DEUTSCH
ENGLISH
ITALIANO

What is „La Lotta dei Folli“?

Our club event consists of a workshop day and a day of fun tournaments. The focus is always on the Bolognese tradition with all its facets and weapons, as well as other historical styles from Italy and occasionally from the Iberian region. We highly value a relaxed and friendly atmosphere, especially at the tournaments. We also provide a stage for the SaberAcademy Vienna, which holds a lightsaber workshop and its annual tournament as part of our event.

„La Lotta dei Folli“ means something like „The Battle of the Fools“ and is a reference to Victor Hugo’s „Festival of Fools“ in „The Hunchback of Notre Dame.“

WHEN?

  • SATURDAY, 16th of May, 2026
  • SUNDAY , 17th of May, 2026

WHERE?

PUBLIC TRANSPORT

  • Underground: U4 Hietzing
  • Tram 10, 49, 52, 60: Dommayergasse
  • Bus 56A, 56B, 58A, 58B: Am Platz

LANGUAGE & CATERING

Our main language is German, but we will adapt to the registrations and can also switch to English if necessary. We will provide you with snacks and drinks in the ‚break room‘ throughout the weekend. For lunch and dinner, there are numerous restaurants in the immediate vicinity of our hall, such as:

SCHEDULE

Due to hall availability in 2026, we can only start on Saturday afternoon, so the event will run a little later into the evening. Preliminary schedule:

Workshops

The focus for 2026 shifts to the somewhat later schools and styles of Italy. In addition to weaponry, this year’s theme also includes unarmed combat. However, a workshop on the Bolognese school is still a must!

Instructor: Oliver Janseps (Mispeldorn – Historische Kampfkünste)

Language: ENG (DEU)

Equipment: Groin Protection (optionally boxing gloves mouthguard, headgear);

Savate and later on Boxe Francaise is meanwhile a well known Kickboxing style of France. Luis Leboucher was one of the early French masters who lift the art of Savate from the dark corners of the streets to the fencing salle. His book was definitely the template for Luigi Carmines Book “Trattato teorico pratico illustrato di box libera e difesa personale” about 20 years later. He brought in another order of the techniques added a little bit here and there in the description but the core stayed the same. An interesting aspect is the lack of boxing gloves in the otherwise complete identic pictures. But there is one aspect that changes a lot and this is the guard stance which is totally different. This seminar will stay close to the original plays from the book with a focus on working from the guard which make this method more unique then one could think in the first place. We want to make the class fit for everyone so we stay away from high kicks and big throws without loosing the flair of old box libera from Italy.

About Oliver:

Oliver Janseps runs the training at Mispeldorn – Historische Kampfkünste in Aachen. He started his HEMA career in 2004 by taking a look at Joachim Meyer’s fencing book. After about six years of exclusively fencing with pole weapons of all types and from all eras, his focus since 2012 has been on 19th. century fencing. In addition to swords and sabers, this era also offers a wide selection of different stick and staff methods – one could say that the circle has almost closed or that a pattern could be recognizable. Savate fits in well with the training of this era. His training in Genoa with Maestro Claudio Parodi led him to include this sport, which is supposedly best started at a young age, in his training plan in 2015, and because “the more, the better,” he immediately joined a Boxe Francaise Savate club. This career path, shaped by coincidences, has now led Oliver to join us with a rather exotic seminar topic.

Oliver runs one of the few YouTube channels dedicated to 19th-century styles and weapons, where he regularly posts videos. Feel free to check it out and subscribe: https://www.youtube.com/@OliverJanseps

Instructor: Axel Mumm (Klingenspiel)

Language: DEU

Equipment: Sabre; at least 5 loaner weapons will be provided.

The workshop will cover, on the one hand, the fundamental principles of sabre fencing such as stance and linear fencing, and on the other hand the particular characteristics of this light weapon and its use in a historical context: duel vs. military application. The most important parries and attacks will be taught. Another focus will be on feints and the characteristic parry–riposte game.

About Axel:

Instructor: Michael Rydholm

Language: DEU (ENG)

Equipment: sidesword (or equivalent), fencing dagger, gloves, and mask (some side swords and daggers are provided as loan weapons by Fior della Spada);

We take a look at some characteristics of sword and dagger fencing according to the methods of Bolognese masters such as dall’Agocchie and Marozzo.

About Michael:

Michael Rydholm is a native Swede and a black belt holder in Taekwondo. In 2007, he narrowly missed becoming a founding member of the HEMA club Fior della Spada by four months. Since then, he has been an active HEMA practitioner, focusing on the Bolognese tradition. In 2009, he became a Scholar of the Academy of Fencing Arts and was Runner-up at the international “Ludus Magnus” tournament in Florence in 2015.

Tournaments

The tournaments should emphasise fun, respect for each other and „beautiful“ fencing. They are kept informal – which means, for example, that referees do not have to be present at all times. What is also important to us: weapon control and controlled attacks are not only the most important ingredient for good cutting technique, but also the most effective measure against injuries. Note from the chairwoman: „If you get too rough, I swear I’ll personally chase you out of the hall with a partesana! >_<“

We value sportsmanship and fairness. This also means that the fighters are expected to report received hits.

