{"id":10368,"date":"2015-12-04T16:48:12","date_gmt":"2015-12-04T16:48:12","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.jomec.co.uk\/intercardiff\/?p=10368"},"modified":"2015-12-04T16:48:12","modified_gmt":"2015-12-04T16:48:12","slug":"the-art-of-medieval-sword-fighting","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/cardiffjournalism.co.uk\/intercardiff\/sport-health\/the-art-of-medieval-sword-fighting","title":{"rendered":"Nick Laing, Cardiff&#8217;s Sword Fighting Guru"},"content":{"rendered":"<h2>Nick Laing is the sole\u00a0teacher of HEMA, the medieval martial art, at Cardiff. He masters swordplay and had his ribs cracked twice.<\/h2>\n<figure id=\"attachment_10568\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-10568\" style=\"width: 640px\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\"><a href=\"https:\/\/cardiffjournalism.co.uk\/intercardiff\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/12\/2015\/12\/Nick-Laing-HEMA-teacher.jpg\"><img decoding=\"async\" loading=\"lazy\" class=\"size-full wp-image-10568\" src=\"https:\/\/cardiffjournalism.co.uk\/intercardiff\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/12\/2015\/12\/Nick-Laing-HEMA-teacher.jpg\" alt=\"Nick Laing in full protective gear for HEMA sword fighting\" width=\"640\" height=\"480\" srcset=\"https:\/\/cardiffjournalism.co.uk\/intercardiff\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/12\/2015\/12\/Nick-Laing-HEMA-teacher.jpg 640w, https:\/\/cardiffjournalism.co.uk\/intercardiff\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/12\/2015\/12\/Nick-Laing-HEMA-teacher-300x225.jpg 300w, https:\/\/cardiffjournalism.co.uk\/intercardiff\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/12\/2015\/12\/Nick-Laing-HEMA-teacher-500x375.jpg 500w, https:\/\/cardiffjournalism.co.uk\/intercardiff\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/12\/2015\/12\/Nick-Laing-HEMA-teacher-400x300.jpg 400w, https:\/\/cardiffjournalism.co.uk\/intercardiff\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/12\/2015\/12\/Nick-Laing-HEMA-teacher-100x75.jpg 100w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 640px) 100vw, 640px\" \/><figcaption id=\"caption-attachment-10568\" class=\"wp-caption-text\"><noscript><img decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-10568\" src=\"https:\/\/cardiffjournalism.co.uk\/intercardiff\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/12\/2015\/12\/Nick-Laing-HEMA-teacher.jpg\" alt=\"Nick Laing in full protective gear for HEMA sword fighting\" width=\"640\" height=\"480\" srcset=\"https:\/\/cardiffjournalism.co.uk\/intercardiff\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/12\/2015\/12\/Nick-Laing-HEMA-teacher.jpg 640w, https:\/\/cardiffjournalism.co.uk\/intercardiff\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/12\/2015\/12\/Nick-Laing-HEMA-teacher-300x225.jpg 300w, https:\/\/cardiffjournalism.co.uk\/intercardiff\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/12\/2015\/12\/Nick-Laing-HEMA-teacher-500x375.jpg 500w, https:\/\/cardiffjournalism.co.uk\/intercardiff\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/12\/2015\/12\/Nick-Laing-HEMA-teacher-400x300.jpg 400w, https:\/\/cardiffjournalism.co.uk\/intercardiff\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/12\/2015\/12\/Nick-Laing-HEMA-teacher-100x75.jpg 100w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 640px) 100vw, 640px\" \/><\/noscript><\/a> Nick Laing in full protective gear for HEMA sword fighting<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>This isn\u2019t your typical university student bedroom. Two steel German longswords are sprawled over a crumpled purple blanket. In the corner of the floor, there was a one meter long sports bag filled with nylon swords, placed in between piles of clothing, a speaker box and other miscellaneous objects.<\/p>\n<p>The room&#8217;s owner, Nick Laing, then selects one the weapon he is the most proud of, a blunt steel sword measuring 141 centimeter, weighing around 1,6 kilogram. At 5 foot 9 tall, Nick got his sword made four inches longer than usual so his hands can have a longer reach. &#8220;This design dated back 700 years ago. This would be the sort of sword people would use for training back in the day.\u201d<\/p>\n<figure id=\"attachment_10566\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-10566\" style=\"width: 300px\" class=\"wp-caption alignleft\"><a href=\"https:\/\/cardiffjournalism.co.uk\/intercardiff\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/12\/2015\/12\/HEMA-Sword.jpg\"><img decoding=\"async\" loading=\"lazy\" class=\"size-medium wp-image-10566\" src=\"https:\/\/cardiffjournalism.co.uk\/intercardiff\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/12\/2015\/12\/HEMA-Sword-300x225.jpg\" alt=\"Nick Laing's sword collection\" width=\"300\" height=\"225\" srcset=\"https:\/\/cardiffjournalism.co.uk\/intercardiff\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/12\/2015\/12\/HEMA-Sword-300x225.jpg 300w, https:\/\/cardiffjournalism.co.uk\/intercardiff\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/12\/2015\/12\/HEMA-Sword-500x375.jpg 500w, https:\/\/cardiffjournalism.co.uk\/intercardiff\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/12\/2015\/12\/HEMA-Sword-400x300.jpg 