When sparring or in tournaments, have you ever found yourself in an exchange where swords collide, but no hits occur, so you separate? What do we do with this time? How do we best utilize this moment of peace in a stressful situation? Checklists and not just any checklists! Checklists you can do mid-exchange to optimize your fights!
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Today, we will be discussing my advice on maximizing the calm between exchanges: mid-fight checklists. This will kick off a new series I am calling Tournament Tips, a collection of helpful tips and tricks for HEMA tournament participants. 

Before we get started, let’s talk a little bit about a tournament I was just at, Gesellen Fechten 2025! This was my first tournament back since my surgery and it was great to see people and train with old friends. Overall, my club won two medals and I finished 12th  in sword and buckler and 11th in sabre. Longsword was challenging since it was my first Tier A longsword tournament. I finished in the bottom middle of the pack but walked away with plenty of lessons learned to improve going forward.
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The tournament was well run (which I can selfishly say since I was part of the staff). Most importantly, everyone on my team had fun and learned a lot. We had a few fencers who competed in their first or second tournament and they had such a good experience that they plan to continue competing!

​A common mistake I find myself and others making is entering an exchange unprepared or already at a disadvantage. For example, I (featured on the left) started an exchange with my hands too far forward, and I threw them in front of my sword, which got them hit. 

This exchange happened towards the middle of the bout after an exchange where no one got hit. My form loosened up just enough in-between exchanges resulting in me losing the round. This is where Mid-Fight Checklists come in!

Mid-Fight Checklists are a list of quick things you can check before the next exchange. For example, when I disengage from an exchange, I run through the following checklist:

1. Get in a guard
2. Center your feet
3. Check hands

The purpose of the first item on this checklist is to ensure that I am in a fighting position in the event my opponent attacks me. The second item is to provide a foundation so I can attack my opponent. The third item is to ensure my hands are correctly positioned so they do not go ahead of my sword when I attack.

The most important detail of these mid-fight checklists is that they are quick and straightforward to execute. The second most important part is that they are tailored to the fencer. Some fencers may have an exceptional foundation in wrestling or Olympic fencing, so they never have to worry about their feet. In that case, maybe they do not need the second item and can focus on their guards and hand positioning.
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This is where practice and training come in. The goal is to minimize the number of things you need to check for yourself mid-fight. For example, at this point in sword and buckler, after a disengage, I almost always bring my sword hand behind my buckler. I do not actively check that with mid-fight checklists. However, I do have a habit of disengaging and loosening up my guards, which leads me to check still to make sure my form is correct. Funny enough, some fencers who have sparred me have seen me do this and describe it as me “calibrating live”.

Mid-Fight Checklists are not just things you write down and never think about again. They must be drilled to ensure they are automatic when the event arises. However, once you get into the habit of checking your form between exchanges, you may notice that snappy and panicky actions are reduced. Something is calming when you take the time to re-establish your form before the next bout of swords.
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So what are your ideas for mid-fight checklists? I would love to hear your thoughts and things you need to check to ensure your exchanges always end in your favor.

Through my nearly 10 years of HEMA, I have had the wonderful opportunity to meet hundreds, if not thousands, of people who are interested in swords. My experience has not just been limited to HEMA practitioners either. I have had fantastic conversations and interactions with Buhurt combatants who taught me about medieval melees and sources about William Marshal. I have met Living History scholars who possess an extensive knowledge of the medieval world and have offered valid critiques of HEMA. I have discussed at length with SCA Adventurers about the pros and cons of both of our martial training styles. All of you have contributed to my experience in swordsmanship, and I value every interaction we have had. You are all part of the sword family.

Throughout my years in swordsmanship, I have seen numerous scandals, negativity, injuries, unpleasantries, and hate. Recently, I have seen more people being banned from clubs or engaging in reckless behavior that endangered others or even threatening acts towards the lives of our sword family.

However, I believe that the reason I am seeing more news like this is not because our family is getting worse. On the contrary, our family is getting their voice and standing up for one another. We are beginning to solidify in our cultures to the point where we can say “No. That is not acceptable behavior, and we as a sword family have no tolerance for it.” While I know these challenging times can be difficult, I take comfort in the fact that our communities are becoming increasingly connected to the point where we can protect one another and call out bad actors.

