19/04/2026
Back in 2012 we first met Arturo Camargo at Swordfish, the biggest HEMA event of that time. In early April, a similar event, this time in the format of the 🇲🇽Mexican national fencing scene, took place in Toluca, and at Arturo's invitation our representatives Martin Tibenský and Anton Kohutovič attended Encuentro / Fechtschule MX, where they presented their approach to longsword through four workshops and brought some medals home.
A big thank you goes to Arturo Camargo, not only for the invitation and for organizing an excellent event, but also for the time and energy he put into showing us Mexico, its culture and its food. His drive is what's pushing the HEMA movement in Mexico forward.
In the workshops, Martin focused on managing distance and the transition into close play. Anton worked on intention: building the attack, decision-making in the preparation, and the follow-up reactions in the later phases of the exchange.
In Mexico we met dedicated longsword students who listened carefully, asked active questions, and worked hard on the material all the way to the end. Despite more challenging conditions than we have in Slovakia (distances, imports, ...), the local HEMA community is extremely committed and is making huge progress, which was clear both in the quality of their work and in their attitude.
Mexican hospitality lived up to its reputation once again. One of the main points of our program was exploring Mexican cuisine. Tacos, enchiladas, chilaquiles, and lots of meat and masa 🌮😀. Thanks also to Francisco Hernandez Guarneros for the guided tour of the Aztec pyramids.
In Mexico City, Ulises Vazquez took care of us and, alongside great fencing enthusiasm, introduced us to an interesting take on lightsaber combat in Star Wars style. It was not only fun, but also a genuinely interesting fencing experience.
Thanks for the invitation and we're looking forward to more meetups like this.