400w, https:\/\/cardiffjournalism.co.uk\/intercardiff\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/12\/2015\/12\/HEMA-Sword-100x75.jpg 100w, https:\/\/cardiffjournalism.co.uk\/intercardiff\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/12\/2015\/12\/HEMA-Sword.jpg 640w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 300px) 100vw, 300px\" \/><figcaption id=\"caption-attachment-10566\" class=\"wp-caption-text\"><noscript><img decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-medium wp-image-10566\" src=\"https:\/\/cardiffjournalism.co.uk\/intercardiff\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/12\/2015\/12\/HEMA-Sword-300x225.jpg\" alt=\"Nick Laing's sword collection\" width=\"300\" height=\"225\" srcset=\"https:\/\/cardiffjournalism.co.uk\/intercardiff\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/12\/2015\/12\/HEMA-Sword-300x225.jpg 300w, https:\/\/cardiffjournalism.co.uk\/intercardiff\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/12\/2015\/12\/HEMA-Sword-500x375.jpg 500w, https:\/\/cardiffjournalism.co.uk\/intercardiff\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/12\/2015\/12\/HEMA-Sword-400x300.jpg 400w, https:\/\/cardiffjournalism.co.uk\/intercardiff\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/12\/2015\/12\/HEMA-Sword-100x75.jpg 100w, https:\/\/cardiffjournalism.co.uk\/intercardiff\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/12\/2015\/12\/HEMA-Sword.jpg 640w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 300px) 100vw, 300px\" \/><\/noscript><\/a> Nick Laing&#8217;s sword collection<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>Nick is adept at using long sword and is currently researching side sword and round shields. &#8220;I don\u2019t even remember how far back into my life I want to try sword fighting. On top of that I have always really been interested in history.&#8221; He took up fencing when I was 12 years old. Now the 22 year old student teach people how to fight like a medieval warrior, a lost art which has been going through a revival in the last 25 years.<\/p>\n<p>There are around 300.000 people in the world who have the same passion as him. &#8220;Basically it started when people find old manuals and treatise from various museums and library, (written by) soldiers and fight instructors through medieval history, Victorian period, et cetera. They essentially trying to reenact that.&#8221; This discipline is now called Historical European Martial Art or HEMA. Nick is currently the only one teaching it in Cardiff, at <a href=\"http:\/\/www.virtusswordschool.com\/\">Virtus Sword School<\/a>, Canton.<\/p>\n<h3>HEMA, a happy\u00a0discovery<\/h3>\n<p>Nick got interested to HEMA by a complete accident. On one sleep deprived night, the Edinburgh native search for fencing class in Cardiff. &#8220;I was so tired I can\u2019t think of the word &#8220;fencing&#8221;. So I type in &#8220;sword Cardiff&#8221;. That is when I discovered the club I am in now.&#8221; He gave it a try, and fell in love with it. &#8220;It is something I want to do since I was a kid. And on top of that it\u2019s a free license to hit people with a sword,&#8221; he said, laughing. After two years, Jack, the club founder, seeing Nick has the most experience in his class, entrust him to run the course.<\/p>\n<p>Virtus Sword School has now around 14 students. Older students often underestimate Nick because of his young age.\u00a0 Unfortunately, there is only one way to prove them wrong. &#8220;I hit them.<\/p>\n<figure id=\"attachment_10567\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-10567\" style=\"width: 225px\" class=\"wp-caption alignright\"><a href=\"https:\/\/cardiffjournalism.co.uk\/intercardiff\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/12\/2015\/12\/Nick-Laing-Close-up-with-his-sword.jpg\"><img decoding=\"async\" loading=\"lazy\" class=\"size-medium wp-image-10567\" src=\"https:\/\/cardiffjournalism.co.uk\/intercardiff\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/12\/2015\/12\/Nick-Laing-Close-up-with-his-sword-225x300.jpg\" alt=\"A HEMA warrior pose\" width=\"225\" height=\"300\" srcset=\"https:\/\/cardiffjournalism.co.uk\/intercardiff\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/12\/2015\/12\/Nick-Laing-Close-up-with-his-sword-225x300.jpg 225w, https:\/\/cardiffjournalism.co.uk\/intercardiff\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/12\/2015\/12\/Nick-Laing-Close-up-with-his-sword.jpg 480w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 225px) 100vw, 225px\" \/><figcaption id=\"caption-attachment-10567\" class=\"wp-caption-text\"><noscript><img decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-medium wp-image-10567\" src=\"https:\/\/cardiffjournalism.co.uk\/intercardiff\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/12\/2015\/12\/Nick-Laing-Close-up-with-his-sword-225x300.jpg\" alt=\"A HEMA warrior pose\" width=\"225\" height=\"300\" srcset=\"https:\/\/cardiffjournalism.co.uk\/intercardiff\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/12\/2015\/12\/Nick-Laing-Close-up-with-his-sword-225x300.jpg 225w, https:\/\/cardiffjournalism.co.uk\/intercardiff\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/12\/2015\/12\/Nick-Laing-Close-up-with-his-sword.jpg 480w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 225px) 100vw, 225px\" \/><\/noscript><\/a> A HEMA warrior posePeople tend to underestimate you until you get them a couple of bruises,&#8221; he said.