Our sword family comprises individuals from diverse backgrounds. Whether that be sexual preference, gender identity, race, ethnicity, religion, political view, social class, and everything in between, we are all brought together by a simple idea. We all love swords. I have had conversations with strangers from around the world who took the time out of their day to talk to me because they were passionate about swords. In my first club, a teammate of mine once said, “If you like swords, then you are a-okay with me,” and I think our sword family reflects this idea. It is a beautiful thing when all are brought together by a common interest and share a diverse community.

Some members of our family put on a smiling mask while they are around their sword people. In their personal lives, those same members are struggling. Numerous things can bring suffering and hardship into someone’s life. Some of our family members are better at hiding what they are going through than others. Worse off, so many of us connect through social media and it is easy for us to assume we are all alright and happy.

As a sword family, we must care for and love one another. Our family has a fun and unique situation where “liking swords” is the least interesting thing about us, because everyone in our family likes swords! Get to know one another. We have members in our community who are teachers in poverty-stricken areas, going to work every day with the hope of making a difference. We have scientists and engineers working to advance our knowledge of the world, hoping to prevent the next pandemic before it even begins. Small business owners and blue collar workers who work tasks daily and on weekends to make the lives of others better. We have members who are terrific artists inspiring people through their work, and students studying hard to make a brighter future. There are so many interesting people in our sword family, but some are too humble or shy to tell you how interesting they are. Ask. Learn more about each other outside of just the superficial “I like swords” so we can grow and care even more than we already do.

That is the beauty of a family brought together by the simple idea of sharing a passion for swords and a desire to learn more. We must welcome everyone while protecting our family from truly horrific people who would want to harm us, whether by words or by force.  
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I do not know who needs to hear this but know that you are loved and you are welcome in my sword family. There are people around you who care and who will stand at your side when the going gets tough.
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You are not alone and there is always hope.

For someone who named a blog “Funky Buckler”, it has been noted that I rarely use funky bucklers. These petite defensive off-hands came in all sorts of shapes and sizes, yet most of my HEMA career has been spent with good ole fashioned round bucklers.

That ends today.
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Or rather, it ended months ago when I began my analysis of the famous buckler shown in Hans Talhoffer’s later manuscripts, commonly known as the Talhoffer buckler. How does this bizarre buckler impact combat? What are the pros and cons of such a shield? Those are the questions I intend to answer in today’s blog post all about the Talhoffer buckler!

​Hans Talhoffer was a fencing master in the mid-15th century. He created several manuscripts between 1448 and 1467 that primarily focused on different dueling traditions of the Holy Roman Empire. For example, while his manuscripts feature sword and buckler, a common judicial dueling weapon set referenced in the Saxon Mirror, his manuscripts also contain comments on rules for dueling and legal structure around it. Additionally, Talhoffer features drawings of weapons and warcraft items like siege ladders that may hint at a general fascination with warfare by the author.

​Defining the Talhoffer buckler is not as straightforward as it may seem. The bucklers shown in Talhoffer’s manuscripts take on several shapes and sizes. In his first manuscript to feature sword and buckler combat, published sometime between 1446 and 1459, the fencers are illustrated as both using classic round bucklers with pronounced spiky bosses. However, in his second known manuscript, this odd buckler begins to take shape. 

​In Talhoffer’s personal manuscript, created in 1459, a buckler with several prominent features is depicted. Both fencers are shown with a leaf or teardrop-shaped buckler with a bulbous boss and small spikes covering the buckler face. The tips of the leaf or teardrop shape curve away from the fencer, potentially to create points where a blade can be caught. Furthermore, the edge of the buckler is not rounded but instead features little crescents breaking up the uniform shape. Interestingly though, this manuscript also depicts a fencer with a round buckler similar to his earlier work.

​Finally, in the last known Talhoffer manuscript, published in 1467, we see a similar buckler to the oddity in his 1459 work. However, the spikes covering the face of the buckler have been removed. Additionally, some of the bucklers shown in this manuscript have a smooth edge instead of the edge with the cutouts as mentioned previously.

