-death combat.
Our task is to translate martial tradition into a regulated contest where skill and control, not brutality, define the measure of a fighter.
There is a profound difference between touching a target with precision and cutting through it as if on the battlefield.
Injuries happen, but patterns matter
Blades break, masks and jackets fail, bodies collide. These are risks we all accept when we step into a bout, and the vast majority of incidents remain exactly that: accidents.
The question worth asking arises when the same type of injury recurs across different bouts in the same pool, or when a friendly spar ends with someone seriously hurt. At that point, it is worth examining the chain of responsibility:
At that point, responsibility is shared:
- The fighter who applies dangerous force.
- The referees who fail to recognize and penalize it.
- The makers and organizers who must ensure safety standards.
Ignoring this chain of accountability leaves everyone vulnerable.
The maker’s link in that chain is the one we answer for directly. A blade’s flex, balance and geometry are safety decisions before they are performance ones. Wich is why we design our Sport Collection to HEMA parameters from the first drawing, rather than adapting blades build for something else.
The role of referees and organizers
In a competitive setting, referees and organizers carry the final responsibility for conduct. It is their job to:
- Accept swords and gear within specific parameters.
- Penalize excessive actions in real time.
- Protect fencers from escalating situations.
- Remove from the tournament those who repeatedly endanger others.
The risk is not malice but inaction. Failing to intervene in the moment can turn an individual incident into a shared liability, and more importantly, into an avoidable harm.
Language shapes culture
Ultimately, it all comes back to language.
If we intend martiality as “going as hard as possible,” then stiff swords, inadequate gear and concussions will be accepted as normal. If we define it as “controlled application of skill with intent,” then tournaments evolve into what they should be: a safe, competitive, and educational spaces.
The way we talk about martiality shapes:
- How we train.
- How we referee.
- How we treat injuries as part of our combat sport.
Words matter. They set the tone for the entire community and how we interpret the line between acceptable risk and preventable harm.
Closing thoughts
HEMA stands at a crossroads between history and modern sport. The community has navigated that crossroads with increasing skill over two decades, and the overall trajectory is one of progress.
Yes, there are still contexts where fighters consent to engage in duels with higher risks. But tournaments are not that place. They are regulated events, bound by the duty to protect participants while sharing martial tradition.
If we use the same words both to describe Fiore’s “from eyes to knees” and a modern tournament exchange, we should be aware of the gap we are bridging.
Keeping HEMA both martial and sporting means choosing the right terms, enforcing the right rules, and acting on them when it counts. Only then can we ensure that the community continues to grow, not just in numbers and skill, but in the respect and safety its practitioners deserve.
We don’t treat the matter as settled. The argument continues, slower and in more detail, in The Mighty Metal Messenger our letter for people who care about where historical practice and modern sport meet. Subscribe below!
