On Tuesday, 18th June, Andrei Xuereb will be addressing a public lecture organised by the Malta Historical Society, “The use of swords & other edged weapons from the 14th to the 19th century” at the Maritime Museum in Birgu.

The lecture will start at 6.30pm and will include live demonstrations in European swordsmanship in single combat and self-defence, in particular weapons that are displayed in musuems in Malta and weapon handling. Those attending the lecture will have the chance to handle the weapons.

Andrei Xuereb is the person responsible for the introduction of Historical Fencing as a European Martial art in the Maltese islands.

Born in 1975, started his journey in fencing in 1997 where he joined a sport fencing club, and specialized in French foil and epee under sport fencing coach Juan Formosa. Andrei later studied Italian epee under sport fencing master Daniel Sammut and was being prepared to give exams to become a sport fencing master.

In 2005 together with two other fencers, Andrei founded the Mithras Sword Fight Club which started as a classical fencing school teaching mainly Italian Epee and then later transformed itself into the first historical fencing club in Malta, practicing rapier, smallsword and longsword. Andrei stopped his journey towards becoming a sport fencing master in order to totally devote himself to the research and practice of Historical Fencing and European Martial Arts.

Since 2006 he is a student of the methods taught by his teacher Andrea Lupo Sinclair who is the founder and technical director of the Federazione Italiana Scherma Antica e Storica (FISAS). In 2009 Andrei felt the need that a national body had to be formed in order to represent those who took Historical Fencing as a serious discipline and to establish Historical Fencing on a national level.

Together with three senior members of Mithras Sword Fight club, the first committee of the Malta Historical Fencing Association was established and in November 2011 the association was officially launched to the public.

In order to give the best instruction possible to students within the Malta Historical Fencing Association, Andrei has attended and regularly still attends academies and international meetings on Historical Fencing organised by FISAS and other groups in Europe.

He currently holds the title of Prevosto as a Third level Instructor in Longsword, Rapier and Dueling Sabre after passing public examinations under the FISAS system.

He is the first non-Italian student to be qualified in the FISAS system and also the only instructor in Malta to be qualified in Historical Fencing.

Entrance is free and refreshments will be served after the lecture.

Following the lecture it will be possible to purchase – for the first time – copies of the latest publication by the Malta Historical Society, ‘The Proceedings of History Week 2011′ and take advantage of a special rate.’

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