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The Sala d’Arme del Folle is a School of Historical European Martial Arts (HEMA) active in Turin and specialized in studying and practicing historical fencing from the German and Italian traditions.

Historical European Martial Arts

HEMA (Historical European Martial Arts) is the acronym under which Historical Fencing has been recognized and practiced worldwide for the last two decades.

The defining trait of HEMA is the rigorous study of European manuscripts and treatises from the 14th to the 19th century. Many schools have flourished during these five hundred years: the Italian and German schools were prominent until the 16th century, later followed by the Spanish, the French, the English and the Scottish ones (17th–19th century).

The analysis of the treatises allows modern HEMAists to retrace the teachings of the ancient Masters. In these manuscripts, formerly addressed to students, the Masters bequeathed complete methods, teaching from the bases to the finesses of their peculiar systems. Such systems were aimed at  preparation for dueling, be it courteous or judicial, always with precision and effectiveness in mind. It is not the rough and brutal fighting seen in battle, but a very polished fencing: graceful and yet lethal.

So this is HEMA, a tradition evolved over the course of five centuries, ripe with theoretical and practical knowledge, which has nothing to envy to the Oriental Martial Arts.

 

Il Folle (the Fool)

This apparently negative term, actually has a double positive value in relation to both the tarot and the fencing world.

In Tarot the Fool card is identified with the number Zero, so it can be considered both the first and last of the Major Arcanes. The character is depicted in different ways, though always in a situation of movement, with a bundle that represents his experiences and a stick that helps him in his wanderings.

The Fool represents a situation in which the main goal is the pursuit of truth and knowledge. He also represents the madness that allows one to restart life from scratch. Its spirit is that of eternal research, intuition, perseverance and rebellion.

Hence the Fool symbolizes a new path that is about to begin, leaving behind the past to start something new. It symbolizes the transition between what you have been and what you might or would like to be. Its element is the air, a symbol of infinite freedom.

In historical fencing, the Fool is a typical guard in various systems. In the German tradition it is called Alber (that means Fool in German): a guard in which the sword is pointed towards the ground, leaving the head completely exposed. Only a fool would do such a thing; a wise fencer on the other hand is able to use this guard tactically to provoke the opponent and make him play his own game.