Welcome to the Hotspur School of Defense!

About the Marshal of the School

Bob Brooks has been enthusiastically and actively pursuing a greater understanding of historical systems of fencing and Western martial arts for over a decade.

At first a keen sport-fencer, he largely gave up the modern game to concentrate on traditional swordplay after joining the fledgling Dawn Duellists Society in Edinburgh in 1994, while studying at the city's Napier University.

Since then Mr Brooks has been heavily involved in the DDS, with continuous studies on weapons of the 13th to 19th centuries, both in and out of armour.

These have included early medieval broadsword, longsword, two-handed sword, sidesword, rapier, backsword, smallsword, duelling sabre and epee de combat, as well as dagger fighting, pollaxe and the "lost" German judicial fencing weapons of dusack and duelling shield. He is also particularly fond of the 'stick arts'—traditional English singlestick, the English and Italian great-stick (Bastone longa) and la canne Italienne (the Italian walking stick). He also enjoys the pursuit of longbow archery

Since 1994, Mr Brooks has travelled extensively throughout the British Isles, Europe, the United States and Canada, training, performing demonstrations and acting as a technical assistant at workshops with Maestro Paul Macdonald.

It was during this time that he met those who would become founders of the International Masters at Arms Federation, and he was appointed Secretary to the group at its inception.

Mr Brooks was also a founding member of the British Federation for Historical Swordplay.

As part of the burgeoning Western Martial Arts community, Mr Brooks enjoys excellent and cordial relations with many groups and individuals across the world, which he now hopes will benefit the scholars of the HSD.