Christoph Busche
Anyone who has ever met Christoph will know instantly why we had to have him at MesserFest.
This dude is legendary for his contagious enthusiasm for all things Messer, so it’s no wonder he was overwhelmingly voted the most enjoyable person to cross blades with in our Fechtschule last year.
We can’t wait to see what delights he has in store for you all this year, but given that he has a hessian sack with him at all times (yes, he is that extreme) you can expect to have a smile as big as his the entire time.
Diana Matthess
The first time we saw Diana teaching at an event we were blown away by her ethos and approach. Controlled, beautiful fencing, with trust and respect between training partners and a zeal for looking at the source material. It is everything we aim to embody with MesserFest, so when she agreed to come all the way over from Germany to teach for us this year we were absolutely thrilled.
Diana is one of the coolest people we know, she travels the world teaching HEMA, restoring musical instruments and making magic wands out of the ones she can’t. She’s a perfect example of life goals and we’ll be so spoiled by her because she’ll be teaching not once, but twice for us. One of which will be something special for you all in Geek Corner, so make sure your brains are switched to on mode that day.
James Elmslie
MesserFest wouldn’t be complete without our resident expert on all things Messer, so of course we’re dragging him back again this year.
Not only is he the man who created the Elmslie typology, but his blade smithing skills for recreating historical Messers, (and everything else that arguably are and aren’t Messers) are epic and we’re lucky enough that he’s going to be bringing some down for you to handle. We do request that you try not to drool on them though.
James will be residing in Geek Corner all weekend and will happily do Show & Tells and share all of his vast knowledge with anyone who approaches, we may even be able to tame him enough to get a formal PowerPoint lecture, but we’re making no promises. James’s mind is definitely his own and we’re not worthy of trying to restrain it, so, even if we can’t say exactly what you’ll get from him, it’ll be totally worth the ride!
Kelly Anderton
We first met Kelly nearly a decade ago and of course we instantly bonded over our mutual love of Messer (as does every Messerist. You know you’ve all felt that sixth sense of “this is me people. Oh, of course they are, they’re a Messerist!)
Kelly was relatively new to Messer then, but her passion was obvious and since that time her skills and knowledge have known no bounds, she even got a spontaneous round of applause at a recent tournament when she executed a Fechtbuch perfect counter to an arm wrap that Lecküchner himself would be proud of.
The context and history she puts into her lessons is exactly what we at MesserFest love, so we’re so excited that we’ve finally got her to teach for us. We’re positive you will all love her as much as we do
Chris Halpin
(He/Him)
Our next instructor announcement is for someone we all need to thank, because he was the person who introduced one of MesserFest’s founders to Messer so many years ago. Without that, who knows if MesserFest would even exist!
Chris Halpin is renowned for his online battles of protecting the underdogs in HEMA, this not only includes minority groups of people, but also overlooked treatises and underappreciated weapons. Only someone with a heart so big, and a slightly warped sense of humour, would create an entire event for the most polarising weapon in HEMA and announce it on April Fools day. (SpadroonFest, seriously!?)
Luckily, we know Chris also has love and appreciation for what we all know is the best weapon, Messer, obvs! We will get the benefit of his vast knowledge not only during a taught class, (probably on some obscure part of Messer no one’s ever heard of) but in Cutting Corner too. He’ll be on hand all weekend, ready to give you tips and tricks on how to get the most out of a sharp blade, and also how to remain safe while doing so. We figured that part was probably important, and there’s no one we’d trust our delightful, Messer-loving attendees with more.
