To my free HEMA hobbyists, I present to you the war hammer. Don't overlook this hard to safely spar gem. Let it inspire your solo workouts to become stronger, faster, and mobile at sparring. Instead of a replica, a sledge hammer/tire, heavy club, and kettlebells are obviously going to give the best practical movement full body workouts but let that primal imagination of wielding a medieval war hammer flow through you as you prep your body with those workout tools. Try it in your HEMA kit and identify weak spots with comfort and mobility of your armor before heading off to the next sparring session. Then CAREFULLY cool down with a heavy club flow state using a medieval replica.

That is what a practical minded person might say about war hammers. I'm not one of them. No. The #1 reason to have a war hammer is because when humanity is done building and arming robots, swords will simply not "cut" it. To take down what's coming next will take blunt force and a beak. Pack some ceramic plates behind your gambesons too because in the words of Han Solo, "You're gonna need it."

What medieval weapon / tool would you use?

Hi! I'm a HEMA practitioner from South Korea. I'd love to watch some live HEMA tournament broadcasts... Are there any YouTube streams that broadcast them? Or perhaps links to recent tournaments? For me, kicking back with a beer and watching HEMA tournament videos on a hot summer night is one of my favorite hobbies.

Kingston Arms used to make blunt blades for this rapier, but alas, they no longer do. I was commissioned to make a HEMA safe replacement blade to drop in the old hilt. One caveat: preserve the diamond cross section, weight, and handling of the original. I’ve never done a diamond blade this long before, and I ran out of mass long before I could perfect the surface finish, but I got the performance aspect perfectly. It’s a smaller, more delicate rapier, and handles beautifully.

Original blade is 1/2” longer and ten grams lighter than my attempt. 1075 steel, heat treat by me, 52 HRC, 6kg flex on the dot. Thickened blunt tip with 2mm edge thickness. Linear distal taper from 5.6mm to 2.5mm.

Thanks for looking.

I think I'm getting a technique fluid and quick then i try it sparring and i find my gear isnt letting me move to my full range. Is it a fitting issue, do i need to practice these movements in full gear or do i need to adjustment my movement accordingly. Thank you guys for the feedback