Chicago Swordplay Guild

The Chicago Swordplay Guild is a modern school of swordsmanship and Western martial arts based in Chicago, Illinois. Established in 1999 by Gregory Mele and Mark Rector, it combines historical research with practical instruction, using surviving European fencing manuals as the foundation for a structured program of solo exercises, partnered drills, controlled fencing, and weapons training. The organization is particularly associated with the Italian traditions of the late Middle Ages, Renaissance, and early modern period. The Guild’s teaching philosophy seeks to approximate the methods and priorities of historical European fencing schools without treating the activity as theatrical reenactment alone. Instructors study the terminology, sequences, tactical principles, and weapon applications recorded by historical masters, then test those ideas through carefully managed practice. The Guild emphasizes safety, control, technical competence, and the ability to handle weapons responsibly. Techniques are considered in relation to their effectiveness in a real encounter, while training is conducted within modern safety standards. Its principal curriculum is divided into three broad areas. Medieval swordsmanship, often described through the Italian term armizare, draws mainly on the work of Fiore dei Liberi and the later tradition associated with Filippo Vadi. Early Renaissance Bolognese fencing is studied through texts by or associated with Antonio Manciolino, Achille Marozzo, Angelo Viggiani, Giovanni Dall’Agocchie, and an anonymous sixteenth-century author. The late Renaissance program focuses on Italian rapier fencing, especially the writings of Salvator Fabris and related masters. Members may progress from introductory longsword or rapier classes to more advanced study of the Italian medieval longsword, Renaissance rapier, dagger, arming sword, spear, pollaxe, grappling, and armored combat. The Guild has also supported study of medieval mounted combat based on the Fiore tradition. Introductory courses have been offered through venues including the Chicago Park District, the College of DuPage, and other locations in the Chicago area. The organization has functioned not only as a training school but also as a hub for research, publication, and community-building within historical European martial arts. It founded and hosted the Western Martial Arts Workshop, a recurring symposium that brought together instructors, researchers, and students from North America, Europe, Australia, and New Zealand. Guild founders and members have contributed to books, translations, essays, and conference proceedings concerning historical swordsmanship. The Guild’s local base has been associated with Forteza Fitness and Martial Arts in Chicago’s Ravenswood neighborhood, a facility designed for Western martial arts practice. Sister-school relationships have included Chicago Swordplay Guild North in Milwaukee and Rocky Mountain Swordplay Guild in Denver, alongside fraternal and research ties with other martial arts organizations. The Guild’s documented membership has included more than 50 active participants across a range of professions and ages, with women representing a substantial portion of the membership. Its public identity therefore rests on three connected roles: instructional school, historical research community, and international network participant.

The Chicago Swordplay Guild was founded in 1999 by Gregory Mele and Mark Rector as a school devoted to the study and practice of historical European swordsmanship. It emerged during the development of the modern Western martial arts movement, which sought to reconstruct older European fighting systems from surviving instructional sources rather than relying primarily on unbroken living traditions. From the beginning, the Guild combined documentary research with physical experimentation: students examine historical texts, interpret their terminology and illustrations, and evaluate reconstructed techniques through solo practice, partnered drills, and controlled fencing. The Guild’s principal intellectual focus has been the Italian school of swordsmanship from approximately the fourteenth through seventeenth centuries. Its medieval program is based largely on Fiore dei Liberi, a northern Italian master whose martial art, commonly referred to as armizare, survives in manuscripts titled Il Fior di Battaglia. The Guild also studies the later fifteenth-century work associated with Filippo Vadi, whose treatise preserves related ideas concerning armed combat. These sources support instruction in longsword, grappling, dagger, spear, pollaxe, arming sword, and armored combat. A second area of study is Bolognese fencing from the early Renaissance. The Guild’s curriculum draws on a group of sixteenth-century works, including texts attributed to Antonio Manciolino, Achille Marozzo, Angelo Viggiani, and Giovanni Dall’Agocchie, as well as an anonymous work from around the middle of the century. Although these authors differ in presentation, their systems share terminology and curricular features that allow the Guild to investigate a connected regional tradition. The third principal course concerns late Renaissance Italian rapier fencing. Particular importance is given to Salvator Fabris, a Paduan master active around the turn of the seventeenth century. His fencing system and published manual provide a major source for the Guild’s study of rapier tactics, posture, measure, and blade actions. As the school developed, it expanded beyond regular member training. Introductory classes in medieval longsword and Renaissance rapier were offered through the Chicago Park District, the College of DuPage, and other metropolitan venues. After completing initial classes, students could join the Guild and move into more advanced weapons and combat subjects. The organization has maintained a strong emphasis on controlled practice and safety despite studying systems originally intended for armed encounters. The Guild also became an institution within the wider Western martial arts community. Beginning in 1999, it hosted the Western Martial Arts Workshop, a recurring symposium that connected instructors, researchers, and students from the United States, Canada, Europe, Australia, and New Zealand. Through this event and through relationships with sister schools and affiliated organizations, the Guild helped circulate research, training methods, and curriculum ideas across national borders. Publication has been another part of its history. Gregory Mele and Mark Rector contributed to books and essays on European swordsmanship, while Guild-related work included editions and studies concerning Filippo Vadi, medieval combat, Scottish swordsmanship, and proceedings from the Western Martial Arts Workshop. These activities reinforced the Guild’s identity as both a practical training school and a research community. The organization’s principal training location has been Forteza Fitness and Martial Arts in Chicago’s Ravenswood neighborhood. It has also maintained connections with Chicago Swordplay Guild North in Milwaukee and Rocky Mountain Swordplay Guild in Denver. Public descriptions of the Guild have recorded a membership of more than 50 active participants, including people from varied professional backgrounds and a significant representation of women. The Guild’s documented evolution is therefore one from a small group of enthusiasts into a Chicago-centered educational and research organization with national and international connections.

