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