About

San Diego Swordfighters is a group dedicated to the study and practice of Historical European Martial Arts (HEMA), also known as Historical Fencing or Western Martial Arts (WMA). If you are looking to take up a challenging and exciting new hobby, San Diego Swordfighters is open for all to explore the martial arts of bygone ages.

Working from primary historical documents and fighting manuals written by knights, scholars, and fencing masters of the Middle Ages, Renaissance and Early Modern periods, the HEMA movement revives centuries old fighting arts, teaches their principles of armed combat and practices them as a modern martial art and sporting competition.

San Diego Swordfighters combines wisdom from centuries old martial systems with contemporary training methodology to offer fencers of all skill levels a fun and exciting means of self-improvement, physical education and friendly competition.

We support members that compete in HEMA (Historical European Martial Arts) tournaments as well as members that participate for the love of the art and its substantial physical and mental benefits.,

A man outdoors in a backyard holding a sword with both hands, in a broad stance with one leg forward and one leg back, facing to the right. He has light brown hair and is wearing a green t-shirt and black pants, with a wooden fence in the background and green grass on the ground.

Alan West
Founder and Lead Instructor

Hi! I’m Alan West, lead instructor and founder of San Diego Swordfighters!  I have been studying martial arts in some form since I was 8 years old.  I have a black belt in Kempo Karate, and have trained in Kung Fu, Ju-jitsu, and FMA, before discovering HEMA in 2012.  Ever since then, I have been poring over historical manuscripts, sparring, competing and attending seminars to learn as much as I can about historical swordplay. I have experience teaching and fighting with weapons from daggers to greatswords. I started SD Swordfighters because I believe that martial arts are a powerful means of self-improvement, and I am excited to introduce the world of historical martial arts to new 21st century swordfighters. When I am not swashbuckling on nights and weekends, I work as a biochemist in the local biotech industry.  Science is awesome, but it’s nowhere near as exciting as swordfighting! I hope to cross swords with you soon.

A man wearing a black and blue racing suit with a large black racing helmet on his head, which features a colorful design of a sun and a blue sky, standing indoors at what appears to be a racing event.

Max Zimet
Instructor

Hi, I have been a member of San Diego Swordfighters since 2021. Before discovering my love for historical fencing, I had a background in multiple martial arts and combat sports. I practiced karate for four years in my youth, and after that competed in folk style wrestling throughout high school. In college I trained kickboxing for a few years before finding San Diego Swordfighters and shifting my focus completely to historical fencing. I have a foundational understanding of rapier, messer, and smallsword- however I primarily focus on longsword and saber. With Longsword I study the glosses of early Lichtenauer masters Ringeck Danzig and Lew. With saber I study British military sources including Roworth, Waite and Hutton. In addition to learning new sword techniques, I like to spend time researching how to best become a better coach and instructor.

A woman with blonde hair wearing a black shirt, holding a sword vertically in front of her, sitting on a surface with one arm resting on her knee, in front of a plain light-colored wall.

Jane Strange
Instructor

Hi, I’m Jane! I teach intensives here at San Diego Swordfighters. I started HEMA at a club in Vancouver, Canada in 2014. Since then I have coached, competed, taught, and helped run historical fencing events across North America and Europe. My main area of study is German longsword, through which I’ve found competitive success and medalled in both open and women’s longsword tournaments. I love coaching almost more than I love fencing, and I do my best to create a safe and fun environment for people to excel. I am most interested in sports psychology, skill acquisition, and tournament performance.

TEAM BLING

Oktoberhau 2025
Aisling Gorgon | 4th | URG Longsword
Connor Carvajal | Silver | Longsword
Lu Yang | Bronze | Longsword
Mathew Dominguez | Silver | Longsword Tier A
Max Zimet | Gold | Saber

AG Open 2025
Jin Ho | Gold | URG Longsword Tier B

Combat Con 2025
Dan Zimet | Gold | Longsword Medioum-Short
Max Zimet | Gold | Longsword Advanced

Cactus Cup 2025
Max Zimet | Bronze | Saber

FrauFecht 2025
Aisling Gorgon | 4th | URG Longsword

HornFest 2025
Christopher Sears | 4th | Longsword

SpringSteel 2025
Jonathan McPherson | 4th | Longsword
Mathew Dominguez | Bronze | Longsword
Max Zimet | Gold | Longsword
Shane Moore | Silver | Longsword Tier C

