ITALIAN TRADITION
.
EVERETT, WA
Train the art
Of the Longsword
Of the Longsword
Authentic 15th - 16th-century Italian swordsmanship — reconstructed from the original masters and trained every Monday night.
THE Italian lonsword MASTERS
Fiore dei Liberi · 1410
Filippo Vadi · 1482
Achille Marozzo · 1536
Anonimo Bolognese · Early 1500s
Fiore Dei Liberi
A Foundational source to the Art of Arms.
Foundation to the Art of Arms
Fiore dei Liberi was an Italian fencing master and knight who lived during the late 14th and early 15th centuries. After decades of training and fighting throughout Italy and neighboring regions, Fiore recorded his martial teachings in Fior di Battaglia (“The Flower of Battle”), one of the oldest surviving comprehensive European fighting manuals. Written around 1409–1410, the work presents a complete system of martial arts known as Armizare, or the “Art of Arms.”
Filippo Vadi
Discover the Grace and skill behind the Art.
Filippo Vadi was a 15th-century Italian fencing master from Pisa whose life is only partially documented. Between approximately 1482 and 1487, he authored De Arte Gladiatoria Dimicandi (“The Art of Sword Combat”), a beautifully illustrated martial treatise dedicated to Guidobaldo da Montefeltro, Duke of Urbino. Vadi’s work is particularly significant because it preserves and develops ideas found in the earlier teachings of Fiore dei Liberi, providing an important link between the medieval martial traditions of the early 1400s and the Renaissance Italian schools that followed.
The Bolognese Tradition
The Bolognese tradition is a sophisticated school of Renaissance Italian fencing that developed around Bologna during the late 15th and 16th centuries. Our study focuses particularly on the spada a due mani, or two-handed sword—the weapon most closely corresponding to what modern HEMA practitioners call the longsword. Two of our most important sources are the Anonimo Bolognese, an early 16th-century manuscript, and the works of Achille Marozzo, whose Opera Nova provides an extensive treatment of the two-handed sword. Marozzo's teachings organize the weapon into structured assalti, and more complex techniques designed to be performed at the bind.
REfine the practice to it’s peak
The Art of arms
A typical Monday session runs two hours. Expect structured drilling, partnered technique work, and supervised free play as you progress.
genuinely fun
Classes are led by an experienced instructor who teaches from the primary sources and can explain the context and reasoning behind everything you're learning.
“I came for the swords but stayed for the community!”
Class Details
Wherever you want to take it — fitness, competition, scholarship, or just something completely different — SDS is here to support what success means to you.
WHEN
Every Monday 6:30 - 8:30 PM
WHERE
Cascade Boys & Girls Club 7600 Cascade Dr, Everett WA 98203
DURATION
2 hours
COST
Included with SDS Membership · $85/mo
EQUIPMENT
Loaner gear available for new students
READY TO BEGIN?
Start where
Everyone starts
New to HEMA? The Saturday Fundamentals Class is your entry point. Four sessions and you’ll be ready for Tuesday nights.