Reykjavík Grapevine - Jun 2021, Page 11

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Swords & Friendship
An unorthodox way to stay fit and make friends !ains
popularity in Reykjavík
Words: Sam O’Donnell Photos: John Pearson
Historical European Martial Arts, or HEMA,
is more than just learning to fight with an-
cient weaponry. It is a community devoted
to becoming better through discipline and
friendship. It’s also a great excuse to hit people
in the face with steel swords.
“HEMA is the study of historical European
weapons, wrestling, all the way down to bare
knuckle boxing,” Rúnar Páll Benediktsson, the
president of Reykjavík HEMA Club, explains.
“It’s essentially different weapons systems,”
treasurer Atli Freyr Gu!mundsson adds. There
are different rules depending on the club or
tournament one is participating in, but there
are two consistent tenets you’ll find in every
HEMA organization: Hit your opponent and
don’t get hit in return.
Humble beginnings
At first, the two were in a HEMA club called
Væringar. In the beginning, it was less for-
mal training and more friends playing with
swords. Some members wanted to turn it into
a bigger, more formal thing, studying manu-
scripts and learning proper fencing styles.
Rúnar and Atli agreed. While they didn’t in-
tend to become the de-facto leaders of the
group, it just sort of all happened and they took
their new roles seriously. But that group was
not destined to last.
Falling out and forming anew
In September 2019, Atli received a link to a
news story. “I checked the link and it said that
the president of our club Væringar, was the
president of another club here in Iceland,” he
says. That other club was the Icelandic chapter
of the Nordic Resistance Movement, a neo-Nazi
group that has been described by many as a
terrorist organisation.
“I woke up after a night shift, checked my
phone and was just like ‘Oh, no.’ We immedi-
ately called an emergency meeting of the core
group,” Rúnar says. Of course, they did not
invite their racist leader. The group saw two
options ahead of them. They could either kick
him out of the group, or leave and form their
own group. “The easiest choice was just to
leave.”
“Even if we took over the club, it would still
have that toxic aura about it,” Atli continues.
“People would remember and they would say
‘wasn’t he a part of this group?’” So the five
core members, who are active to this day, left
to form Reykjavík HEMA Club.
But their work was far from finished. There
was damage to control, so the group publicly
denounced the actions of their former presi-
dent on social media and in news outlets. “We
did everything to make sure that the only
HEMA club in Reykjavík is not these guys.” As
bad as the situation was, they fought to turn
the misfortune into something good.
The future of HEMA
HEMA’s current practise space is under KSÍ’s
stadium. The group trains with German long-
swords on Tuesdays and Thursdays and experi-
ments with different styles and weapons on
Saturdays. A typical practice lasts two hours,
with the first hour devoted to training and
learning practical moves and the second hour
spent sparring. Matches last three minutes and
the goal is ultimately to best one’s opponent
using everything one has learned thus far.

There are plans to expand their circuit and
stage competitions with the HEMA group in
Akureyri. They’ve even found humanitarian
goals for the fights. “The Akureyri tournament
is a charity event,” Atli says. “It’s in honour of
Szczepan "akomy, who used to train with us.”
Szczepan passed away in the downtown fire
that claimed several lives last year. The pro-
ceeds will go towards measures to prevent
such a tragedy from occurring again.
The group also has a new youth program,
which started as a three-month summer camp
in 2020, but due to its success, morphed into a
long-term membership program.
Striving for the next level
Despite appearing on the surface to be all
about fighting, the core of HEMA is commu-
nity, friendship and self-improvement. “You
can never be too good,” Atli says. “There is
always a next level to strive for.”
Rúnar adds that there is an element of in-
timacy to it. “You truly get to know someone
when you’re fighting.” Friends are made fast
in this sport.
Anyone who is interested in HEMA is en-
couraged to come and try it out—it’s free for
the first three practices. If you don’t live in
Iceland, you can always go to hemaalliance.
com and find a club in your area. “No matter
where you are, if you study HEMA, you are
welcome at almost any club.”
CULTURE
NEWS
Careful, you're going to put someone's eye out with that
Pretentious French Fiancé
Jono Duffy: Nothing To Lose
June 22nd - 18:30 - online at
jonoduffy,com - 5"
Jono Duffy—western Europe’s best
Australian comedian who lived in
Iceland—is not about to let
something as trivial as a global
pandemic stand in the way of
delivering laughs. Sign in to watch
and enjoy all the dick/French
fiancé/Icelandic language jokes
your little heart desires. And, at only
5", you can’t beat the price. Note:
Jono is a TikTok star—follow him at
@thejonoduffy for Tiktoks about
learning French and subsequently
hating the French. HJC
The Monotonous Struggle
Landscape With Human
Until June 29th - #ula
Sigur$ur Ámundason is all about
looking at the small moments of life
and presenting them in an epic and
magnificent way. You might have
seen him in our recent issue
featuring the next generation of
Icelandic fine artists, but if not you
can now see his works live and in
person at #ula, a gallery that seems
to just get better and better. So if
you want to come revel in the
monotonous struggles of mankind,
Siggi is ya boi. HJC
SORRY VÖK KV. US
Vök
June 18th - 20:00 - Gamla Bíó - 3,900-
4,900 ISK
Note: Last issue, the Grapevine
made a grave error when they
claimed that Vök had been former
Grapevine cover stars. Apparently,
despite being Vök superfans
and having a shrine at our office
completely made of singer Margrét
Rán’s discarded masks, Vök has
never graced the cover of this
magazine. To rectify this, we’d like
you, dear reader, to attend their
show on the 18th, take a picture,
write “THE REYKJAVÍK GRAPEVINE”
on the top and email it to us at
sorryvok@grapevine.is HJC
These Mouseketeers are ready for a skirmish