My shiny from the prestigious Swordfish tournament in Gothenburg, Sweden.

Fourth time for me at the biggest baddest HEMA comp in the world and so happy to be able to attend it again after I had to watch it from home, last year, due to a serious knee injury.

Swordfish’s been on my mind since I started training again last November and competing in February this year. I‘ve worked hard and competed relentlessly, first in Italy and then internationally again, to make sure I’d be in back in Gothenburg with my A game on.

An inflamed tendon in my foot made the last few weeks of training difficult and unpleasant but with some adjustments I could keep working out and fencing.

In preparation for Swordfish, I trained of course with my club Ordine delle Lame Scaligere and I added a regular extra session (and an extra long drive!) with the Sala D’Arme dell’Appeso (Federico Dall’Olio, anyone?) to keep working on my German Longsword skills. I had to work a lot on my mental preparation too because, after the injury, my confidence in tournament hadn’t been steady. Nerves during competition have never been a big issue for me in the past so it took me a few tournaments to even realise this had become a problem. I’m glad I did, because at Swordfish I was prepared and therefore I could do all I needed to make sure I was in the right head space.

The difference this made in my performance and enjoyment has been huge. In pools and eliminations I felt really focused and I managed to remain very dominant in all my bouts, up until I met Elena Muzurina from Russia in the semi.

I really wanted to get to the final but I couldn’t find how to have it my way with her and I hope to do better next time I’ll face her. Working on it already. So much to admire about Elena’s fencing and the gold she eventually won (against Netherlands newest talent Izabele Saorin) for the second year in a row is well deserved.

Swordfish XIII women’s longsword podium, photo by Francesco Fua’.

In the the match for bronze I met finals habitué Tosca Beuming from the Netherlands, same as at the Dutch Lions Cup in August. I loved the bronze final, loved every second of it since I walked in with the drums, the lights and the audience. I know this isn’t every fencer’s cup of tea but hey, once a singer always a singer and the bigger the stage the happier I am. It was especially exciting to know that my family, my club and my friends were watching the livestream from home so I was double happy they could see me winning. A special thank you goes to Federico Dall’Olio who coached me during the tournament, thanks champ!

End of the bronze final, photo by Francesco Fua’.

This has been a tremendous competition for me and the best result I achieved in Gothenburg so far. I’m very happy with it not only because this is my first Swordfish medal but also because there were so many skilled fencers in this tournament all capable of making finals. Double proud of my result.

With legend Francesco Loda’ from Accademia Romana d’Armi, who took home the technical award in rapier and dagger. Go team Italy!

And after the finals… Party time! Want to know why Saturday night at Swordfish is a must? Well you’ll have to come to Gothenburg and see for yourself. I’ll just say that while I had to get up earlier than in the past to fly back home, I still managed the whole package, albeit a slightly quicker version of it than in the previous years. Yes, even the midnight bro… I mean, the legendary thing that doesn’t happen at Swordfish (which I hadn’t tried since the knee accident back in May 2017) and it felt so good! Oh and we had HEMA V.I.P.s in it this time around… Am I at least making somebody that doesn’t know what I’m talking about curious? I hope so.

The social side of the event has been super as usual, with friends to catch up with and new ones to meet from all over the world. I mean it, apart from Europe and the US, participants came from as far as China!

The number of people to thank and mention individually would be way too long so I’ll just go with a heartfelt collective THANK YOU to GHFS and all the staff for yet another unforgettable Swordfish!

That’s about it for my experience but of course Swordfish was so much more. For all results, watch the video of the finals and enjoy listening to HEMA top commentators Matt Galas and Scott Hellroth. The live stream was once again super professional, which doesn’t go unappreciated by the audience watching at home. Many friends told me how much they enjoyed it, so well done to all involved.

One last tournament before the end of November for me before wrapping this year’s competitions up so let’s train!

Links:

Swordfish XIII women’s longsword bronze final: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BgsaKSj-zQA

Swordfish XIII, all finals: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ety0tmiK2D0&t=7120s

Swordfish XIII photos by Francesco Fua’