Michael Edelson
NYHFA Director
Michael has been studying swordsmanship of one form or another since 1990. Prior to German longsword, his primary area of interest was Japanese swordsmanship. Among the styles he studied were Toyama Ryu batto jutsu, Yagyu Shinkage Ryu, Engi Iaido and others. He also has an extensive background in unarmed Eastern martial arts and worked for several years as a Tae Kwon Do and Hapkido instructor. Michael was hooked on Historical European Swordsmanship from the moment he picked up a longsword in July of 2005 and has never looked back.
Michael Ahrens
NYHFA Co-Founder
Michael Ahrens is a wilderness survival enthusiast, an avid firearms collector and a pagan. Due to his disdain for most aspects of modern civilization, he affectionately called “Barbarian Mike” by the other NYHFA members (and their families). Barbarian Mike is never, ever, weak at the sword.
Brian Hook
NYHFA Instructor
Brian is a living historian focused on late 15th century Germany and a passionate and dedicated martial artist. He is the founder and director of the Company of the Black Winds.
Jason Auerbach
Senior Member
Jason is a New York City Police Officer and has been training in various sword arts with Michael Edelson since 1993. Jason is a naturally gifted swordsman with enormous potential, but he doesn’t want to be “that crazy sword guy”, which keeps him from practicing at home. Denial can be a terrible thing.
Justin Kirck
Free Scholar, Highland Broadsword, Cateran Society
Justin Kirck is NYHFA’s Highland Broadsword instructor and comes to us from the Cateran Society, where he was recently awarded the rank of Free Scholar. Justin is also an amateur blacksmith and am emerging mail maker. His dedication to swordsmanship used to set an example to other members, until he started slacking off and spending all his Saturdays rehearsing for his drama queen class. Or was that just drama class? I can never remember.
Patrick O'Neil
NYHFA Member
Patrick has been involved in various forms of WMA for several years before he joined NYHFA. He is currently serving in the US Army reserves. He is obnoxiously tall and should submit to height reduction surgery to accomodate his training partners. It's the decent thing to do.
Bill Tsafa
NYHFA Member
Yes, Bill Tsafa the Tire Pell Guy found us, and we're glad to have him. Bill is an earnest practicioner and pursues his studies with dedication and hard work. Now if only he would take that medication his psychiatrist gave him, he might stop beating on car tires.
Kirill Berezovski
NYHFA Member
Kirill is a classicaly trained musician and composer, as well as a lifelong enthusiast of swords and swordsmanship. To learn more about him and his music, visit his website at www.kirillbz.com. Kirill is also ridiculously tall. As such, he is a perfect candidate for NYHFA experimental height reduction surgery, otherwise known as test cutting.
Christopher Torres
NYHFA Member
Chris is an active member of FOF(Friends of Faire), a group that participates in Renaissance reenactment at several faires in the tristate area. He is an avid sword collector and has a keen interest in swordsmanship. Chris has a martial arts backround in Vadha Kempo, but had no formal sword training before coming to NYHFA. Chris is a telecommunications technician for Verizon as well as a part time bartender and mixologist. He participates in the Staten Island dart league as well as Staten Islandʼs beach volleyball league.
Brando Boniver
NYHFA Member
Brando is an acting student and former castle tour guide whose family lives in the middle of a triange of key fortifications in the Danube Valley, which is in no small part responsible for his love of medieval history and arts. He has studied olympic fencing, krav maga and karate, and has played national level Rugby. Brando has also assisted on several archaelogical digs, where he discovered the Star Gate, but he can't talk about that publicly.
Ray Florio
NYHFA Member
Ray has had a lifelong interest in medieval history, and has been a collector of weapons and armor for over a decade. Though he had no formal sword training prior to the NYHFA, he has spent several years studying archery. When not indulging his more anachronistic hobbies, Ray works as a management consultant, specializing in pricing strategy; a subject on which he has written several articles and has recently co-authored a textbook.
Andrew Lee
Senior Member
Andrew Lee is a very talented sword polisher, an emerging fittings maker and a highly educated individual. He can put a shaving edge on a knife in the time it takes him to cast aspersions at those who fail to understand the principles of thermodynamics. Although Andrew has no prior martial arts background, he has become one of NYHFA’s most advanced students.
Jerry Durante
Senior Member
Jerry Durante has a very colorful background in the world of Western Martial Arts. “Been there done that” best describes his experiences, which range from SCA fighting to boffer sword dueling. Jerry is also a very talented leather worker and tinkerer, and can fabricate just about anything the group needs for practice.
Javier Rodriguez
NYHFA Associate
Javier is a graduate of Cooper Union and works as a developer for Goldman Sachs. He is smarter and better educated than Andrew Lee.
Joshua Barash
NYHFA Associate
Josh is new to Western Martial Arts and has taken to his studies enthusiastically. He served in the Israeli Army and lives in Queens, New York.
Joe Safford
NYHFA Associate
Joe is a corresponding member of NYHFA who attends practice sessions whenever he can. He lives in Kingston New York with his wife, who happens to be Michael Edelson’s sister. Joe is a natural athlete and a part time super hero. He once climbed a 100 foot tall swaying pine tree to retrieve Michael’s parrot.
Matt Hagan
NYHFA Associate
Matt has recently returned to NYHFA after a long hiatus. He is a Marine who served in Desert Storm and has a natural aptitude for swordsmanship.
Randal Graham
NYHFA Associate, Esteemed Swordsmith, Honorary Educational Advisor
NYHFA is fortunate to count Randal Graham among its associate members. Randal is an invaluable source of wisdom and knowledge on the subject of swords and metallurgy. For more information about Randal Graham, visit his website, Evolution Forge
Maks Trypolskyy
NYHFA Associate
Maks is a network administrator and quality manager at a manufacturing facility in the Bronx and is currently working towards his MCSE certification. He is a big fan of fantasy movies and books. When he shaves his head, he looks exactly like Private Pile from Full Metal Jacket (after he goes crazy).
Leonid Tsynman
NYHFA Associate
Leonid is a biology major at Brooklyn College, City University of New York. He is new to swordsmanship and martial arts but is making excellent progress and shows great promise.
