Welcome to Esprit de Combat
Ésprit de Combat was founded to make Historical European Martial Arts accessible to more people and to encourage growth in the HEMA community in South Africa. Ésprit de Combat is mainly focused around teaching weapons from the 17-19th centuries. The primary weapons being the sabre, baskethilt broadsword and smallsword. In addition, we also teach a variety of different bayonet fencing systems, primarily British and Japanese. In recent years, the club has also began to offer workshops and classes on the use of the longsword, sword and buckler and other weapons from the Medieval and Renaissance period.
The club provides basic weaponry and protection for beginners, but anyone who develops an interest is encouraged to purchase any weapons they find themselves interested in as well as procure more protection as they develop in skill and fighting intensity (See 'About Our Institution' for more information about the weaponry we use at the club). The club can provide locally supplied upper body protection, but weapons and more advanced protection must be ordered from overseas and shipped in. Ésprit de Combat is currently based in Brooklyn, Pretoria in Gauteng province and holds meetings within the resident of the instructor in Centurion
About our institution
Ésprit de Combat welcomes beginners and veterans alike, anybody is welcome to attend a meeting to get a feel for what we do. We encourage form and precision, focusing on footwork and blade interaction and the mechanics of swordplay rather than using brute force and mindless swinging. The aim of this is to gain a better understanding of the most effective ways to strike and defend and move while using the minimum effort possible so as to be able to last much longer in a fight. Essentially we instruct on how to make maximum effective use of all the tools at your disposal. The club focuses mainly on swords and to a lesser extent bladed weaponry and, as we are a Historical European Martial Arts club, generally stick to European weaponry and styles in our training. It is important to note that the club makes use of synthetic weaponry and the corresponding grade protection standards. We do not use metal weaponry or armor in our training sessions or tournaments and bouts so if you bring any metal weapons or armor you will not be allowed to use it within the club (Except for perhaps showing off).
Training times
Sundays
09:00 - 11:00 in Winter
08:30 - 10:30 in Summer
(Can vary depending on availability and other factors such as holidays and events etc.)
Community
Local Community
Sabre Tournaments
Run by our club
29 April 2023, Pretoria
Winners
23 March 2024, Pretoria
Winners
International
Bastion HEMA
Bastion Hema is a professional HEMA club located in Singapore.
They provide a high quality training experience and environment for students looking to learn the ins-and-outs of German Medieval fencing.
DG Kendo
The Kendo of Dongguan
Dongguan Kendo Club is located in Dongcheng District, Dongguan City.
It is the highest level gym certified by the International Kendo Federation and a kendo level examination center in Dongguan area.
Suppliers
Superior Fencing
Superior Fencing is a primary producer of equipment for Esprit de Combat.
They are an excellent producer of affordable hema equipment, and have been instrumental in allowing
Esprit de Combat to equip so many of its members in good quality hema gear
SoftWarrior Sparta
Soft Warrior Sparta is an amazing producer of "soft kit", the type of gear that is often used for learning how to fight in armour.
They are an excellent producer of these products and have allowed our club to begin the process of incorporating elements
of armoured fighting into our regular practice.
Soft Warrior Spartan are also producers of plastic protection as well.
Gallery
Photos and Videos of our club training, and participating in tournaments or events.
Contact
Reach out and chat.
Location:
7 Konglomoraat Ave, Zwartkop, Centurion, South Africa
Email:
hema@swords.co.za
Call:
+27 82 592 5693