Welcome to the Hotspur School of Defense!

The Hotspur School of Defence

Alnwick Castle

The HSD pursues the historically accurate study of Europe's traditional fighting arts, most commonly the use of sword between the years 1300 and 1700. Our ethos is to research, practice and uphold the teachings and legacy of the original historical masters of defence, according to the principles they recorded for all time.

As systems of defence designed explicitly for dealing with life-and-death situations, this is not re-enactment, sport-fencing, live-role-playing or theatrical stage-fighting, although many HSD students do engage in these activities to their credit.

If you ever thought that combat between knights or men-at-arms was simply a case of crash, bang, wallop and the strongest brute wins—as Hollywood would have you believe—then please pay us a visit.

You may be pleasantly surprised at just how diverse, effective and beautiful our very own Western martial heritage is.

e-mail: Hotspurschool@aol.com

Dedicated to my son Marcus John
May his future be bright, his sword-arm strong and his blade keen.

Comments or technical problems with this site? E-mail Ken Mondschein at editor@corporatemofo.com