Welcome to the Stoccata School of Defence

NSW & Tasmania, Australia. Est. 1998

The Stoccata School of Defence is a modern school of Historical European Martial Arts (HEMA) (also called Western Martial Arts (WMA) or Historical European Swordsmanship (HES), that teaches systems of self-defence described in texts written between the thirteenth and nineteenth centuries.

These systems were designed explicitly for dealing with life-and-death situations, and they are taught as a martial art, not as re-enactment, sport-fencing, or theatrical stage-fighting (although many students do engage in these activities as well). However, given that no modern person will ever be in a real sword fight, our emphasis is on safety, control, competence, and skill.

We offer regular courses of instruction in a variety of different weapons and historical styles. These are appropriate for anyone of reasonable physical fitness over the age of 12. See “Styles” for details

What do I bring to my first class?

Generally speaking, you don’t need to bring anything to your first class, except perhaps for a pair of simple leather gloves, such as “Riggers gloves” available from Bunnings or Officeworks. We attempt to have enough spare gear for beginners to come and try a class for free.

What do I bring to my second class?

Unfortunately we can’t realistically provide enough spare gear for everyone all the time! So until you can equip yourself with proper training weapons, we would like you to bring some simple props to use. Your instructor will let you know what is suitable for the weapons you are learning.