Who We Are
At High Desert Armizare (Armizare is an Italian term that translates as “Art of Arms”) we are dedicated to the study and recreation of historical martial arts. Specifically we have two tracks at the moment:
SUNDAY – 18th Century English Martial Arts – Alex
Focused on recreating the martial art written down in Zach Wylde’s 1796 “English Master of Defense”. His treatise covers the use of the smallsword, the broadsword, the staff, and wrestling. We also sprinkle in some boxing and knife defense from the same era. This text gives us an opporunity to explore how our bodies move in space and how that changes when we add a tool in our hands.
MONDAY – Longsword – Nick
Focused on recreating the knightly art of longsword combat from the 15th century. This class has a heavy emphasis on sparring and bouting.
Something that sets us apart from most other martial arts schools is our focus on Universals. This allows students to seamlessly flow between smallsword, broadsword, longsword, staff, and other weapons without needing to learn completely new terminology or body mechanics.
Instructors
Alex Spreier (he/him)
Alex has been studying martial arts most of his life. He began studying historical swordsmanship in earnest in 2005 at the University of Oregon. He trained at Northwest Fencing Academy in Eugene, OR focusing on Fiore dei Liberi’s Armizare, foil and epee in the Classical Italian school, and I.33 sword and buckler. In 2015 Alex opened High Desert Armizare. Alex has taught classes at WMAW (Western Martial Arts Workshop), St. George’s Day Invitational, Swordsquatch, and other seminars at schools around the Pacific Northwest. He continues his active study of weapon based and empty hand combat systems from around the world.
Nick Yehl (he/him)
Nick has been studying weapons based martial arts for the past 9 years. He started with Historically Inspired Lightsaber Combat and then moved in Historical European Martial Arts. Focusing on Fiore Dei Liberi’s manual of Italian Weapons Arts, The Flower of Battle, He studied with Tuathair Academy of Swordsmanship before moving to Oregon where he started teaching with High Desert Armizare. Bringing a passion for medieval history and a desire to recreate swordsmanship in the modern day in a fun and accessible way, Nick strives to help each student find their own passions for weapons based martial arts.