Welcome to Italian Knife Fencing club

 

Italian Knife Fencing

Italian Knife Fencing is a project dedicated to the study, preservation, and transmission of traditional Italian knife and stick fighting traditions.

The work is based on the research of living traditions and the analysis of historical sources related to Italian and European martial culture, with particular attention to systems of combat transmitted through direct instructional lineages.

Traditional Italian knife fighting systems developed over centuries in different social and cultural contexts, often through direct teacher-to-student transmission. In many cases, this knowledge was never systematised in written form, but survived through continuous practice and oral and physical instruction.

The traditions represented

The work of Italian Knife Fencing focuses on two living Italian martial traditions, transmitted through direct lines of instruction:

• The Sicilian tradition of knife and stick fencing transmitted through the school of Master Raffaele Irmino.
• The Cielo e Meraviglia tradition, an agro-pastoral system of knife and stick fencing from the Ofanto Valley in Apulia, transmitted through Master Domenico Mancino.

These traditions represent distinct paths in terms of origin and development, but share a structure of knowledge rooted in real combat practice and direct transmission.

Study and research

The study of Traditional Italian Knife Fencing requires an approach that combines practice, historical research, and an understanding of traditions in their original form.

This project includes:

• technical and tactical instruction;
• study of Italian and European martial traditions;
• analysis of historical sources;
• publications and editorial work;
• teaching through courses and seminars.

An approach based on traditions

At the core of this work is not the creation of a modern or hybrid system, but the study and transmission of specific traditions in their authentic form.

Each tradition is treated as an autonomous system, with its own identity, history, and teaching methodology.

Teaching

Teaching is carried out through classes, seminars, and structured training paths for practitioners and instructors.

The goal is not standardisation of method, but the correct understanding and transmission of the studied traditions, respecting their original characteristics.

Preserving tradition

Martial traditions do not survive automatically over time.

They survive when they are studied, understood, and consistently transmitted.

Italian Knife Fencing exists to contribute to the preservation of this heritage through research, practice, and direct transmission of knowledge.

“Dedicated to preserving and perpetuating the traditional Italian martial art”.