"The London Masters of Defence - Playing the Prize in Elizabethan England
John Clements

One of the more obscure areas of renaissance martial-arts is that of the London
Masters of Defence. During the 1500's, "The Corporation of Masters of the Noble
Science of Defence", or the "Company of Masters", was an organized guild
offering instruction in the traditional English forms of self-defense. Training
consisted of the personal use of swords, staffs, and other weapons. But it also
included wrestling, pugilism, and disarming techniques. In keeping with the
renaissance spirit of the times, the English Masters of Defence rigorously
studied their craft and openly plied their trade. This was not the case in
previous centuries. An edict from as early as 1286 in England had forbade
private schools of fence within the city of London --ostensibly to "control
villainy" and "prevent criminal mischief" said to be associated with such
activities."

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