Founded in 1999, the Guild is one of the longest running historical fencing schools in the country and a big part of the reason so many American clubs teach Italian material at all. The core curriculum is armizare, the art of Fiore dei Liberi: longsword, dagger, spear, sword in armour, with separate tracks for Bolognese sidesword and Italian rapier. Training happens in a dedicated salle inside Forteza Fitness in Ravenswood, and senior instructors have published translations and interpretation work, so the sources behind each drill are documented rather than improvised.
Best for students who want a graded path with formal testing and who accept that mechanics come before free fencing. Anyone whose main goal is two nights of sparring a week will find the pace slow, and beginner cycles open on set dates instead of any Tuesday. Parking around the salle is street parking, so allow extra time in the evening.
Address: Chicago, IL, USA (Ravenswood, at Forteza Fitness)
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