Chicago Swordplay Guild

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The Chicago Swordplay Guild is a nonprofit sword school in Chicago that teaches historical European sword fighting, especially the Italian schools from the 14th to 17th centuries. It was founded in 1999 by Gregory Mele and Mark Rector and aims to blend scholarship with practical training while keeping safety, control, and skill at the forefront.

Today the guild has about 50 active members, ranging from late teens to mid‑fifties, with roughly 30% women. Members come from many professions, including law, nursing, acting, engineering, programming, education, and the arts. The main training space is Forteza Fitness and Martial Arts in the Ravenswood neighborhood, a 5,000‑square‑foot facility designed for Western martial arts. The guild also has sister schools in Milwaukee (Chicago Swordplay Guild North) and Denver (Rocky Mountain Swordplay Guild).

The curriculum is divided into three courses: medieval swordsmanship (armizare), Bolognese fencing, and late Renaissance rapier fencing. The medieval program draws on Fiore dei Liberi and later masters, using sources like the Fior di Battaglia. The Bolognese course uses five 16th‑century texts and follows a lineage traced to Guido Antonio de Luca. The rapier program is based on the methods of Salvator Fabris. In addition to longsword and rapier, students learn medieval grappling, dagger combat, arming sword, spear, and poleaxe, and some study armored combat. Two female members also study mounted combat as taught by Fiore dei Liberi.

After two introductory classes, students can join the guild. They offer 12‑week classes in Introduction to the medieval Longsword and Introduction to the Renaissance Rapier, year‑round through programs with the Chicago Park District, the College of DuPage, and other Chicago‑area locations.

Since 1999, the guild has hosted the biannual Western Martial Arts Workshop, a weekend gathering for researchers, instructors, and students from around the world. Founders Mele and Rector have published books and essays on European swordplay, and the guild collaborates with many other Western martial arts groups.