Historical martial arts taught in Cape Coral
A Cape Coral combat school is offering a step back in time, teaching the crafts of Historical European martial arts and fencing to individuals of all ages.
The Meyer’s Combat Academy of Southwest Florida offers classes twice a week at Xtreme Air Academy in the Cape, where martial arts weapons and styles from centuries ago come to life.
Fencing and HEMA instructions are taught by Curt Dunham and Derek Quintana. Their primary focus is on the writings by Joachim Meyer, a 16th Century free fencer.
Quintana said some of the most traditional European medieval martial arts have faded, as other cultures have kept theirs in-tact.
“Japanese martial arts have never lost their tradition, they continue to follow through with it throughout the years,” Quintana said. “In Europe, after they got their hands on gunpowder, they kind of stopped dealing with swords, things got more ceremonial, things like that.”
He said treatises of former sword masters were found, like Meyer’s, and have been translated.
Quintana said his school focuses on Meyer’s writings, “and we’ve been translating it and recreating the old martial arts systems of the 15 and 1600s.
Quintana said the book they work from teaches the techniques of the long sword, dussack, rapier, dagger, pole weapons, quarter staff, pike, and they even teach a version of European wrestling.
“All of these styles are based in Joachim Meyer’s book, ‘The Art of Combat,'” he said.
Quintana said he is a 13-year Army veteran, and participated in many different realms of the sport while serving.
When he retired, he ended up moving to Florida, and one day looked up a few fencing and HEMA-related sites, and discovered a man who lived in Fort Myers who was actually part of the translation of these books decades ago. That ended up being Dunham, who is 83 and still sword fighting.
The pair linked up and were teaching interested individuals in either Quintana and Dunham’s backyard. At one point, Dunham needed to have a medical procedure and Quintana picked up the slack.
“One thing just kind of led to the other and next thing you know I have a bunch of students and tournaments,” Quintana said.
Meyer’s Combat Academy currently has 18 adults and five kids participating in classes weekly. They decided they wanted to compete, so they worked out a deal for space at Xtreme Air Academy this past October to practice in an indoor facility.
Quintana said there are roughly 30 similar schools across the state of Florida that are not affiliated, but network and support each other regularly. The second-closest academy to Cape Coral is in Sarasota.
The academy recently held an event a few weeks back that drew dozens of participants from across the state and from other schools.
Quintana said the academy has plans for another event in October, where he expects 75 to 100 participants from around the states, and even Germany and Spain.
“It’s going to be a big conglomerate of people from all over the world,” he said.
Classes are Wednesday nights from 7 to 9 p.m., and Saturday from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m.
Quintana said the first two classes are free, and a monthly membership is $40. The academy provides training equipment for those starting out.
To inquire about attending a class or membership, visit Meyer’s Combat Academy of Southwest Florida on Facebook.
Xtreme Air Academy is at 307 Southwest 7th Place.
To reach CJ HADDAD, please email cjhaddad@breezenewspapers.com