Interview with Brittany Reeves

Brittany Reeves is a decorated historical fencer and internationally recognized instructor with multiple gold medals in women's Longsword and Glima, medals in Ringen, as well as in open cutting. She has been competitive since 2015, placing 4th in her first steel Longsword tournament, and since then has won multiple gold medals in the field. She is currently the head instructor of Mordhau Historical Combat in Mesa, Arizona. Brittany holds a BA in Medieval History and also cross trains in submission wrestling.

Just as I like to start each of these interviews, can you tell everyone your martial arts background and how you first became interested in HEMA? For how long have you been training? What was it that first attracted you to HEMA to begin with?

Thanks for the interview! I was first introduced to HEMA in 2011 while I was visiting Vancouver, Canada, for about five months between university semesters. I saw Blood and Iron Martial Arts doing a live demo at a city festival and I knew it was for me right away. So I spent that summer training with them before going back to my hometown to start school again. Two years later, I went back to Vancouver, this time permanently and once I settled into my new city, I re-joined Blood and Iron Martial Arts. That was in early 2014, and I stayed with the club until the very end of 2017.

I never had a serious athletic background before starting HEMA. Like most kids, I was put through soccer and dance but never stuck with anything for any significant amount of time. HEMA seemed like a natural fit for me as I had just completed a Bachelor’s Degree in Ancient and Medieval History. Plus, being in a totally new city, HEMA provided me with a way to meet new people. The folks at Blood and Iron Martial Arts quickly became my main social group, and even today, many of them are still my closest and dearest friends.

You have competed in Longsword, Sabre, Sword and Buckler, and Singlestick, as well as Ringen; what attracts you to these various weapons or systems? Which of these weapons would you say is your favorite, and why?

Initially what attracted me to various weapons was not a personal choice, but rather part of the club culture at Blood and Iron. Proficiency across multiple weapons was expected of me. There are some weapons that I like more than others, but it was essential for me to have a basic understanding of most bladed weapons and to be able to apply my training to anything that was put in my hand. It was a mixed bag too. I did Thibault rapier, Meyer longsword, I:33 sword and buckler, Lausatök glima, and my intructorship project was a study of Fiore’s grappling plays. Nowadays, being able to choose my own training and curriculum, I focus on Germanic systems almost exclusively, but I still apply it across multiple weapons. I believe KdF was a complete system where one could learn the foundational principles in wrestling, then apply them to dagger, then to longsword, and so on. I don’t think learning all of those weapons, including wrestling, should be exclusive to one another. I started with glima initially, and then I took up ringen afterwards. I believed wrestling, in any form, was a required skill of any swordfighter, and by not training it, I wasn’t truly able to learn how to use a sword.

In addition to historical Ringen, you have also recently started training in modern submission-style wrestling. What lessons have you been able to take from the modern style and apply it to Ringen, and vice versa? Which overall would you say you prefer, and why?

There are a lot of techniques that really haven’t changed much historically. I mean, despite some cultural, regional, or chronological differences, there’s really only so many ways to manipulate your opponent and disrupt their structure in unarmed combat. I’ve picked up some really valuable information from my wrestling/BJJ coach. He’s very supportive and enthusiastic about my participation in HEMA, and so he’s given me some eye-opening lessons on biomechanics that you simply cannot glean from our manuals.

When Ringeck talks about Durchlaufen there are times he says things like “clasp him thusly to the right hip and throw him in front of you”. Which, to someone with zero grappling knowledge or training, could result in serious injury to themselves or their partner. The glosses don’t talk about proper posture or how to maintain good structure for a throw. You can screw up your knee or your back, so having a trained grappler be able to look at what you’re doing and keep you safe in truly invaluable.

The HEMA community is still young, and many people are just catching on to how fun ringen is, but many of them don’t have a martial arts background or don’t have access to those instructors, and they try to wing it on their own. You can look at the most successful competitors in ringen and you can see they had judo, wrestling, or BBJ training at some point, which gives them a great foundation to try to interpret Ringen or Ringen am Schwert techniques. I love my modern wrestling class, it gives me a place to be a newbie again, and just learn for fun. There’s no pressure there, and it’s somewhere I can let off some steam.

