Historical Arts Research and Pedagogy

Marli 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 focussed 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 has recently joined Valour Historical Fencing in Winnipeg and is excited about contributing to this vibrant community.

Eric was certified as a Master at Arms in classical Italian fencing by the San Jose State University Fencing Masters Program in 2008, and is a cofounder of the Sacramento Sword School. He teaches classical and historical fencing, as well as fencing pedagogy through various channels including the Sonoma State University Fencing Masters Certificate Program. He has worked to expand the geographical reaches of the program through private students, both in person and through remote learning.

Maestro Myers began fencing in 1984, and researching Historical European Martial Arts in 1997. Since 2005 his historical research has focused on the martial arts of Spain and Portugal, and in 2010 he co-authored (with Steve Hick) a monograph and translation of the 17th century “Memorial of the Practice of the Montante” by Diogo Gomes de Figueyredo. Since then, he has continued his research and translation activities, and has co-authored or collaborated several books on Iberian fencing. He has taught from these and other works at several large, international WMA events.