​Unfortunately, we do not have concrete evidence linking any museum bucklers to the famed fencing master. We also lack any evidence of the more exotic buckler styles of Talhoffer besides what is depicted in his manuscript. With Talhoffer’s fascination with medieval dueling equipment and mechanisms for war, perhaps he wanted to design a buckler that best served himself and his clients in the art of sword and buckler combat. Perhaps he went so far as to commission their creation. After all, seeing a person with this unique buckler would be a clever way to market that the famed fencing master trained the individual.

Whether or not the buckler was literally used in the period or just a concept in the mind of a fencing master has not stopped modern manufacturers from creating their own take on the famous buckler. For this test, I purchased a Talhoffer Buckler (that unfortunately appears to no longer be available online), more similar to the leaf-shaped design as opposed to the teardrop-shaped buckler. The buckler also did not feature the spikes on the face, which puts it more in line with the buckler depicted in Talhoffer’s 1467 manuscript.
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The main reason I went with this take on the Talhoffer buckler was because my training partner, Lane, has owned a Talhoffer buckler for years. His buckler is available online and features the teardrop shape.

When I first started this experiment, I set aside six months where I would train almost exclusively with this buckler. I was concerned that using it would take some getting used to when compared to my preferred round bucklers. However, that could not have been further from the truth.

The first thing I noticed was how seamless the transition was from a round buckler to the Talhoffer buckler. Even when using techniques from I.33’s first ward, where the sword and buckler hands are kept close, the buckler never seemed to get in the way. Furthermore, although I expected the cutouts along the buckler's edge to create gaps and reduce the effectiveness of my cuts gliding along the edge, the edge did not seem to affect the flow. Overall, my fencing felt as fluid and crisp as ever. Shield-knocking to create openings for my sword was a breeze since the buckler's curves could easily lock down opponents’ swords. I did not feel that binding in the style of I.33 was impacted, and I did not encounter a technique from that source that needed to be modified to use with the Talhoffer buckler.

Where the Talhoffer buckler truly shone was in the open fight, where the sword and buckler were kept separate. Not surprisingly, open fighting or short binds to initiate grappling is what Talhoffer’s sword and buckler system was all about. With the inclusion of this buckler, suddenly letting my opponent strike my buckler became a greater liability for them. I have observed that defending with the buckler will keep me safe; it normally does not disrupt the tempo of my opponent. However, with the unique shape of this buckler, my opponent’s swords would deflect off in strange ways or get stuck in a way that would allow me to close and strike them.
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Overall, I was blown away by how easy it was to use the Talhoffer buckler with prior experience with round bucklers. I do think it is noteworthy that Talhoffer’s early work features round bucklers, so making a new buckler that expanded on that design appears to have been part of his goal.

As mentioned earlier, Lane has been using a teardrop-shaped buckler with spikes for years. I have had the…. Ummm…. fortune to fight against that buckler many times. The most notable part of the buckler when fencing is how much area it can protect. With the extended teardrop shape towards the bottom, Lane has been able to protect his legs with relative ease compared to a traditional round buckler.
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Furthermore, I have experienced my attacks feeling trapped after hitting the buckler, whether it was because the strike stopped in one of the curved sections on the edge, or if it was a thrust that was slid and got tangled with one of the spikes. From what I have observed, the major value of this buckler design is its ability to prevent an opponent from striking the buckler, sliding off to strike a different area, a common technique in the Andre Lignitzer sword and buckler plays.

The buckler shown in Talhoffer’s manuscripts is a genuine oddity, but certainly appears to be martially inspired. I could see a fencing master looking at a buckler and saying, “This is good, but it could be better,” and inventing this strange buckler. I like to think that Talhoffer himself was able to experience the effectiveness of his creation. This buckler is efficient, well thought out, and deadly. A perfect complement to Talhoffer’s sword and buckler plays that use a mix of open fighting and grappling to strike the opponent.
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What are your thoughts? Have you had a chance to experiment with this style of buckler? Leave a comment below!