Fighting with the Klewang

Transcription and English translation of the 1937 Dutch fencing manual Voorschrift voor de Opleiding in het Vechten met de Blanke Wapens (VOVBW).

The Dutch klewang is probably one of the most distinctive modern military swords. A short cutting weapon with a sharp, curved, single-edged blade and a clipped-point, the Dutch klewang is a cultural landmark, still used ceremonially today.

With this book, we want to introduce you to the basics of Dutch military fencing with the combined klewang and carbine, and with the bayonet, as taught in the KNIL, the Royal Netherlands East Indies Army. For this we have transcribed and translated an original 1937 fencing manual, the Dutch Voorschrift voor de Opleiding in het Vechten met de Blanke Wapens (VOVBW), which in English could be called the Regulation for the Training in Fighting with Bladed Weapons (RTFBW).

The book you hold includes not only the text, but all the images of the original, as well as an introduction to the klewang, its historical context, and its application in modern HEMA training. This volume is suitable for martial artists, reenactors, and people with a more general interest in Dutch military history.

Anouk Post started HEMA in 2012 with longsword but soon switched to her favourite discipline: British military fencing.  She is one of the instructors at the HSSV Ludolph van Ceulen HEMA club in Leiden, is a former board member of the Dutch HEMA Federation, and has taught at national and international events. She is the mastermind behind Sabrenetics. Best known for her love for the British spadroon, she likes to focus her classes on the use of this underappreciated weapon. When not teaching, organising events, or studying British military fencing sources, she enjoys assisting Martin in his study of the klewang.

Peter Frank has been practising historical fencing since 2009 and has been a trainer at Die Freifechter in Cologne since 2011. He is mostly focused on British military fencing, but is also interested in fencing with the langes messer, rapier, klewang, and bayonet. In 2016, he published a transcription of the 1804 edition of the Art of Defence by Roworth. He has taught at and has helped to organise several national and international events.

Martin de Jong discovered HEMA in 2015 after years of being an avid football player and having dabbled in several other martial arts. Like many, he began with longsword. Soon, however, his attention was drawn to single-handed weapon styles, with the Dutch klewang becoming his favourite weapon. He is an instructor at HSSV Ludolph van Ceulen where he studies and teaches military fencing, was chairman of the board at HSSV Ludolph van Ceulen, and is a reenactor of the group Xe Bataljon KNIL in the Netherlands. He has taught and given lectures, demonstrations, and shows at many national and international events.

The three met through sabre and bonded over cats.

Table of Contents

•     Introduction
•     Historical information
•     Training the VOVBW in HEMA
•     Translation of VOVBW into English
•     Images from VOVBW
•     Transcription of VOVBW in Dutch