There was a discussion on Reddit a few days ago on one of the teapot’s videos. Grauenwolf, a common sight there, proposed to make a separate topic – on making a HEMA video, presentation and “how to show my Zornhau interpretation”.

I believe this is a valuable discussion to have, so here are my 2 cents:

1. Do not shoot with your girlfriend

Ok, no, this is a bit sexist. If your girlfriend has been training for years, do it. If you are the girlfriend and your boyfriend has decent HEMA skills, fine. But never demonstrate with someone who has no skills at all. No, just hitting with the sword is not a well-placed and executed strike. You need someone with skills. Someone who can deliver it well, so what you show also works well and looks well.

Also, if you are filming something on wrestling – it is ridiculous for a 190 pound instructor to show techniques on a scrawny, 110 pound student. I am not sure if the stuff works because it is a good interpretation or because of the weight and strength difference.

2. Show your stuff with protection and without.

I want to see your technique without protection, in case it’s blossfechten, because this is a way to show slow and clear biomechanics. And I want to see it with full protection, because this way you can show it works. A perfect third option would be to show it in full protection during active sparring.

Just imagine how stupid you would look if you say “Imagine I hit him in the hands”

The same goes for wrestling – if you don’t have the pads to throw your partner safely, you cannot show how a technique would really go.

3. Do the shooting right

There is no need for UltraHD quality or a 3000$ camera. A decent smartphone can shoot pretty well. But I often see videos which are ruined by other mistakes – for example, shooting at night with weak lights, shooting against the sun, showing just one side and covering the important action… avoid that. Check out basic video shooting techniques and mistakes to avoid, there are plenty of guides online.

4. Use good HEMA equipment

If you have steel swords, please use steel swords. An interpretation with a simulator that behaves like a noodle has no value at all, except if you are maybe showing some solo form.

Use masks, have protection on your forearms and good gloves, so you can really hit on them. Do not do the “student-mask/teacher-no mask” crap, it is ridiculous. When you show stuff like that, I know the student is not really trying to hit you.

Clean your equipment before shooting, if you have not done it recently – while a small thing, a rusty sword is very ugly to see. Would you trust a teacher who doesn;’t keep his equipment in the best condition possible?

5. Do it in a martial way

None of that McDojo slowmo, I am going to hit you tomorrow in the most obvious way, you are gonna counter the day after with some weird technique kind of shit. Show it slowly, fine, but after that, show it like someone is really coming for your head. This is the only way an interpretation is going to be good.

6. Speak up

Just showing is fine, but if you have something to explain, get your mask of and speak to the camera. I prefer a 10 minute clear video than 2 minutes of white-on-black text and a few exchanges.

Also, if you have alternative interpretations, show them too. If there is a similar technique in another source, show that too. If there is an important concept tying to this, explain it, and show another example of it.