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HEMA goes public
Saturday, August 22 nd and
Sunday, August 23 rd , 2026
Worldwide

Let’s do HEMA in public
to promote our Sport/Art
and find new members and friends.

Dear HEMA friends,
On the weekend of August 22nd and 23rd, 2026, IFHEMA is coordinating this event to
raise public awareness of our sport/art, connect with interested people, and recruit
new members.
It’s easy to participate:
1) Find a public space, such as a park (you might need to ask for permission).
2) Choose a date (Saturday, Sunday, or both days – you decide the time).
3) Promote your event through the press and social media.
4) Practice HEMA publicly and have fun with your friends.
5) Be friendly to interested visitors and explain what HEMA is.
6) Afterward, share photos and reports about the event with the press and on social
media.
7) You’ll have been part of a global HEMA event, helped spread the word about
HEMA, and perhaps even found new members for your group.

“HEMA goes public” is taking place for the third time this year after a break. Originally
developed and organized by Simon Rieger from Austria, it is supported this year by
“HEMA Austria” and the “International Federation of HEMA” (IFHEMA). Any HEMA
group is welcome, whether a member of a federation or not.
For questions and suggestions, please send a message to
[email protected].

See you at “HEMA goes public”!
Andreas Klingelmayer, President of IFHEMA, on behalf of the IFHEMA board
www.ifhema.org
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Draft Press Release

Please modify or add to this draft as needed and include a photo of your group.

HEMA goes public

Saturday, August 22nd and

Sunday, August 23rd, 2026

Worldwide – and here at … (add location and time) ..

“HEMA” stands for “Historical European Martial Arts” and deals with ancient European martial arts in a reputable manner. Of course, safety and health are paramount – we want to have fun and not get hurt.

Those who practice HEMA reconstruct the martial arts of medieval knights or the “Three Musketeers.” Original fencing manuals from the respective period are used, and the knowledge gained is applied to modern training with modern protective gear. So, if you want to wield a sword, rapier, or saber in a historically accurate manner, this is the place for you.

On August 22nd and 23rd, 2026, the event “HEMA goes public” will take place worldwide, coordinated by the “International Federation of HEMA”. HEMA groups will train in public spaces to promote this martial art and combat sport. In … (add location) … on … (add day) .. from/to … (add time) … the fencers of the group … (add your group’s name) … will train HEMA and will be happy to answer questions from interested members of the public. And if you like, you can try it yourself.

Dear Members and Observers,

IFHEMA CUP UPDATE!

The IFHEMA Cup is coming closer and we really look forward to welcoming you all in Athens! Registrations are starting to come in, several among you are preparing their teams. For those who didn’t yet fill out the Basic Registration Form, please do so as quickly as possible, so that the Greek Federation, our generous host for this event, has a clear idea of whom to expect. For the full registration of the team members, you have time until the end of summer, but the basic subscription should be in by July 15^th ideally. If you have questions regarding practicalities (like lodging in Athens), you can contact George Zacharopoulos. A list with potential accommodations will be published shortly.

Another new aspect of the Cup is that on the basis of its results a country ranking will be set up, as a first step towards the development of a real international championship. So don’t miss out on this one!

Finally, we are happy to announce the IFHEMA Cup Discord server set up especially for the occasion. We welcome you to raise questions, give your input and discuss Cup-related issues. It will greatly facilitate communication and hopefully get everybody involved in this project by the international community and for the international community. Access to it will be easy since we want to implicate as many people as possible.

The link to the Discord server was already sent to the Delegates and Observers.

UPDATE GENERAL ASSEMBLY!

Please keep in mind that the day after the Cup, Sunday 7 September, our annual General Assembly (GA11) will take place. On this occasion, elections will be held for a new Executive Committee (EC, the IFHEMA Board). All full member Delegates have voting rights. We hope to welcome many new faces, as a refreshment of the team would be a good thing after the years of engagement of its present members: new blood and fresh new ideas for the coming years. Even young HEMAists can be co-opted into the EC which gives them the opportunity to getting to know the functioning of IFHEMA more closely, as a preparation for a potential more formal future role.

We are happy to announce that the Austrian Federation has nominated Andreas Klingelmayer as their candidate for the next IFHEMA Presidency. Andreas as already started to assemble his potential crew. We strongly encourage other Member federations and Observers (they, too, can submit candidacies) to step forward and present their candidates, as all positions are open to everyone. More information about the different roles in the EC will be available shortly on our website. In case you’d like to know more about Andreas’s plans and vision, contact: [email protected]

Signed,

Call for Participation

All HEMA competition enthousiasts, take note!!

The International Federation of Historical European Martial Arts (IFHEMA) relaunches its international tournament.

Thanks to an agreement struck last year between IFHEMA and DTE Dijon, the IFHEMA Cup will be held in Dijon biannually during HEMAC Dijon from 2024 onwards. This year (2023), IFHEMA is setting up a test event where the new format of its IFHEMA cup will be tried out during HEMAC Dijon XX. The first edition of the new IFHEMA Cup will be curated by the French HEMA Federation.

We are reshaping the concept of national teams that was first applied during the IFHEMA Cup 2015. Mixed teams will be selected by each national member federation, wishing to contribute. The number of each gender per team should be 30% or higher. Fighters will have the option to fight either in mixed or in their own gender category (opt in/opt out). Rule sets will be variable within an IFHEMA Tournament Framework.

For the test event this year (2023), we will need volunteers, fighters, and staff, to help us see what needs to be improved, changed and/or reworked.

Volunteer fighters in this test event DO NOT need to be sent by their federations.

The test event will take half a day and be longsword only for now. We need maximum 40 fighters and about 16 staff volunteers. The number of women per team should be 30% or higher. Each team will be composed of 5 people (ideally, 3/2).

We intend to test several ways of judging and scoring for technicality, not for hits only. To participate in the test event standard tournament equipment will required (details will follow in the document specifying the rule set). Fighters will have the option to fight either in mixed or in their own gender category (opt in/opt out). You can sign-up as a pre-made team or as an individual fighter. Individual fighters will be assigned to a team later. All HEMAC Dijon participants are welcome to subscribe, even from non-IFHEMA member countries! In case there are more candidates than places, people will be selected on a ‘first sign, first come’-basis.

If you are interested in participating please sign-up using the following link:

https://tinyurl.com/IFHEMAcup

or contact Marine Beaumel at

[email protected]

if you have any questions. The rule set, planning and the precise date will be communicated soon.