Tempered Mettle Historical Fencing

09/14/2026

We hosted our first ever tournament this weekend, B.O.N.K.E.D. Thank you all who competed, watched, and volunteered! Special congratulations to everyone who placed.

Longsword – Open Steel
🥇 Maksim Karavai (Lake Forest Sword Academy)
🥈 Piotr Przanowski (Charlottesville HEMA)
🥉 Leon Fuller (Wisconsin Historical Fencing Association)
4️⃣ Kevin Farthing (Chicago Swordplay Guild)

Longsword – URG Steel
🥇 Quinn Nielsen (Tempered Mettle Historical Fencing)
🥈 Amy Skidmore (Ninth House HEMA)
🥉 Laine Stillwell (River Heron HEMA)
4️⃣ Alex Nelson (unaffiliated)

Single Sword – Open Steel
🥇 Piotr Przanowski (Charlottesville HEMA)
🥈 Maksim Karavai (Lake Forest Sword Academy)
🥉 Bryan Lee (St Louis School of Arms)
4️⃣ Sam Halote (Chicago Swordplay Guild)

Single Sword – URG Steel
🥇 Laine Stillwell (River Heron HEMA)
🥈 Amy Skidmore (Ninth House HEMA)
🥉 Dion DeGarmo (Tempered Mettle Historical Fencing)
4️⃣ Sam Habecker (St Louis School of Arms)

Full results available on Hema Scorecard

https://hemascorecard.com/infoSummary.php?e=1154&t=0&m=0 #

09/14/2026

Thank you to all of the sponsors who helped make B.O.N.K.E.D. a great success this past Labor Day weekend.

We also made sure to provide a special Champaign touch with some reward gift baskets full of locally made goods. We hope to see you all again next year!

08/25/2026

It's getting close, just 2 weeks until B.O.N.K.E.D.

here's a preview of the trophies we have on offer, Designed and manufactured by our event coordinator, Matthew Currey.

There are 12 in total to win. good luck in the ring.

Tickets are still available, find them through the event portal.
https://www.temperedmettlehistoricalfencing.com/bonked/

08/10/2026

Greetings Everyone!

Reminder that tickets are live for B.O.N.K.E.D. 2026!

Please head on over to https://www.temperedmettlehistoricalfencing.com/bonked/ for access to the rules, gear requirements, and tickets!

06/28/2026

To celebrate our official Grand Re-Opening, we held a potluck with all our friends and families at the new Crucible!

Thank you to everyone for coming out and bringing all sorts of delicious goodies, I know for a fact that no one left hungry!

More fun to be had all the time here at Tempered Mettle, don't be afraid to say hi or swing by!

06/17/2026

Greetings Everyone!

Tickets are now live for B.O.N.K.E.D. 2026 please head on over to https://www.temperedmettlehistoricalfencing.com/bonked/ from there you can click the link at the bottom to see the rules, and the link to find tickets is there as well.

SaturdayLongsword.(Might as well.)Maximum blade length 39.75" (101cm) total length 53"(135cm)Straight blade two handed sword, you know the kind. Simple rings are allowed, but no complex hilts.Longswords

06/13/2026

One of our founders and instructors is going to represent TMHF as the first ever member of our club to give a seminar at an outside event!

Cactus Cup welcomes Jordan Kuneyl as an instructor this summer!

Jordan Kuneyl is a Co-Founder of, Instructor at, and Head of Recruitment for Tempered Mettle Historical Fencing (TMHF) in Champaign, Illinois. Jordan started his HEMA journey in 2021 and has grown into the role of mentor, leader, and community organizer in the local HEMA scene in downstate Illinois. Jordan specializes in administrative work, curriculum planning, and occasionally he even gets to fence!

06/08/2026

Out with the old and in with the new. All school property is now moved to the new spot and we are just a few days away from being fully operational at our new spot. Double the space, AC, double the bathrooms, WIFI, and more! Hope to see you all there!

06/06/2026

Hope to see you today at the Urbana Farmers Market! Come hold a sword, ask questions about swords, and generally hang out with sword people!