Robert Brooks(XIV)
Robert Brooks is a professional Historical Fencing teacher, founder of the Hotspur School of Defence and a former President of the British Federation for Historical Swordplay (BFHS). He is one of only a handful of professional swordsmen active in the world today.
As a teenager he became a keen sport fencer, studying under the renowned Professor Pat Pearson and excelling in sabre.
In 1994 Robert joined the fledgling Dawn Duellists Society in Edinburgh, while studying at the city's Napier University. The DDS went on to become one of the world's oldest and most respected Historical European Martial Arts (HEMA) groups and is still going strong more than 25 years since its foundation.
Robert was a founding member of the BFHS, serving as its Secretary from 1998 to 2004, and was elected President in September 2013. He is also a fully-qualified BFHS Instructor and Assessor.
In 2003, Robert established The Hotspur School of Defence, which has grown to become an internationally respected name in medieval combat research.
Robert has taught and lectured in over 20 countries on five continents.
As well as appearing as an expert consultant in the BBC4 documentary 'Britain's Pompeii: A Village Lost in Time', he has had screen time in the US television series Ancient Assassins and a three-part Channel 5 documentary on the life of Elizabeth I.
From 2017, Robert and senior scholars of the HSD have worked extensively with Newcastle University to help develop new insights into fighting techniques of the Ancient World, culminating in the publication of ground-breaking research on Bronze Age Swords.
Further projects are in the pipeline.
As a teenager he became a keen sport fencer, studying under the renowned Professor Pat Pearson and excelling in sabre.
In 1994 Robert joined the fledgling Dawn Duellists Society in Edinburgh, while studying at the city's Napier University. The DDS went on to become one of the world's oldest and most respected Historical European Martial Arts (HEMA) groups and is still going strong more than 25 years since its foundation.
Robert was a founding member of the BFHS, serving as its Secretary from 1998 to 2004, and was elected President in September 2013. He is also a fully-qualified BFHS Instructor and Assessor.
In 2003, Robert established The Hotspur School of Defence, which has grown to become an internationally respected name in medieval combat research.
Robert has taught and lectured in over 20 countries on five continents.
As well as appearing as an expert consultant in the BBC4 documentary 'Britain's Pompeii: A Village Lost in Time', he has had screen time in the US television series Ancient Assassins and a three-part Channel 5 documentary on the life of Elizabeth I.
From 2017, Robert and senior scholars of the HSD have worked extensively with Newcastle University to help develop new insights into fighting techniques of the Ancient World, culminating in the publication of ground-breaking research on Bronze Age Swords.
Further projects are in the pipeline.