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>Hypothetically, Nick also know how to kill people twice his size. &#8220;Aim for his hands. Arguably, the most breakble bones in your body is your fingers. So just keep spiking away and tickle a bit of his hands, maybe try to cut a few veins, break a few bones, then go for the knees and go for the throat.&#8221;<\/p>\n<h3>Fights gone wrong<\/h3>\n<p>The fighting practice at HEMA classes could get so intense as to cause serious injuries. \u201dI had cracked rib twice and a few cracked fingers.\u00a0 My knees was knocked until I couldn&#8217;t stand. A sword stab me at the neck,\u201d Nick said. Even playing with a practice nylon dagger could be dangerous. &#8220;I cracked my rib once when training with my assistant because we put all of our body force behind the strike.&#8221;<\/p>\n<figure id=\"attachment_10565\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-10565\" style=\"width: 300px\" class=\"wp-caption alignleft\"><a href=\"https:\/\/cardiffjournalism.co.uk\/intercardiff\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/12\/2015\/12\/HEMA-book.jpg\"><img decoding=\"async\" loading=\"lazy\" class=\"size-medium wp-image-10565\" src=\"https:\/\/cardiffjournalism.co.uk\/intercardiff\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/12\/2015\/12\/HEMA-book-300x225.jpg\" alt=\"One of the historical sources used for HEMA.\" width=\"300\" height=\"225\" srcset=\"https:\/\/cardiffjournalism.co.uk\/intercardiff\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/12\/2015\/12\/HEMA-book-300x225.jpg 300w, https:\/\/cardiffjournalism.co.uk\/intercardiff\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/12\/2015\/12\/HEMA-book-500x375.jpg 500w, https:\/\/cardiffjournalism.co.uk\/intercardiff\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/12\/2015\/12\/HEMA-book-400x300.jpg 400w, https:\/\/cardiffjournalism.co.uk\/intercardiff\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/12\/2015\/12\/HEMA-book-100x75.jpg 100w, https:\/\/cardiffjournalism.co.uk\/intercardiff\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/12\/2015\/12\/HEMA-book.jpg 640w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 300px) 100vw, 300px\" \/><figcaption id=\"caption-attachment-10565\" class=\"wp-caption-text\"><noscript><img decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-medium wp-image-10565\" src=\"https:\/\/cardiffjournalism.co.uk\/intercardiff\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/12\/2015\/12\/HEMA-book-300x225.jpg\" alt=\"One of the historical sources used for HEMA.\" width=\"300\" height=\"225\" srcset=\"https:\/\/cardiffjournalism.co.uk\/intercardiff\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/12\/2015\/12\/HEMA-book-300x225.jpg 300w, https:\/\/cardiffjournalism.co.uk\/intercardiff\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/12\/2015\/12\/HEMA-book-500x375.jpg 500w, https:\/\/cardiffjournalism.co.uk\/intercardiff\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/12\/2015\/12\/HEMA-book-400x300.jpg 400w, https:\/\/cardiffjournalism.co.uk\/intercardiff\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/12\/2015\/12\/HEMA-book-100x75.jpg 100w, https:\/\/cardiffjournalism.co.uk\/intercardiff\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/12\/2015\/12\/HEMA-book.jpg 640w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 300px) 100vw, 300px\" \/><\/noscript><\/a> One of the historical sources used for HEMA.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>That is why safety are of outmost importance. Beginner students trains with nylon swords. Protective gears such as fencing mask and gloves must be worn at all times. Whenever Nick uses a blunt steel, he wears an 11 kilogram jacket made out of 11 layers of cotton with polyurethane padding on the arms and shoulders.<\/p>\n<p>But it is just not all about fighting. A big part HEMA is getting the technique as accurate as the original sources intended it to be. &#8220;It is not done only for the sake of history curiosity. This teaching technique are supposedly there to be save your live from danger or to end someone else. So if you do it wrong, that can end very badly for you,&#8221; warned Nick. He has spent sleepless nights deciphering obscure terms. Considering how recent HEMA is, his quest might still be long. &#8220;There are a lot of techniques I do not know yet. I know someone that has been there for 20 years now, and he is still learning.&#8221;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Nick Laing is the only teacher of HEMA, the medieval martial art, at Cardiff. He masters swordplay and had his ribs cracked twice.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":370,"featured_media":10634,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[17],"tags":[],"coauthors":[],"class_list":["post-10368","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-sport-health"],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v25.2 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/wordpress\/plugins\/seo\/ -->\n<title>Nick Laing, Cardiff&#039;s Sword Fighting Guru - InterCardiff<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"noindex, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_GB\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Nick Laing, Cardiff&#039;s Sword Fighting Guru - InterCardiff\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Nick Laing is the only teacher of HEMA, the medieval martial art, at Cardiff. He masters swordplay and had his ribs cracked twice.