SoCal Swordfight 2023 - Tournament Results
SoCal Swordfight 2023 was an historic event that shattered records and exceeded all expectations. From February 17-19, 2023, the OC Fair and Event Center in Costa Mesa, California, played host to the largest Historical European Martial Arts Event in modern times. The excitement was palpable as a record-breaking crowd of 1,009 attendees (547 spectators and 462 participants) from across the United States and around the world descended on Costa Mesa, eager to take part in this unforgettable experience.
SoCal Swordfight 2023 Medalist
Aggregate Team
- SoCal Swords
- Mordhau Historical Combat
- Sacramento Historical Fencing Academy (Tie)
- Black Tigers (Tie)
Longsword - Tier A Open
| Place | Name | School |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Chandler Brown | En Garde Fencing |
| 2 | Allan Sherlock | Bucks Historical Longsword |
| 3 | Myles Cupp | SoCal Swords |
| 4 | Arthur Henry | Sacramento Historical Fencing Academy |
Longsword - Tier B Open
| Place | Name | School |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | George Harry | United Clans Swordsman Association |
| 2 | Ciaran Flanagan | Kingfisher Historical Fencing Club |
| 3 | Ryan Renfro | Noble Science Academy |
| 4 | Steven Obrzut | True Edge Academy of Swordsmanship |
Longsword - Tier C Open
| Place | Name | School |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Kevin Tang | Lonin League |
| 2 | Will Landis | Crossroads Swords |
| 3 | Justin Beck | F3 Sword Academy |
| 4 | Stefan Voss | Sacramento Historical Fencing Academy |
Longsword - Tier D Open
| Place | Name | School |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Mathias Schneider | Academie Duello |
| 2 | Joshua Ames | Lonin League |
| 3 | Stefan McIntyre | Lonin League |
| 4 | Justin Reimer | Lonin League |
Longsword - Tier A Women's+
| Place | Name | School |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Kirsten Meredith | True Edge Academy of Swordsmanship |
| 2 | Rashelle DeBolt | Noble Science Academy |
| 3 | Crystal Ives Tallman | Iron Gate Swordfighting |
| 4 | Harriet Coates | Phoenix Society of Historical Swordsmanship |
Longsword - Tier B Women's+
| Place | Name | School |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Ashton Warren | F3 Sword Academy |
| 2 | Clare Lahey | Einhorn LA Historical Fencing Arts |
| 3 | Claire Pahle | Kron Martial Arts, Fullerton |
| 4 | Ilyse Kullman | Einhorn LA Historical Fencing Arts |
Longsword - Beginners Synthetic
| Place | Name | School |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Enzo Cinquegrana | Noble Science Academy Las Vegas |
| 2 | Erik Johnson | Academy of Arms, Los Angeles |
| 3 | Lucas Friend | Mordhau Historical Combat |
| 4 | Daniel Buelna | Academy of Arms, Los Angeles |
Longsword - U18
| Place | Name | School |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Sawyer Freschi | F3 Sword Academy |
| 2 | Lucas Isolani | F3 Sword Academy |
| 3 | Zachary Young | Noble Science Academy Las Vegas |
| 4 | Jonathan McPherson | San Diego Swordfighters |
Rapier & Dagger - Tier A
| Place | Name | School |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Arthur Henry | Sacramento Historical Fencing Academy |
| 2 | Douglas Leonard | Sacramento Historical Fencing Academy |
| 3 | Jason Prendergast | Black Tigers |
| 4 | Ian Broderick | Unaffiliated |
Rapier (Single) - Tier B
| Place | Name | School |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Tony Huang | Black Tigers |
| 2 | Scott Tibbedeaux | Black Tigers |
| 3 | Beau Hulgan | Arena Weapon Arts |
| 4 | William Li | Academie Duello |
Saber - Tier A
| Place | Name | School |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Ian Broderick | Unaffiliated |
| 2 | Justinder Singh | Burning Sun Historical Swordsmanship |
| 3 | Michael Konrad | Ironwood Historic Swordsmanship |
| 4 | Omar Macias | Ritterschaft HEMA |
Saber - Tier B
| Place | Name | School |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Chandler Brown | En Garde Fencing |
| 2 | Cody Kiwaczyk | Ironwood Historic Swordsmanship |
| 3 | Jason Smith | Corvallis |
| 4 | Gabriel Lake | Sacramento Historical Fencing Academy |
Smallsword
| Place | Name | School |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Arthur Henry | Sacramento Historical Fencing Academy |
| 2 | Robert Childs | Black Tigers |
| 3 | Justinder Singh | Burning Sun Historical Swordsmanship |