You have had great success as a competitor. You are good, as in crazy good; after all, you came in fourth in your very first Longsword tournament in 2015 and have only improved from there. You've won numerous medals in various competitions and, according to the HEMA Ratings webpage, you are currently ranked 17th internationally in women's Longsword. Clearly, you have worked very hard to become so crazy good. What does a typical training session look like for you? How often do you train, and do you have a specific plan you follow or do you go with the flow?

Thank you so much, I’m humbled. Training sessions have changed dramatically for me now that I am the head instructor of a school. I’m still learning the ropes when it comes to balancing my time for my students and for myself. Preparing for a tournament now mostly looks like beating the hell out of my husband for a few hours maybe a week or two before the tournament, and then hoping for the best.

I spend most of my time teaching or creating lesson plans now. I stay sharp though by doing solo drills at home, regardless of an upcoming tournament. When I was still a student at Blood and Iron, and I was chasing those gold medals, I would start amping up my training 4-5 months in advance. It would be a mix of drills, conditioning in full gear, eating a ton, hitting the gym, and stress testing every possible scenario. It was exhausting, but it allowed me to get good really fast. At my peak, I was training 20 hours a week. I would love to do that again, but getting Mordhau off the ground is my first priority, then I can look at shredding for tournaments again haha.

Given your great success as a competitor one might assume you have no pre-fight jitters; would that be an accurate assumption, or do you still have to settle yourself and focus before each tournament? What advice would you give to other fighters in terms of calming the mind before a fight so they can just let the body go and do what it has trained to do?

Ohhhhh my gosh, I am the most nervous competitor ever! In the days leading up to it, all I can think about is my fights. I need to make great mental efforts to stay sane at HEMA events. I’ll be physically shaking right up to the moment I am putting on my mask, but somehow it all dissolves the second I hear the director’s call to fight. Once I am actually fighting I become very focused and collected. I can listen to my coach and take their direction almost robotically. This is just who I am.

I have a very, very type A personality and leading up to fights is very stressful for me. I struggle with chaos and feeling like I am not in control of a situation. I don’t have control over my opponents, the judges, the director, there are too many variables in a fight for me to feel like I can confidently "just do it". I’ve learned to understand this reaction, and I think it is really common for plenty of fighters. But, I haven’t solved this yet, really my only special solution is to listen to my husband leading up to a tournament and to let him dictate my inner thoughts haha. Perhaps that might help others too. Have someone you trust help to ground you and give you realistic feedback to calm your mind.

While we don't normally focus on romantic things here in the blog, the love story between you and your husband, fellow HEMA competitor Kyle Griswold, is really quite a sweet one. Would you mind sharing it with everyone?

Well, Tyrant Richard Marsden of the Phoenix Society and Jarl Lee Smith of Blood and Iron, sought a political alliance between their two kingdoms, and so Kyle and I were betrothed and destined to rule the West Coast Kingdoms.

No, but really, I had an innocent fan crush on Kyle since like, 2014, after seeing a YouTube video of him fighting at PNW 2013. I was awestruck by him, the way a hockey fan might be struck by Wayne Gretzky. I wanted to fight like him, and eventually storm the tournament scene like him. We met in person at CombatCon 2015 and I was so starstruck. I remember talking about how we both took history courses in university, but most of that conversation is a blur in my memory since most of my focus was placed on trying to hide my nerves and act cool.

After that, I think we both developed a crush but didn’t really entertain the idea of pursuing it for a number of reasons. It was actually the next year, at CombatCon2016, that we devised an elaborate plan to meet privately for cocktails under the guise of me needing a Phoenix Society club shirt. We were inseparable that entire weekend, we joked about him sneaking me off to Arizona and living happily ever after.

Alas, the day we had to return to our respective cities, he told me he needed to see me again. I said it would be difficult, but perhaps at the next event 8 months from then. That wasn’t soon enough for him, and so within a month he bought plane tickets to Vancouver, and it was there he told me he loved me. A month after that, we met in Seattle, and then again in Portland, then I went to Phoenix, and we continued going back and forth or meeting at tournaments for the next year and a half. Leaving one another was painful, and it only hurt more and more each time. Our friends and families were so supportive; when he proposed no one was shocked (except me), and everyone was so joyous.

We were married back in May (2018), started a HEMA club together, and basically have become the HEMA fairytale haha. I love him with my whole heart, even more than I love swords.

You have recently started a blog called "Women of HEMA." What would you like people to know about your blog?