\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/cardiffjournalism.co.uk\/intercardiff\/sport-health\/the-art-of-medieval-sword-fighting\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"InterCardiff\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2015-12-04T16:48:12+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/cardiffjournalism.co.uk\/intercardiff\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/12\/2015\/12\/Nick-Laing-HEMA-teacher-mid-shot.jpg\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"640\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"360\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/jpeg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Sadika Hamid\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"Sadika Hamid\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Estimated reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"4 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/cardiffjournalism.co.uk\/intercardiff\/sport-health\/the-art-of-medieval-sword-fighting\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/cardiffjournalism.co.uk\/intercardiff\/sport-health\/the-art-of-medieval-sword-fighting\",\"name\":\"Nick Laing, Cardiff's Sword Fighting Guru - InterCardiff\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/cardiffjournalism.co.uk\/intercardiff\/#website\"},\"primaryImageOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/cardiffjournalism.co.uk\/intercardiff\/sport-health\/the-art-of-medieval-sword-fighting#primaryimage\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/cardiffjournalism.co.uk\/intercardiff\/sport-health\/the-art-of-medieval-sword-fighting#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\/\/cardiffjournalism.co.uk\/intercardiff\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/12\/2015\/12\/Nick-Laing-HEMA-teacher-mid-shot.jpg\",\"datePublished\":\"2015-12-04T16:48:12+00:00\",\"author\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/cardiffjournalism.co.uk\/intercardiff\/#\/schema\/person\/f8f4f108fee9fc116e9bc98cd92b9b1e\"},\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/cardiffjournalism.co.uk\/intercardiff\/sport-health\/the-art-of-medieval-sword-fighting#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-GB\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/cardiffjournalism.co.uk\/intercardiff\/sport-health\/the-art-of-medieval-sword-fighting\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-GB\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/cardiffjournalism.co.uk\/intercardiff\/sport-health\/the-art-of-medieval-sword-fighting#primaryimage\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/cardiffjournalism.co.uk\/intercardiff\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/12\/2015\/12\/Nick-Laing-HEMA-teacher-mid-shot.jpg\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/cardiffjournalism.co.uk\/intercardiff\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/12\/2015\/12\/Nick-Laing-HEMA-teacher-mid-shot.jpg\",\"width\":640,\"height\":360,\"caption\":\"Nick Laing in full protective gear for HEMA sword fighting\"},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/cardiffjournalism.co.uk\/intercardiff\/sport-health\/the-art-of-medieval-sword-fighting#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\/\/cardiffjournalism.co.uk\/intercardiff\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"Nick Laing, Cardiff&#8217;s Sword Fighting Guru\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/cardiffjournalism.co.uk\/intercardiff\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/cardiffjournalism.co.uk\/intercardiff\/\",\"name\":\"InterCardiff\",\"description\":\"A global city for internationalists\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\/\/cardiffjournalism.co.uk\/intercardiff\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":{\"@type\":\"PropertyValueSpecification\",\"valueRequired\":true,\"valueName\":\"search_term_string\"}}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-GB\"},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/cardiffjournalism.co.uk\/intercardiff\/#\/schema\/person\/f8f4f108fee9fc116e9bc98cd92b9b1e\",\"name\":\"Sadika Hamid\",\"image\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-GB\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/cardiffjournalism.co.uk\/intercardiff\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/d1c087575c2f14471082fdc3a7955a7b\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/6648a2d836c1893f0ce263bd305ae0da06b07b697f370649a28f27a15f273314?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/6648a2d836c1893f0ce263bd305ae0da06b07b697f370649a28f27a15f273314?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"caption\":\"Sadika Hamid\"},\"description\":\"Writer, traveler, gourmand. 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