THE COMPANY B.S.A

The core weapon of study for THE COMPANY B.S.A, is the Basket Hilt Broadsword. Although this weapon is most commonly associated with Scottish Clans of the period involving the Jacobite rebellion of 1745, the Basket Hilt sword was carried and used by soldiers of The English Civil War and Scottish Clans in later periods. Currently, the earliest surviving example - English - is that from the wreck of the Mary Rose, dating to 1545. The Basket Hilt itself is a British weapon with many commonalities found between both English and Scottish fencing treatises, wherein are discovered some cultural differences and nuance given to geographical isolation, fashion and the passing of time. Over two centuries both English and Scottish styles of Broadsword fighting merged to form a codified Regimental Military method that eventually became the Martial backbone of the Global British Empire spanning the 17th to early 20th Centuries.

For our main sources we look to Thomas Page's treatise (1746) and the Regimental Highland Broadsword system of John Taylor (1799). Whilst these sources comprise the framework of our study, we draw from many other contemporary British sources in order to synthesise and extrapolate the greater body of Basket Hilt Broadsword fencing. The traditional training weapon for the Broadsword and Backsword was the Singlestick or Cudgel, which in the 16th Century was called a 'Waster'. A Waster was simply a wooden training weapon for the sword, very commonly made of Ash wood, to which was affixed a wicker basket in order to protect the hand. During the 16th-18th Centuries, Singlestick and Cudgel play became a popular sport in its own right and was practiced all over Britain at County fairs and was weekly played on the Village Greens of country towns far and wide.

Singlestick is a legitimate training tool for Broadsword, Backsword and Sabre fencing and is in itself a weapon system that lends itself to fighting with a Cane as became the fashion in 19th Century England and France. New students are trained in Singlestick before progessing through the Traditional Ranking system - (Dating to Henry VIII) - to period weighted, authentic steel swords; these being bated for safety. See the following sections for our full schedule of WEAPONS taught.