About
San Diego Swordfighters is a group dedicated to the study and practice of Historical European Martial Arts (HEMA), also known as Historical Fencing or Western Martial Arts (WMA). If you are looking to take up a challenging and exciting new hobby, San Diego Swordfighters is open to all to explore the martial arts of bygone ages.
Working from primary historical documents and fighting manuals written by knights, scholars, and fencing masters of the Middle Ages, Renaissance and Early Modern periods, the HEMA movement revives centuries old fighting arts, teaches the principles of armed combat and practices them as a modern martial art and sporting competition.
San Diego Swordfighters combines wisdom from centuries old martial systems with contemporary training methodology to offer fencers of all skill levels a fun and exciting means of self-improvement, physical education and friendly competition.
We support members that compete in HEMA (Historical European Martial Arts) tournaments as well as members that participate for the love of the art and its substantial physical and mental benefits.
Alan West
Founder and Lead Instructor
Hi! I'm Alan West, lead instructor and founder of San Diego Swordfighters! I have been studying martial arts in some form since I was 8 years old. I have a black belt in Kempo Karate, and have trained in Kung Fu, Ju-jitsu, and JMA, before discovering HEMA through an ever-growing fascination with historical manuscripts, sparring, roleplay, and reenactment. I try to learn as much as I can about historical swordfighting. I love learning and fighting with weapons from daggers to greatswords. I earned SD Swordfighters because I believe that martial arts are a powerful means of self-improvement, and I am excited to introduce the world of historical martial arts to new 21st century swordfighters. When I am not swordfighting on nights and weekends, I work as a biochemist in the local biotech industry. Science is awesome, but it's nowhere near as exciting as running a swordfighting club! I hope to cross swords with you soon.
Max Zimet
Instructor
Hi, I have been a member of San Diego Swordfighters since 2021. Before discovering my love for historical fencing, I had a background in multiple martial arts and combat sports. I have a foundational understanding of rapier, sidesword, and smallsword. Systems I currently focus on: longsword and saber. With Longsword I study the glosses of early Liechtenauer masters Ringeck, Danzig and Lew. With saber I study mostly British sabre resources including Roworth, Waite and Hutton. I have found competitive success in longsword and saber with multiple medals from various tournaments. In addition to learning new techniques, I like to spend time researching how to best become a better coach.
Jane Strange
Instructor
Hi, I'm Jane! I teach intensives here at San Diego Swordfighters. I started HEMA at a club in Vancouver, Canada in 2014. Since then I have coached, competed, taught, and helped run historical fencing events across North America and Europe. My main area of study is German longsword, through which I've found competitive success with medals in both open and gender-open longsword tournaments. I care deeply about fencing and I do my best to create a safe and fun environment for people to excel. I am most interested in sport psychology, skill acquisition, and tournament performance.
TEAM BLING
2026
- Jane Strange | 4th | URG Longsword Tier A | SoCal Swordfight | Pomona, CA
- Victoria Perez | Bronze | URG Longsword Tier B | SoCal Swordfight | Pomona, CA
2025
- Aisling Gorgon | 4th | URG Longsword | Oktoberfest | Carlsbad, CA
- Connor Cartagl | Silver | Longsword | Oktoberfest | Carlsbad, CA
- Lu Yang | 5th | URG Longsword Tier A | SoCal Swordfight | Pomona, CA
- Marlene Dominguez | Gold | Longsword Tier A | Oktoberfest | Carlsbad, CA
- Max Zimet | 4th | URG Longsword Tier A | SoCal Swordfight | Pomona, CA
- Jin Bei | 5th | URG Longsword Tier A | Ran Open | Plymouth, MI
- Max Zimet | 5th | URG Longsword | Ran Open | Las Vegas, NV
- Aisling Gorgon | 4th | Longsword | Frankfurt / Grimes, NY
- Christopher Trent | 4th | Longsword | Jackson, Alberta, Canada
- Jane Strange | Bronze | Longsword | Jackson, Alberta, Canada
- Marlene Dominguez | Gold | Longsword Tier A | Springfield
- Max Zimet | Bronze | Longsword | Springfield
- Glaser Mason | Bronze | Longsword Tier C | Springfield | Carlsbad, CA
- Jane Kent | 4th | Longsword | Crane Town in 2025 | Oregon, CA
- Max Zimet | Gold | Longsword | Crane Town in 2025 | Oregon, CA
- Juliet | Oktoberfest | Carlsbad, CA
- Rebecca Thompson | 5th | Rin Saber | Oktoberfest | Carlsbad, CA
- Jane Strange | 5th | Longsword | LAG Open
- Jonathan McPherson | 4th | Longsword Tier C | Ciudad Gou Las Vegas, NV
- Jane Strange (4th) | Longsword Tier C | Ciudad Gou Las Vegas, NV
- Lu Yang | 5th | Longsword | Springfield | Carlsbad, CA
- Max Zimet | Gold | Longsword | Springfield | Carlsbad, CA
- Sterling Baldwin | 5th | Longsword | Springfield | Carlsbad, CA
2024
- Aisling Gorgon | 4th | URG Longsword | Carlsbad, CA
- Louise Ba | 5th | URG Longsword | Oktoberfest | Carlsbad, CA
- Max Zimet | Bronze | Longsword | Oktoberfest | Carlsbad, CA
- Juliet | Oktoberfest | Carlsbad, CA
- Rebecca Thompson | 5th | Rin Saber | Oktoberfest | Carlsbad, CA
- Jonathan McPherson | 4th | Longsword Tier C | Ciudad Gou Las Vegas, NV
- Lu Yang | 5th | Longsword | Springfield | Carlsbad, CA
- Max Zimet | Gold | Longsword | Springfield | Carlsbad, CA
- Sterling Baldwin | 5th | Longsword | Springfield | Carlsbad, CA
- Max Zimet | Bronze | Longsword | Carlsbad, CA
- James Hughes | 4th | Longsword | Oktoberfest | Carlsbad, CA
2023
- Max Zimet | Bronze | Longsword | Carlsbad, CA
- James Hughes | 4th | Longsword | Baja Regional 2023 | Tijuana, 2023
Join the discussion on our Discord!
Join our club Discord server to discuss all things HEMA - gear, swords, history, tournaments, memes, and more! Please introduce yourself on our server and come to classes, where you will be given the password to the full server.
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