Back in August, we sent out our 2016 market research survey to over 30,000 English speaking people around the world to enable us to better understand who our customers are and what they expect from Leon Paul.

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The Leon Paul Reel, or Spool, as they say in England will last for years. Every single part of this reel is available on our website and can be easily replaced. The only item that you need to repair a Leon Paul reel is a pair of safety glasses and maybe a small screwdriver. You might need wire-strippers for a more complicated repair.

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HEMA, in it's modern revival, is a new and blooming hobby. This article talks a bit about the strengths and weaknesses this creates, and then gives some guidance for the new instructor. The blessing and the curse of HEMA is that it is “new”. There is a rich history of attempts at resurrecting ancient swordplay, but the current revival dates back only to the 1990s. Many clubs are much younger than this, being founded in the last decade or less. Moreover, it's small in the way that a niche hobby is, with comparatively few practitioners often geographically isolated from each other. On the...

In the new hit TV series “Victoria” the future Prince is seen fencing. If you live in the UK you can watch the series here: http://www.itv.com/hub/victoria/ Here is an extract of the fencing scene: Yes, they are wearing LP X-change masks and no, those masks had not been invented then, but the TV company asked for the safest silver masks we had so that is what we gave them. The costume department did a good job modifying them and making the outfits as it does look very authentic. The costume design department from the series got me thinking, has anyone in the current...

It’s fair to say that most of the British fencing community left the Rio Olympic Games behind with a sense of mixed emotions. Richard Kruse coming fourth was an immense achievement but getting so close to a medal meant a slight sense of deflation. As time has passed, I’m sure we’ll all just remember how well he did. All I’ll say about the team event is that it didn’t appear to be our day! Now all we have to do is ponder the “will he, won’t he?” question – will Richard carry on to Tokyo? I do hope so. Last season he showed us that he’s still a major force on the World circuit and he demonstrated that in the toughest environment – Olympic qualification.

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HEMA stands, of course, for Historical European Martial Arts This name provides a nice definition of what is, and is not, HEMA - an art (systematic and complex) that’s martial (intended for fighting) from Europe that existed in the past and is now resurrected because it was recorded in sufficient detail (historical). Or to put it another way, it's a Type II in Chidester's Typology. The most popular form of HEMA at the moment seems to be medieval and renaissance longsword. That’s what I train and compete in, working specifically from a cluster of related texts that get collectively referred to...

My name is Bill Murphy. I have worked as an armorer at countless national and international fencing events. I was the Sports Equipment Coordinator of the 1996 Atlanta Olympic Fencing Event, a Weapon Control Coordinator at the 2000 Sydney Olympic Fencing Event and Team Armorer for the 2004 and 2008 US Paralympic Fencing Team.  I fenced for about 7 years back in the 1980’s and I used a Leon Paul bayonet body cord and socket the entire time.

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