Hurstwic Viking Combat Training

Hurstwic, started by Ron Black and Casey Dorman, was just a little living history group, trying to keep things historically accurate. They picked the name Hurstwic, you know, like those Anglo-Saxon placenames, but honestly, it didn’t mean much more than that.

Their journey into Viking combat started when they stumbled upon some online material from HACA, which is ARMA now. It was all about making training weapons for Viking combat to keep the risk of injury low. They got all excited, started making these weapons according to the instructions, but let’s be real here, they had no clue how Vikings really fought. They were just playing make-believe.

But even though they were clueless, they were dead set on figuring out Viking combat. They went looking for someone who could teach them the real deal. Traditional martial arts schools? Nah, not their thing. And historical European martial arts? Well, that was still in its baby stages, no groups nearby offering proper training.

As Hurstwic started to lose steam, things got messy. Organizing events became a headache, and eventually, Ron Black and Casey Dorman bounced, family reasons and all that. The rest of the gang, well, they figured it was easier to just call it quits than keep struggling. Honestly, it was almost a relief, you know, to just move on.

But hey, it wasn’t all bad. Despite the group falling apart, they had this killer website going. One of them decided to keep it up, expand it, make it a go-to spot for anyone interested in the Viking age. They wanted to share what they’d learned, keep the Viking spirit alive.