Welcome to Boston Academie d’Armes! We are a historical fencing and western martial arts school located in the Medford/Somerville/Cambridge/Belmont, MA area.

Much like you, we are giant nerds who love swords and swashbuckling. That led us all down the path to studying historical swordplay and the art of the duel.

If we were to describe the school in a phrase, it’d be “sporty sword scholars.” We’re a collection of nerdy athletes, historians, dancers, gamers, researchers, and even translators. Our students range from fencers who compete locally in the SCA and HEMA to folks who just want to play with swords because swords are fun!

Our group classes, private lessons, and events are open to folks of all abilities and experience levels. Many of our students have never previously fenced or participated in sports, but have found joy and success with historical fencing.

We strive for a safe, warm, and inclusive training environment where folks of diverse ethnic and religious backgrounds, gender identities, sexual orientations, and interests can have fun and explore the art of sword fighting. Diversity makes us stronger, and we welcome and value it.

Whether you’re looking to compete in historical fencing, live out your childhood dreams of being a Musketeer or duelist, or just hoping for a fun way to get some exercise, we’re happy to train with you!

Please get in touch if you have any questions or would like to learn more about our group.

We specialize in the art of the duel, specifically historical fencing with single-handed weapons from the 17th Century through the end of the 19th Century.

We don’t teach any one particular master, but instead focus on the overarching techniques, principles, concepts, and tactics found across multiple masters and historical swordplay books of the same system. Our focus is on the larger Franco-Italian school of fencing, which includes primarily of Northern Italian fencing masters and those influenced by their work in France and the German states.

Currently, we have classes on historical fencing with the rapier and it’s secondaries, and classical fencing with the dueling saber and dueling sword (aka smallsword). You’ll also find us working and playing with other forms such as the longsword, partisan/spear, and dagger only.

Our training is a balance between treating the sword as a martial art designed for self-defense and taking into consideration the sport aspects of HEMA & SCA rapier, such as tournament rules and safety regulations. (We don’t, after all, actually want to injure our opponents & partners).

We seek to combine the old with the new by taking the techniques, tactics, and philosophies taught in Renaissance and early-modern fencing manuals and combining those works with modern sports training strategy and pedagogy.

We look at the “ideals” presented by historical fencing masters, analyze the objectives of the various postures and techniques, and then adapt those ideas to work in a practical environment and with a variety of body shapes, sizes, and degrees of athletic ability.

Our goal is to not only study how swords work but to also improve our awareness of how our bodies move and our brains react. We put an emphasis on good body mechanics and work with our students to improve their physical literacy and athletic ability while operating within their current physical limitations, including those caused by injury or disability. We believe anyone can have fun and find success in historical fencing and we train our students for long-term health and longevity.

At the end of the day, our coaching goal is to give our students as many tools as possible, and to help them discover what works best for their mind and body.

Justin Aucoin (he/him) | Instructor at Arms & Head Coach

Justin (aka Remy in the SCA) is the product of when a five-year-old boy who fell in love with Zorro and The Three Musketeers grows into a mostly functional adult. His life-long love of athletics and swashbuckling has led him down the road to studying and practicing historical fencing.

He is the founder and head coach of Boston Academie d’Armes. His fencing career started in 2006, first as a foilest at Boston Fencing Club before joining the Society for Creative Anachronism (SCA) in 2010. For more than a decade, he has studied 17th Century Italian rapier fencing systems and it’s offshoots found in France and the German states, as well as Italian dueling saber, dueling sword, partisan (spear), and baton-a-deux bouts.

As a competitor, Justin has won numerous rapier tournaments in the SCA — both in singles and in group melee — including Carolingia’s Baronial Rapier Champion, East Kingdom Crown Rapier Champion, and named 8x to the Pennsic Champs team. He is the 15th member of the East Kingdom’s Order of Defense, the SCA’s highest fencing award. He is also a member of the Order of the Golden Rapier and Order of the Silver Rapier for fencing prowess.

Similarly, he is a member of the SCA’s Order of Silver Brooch and the Order of the Maunche for his historical martial arts research, and holds a Silver Wheel and Silver Crescent for his coaching service to the SCA. He’s also a member of the Company of St. Jude, a group dedicated to the study, exploration, and practice of historical martial arts within the SCA.

Outside of the SCA, Justin is a HEMA medalist in both rapier and dagger, and military/dueling saber. He teaches rapier at Athena School of Arms and has taught numerous workshops at HEMA events such as Iron Gate Exhibition (IGX) and Lord Baltimore’s Challenge. He is available to teach workshops at other events and as well as private historical fencing lessons.

He is a certified Instructor at Arms in Italian Foil through the Fencing Master Certificate Program. He is also a Level One student guide & apprentice instructor through Academie Duello, and a personal trainer through NASM. You can follow his historical fencing research at Justinswordfit.com.

Timothy Walsh (he/him)

Tim (aka Donovan in the SCA) is what happens when someone grows up reading swashbucklers and fantasy books, watching movies with swords, and then falls into the SCA. He has been fencing there for 20 years, focusing primarily on Italian rapier via the good word of Fabris. He also enjoys the remainder of the Italian rapier trinity as well as Destreza, Bolognese, daggers, and whatever other oddball weapons someone walks up to him with.

He is a premiere member of the SCA’s Order of Defense for his fencing skill, and is the East Kingdom’s first historical combat Laurel for his research into historical martial arts. He is also a Level One student guide & apprentice instructor through Academie Duello.

Kara Hurvitz (she/they)

Kara (aka Bella in the SCA) is a martial arts practitioner, researcher, and translator. They are a member of the Order of the Silver Rapier, and also a member of the Order of the Maunche for martial arts and general research. Kara is a founding member of Scherma Nova Studiorum, a student guild of mutual aid and support for scholars of the arts of defense.

Kara’s favorite styles include I.33, Bolognese, and Fabris, because folding herself in half is good for her back. (No, we don’t get it either.) Her current research and translation project is translating the fifth book of Achille Marozzo’s Opera Nova.