• 2009

  Guild reported in regional martial arts coverage

  [1]Chicago Swordplay Guilden.wikipedia.org

  Regional reporting described the Guild’s classes and its work to preserve and reconstruct European swordplay traditions.

• 1999

  Guild founded

  [1]Chicago Swordplay Guilden.wikipedia.org

  Gregory Mele and Mark Rector co-founded the Chicago Swordplay Guild as a school and research organization focused on historical European swordsmanship.

• 1999

  Western Martial Arts Workshop begins

  [1]Chicago Swordplay Guilden.wikipedia.org

  The Guild began hosting the Western Martial Arts Workshop, a symposium for researchers, instructors, and students of Western martial arts.

A research-led historical European martial arts school that connects interpretation of period fencing sources with disciplined, practical, and safety-conscious weapons training.

• Historical European martial arts curriculum

  Medieval Swordsmanship / Armizare

  The medieval program is primarily grounded in the writings of Fiore dei Liberi and the related fifteenth-century material of Filippo Vadi. Training addresses the Italian longsword and a wider system of armed and unarmed combat, including grappling, dagger, spear, pollaxe, arming sword, and armored fighting. The curriculum treats armizare as a complete martial discipline rather than as a single-weapon style.

• Early Renaissance Italian fencing

  Bolognese Swordsmanship

  This course investigates the Bolognese tradition through sixteenth-century sources associated with Antonio Manciolino, Achille Marozzo, Angelo Viggiani, Giovanni Dall’Agocchie, and an anonymous author. Instruction examines the terminology, guards, actions, tactical principles, and connected curriculum preserved across these works.

• Late Renaissance Italian fencing

  Renaissance Rapier

  The rapier program focuses on Italian fencing at the turn of the seventeenth century, especially the work of Salvator Fabris. Students study the technical and tactical principles of the Italian rapier tradition through historical source analysis, individual exercises, partnered drills, and controlled fencing.

• Instructional classes

  Introductory Swordplay Classes

  The Guild has offered structured introductory sessions in medieval longsword and Renaissance rapier. Courses have been delivered year-round through the Chicago Park District, the College of DuPage, and other Chicago-area venues, providing an entry route before prospective students join the Guild for continuing study.

• Symposium and educational event · 1999

  Western Martial Arts Workshop

  The Western Martial Arts Workshop is a recurring educational gathering associated with the Guild. It brings together instructors, researchers, and students to exchange source interpretations, teaching methods, and practical approaches to historical European martial arts.

• 1999

  Adopt a research-led practical training modelStrategy

  Background

  The Guild was established during the modern reconstruction of Western martial arts, when surviving European fencing manuals were being used to recover historical systems.

  Action taken

  It combined scholarship on historical masters and source texts with solo drills, partnered exercises, and controlled fencing, while placing strong emphasis on safety and technical control.

  Aftermath

  This approach became the foundation of the Guild’s curriculum and its public identity as both a training school and research organization.

  Source

1. 1Chicago Swordplay Guilden.wikipedia.org
2. 2Chicago Swordplay Guild websitechicagoswordplayguild.com