Instructor Bio: Michael Chidester

Michael Chidester is the Editor-in-Chief of Wiktenauer and owner of HEMA Bookshelf. He has been studying historical European martial arts since 2001, and has been leading Wiktenauer since 2011. He founded a publishing company called HEMA Bookshelf in 2019 to disseminate HEMA research in print and also produce precise replicas of historical fencing books and manuscripts. Michael is a Research Scholar of the Meyer Freifechter Guild, a founding member of the Society for Historical European Martial Arts Studies, a member of the Western Martial Arts Coalition, and a Lifetime Member of the HEMA Alliance. He has lectured on historical martial arts across North America and Europe and has written several books. He currently trains at Athena School of Arms in Cambridge, MA.