I am Raphaël, a student in Paris, and for the last two years I have been a member of the (quite modest and very discreet and unknown) Historical Fencing Club of the Ecole Normale Supérieure (sexier name coming soon =p ). We practice mostly longsword (Tallhoffer/Liechtenauer, but also a bit of Fiore de Liberi), one-handed sword, sabre/cutlass and dagger/wrestling, and more rarely rapier, sword and shield (I.33 especially), spear and messer. As a club, we do not really follow the principles of HEMA, as we rarely study the manuals first-hand ; but we are trying to change that, by dedicating regular informal meetings to more in-depth studies (as opposed to our weekly practice sessions, focused on more "basic" techniques).
Monsieur Keith Farrell, whom I met in Dijon last week, suggested that I look for answers to my questions on this forum, and so here I am.
As you may have understood by now, I'm French, so pleeeeaaaase do not be too harsh on my English, it can be very clumsy at times ^^"
See you around!
Raphaël
