Okanagan Combat Guild

The Okanagan Combat Guild (OCG) is a Historical European Martial Arts (HEMA) school. The important separation is that we are not a larping group and we are not a branch of the Society for Creative Anachronism. HEMA is the study of Historical Texts and Manuals written by historical figures whose livings were based around the martial arts of their day and age. The time frame for these texts range from the 1300s through the early 1900s from across Europe, mostly in Germany and Italy. The OCG focuses on one said text originally published in 1570. The name of this book is ‘The Art of Combat’ by Joachim Meyer.

Our focus is breathing life back into this intricate martial art. On the surface the best way to describe us is ‘Fighting as they actually did with swords’, but it is so much more than this. Students will learn how to coordinate their bodies, develop fine motor skills, preserve joints through safe practices and body mechanics, and yes, how to swing a sword. Our focus is the weapons found in Meyer’s System that include longsword, dussack, rapier, dagger, grappling, wrestling, and polearms including staff, pike, and halberd.