[Scott Brown]

Competition for the purpose of entertainment, leisure, and skill development has been a part of martial culture nearly as far back as man can date. It was our great pleasure at this years Open International Gathering to be a part of this continuing tradition by hosting the first annual Hammertertz Forum Open International Tournament in Houston, Texas! This years event included a longsword division and a dussack division. Here follows the official results of both divisions.

DUSSACK DIVISION:

The Dussack division is particularly exciting as this tournament was the first recorded "open international" dussack competition to be held in several hundred years thereby reviving, yet another, historical tradition for todays practitioners! The rules for this competition closely resembled the historical German fechtschule rules. The winners of this years dussack tournament are:

1st Place: Axel Pettersson (Göteborgs Historiska Fäktskola, Sweden)
2nd Place: Lee Smith (Blood and Iron Martial Arts, Canada)
3rd Place: Jake Norwood (Maryland Kunst Des Fechtens, U.S.A.)
4th Place: Neil Courington (Schwert am Schwert, Houston, U.S.A.)



LONGSWORD DIVISION:

1st Place: Axel Pettersson (Göteborgs Historiska Fäktskola, Sweden)
2nd Place: Jake Norwood (Maryland Kunst Des Fechtens, U.S.A.)
3rd Place: Chris Cunningham (Schwert am Schwert, Houston, U.S.A.)
4th Place: "Lopes" Cardozo (Academie voor Middeleeuwse Europese Krijgkunsten, Netherlands)

Congratulations to all of this years winners!

Several other participants deserve honourable mentions for exemplary performance and sincere spirit. They are:

Carlos Chavez of Mexico City
Jonathan Mayshar of Los Angeles
Jean Henry Chandler of New Orleans
Henry Rhodes of New Orleans
Christian Darcé of Houston
Nicole Marchen of Vancouver
Kit Mitchell of Swansea



This years tournament staff were:

Matt Galas (Judge)
Alex Keirmayer (Judge)
Anders Linnard (Judge, Alternate Director)
Scott Brown (Director, Alternate Judge)
Jay D'Amato (Alternate Judge)

Natasha Darcé (Bracket Organizer)
Jan Grepares (Scorekeeper)
Laura Williams (Timekeeper)

Special thanks to Jay D'Amato for stepping in at the last minute as an Alternate Judge. As a certified boxing and MMA judge and a forty year veteran of the martial arts, Jay's insights and recommendations were invaluable to the organization and operation of the tournaments. His expertise and contributions cannot be understated.

Finally, thanks to ALL of the participants of this years Hammerterz Forum Open International Tournament for demonstrating fantastic martial spirit, earnest competitive ambition, and noble camaraderie throughout! You made this tournament the success that it was and we salute each and every one of you!

See everyone next year!


Sincerely,

The Western Martial Arts Coalition
The Historical European Martial Arts Alliance