You can find our framework rules here

We will provide the weapons for this. You are welcome to bring your own (sideswords, bucklers, rotelle, capes…) – but please stick to the specifications of our rulebook and/or show us the weapons in advance. Before the start you will get a deck of cards with weapons and weapon combinations of the Bolognese school. Before each fight, you will choose one card and play it face down. The cards are revealed at once right before the fight, you arm yourself accordingly and off you go! Cards may be exchanged with other participants, but you must always have the same number of cards. The following cards are available:

  • Spada sola (sidesword)
  • Spada & brocchiero (sidesword & buckler)
  • Spada & targa (sidesword & rectangular shaped buckler)
  • Spada & pugnale (sidesword & dagger)
  • Spada & cappa (Ssidesword & cape)
  • Pugnale & cappa (dagger & cape)
  • Due spade (two sideswords)
  • Spada & rotella (sidesword and round shield)
  • Partesana (pole arm)

Requirements:

  • Age: >18 years and HEMA experience
  • Protective Gear: Common HEMA gear for tournaments with steel simulators (at least fencing mask, jacket, gloves, cup)
  • Number of participants: max. 16

The SaberAcademy Vienna is a project of our coaches and will hold another lightsaber tournament this year. It will be semi-contact (i.e. no follow through, touch is enough for a hit: maximum weapon control!). Thrusts are not permitted. Especially young fighters receive a weapon advantage to compensate if necessary – as they did last year.

The Rules can be downloaded here

Requirements:

  • Age: >12 years (minors only with consent of parents)
  • Protective Gear: at least fencing mask and gloves, cup
  • Experience & Saber: If you don’t have a lightsaber simulator suitable for combat, we can provide one. If you are neither in a HEMA club nor in a lightsaber club, we would like to get to know you in advance to minimize the safety risk for everyone and to guarantee smooth execution of the event and the fights.
  • Number of participants: max. 16

A tournament for two-handed weapons or weapon with sidearm (e.g. sidesword with sidearm, rapier with sidearm, longsword,…). Each participant competes with a weapon/weapon combination of his choice – you can’t change the weapon, but have to fight with the selected weapon through the whole tournament, no matter what.

HOWEVER: Since we are beeing highly experimental and we want to prevent chaos, as well as that certain weapons and combos to be over- or underrepresented, the number of participants is highly restricted and we will have a talk or email exchanges with everybody interested. We also reserve the right to say „NO“ or to adjust the rules. Each weapon or weapon combo may only be chosen once in the tournament. It is not allowed to compete with the same weapon or weapon combination two years in a row.

Requirements:

  • Age: >18 years and HEMA experience
  • Protective Gear: Common HEMA gear for tournaments with steel simulators (at least fencing mask, jacket, gloves, cup)
  • Simulator: for the weapon/ weapon combo of your choice (controlled and approved by us in advance, bladed weapons made of steel)
  • Number of participants: max. 8

It’s time for another tournament experiment! You fence against your opponent armed with a Bolognese single sword. Once both of you agree that one of you would not be able to continue the fight after a received weapon hit, the fight ends. The „survivor“ advances. The riposte rule from our rulebook still applies. Should a double hit occur that would most likely incapacitate both, both fighters are eliminated. The referee takes the role of an observer and arbitrates if necessary, but that’s all it should be.

HOWEVER: Since we are highly experimental here (again… :P) and we want to prevent chaos, the number of participants is highly restricted and we will have a talk or email exchanges with everybody interested. We reserve the right to adjust the rules if necessary.

Requirements:

  • Age: >18 years and HEMA experience
  • Protective Gear: Common HEMA gear for tournaments with steel simulators (at least fencing mask, jacket, gloves, cup)
  • Simulator: Bolognese sidesword simulator in steel (see rulebook for details, your simulator must be checked and approved by us in advance)
  • Number of participants: max. 8

Fees & Registration

Fees for 2026:

  • 140€ – La Lotta dei Folli (both days)
  • 100€ – La Lotta dei Folli (both days, members of Fior della Spada and SaberAcademy Vienna only)
  •   60€ – Lightsaber-Tournament
  •   30€ – Single Workshop (send a request to: elisabeth@marozzo.info)
  • If you only want to book the workshop day, please also send a request to: elisabeth@marozzo.info

We calculate the prices so that we can cover the hall fees as far as possible with the participation fees. The remaining costs (equipment, snacks, coaches, referees, etc.) are covered by our club. We offer all our coaches and referees an expense allowance and also finance travel costs and accommodation for long journeys.

REGISTRATION

Registration opens on Monday, February 2, 2026. Spots and weapon combinations will be assigned on a first-come, first-served basis.

Cancellations can be made via email to elisabeth[at]marozzo.info up to and including May 1, 2026. After that: for cancellations up to and including May 8, you will receive a 50% refund. Starting May 9, unfortunately, no refunds can be issued. Exceptions may be made in the case of illness; please email us a medical certificate in such cases.

Registration deadline: May 1, 2026, 8:00 AM.

Contact: elisabeth[at]marozzo.info