JAKARTA — Armed with blunt swords, a dozen would-be
chevaliers are put through their paces in a gallant effort to keep alive
European medieval martial arts taught hundreds of years ago.
اضافة اعلان
But this is not
a scene from
Game of Thrones or the Adventures of Robin Hood — it’s a breezy
Sunday afternoon in the middle of Jakarta, one of the world’s biggest
megacities.
The fighters are
practicing sword-fighting techniques that were honed across Europe from the
14th to 18th centuries — known as Historical European Martial Arts (HEMA).
After a quick
warm-up, members of the Gwaith-i-Megyr group take turns to show off their
swordsmanship outside the massive Gelora Bung Karno stadium.
“The training is
beyond my expectation. As we spar using weapons, the adrenaline rush from attacking
and defending is more keenly felt compared to hand-to-hand combat,” said Gede
Indra Krisega, a 23-year-old civil servant.
Fellowship of Swordsmen
The Gwaith-i-Megyr was established in 2016 after several members of a
local fan club of English author JRR Tolkien -- who wrote the Lord of the Rings
trilogy — showed an interest in HEMA.
Nearly 50 people
have recently joined the group in Jakarta and its sister branch in the Javan
city of Bandung.
The group’s name
means “Fellowship of Swordsmen” and comes from the Sindarin language, one of
the fictional languages created by Tolkien in his novels, said Ahmad Rizal
Soulisa, one of the founding members of the group.
HEMA enthusiasts
usually pore over manuals left behind by past masters as they learn, train, and
revive the moves, Soulisa said.
But it is not
only the fighting and fandom of films that inspire the duelists — they also
love studying the history of European sword-fighting.
World tournaments
Sekar Widya Putri did not have high hopes when she was invited by her
friend to join the Gwaith-i-Megyr in 2017, but she said she has come to
appreciate the education associated with HEMA.
“I love learning
about such details from the arts — why we need to parry this way, which body
parts that are open [to attack],” she said.
After years of
training, the 30-year-old copywriter wants to see her name on the international
HEMA rankings, which track tournaments around the world.
There is
currently just one Indonesian on that list of 9,000 competitors — a man who took
part in a Taiwan tournament in 2019.
“I would like to add one
more Indonesian to the list,” said Putri.
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