Hall of Champions

The Society of Historical Fencing is proud to recognize our members who have won tournaments or other significant prizes and recognition in the field of historical fencing. 

Below is a list of some of our fencers' accomplishments:

Fernan Gomez Monedero
Fence-acloa 3 - April 2026 in Pensacola, Florida
3rd place -  Rapier and Dagger

Ruperto Esteban
Fence-acloa 3 - April 2026 in Pensacola, Florida
4th place -  Rapier and Dagger
Finals* - Saber

(*Withdrew during finals due to injury before placement could be finalized)

Fernan Gomez Monedero
Steel Jam VIII - February 2026 in Clermont, Florida
3rd place -  Open Duels

John Adler, Tamim Khatib,  Ru Esteban and Hunter Rue
Steel Jam VIII - February 2026 in Clermont, Florida
2nd place -  "Road to the Elite Four" Mixed Steel Team Tournament

Fernan Gomez Monedero, David Russel, Elizabeth Mcdonald and Kenneth Parker
Steel Jam VIII - February 2026 in Clermont, Florida
3rd place -  "Road to the Elite Four" Mixed Steel Team Tournament

Jynx Moss
Steel Jam VIII - February 2026 in Clermont, Florida
Most Wins -  Open Duels
Most Fights - Open Duels

"Life hits you hard, I hit it back harder"

Mike Roth
Steel Jam VII - August 2025 in Clermont, Florida
1st place -  Tier A Rapier and Dagger
1st place - Smallsword

Fernan Gomez Monedero
Steel Jam VII - August 2025 in Clermont, Florida
2nd place -  Tier A Rapier and Dagger

Jynx Moss
Steel Jam VII - August 2025 in Clermont, Florida
3rd place -  Tier B Rapier and Dagger

"A year ago I decided that I needed community & was happy to have met the wonderful folks at SOHF. The coaches, students, & fellow HEMA fencers have been a great group of people to get to know, and are a very large part of how I finally managed to get my first medal.

It was an honor to duel each & every one of you all, and I hope this is the first of many such bouts to come."

Ruperto Esteban
Steel Jam VII - August 2025 in Clermont, Florida
3rd place -  Smallsword

Kenneth Parker
Steel Jam VII - August 2025 in Clermont, Florida
4th place -  Smallsword

"I am always proud of our fencers, win or lose - but it certainly is a lot of fun when we win! It was an absolute treat to share the podium with 2 other club members in smallsword at Steel Jam VII, and I was thrilled that we took 3 medals in Rapier (between tiers A and B) as well! I absolutely adore my time in HEMA and a large part of that is thanks to the amazing Florida HEMA community - both at our club and outside of it!"

Duelist Gambit Half Day Event
October 2025 in Gainesville, Florida

1st place -  David Russel, Society of Historical Fencing
2nd place - Ruperto Esteban, Society of Historical Fencing
3rd place - Glenn Best, Society of Historical Fencing
4th Place - Kenneth Parker, Society of Historical Fencing

Iron Fencer (best point ratio in pools) - Jynx Moss, Society of Historical Fencing
"Not my First Rodeo" (Winner among 3 fencers with longest HEMA experience) - Michael Norris, Kreigschool
Hand Sniper Award - Chris Preston, Gainesville HEMA
Most Honorable Fencer - Iris Michaels, Society of Historical Fencing

"The Duelist Gambit, organized by John Adler, was a half day tournament held at our club location in Gainesville, Florida. The format allowed fencers with less HEMA experience to select the weapons used in each match, with the ability to object to a weapon or style for safety reasons only - this gave newer fencers the ability to challenge others based on their stregnths - or their opponents known weaknesses! We are very proud of how our fencers performed, however as this event was held at our club and the majority of participants were our club members, we have elected to present the results in a single entry here rather than put a whole entry in the Hall of Champions for each winner. We would also like to thank all those who came from around the state to participate, especially those who travelled up to judge so that our usual judges could fence!"

Mike Roth
Double Barrel Classic - September 2025 in Statesboro, Georgia
1st place -  Sword w/Buckler

Mike Roth
Steel Jam VI - August 2025 in Clermont, Florida
1st place -  Arming Sword w/Buckler

Fernan Gomez Monedero
Steel Jam VI - August 2025 in Clermont, Florida
1st place -  Sidesword w/Buckler

Mike Roth
Combatcon 2025 - July 2025 in Las Vegas, Nevada
1st place -  Rapier w/mixed off hand

"It was a great year at Combatcon - even though it was the last year of the event! I have been going to Combatcon since 2018, and I have been a coordinator since 2019. In all that time, this is my first Combatcon Gold Medal. Fittingly, my opponent for the gold medal match was Andy, the first friend I made at the first Combatcon I ever attended. In the years since, I had never gotten a chance to fight him in a tournament - until now! It was a great match, and I greatly respect his honor and sportsmanship. Combatcon may be done, but the friends I made there and the things I learned will last a lifetime!" 

Nate Tenille
Hot Sword Summer 2025 - June 2025 in Alachua, Florida
1st place -  Beginners Longsword

Ruperto Esteban
Hot Sword Summer 2025 - June 2025 in Alachua, Florida
3rd place -  Open Steel Rapier w/optional Offhand

Glenn Best
Hot Sword Summer 2025 - June 2025 in Alachua, Florida
4th place -  Open Longsword

"It was a tough competition this year so I'm very pleased with how far I got! I fought some really great people and I can't wait for next year!"

