Instructors

Devon Boorman

Devon Boorman has been practicing Western martial arts for more than 20 years. He has won international competitions, taught workshops and seminars throughout the world on both the study and practice of historical techniques and on practical combat implementation, and has been actively involved in translation and interpretation projects of extant texts. Devon’s expertise centers on the Italian swordplay tradition including the arts of the Renaissance Italian rapier, sidesword, and longsword, as well as knife and unarmed techniques. Devon is the co-founder and director of Academie Duello Centre for Swordplay in Vancouver, Canada, the largest centre of its kind in the world.

DAVID COBLENTZ

BILL GRANDY

kURT hOLTFRETER

Kurt Holtfreter has been studying Historical European Martial Arts (HEMA) with the Triangle Sword Guild (TSG) in Raleigh North Carolina since 2017. He has a background in Kendo, Brazilian Jiu Jitsu, and the Marine Corps Martial Arts Program. He is currently TSG’s head instructor for the Armizare curriculum as well as a lead instructor for their Kunst des Fechten program. Kurt travels to other HEMA schools to broaden perspectives through collaborative training, sparring, and consultation in order to bring home fresh ideas to share with TSG. .

Kurt’s passion lies in understanding the mindset of the combat professional of the 14th Century.  He uses his experience from his time in the Marine Corps to craft training experiences focusing on being the person of arms and replicating immediate actions seen with Fiore’s dei Liberi’s Armizare manuscripts. He extends this perspective into the practice with sharp arms and establishes cutting ‘ranges’ where practitioners not only get to practice their strike patterns with dagger, sword, lance, and ax, but they also get to experience multiple target engagements, weapon transitions, and activating arms from the scabbard. Kurt runs the YouTube channel Holtfreter Lab’s where he showcases his research and shares his interpretations on Armizare.  He has also published the book My Mind of Fight which is his thoughts, observations, and considerations for the Kunst des Fechten systems on Amazon.

DANIEL JACQUET

CHARLES LIN

John O’Meara

John O’Meara studied modern foil and epee at McGill University, and as an actor trained in stage combat and choreography with the New York Fight Ensemble. His love of history, swords and the mystique of the duel all came together when he joined the Chicago Swordplay Guild, where he has headed and developed the Renaissance fencing curriculum since 2001. He is the Guild’s first Provost-at-Arms, a rank he earned through his long years of teaching and curriculum development, examinations as well as a public display at arms in February of 2016. He teaches regularly at WMAW and taught at VISS 2019.

JAMES REILLY

James Reilly began his study of martial arts in his early teens. His first focus was on western boxing, later moving on to Brazilian Jiu Jitsu. At 20 years of age, he joined the Armed Forces where he achieved the rating of Navy Chief after just 5 years of service. He began his study of historical swordsmanship in 2009, after stumbling across the highly acclaimed documentary “Reclaiming the Blade.” He joined the HEMA Alliance as an individual member in 2011.

James is the Principal Instructor of the Goliath Historical Fencing Academy. He is a student and teacher of the tradition of Kunst Des Fechtens founded by Johannes Lichtenauer. He has taught private seminars and at major historical fencing events across the United States and Internationally, and holds the Fechter rank by the MFFG in Longsword, dussack, dagger, wrestling and rapier.

WALKER SKAGGS

DA’MON STITH

CHRISTIAN HENRY TOBLER

Christian Henry Tobler has been a longtime student of swordsmanship, especially as it applies to the pursuit of the chivalric ideals. A passionate advocate of the medieval Liechtenauer School, his work in translating and interpreting Sigmund Ringeck’s commentary in 2001’s Secrets of Medieval German Martial Arts firmly established him as an important contributor to the growing community of Western martial artists. With over seven books, two training DVDs and numerous articles to his credit, he remains at the forefront of bringing the study of medieval Fechtbücher to life.

Mr. Tobler lives in the United States, in rural Oxford, Connecticut, with his wife Maureen Chalmers, where he teaches a weekly class on Medieval German combat, surrounded by far too many books and pieces of arms and armour for the size house that they live in.

DAVIS VADER

Davis Vader started training with the Chicago Swordplay Guild in 2006 upon learning of the existence of historical fencing manuals and the communities studying them. In 2017 he was among the second pair of students from the organization to attain the rank of Free Scholar of Armizare and in 2022 among the inaugural group to attain the Scholar of Bolognese Arms rank.  Having taught at the CSG, some of its sister schools, and online classes, he is thrilled to be on the WMAW roster again. Considering himself a lifelong learner, his own focus has become armored and unarmored Armizare and Bolognese fencing, both with a special love and emphasis on polearms.  When not doing martial arts, his next favorite form of exercise is trail running. Despite his surname, his outside interests do not involve lightsabers even if they are elegant weapons for a more civilized age.

MARLI VLOK

JOSHUA WIEST