So, Women of HEMA was something I decided to do for several reasons. One was because I was getting pretty sick of the way that women’s tournaments were being treated as second class or they were treated like a novelty.

When a prize for a women’s tournament medal is a pair of earrings, and the prize for that same medal in the open longsword division is a pair of $200 gloves (y’know, something practical for a HEMA practitioner), that’s where I take issue. Or when a man tells you that “women’s medals don’t count”, that’s when I know that women’s competitive HEMA isn’t taken seriously. Or when a woman says “I don’t fight womens tournaments” as if it is beneath her, that’s when I know we, as a community, went about women’s competitions all wrong.

The community, often unintentionally, fetishizes and tokenizes women, and treats them as a novelty. A woman can win 7 women’s tournaments in a row and people are like, “she’s pretty good”, but if a woman wins an open tournament once (and places 5th in a women’s tournament) then suddenly she is an amazing story, a novelty, and her story is often spoken of at the expense of other women in the community. Women’s tournaments are often overlooked and underhyped. I fight in both women’s and open, I have found success and claimed medals in both.

I just want to celebrate women who fight without all the weird strings attached to it. The way I run my blog is I try to present questions that don’t necessarily focus on the fact that my subjects are women. I don’t know how it is helpful to the community to ask her what it is like to be a woman in HEMA, or what it is like to be the only girl in her club, or how her boobs get in the way of her sword. None of that matters, it is boring to read about, and it takes the focus away from her as a martial artist, but I also don’t deny her being a woman.

Your blog is described as a source that "provides coverage on women's competitive Historical European Martial Arts from tournament updates to interviews with HEMA's competitive women." What are some of the unique challenges that women in HEMA face? Have you found that those challenges increase as a woman rises through the levels to national and international competitors? What message would you most want to share with other women considering getting involved in HEMA, or perhaps lingering on the fringes of being competitive, to help encourage them?

The tired answer to “what challenges do women face?” would be “boobs make vom Tag hard, and I feel like an alien in the old boys club”. I don’t think that is really relevant or accurate anymore. Most well-established clubs have, or have had, a handful of women, and most big tournaments offer women’s categories. We aren’t fighting for a place at the table anymore, now we are fighting for a good seat near the head, rather than a stool pulled up near the end. Winning medals in women’s tournaments, or even participating exclusively in women’s tournaments, shouldn’t leave women feeling inadequate. For example, women that snub women’s division don’t actually understand the message they are perpetuating is harmful. Now, I’m not saying women need to participate in women’s tournaments, I am referring to those who deride them. I’ve found that the more success a woman has (competitively speaking), the less she has to prove abilities, which is expected.

There are challenges to face as a woman, but there are plenty of opportunities to find success. I have received a plethora of requests to teach at clubs or events, I’ve been asked to direct tournaments, coach students of other clubs when their instructors aren’t present, I’ve been elected to the HEMA Alliance General Council. I am in no shortage of respect in the community, but it took a great deal of effort and time. HEMA is a wonderfully inclusive community, with numerous opportunities for all people. Women thinking about competing, don’t be afraid and don’t compare yourself to anyone else. Fight because you enjoy it. The women in HEMA will uplift you on your journey, and you will be expected to return the favor for future women.

You have recently been elected to the HEMA Alliance General Council. Do you have any particular goals for that position, or are there any projects you're specifically hoping to work on in this new role for you?

Being elected was really wonderful. Having the community put its confidence in me to ensure the HEMA Alliance continues to move in a positive direction is inspiring. Realistically, the nature of a GC member does not allow for radical changes, mostly because there are five other members who need to agree with you to make those changes. However, being the head of a new HEMA club, I want to see that the HEMA Alliance makes decisions that will help, rather than hinder, the growth of my fledgling school. I have already seconded two motions in regard to financial event support and voted yes to things like increasing the event support budget. A larger budget will hopefully encourage more startup events from smaller clubs to increase regional networking between clubs, which is a net gain for everyone. Regional networking between clubs is a boon for small clubs like mine. It provides new sparring and learning opportunities for my students.

Together with Kyle, you have recently opened up a HEMA school, Mordhau Historical Combat in Mesa, Arizona. How often do you teach/train with others on a weekly basis? Do you ever find teaching others takes away from your own training time, or have you found that by teaching you now appreciate the fine nuances of things differently than when you were just learning them?