Iris Micheal
Hot Sword Summer 2025 - June 2025 in Alachua, Florida
4th place -  Beginners Longsword
URG Award - Highest overall placement among fighters of Under Represented Gender

David Russell
Steel Jam V - May 2025 in Clermont, Florida
1st place -  Tier A Saber
2nd place - Mixed Steel w/off hand

"Steel Jam V was an incredible experience, a well-run tournament with chivalrous competitors and talented teammates. I'm so proud of our club for its performance and can't wait to see what else we've got in store. This is HEMA at its best!"

Mike Roth
Steel Jam V - May 2025 in Clermont, Florida
1st place -  Mixed Steel w/off hand

Tamim Khatib
Steel Jam V - May 2025 in Clermont, Florida
3rd place -  Tier B Saber

Fernan Gomez Monedero
Steel Jam V - May 2025 in Clermont, Florida
3rd place -  Mixed Steel w/off hand

Kenneth Parker
Steel Jam V - May 2025 in Clermont, Florida
4th place -  Tier A Saber

"While it is always an incredible honor to fight and train alongside this club, I was especially proud of us at Steel Jam V! Out of twelve medals given out during the day, SOHF took six - meaning half the medalists for the day were our fencers! In addition to that, three of the four non-medalists in the top eight of Saber tier A were also from our club, including two club members with less than a year experience in HEMA! This is my first HEMA medal, but I am sure it wont be my last as long as I have this great crew working with me!"

Mike Roth
Midtown Melee - February 2025 in Atlanta, Georgia
1st place -  Sword and Buckler Tournament

Tyvan Deming
Midtown Melee - February 2025 in Atlanta, Georgia
Judges Choice Award

Fernan Gomez Monedero, Tamim Khatib,  Mike Roth and Tyvan Deming
(Left to Right in Leftmost image)
Steel Jam IV - January 2025 in Clermont, Florida
1st place -  "Road to the Elite Four" Mixed Steel Team Tournament

Mike Roth
Steel Jam IV - January 2025 in Clermont, Florida
1st place -  Open Dueling Tournament

Mike Roth
Steel Jam III - September 2024 in Clermont, Florida
3rd place -  Singlestick

Hunter Rue
Hot Sword Summer 2024 - June 2024 in Alachua, Florida
1st place -  Beginner Synthetic Longsword Tournament

"Hi, I'm Hunter Rue. I have always had a fascination with swords and the martial arts. I competed in taekwondo while I was in high school and trained a little Filipino kali in the military. After I left the service, I moved to Florida. I found the Society of Historical Fencing about 6 months later. I have been practicing HEMA for about a year now. I don't see myself stopping any time soon."

Tamim Khatib
Hot Sword Summer 2024 - June 2024 in Alachua, Florida
3rd place -  Beginner Synthetic Longsword Tournament

"Hi, everyone! My name is Tamim, and I started doing HEMA with Society of Historical Fencing in October 2023. I also began modern Olympic fencing around that time, and its influence can be seen in my style, with an emphasis on footwork, thrusting, and keeping my opponents at a distance. The 2024 Hot Sword Summer was my first HEMA tournament and was an exhilarating experience. I hope to attend future HEMA tournaments and improve in longsword, saber, rapier, and other weapons. Hope to see you out there competing! "

Mark Whiteman
Hot Sword Summer 2024 - June 2024 in Alachua, Florida
3rd place - Open Longsword
3rd place - Open Saber
Iron Duelist Award for Highest overall placement between all events 

Nickolai Mavrodiev
Hot Sword Summer 2024 - June 2024 in Alachua, Florida
4th place -  Open Saber

Mike Roth
Fenceacola - April 2024 in Pensacola Florida
3rd place -  Rapier and Dagger
3rd Place - Sword and Buckler 

Mike Roth
Steel Jam II - August 2023 in Orlando Florida
2nd place -  "Straight to the Point" Single Rapier

Glenn Best
Steel Jam I - May 2023 in Orlando Florida
2nd place -  Open Longsword Tournament

"Hello folks! I’m Glenn and I’ve been doing HEMA now for nearly two years. I’m a notorious sword grabber, and a very point forward fighter! If there’s an option to stab, I’m gonna go for it! I had a blast at Steeljam and it’s the farthest I’ve ever gotten in a tournament though I have medaled once before, just barely! Having done HEMA for about two years now, it’s really cool going to tournaments and seeing the progress I’ve been making. I really like to review my footage and see how I did and it’s been night and day with the training and sparring I’ve gotten here at SoHF! I do Longsword primarily, but I’ve also picked up some Sabre and I’m working on Rapier as much as I can. I’m looking forward to picking up new weapons and getting people to hit me with them! Hope to see y’all out there! "

David Russell
Steel Jam I - May 2023 in Orlando Florida
1st place - "Duel Intentions" Beginner Synthetic Saber Tournament

"I've been practicing HEMA for a total of over a year and a half now. Aside from a month or two of SCA rapier in Idaho in 2019, my HEMA experience began with the beginner's longsword class at Atlanta Freifechter. Unfortunately, that was right before the pandemic hit, and I didn't pick HEMA back up until I joined the Merry Men of Lewistown, Montana, in late 2021. Since October 2022, I've been practicing with Society of Historical Fencing in Gainesville and started to pick up saber. I love fencing with both longsword and saber, and can't wait to learn more about both and pick up some new weapons along the way!"