Cleave Them In 2025
Joran Kam| Gold | Longsword
Max Zimet | Silver | Longsword

SoCal Swordfight 2025
Evy Weiland | Silver | URG Longsword
Jane Strange | Gold | URG Longsword Tier A
Mathew Dominguez | Gold | Longsword Tier B

Oktoberhau 2024
Aisling Gorgon | Gold | URG Longsword
Louise Xu | Silver | URG Longsword
Max Zimet | Bronze | Saber
Rebecca Thompson | Gold | URG Saber

AG Open 2024
Jane Strange | Silver | URG Longsword Tier A

Combat Con 2024
Jonathan McPherson | 4th | Longsword Tier B
Max Zimet | Gold | Longsword Tier 1

SpringSteel 2024
Lu Yang | Silver | Longsword |
Mathew Dominguez | 4th | Longsword
Max Zimet | Gold | Longsword
Sterling Baldwin | Bronze | Longsword

SoCal Swordfight 2024
Jason Hughes | 4th | Rapier Tier B
Sterling Baldwin | Silver | Longsword Tier C

Oktoberhau 2023
Max Zimet | Bronze | Longsword

Baja Regional 2023
Jason Hughes | Silver | Longsword

2025
Aisling Gorgon | 4th | URG Longsword | Oktoberhau | Carlsbad, CA
Connor Carvajal | Silver | Longsword | Oktoberhau | Carlsbad, CA
Lu Yang | Bronze | Longsword | Oktoberhau | Carlsbad, CA
Mathew Dominguez | Silver | Longsword Tier A | Oktoberhau | Carlsbad, CA
Max Zimet | Gold | Saber | Oktoberhau | Carlsbad, CA
Jin Ho | Gold | URG Longsword Tier B | AG Open | Plymouth, MI
Dan Zimet | Gold | Longsword Medium-Short | Combat Con | Las Vegas, NV
Max Zimet | Gold | Longsword Advanced | Combat Con | Las Vegas, NV 
Max Zimet | Bronze | Saber | Cactus Cup | Mesa, AZ
Aisling Gorgon | 4th | URG Longsword | FrauFecht | Carson, NV
Christopher Sears | 4th | Longsword | HornFest | Airdrie, Alberta, Canada
Jonathan McPherson | 4th | Longsword | SpringSteel | Carlsbad, CA
Mathew Dominguez | Bronze | Longsword Tier A | SpringSteel | Carlsbad, CA
Max Zimet | Gold | Longsword | SpringSteel | Carlsbad, CA
Shane Moore | Silver | Longsword Tier C | SpringSteel | Carlsbad, CA
Joran Kam| Gold | Longsword | Cleave Them In 2025 | Orange, CA
Max Zimet | Silver | Longsword | Cleave Them In 2025 | Orange, CA
Evy Weiland | Silver | URG Longsword | SoCal Swordfight | Pomona, CA
Jane Strange | Gold | URG Longsword Tier A | SoCal Swordfight | Pomona, CA
Mathew Dominguez | Gold | Longsword B | SoCal Swordfight | Pomona, CA

2024
Aisling Gorgon | Gold | URG Longsword | Oktoberhau | Carlsbad, CA
Louise Xu | Silver | URG Longsword | Oktoberhau | Carlsbad, CA
Max Zimet | Bronze | Saber | Oktoberhau | Carlsbad, CA
Rebecca Thompson | Gold | URG Saber | Oktoberhau | Carlsbad, CA
Jane Strange | Silver | URG Longsword Tier A | AG Open | Plymouth, MI
Jonathan McPherson | 4th | Longsword Tier B | Combat Con | Las Vegas, NV
Max Zimet | Gold | Longsword Tier 1 | Combat Con | Las Vegas, NV
Lu Yang | Silver | Longsword | SpringSteel | Carlsbad, CA
Mathew Dominguez | 4th | Longsword | SpringSteel | Carlsbad, CA
Max Zimet | Gold | Longsword | SpringSteel | Carlsbad, CA
Sterling Baldwin | Bronze | Longsword | SpringSteel | Carlsbad, CA
Jason Hughes | 4th | Rapier Tier B | SoCal Swordfight | Costa Mesa, CA
Sterling Baldwin | Silver | Longsword Tier C | SoCal Swordfight | Pomona, CA

2023
Max Zimet | Bronze | Longsword | Oktoberhau 2023 | Carlsbad, CA
Jason Hughes | Silver | Longsword | Baja Regional 2023 | Tijuana , BC, Mexico