| 4 | Zachary Brown | Superior HEMA |
| 4 | Ciaran Flanagan | Kingfisher Historical Fencing Club |
Mixed Weapon - Team Relay (Experimental)
| Place | Name |
|---|---|
| 1 | Black Tigers |
| 2 | Loyal Order of the Sword |
| 3 | Ars Gladii |
| 4 | SoCal 2 |
Longsword Cutting - Tier A
| Place | Name | School |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Phillip Martin | Phoenix Society of Historical Swordsmanship |
| 2 | Julian Schuetze | The Historical Combat Collective |
| 3 | Jack Stewart | United Clans Swordsman Association |
| 4 | Myles Cupp | SoCal Swords |
Longsword Cutting - Tier B
| Place | Name | School |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Nolan Duino | SoCal Swords |
| 2 | Ryan Kolick | Seven Swords Academy |
| 3 | Scott Duncan | Phoenix Society of Historical Swordsmanship |
| 4 | Tyler Dunham | Ars Gladii |
Longsword Cutting - Tier C
| Place | Name | School |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Epifanio Zamudio | Mordhau Historical Combat |
| 2 | Joshua Barnett | Bold City Longsword |
| 3 | Kevin Johnston | Noble Science Academy |
| 4 | Ramon Diaz | Mordhau Historical Combat |
Arming Sword Cutting - Open
| Place | Name | School |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Chris Fields | Sterling Armoury |
| 2 | Ryan Shapiro | Tattershall School of Defense |
| 3 | Jonathan Ying | SoCal Swords |
| 4 | Ryan Kolick | Seven Swords Academy |
Meet the
Board
RJ McKeehan - President & CEO
RJ has been doing HEMA for over 15 years, and helped with the organization of every SoCal Swordfight that has been run. He loves watching the evolution of competition and technique in both the fighting and cutting arenas. He continues to support HEMA and tournament development through running SoCal Swords in Orange, California.
Sean Franklin - Vice President
Sean has been doing HEMA for over 15 years and running HEMA tournaments for almost all of them. Though his competitive career was sadly cut short due to injury he has no shortage of things to keep busy with; coaching the next generation, helping push forward the scientific study/understanding of the community through SwordSTEM, developing and maintaining the most popular HEMA tournament software in the world, and traveling all over to learn from other practitioners and see the kaleidoscope of how competitive HEMA runs in different parts of the world. And of course, seeming to have a second full time, non-paying, job of helping run a number of the biggest and most competitive tournaments in the world.
Mickey Avila - Secretary
Mickey has been a member of SoCal Swords since 2023. After seeing an ad for the Longsword course, she signed up and quickly found herself at home in the community. In addition to sword fighting and cutting, Mickey began helping organize social events for the club, including regular activities like painting, archery, and picnics. Mickey enjoyed finding ways to combine her hobbies with her professional skills, which soon led to organizing her first local tournament, Rhubarb Rumble. From there, she became passionate about creating more opportunities for the local HEMA community to come together through regular events.
She joined the SoCal Swordfight team in 2024 with the goal of expanding the event’s media presence. Today, Mickey helps organize SoCal Swordfight as Board Secretary, managing monthly meetings, venue coordination, website logistics, and other event operations.
Myles Cupp - Director
Myles has over 20 years of fencing experience and has been practicing HEMA since 2010. He has been part of every SoCal Swordfight since the very first iteration. He promotes the expansion of academic programming at SoCal Swordfight including lectures, antiques presentations, and historically driven combat rule sets. Outside of SoCal Swordfight, Myles teaches regularly at SoCal Swords and at other events.
Isaac Patino - Treasurer
Isaac has worked as a photographer and organizer for SoCal Swordfight since 2024 and has participated in HEMA since then as well. He enjoys watching the event come together with support from the HEMA community and the global unity it brings. He also has enjoyed seeing tatami cutting grow in popularity. He's looking forward to continuing his work with the SoCal Swordfight team and helping the event expand in all aspects including adding more classes, competitions, and increasing engagement and awareness about HEMA.