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 centres 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
David Coblentz earned his Fencing Master certification in Italian classical fencing in 2011. His teaching connects classical fencing theory and historical rapier practice. He is the co-author of Fundamentals of Italian Rapier (2021) and author of a number of pedagogy-focused videos s. David is Head Rapier Instructor at the Atlanta Historical Fencing Academy (AHFA) and is active in developing instructors and the wider HEMA community. He co-founded the Southeast Renaissance Fencing Open (SERFO) and, with Maestra Dori Coblentz, the Rapier and Saber Pedagogy Retreat (RASP). He also serves as a coach in the Sonoma State Fencing Master Certificate Program and has taught at events including the Vancouver International Swordplay Symposium, SoCal Swordfight, and Riposte Harlem.
BILL GRANDY
Bill Grandy is formerly a full time professional HEMA/Fencing instructor of 20 years. He retired from the professional life but still teaches for fun at Capital Kunst des Fechtens in the DC area. Bill has a wide range of fencing interests and studies.
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 and Armored training programs. 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 weapons 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
Daniel Jaquet is a Ph.D in Medieval History (University of Geneva 2013), and a museologist (ICOM 2020), specializing in embodied research and martial arts studies. For the last 15 years, he has studied how people in the late Middle Ages carried, fought and lived with their armour, from both a practical and scholarly point of view. His work is with practical objects, documents and embodied knowledge in both academic and patrimonial institutions. Apart from these professional activities, he also practices, teaches and lectures about Historical European Martial Arts. I am involved in several non-profit associations for research, culture, or martial arts, as long as it doesn’t draw me too much away from his two children.
JESSE kULLA
Jesse Kulla first began his study of martial arts as a teenager, stemming from a love of classic martial arts film and fantasy media of all kinds. In university he took advantage of the many options on campus and began his search for “the” martial art to study. He found it and began his journey into Western Martial Arts in 1999, when he met Greg Mele of the CSG. Jesse trained with the Guild as often as time allowed, gaining the rank of Scholar in the Guild’s first prize, and took Free Scholar at the Guild’s first Free Scholar prize. He now holds the rank of Provost of Armizare, and continues his studies to improve the art. Over the years Jesse has trained under a wide array of instructors, has fought in tourneys and taught classes on both sides of the Atlantic. Jesse also took a lengthy side quest to study modern combatives, training heavily in modern knife fighting systems, Krav Maga, and a broad spectrum of modern self-defense methods, reaching instructor level in several. Splitting his life, he is also a professional Fitness Trainer and Nutrition Coach with 16 years of professional experience and an alphabet soup of certifications. His career has been focused on combat athletes, obstacle course races, and working with injured athletes to help them stay at their best, despite the challenges life has tossed their way. Jesse has a true love of the Art, and Loves to share his knowledge and passion.
cHRIS LAST
kYLE lAZZAREVICH
Kyle Lazzarevich entered the world of HEMA in 2009 as an assistant instructor with the Chivalry Today Educational Program, and has been teaching Western Martial Arts of the Liechtenauer tradition ever since. He has presented educational demonstrations on medieval armored combat at diverse venues, ranging from his local libraries and middle-schools to the Getty Museum in Los Angeles. Kyle first stood as a Venan at the WMAW Deed of Arms in 2017, and continues lugging armor all across the country several times a year to participate in workshops, tournaments, or deeds. Kyle joined the instructor staff at Santa Rosa’s En Garde Fencing in 2019, where he co-leads the KdF Longsword program, and runs the Harnischfechten program known as the Armored Company of the Ashen Vine. He is a co-founder of the Pas des Vignes, an event in California aiming to bridge the accessibility gap between armored fencing and the wider HEMA world. He has been known to dabble in various renaissance fencing arts, but maintains that such futuristic armaments are clearly the wild speculations of science-fiction aficionados.
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 in 1999, 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. 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
Walker Skaggs has been practicing Western Martial Arts for over half of his life, starting at age 15 under Bill Grandy at the Virginia Academy of Fencing, along with practicing traditional Archery, Judo, and Muay Thai. He has competed in both unarmored and armored tournaments and has studied and practiced systems ranging from the 15th through the 20th century throughout. Having been teaching fencing professionally at Rocket City HEMA in Huntsville Alabama for 10 years now. His main area of interest lies in designing ways to implement the arts we study under more dynamic situations outside of static salle fencing.
DA’MON STITH
Da’Mon Stith is the Chief Instructor at Austin Warrior Arts, Guild of the Silent Sword, and former President of the Historical African Martial Arts Association. His martial arts training began at the age of 6 when his father gave him his first sword. He was fascinated with martial arts and warrior culture. He began his formal training at the age of 9 in Asian martial arts and progressed into African and Middle Eastern martial arts by the age of 17, and over the ensuing decades has deepened his expertise studying arts of the African Diaspora. When not training and instructing, Da’Mon constructs training weaponry utilizing high-density plastic, hardwood, aluminum and steel.
CHRISTIAN HENRY TOBLER
Christian Henry Toblerhas 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. His most recent work is Fighting in Armour. 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
Marli Vlok is a PhD researcher and former competitive target shooter, who starter her HEMA journey in 2013 at Academie Duello in Vancouver. She immediately fell in love with the art and grace of rapier fencing and Bolognese single sword. She became an instructor in 2014 at Academie Duello and holds the rank of free-scholar at the school. In 2020 she expanded her practice to include Italian classical foil and historical European flagwaving. Her flagwaving research has focused primarily on 17th century Italian and German sources, to gain a better understanding of how this art evolved from a battlefield essential, to a performance and training tool, and finding congruence between the living performance art practiced in Europe and the historical practice described in text. Marli is a dedicated and meticulous practitioner and teacher who finds great joy in sharing her knowledge and passion with students, whether it be in a group class or one-on-one setting. To further develop her teachings, she started attending the SSU Fencing Masters Certificate Program in 2023 and passed her Instructor at Arms exam in 2024. She is an instructor at Valour HEMA Academy in Winnipeg where she teaches sabre and foil.
JOSHUA WIEST
max faass
Max Faass is a double scholar of the CSG who has a background in competing and coaching in highly competitive collegiate and semi-professional athletics and brings that experience focuses her swordplay and martial arts practices around fun and games as a tool to optimize outcomes in non-cooperative scenarios.