Italian, British and Spanish swordsmen joined their Maltese counterparts in the Palace Armoury yesterday for the official launch of the Malta Historical Fencing Association.
Surrounded by the formidable weaponry of the Knights of St John, its president Andrei Xuereb explained that the association aimed to explore and demonstrate how historical weapons were used.
“We take our inspiration from this room. We seek to fully understand the spirit of defence as practised throughout Europe by our forefathers,” he told guests.
Historical fencing differs from sport fencing because it uses a variety of weaponry and there is no scoring system; enthusiasts practice the discipline together rather than compete for victory.
Mr Xuereb described it as a “European martial art” that is slowly being rediscovered and pointed out that it was not about aggression.
“The emphasis is on defending yourself. If you lose your discipline and become aggressive, your opponent will take advantage of it and in olden times undisciplined aggression could get you killed.”
Historical fencing is not yet formally recognised as a martial art but its practitioners hope that one day it will be as it continues to develop.
Practitioners use custom-made weapons based on historical designs.
Weapons are tipped with rubber and protection usually comes in the form of leather body armour, gloves and face masks. Rapiers and partisans are used as well as swords.
Historical fencers had travelled from across Europe for the launch of the Maltese association, and many of them are conducting historical fencing classes here.
Mr Xuereb had met many of the foreign swordsmen on his travels across the continent to learn more about the discipline.
One of them was Milanese maestro Andrea Lupo Sinclair, who has spent 25 years researching and practising the art.
“It helps us to understand skills that were necessary for people who were willing to die for their ideals and principles,” Mr Lupo Sinclair said.
“We can experiment with techniques and strategies as we try to understand the spirit in which they were used – it is an important journey.”