vitalis on Nostr: you're absolutely right that there is no way to fully simulate the practice of HEMA ...

you're absolutely right that there is no way to fully simulate the practice of HEMA without making some concessions for safety. but when people in the HEMA community complain about sportification, I do to some extent understand their issues with it.

for example, a HEMA tournament fighter may opt to hand snipe their opponent because it counts as a point to win the competitive match, and the fight stops as the judge acknowledges the hit to the hand. but to someone who hates on the sportified HEMAsphere, they would argue that in a real duel there's a good chance that it would just be an incidental cut to the hand and not stop the fight. the fight would continue until there is a killing blow to the head or their sword is run through their body. and so it could be said that tournament fighters are not replicating the *Historical* part of the of European Martial Art because they are fencing for points. it starts to become more like modern olympic fencing.

there is a balance to be had in my opinion. I have met highly rated competitive HEMA fencers that literally have never read any of the historical treatises and I think it is a disservice to not know the true art, even the moves that are banned from tournament for safety. on the other hand, I see that most people that complain about sportification are often wildly out of shape despite being very knowledgeable on the source material.