r/HistoricalFencing

Hello! I am asking for general advice and guidance for starting my first harness. I know a lot about armor, as well as modern armorers, very little about armored fencing, and the process of arming. What I am asking for is help on starting my own harness intended for general combat both on foot and mounted, I do know this will not be cheap in any way shape or form. I just want to know where to start with my armor and clothing, this means arming doublets, maille, arms and armor. For reference I live in America, and I am looking to make a harness from the 15th Century, maybe 14th, like the pictures above. I know this won’t be easy, especially considering my location but as long as I have somewhere to start that is enough for me. I am excited to see what yall recommend and thank you all for your support.

Hi friends,

Inspired by HEMA, we're working on a project obtaining, documenting, deciphering and linking a ton of South Asian (Indian) manuscripts regarding swordsmanship and weapons such as dagger, spear and staff.

Our motivations were the misconception that colonialism destroyed all manscripts, that the language of existing manuscripts was too poetic to decipher and only living traditions exist among certain groups (e.g. Sikhs).

We've found all those factors to be untrue; there's lots of manuals, some illustrated with explicit instructions and a widespread commonality in swordsmanship across the North of the Subcontinent, an area in equivalent size to Europe.

We've released **2 videos** so far, laying our the groundwork for this before we go onto specific textual interpretation.

**Additionally we'll be hosting an in person talk at the Vanguard Centre, Glasgow (UK) on the 29th June 2026 at 1930. Please join us if you can as we'llbe talking about things we cnat say on camera!**

https://youtu.be/t8E9LtBHYh8?is=uR7wnjGzKQi2LBAo

r/HistoricalFencing

Where to start

Hindustani Common Fencing: 1550 to 1947: Historic Context and Textual Sources