We offer three classes weekly, and Kyle and I trade of teaching classes. I often take our first-timers (we usually have at least one each class) and work with them exclusively so that we can throw them right into class the next time they come in. My own training has certainly decreased, but I have found that teaching others helps to solidify my understanding of concepts and techniques. A student might ask a question that I’ve never heard before or present a scenario I haven’t considered, and that’s when I feel like I am learning too as I try to solve the problem. My physical training has decreased, but I feel like I am always increasing the depth of my knowledge while I work with our students.

In reference to the above question, it is certainly not uncommon -- and, indeed, is in keeping with a long historical tradition -- for students to grow in a club and then break off to start their own school. How has that transition been for you, going from a student to the head instructor? You have previously taught at numerous events; do you find being the head instructor of your own school to be vastly different from a one-off teaching gig? What are the benefits you've found in having your own school compared to some of the unexpected pitfalls?

Kyle and I were both fortunate with our respective former instructors being aware of our future ambitions. My former instructor, Lee Smith, prepared me to be an instructor well in advance. He increased my responsibilities at Blood and Iron over the years, and he graduated me through the ranks of student, mentor, assistant instructor, and full instructor, knowing that one day I would be a head instructor. Lee and I didn’t always see eye-to-eye on how things should be done, but he helped me cultivate a necessary thick skin over the years, which has proved to be invaluable.

He told me before I left that if I was able to handle his trials by fire over the years, that dealing with anyone else would seem like a breeze. I was running classes solo for a couple years before starting Mordhau, so the transition didn’t phase me. I find teaching at events only slightly different, only because I have a limited time to make an impression on students that are not my own, and leave them with new or improved skills. Whereas with my own students, I can focus on small details if I need to and if I run out of time, then we pick up next week, and it carries on. I can’t go around and correct one person’s hyperextended wrist and another’s overly narrow stance by giving them tailored drills when I am at an event as a guest instructor. That’s one of the benefits of having my own club. I can invest a lot more time in a student, which makes me feel like I get a high return on investment. Another benefit is having a cool group of people to swing swords with and then grab soda/beer with afterwards.

What motivated you and Kyle to start Mordhau? What tradition does the school follow, and what weapons do you offer folks? Is there a particular source or Master who you follow more than any other, and if so why? Is anything you'd say Mordhau specializes in?

I figured I would actually ask Kyle what his motivation was, and his answer was pretty blunt. He said, “So I would have people to spar”. So, there’s that.

My main motivation was because I needed something other than a 9:00 to 5:00 office job to put my energy into. HEMAvangelizing seemed like a noble pursuit haha. We focus exclusively on German sources, primarily KdF, but also with a bit of Meyer influence. We mostly do longsword, dagger, sword and buckler, and ringen, and we are starting to dabble a bit in polearms. We really like to reference Ringeck a lot, but we’ve incorporated Leignitzer, Meyer, Talhoffer, etc, etc. Mordhau is still in its infancy, so as a club, we haven’t found a specialization, unless we are speaking of the specializations that Kyle and I can provide specifically in our instruction. In which case that would be sword and buckler, for Kyle, along with an encyclopedic knowledge of the sources. Kyle is also just so crazy talented and physically gifted that he has a lot to offer our students. I would say Ringen am Schwert is my specialty, along with being able to provide really concise instruction on optimal body mechanics (we will have really pretty fencers). We’ve also started to work very closely with Philip Martin (of the Phoenix Society) to provide high-level cutting instruction for our students.

A standard question I've come to ask in these interviews of people who are instructors: What are the most important lessons you've learned from your students?

I’m sure there will be plenty of future lessons I learn from my students, but so far the biggest one is to build a social rapport with your students. Remember their names, the way they best receive information (audial, visual, hands-on), whether they are parents or in university, etc. Building trust and confidence is more important than anything else. You want your students to be happy in the salle, you want them to look forward to training, and to respect you as an instructor. This is what really makes a HEMA club successful and valuable.

With every interview I do I like to include one question that's a little silly and just for fun, so...do you and Kyle ever make household decisions, like who is cooking or doing the dishes, by a friendly in-house duel, or are there any other household choices made using HEMA skill as the deciding factor?

So far, we have not implemented this system, but perhaps we will in the future. I kind of like the system we have now though, which is mostly just "happy wife, happy life".