Emilia Skirmuntt (UK)
Emilia has trained how to hit people with swords and other objects for more than 20 years. During that time she has studied multiple weapons, systems, and in multiple different clubs, starting in Poland and then moving to London and Oxford. She has won medals in both women as well as open competitions both in the UK and abroad, fighting with longsword, rapier, rapier and dagger, saber, sidesword, and sidesword and buckler. She was also voted best technical fencer of By the Sword 2019. Emilia travelled around Europe leading workshops and seminars and was one of the representatives for the UK and Ireland HEMA team in the European Games taking place in Minsk in 2019. She is a member of the organising committes for the Wessex League, and Albion Cup, the biggest international competition in the UK. She also organised English Sidesword Open In Oxford in 2018. Currently she is the head instructor for the Oxford Chapter of The School of the Sword. She teaches Italian longsword, dagger, rapier, sidesword, unarmed, and tomahawk techniques.
Facing a left-handed opponent
Facing a left-handed fencer change distance, angles, and tactical expectations, and for many tournament fencers, that shift feels disruptive. In this workshop, I’ll break down how to approach left-handed opponents with clarity and control. Drawing on my own competitive experience and years of being trained by left-handed instructors, we’ll look at: line dominance and outside control, foot positioning and angle management, tactical adjustments in tempo and preparation, common right-vs-left mistakes (and how to stop making them), building confidence instead of hesitation This isn’t about ‘tricks’. It’s about understanding structure, geometry, and decision-making so that fencing a left-hander feels deliberate rather than reactive.
Gear
tbd