NYHFA Instructors


Michael Edelson
NYHFA Director, Principal Instructor
Michael has been studying swordsmanship in various forms since 1990. Prior to German longsword, his primary area of interest was Japanese swordsmanship. Among the styles he studied were Toyama Ryu, 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. Aside from serving as NYHFA's principal instructor, he is currently studying Toyama Ryu batto jutsu under Sang Kim sensei.

Contact: nyhfa.director@gmail.com



Tristán Zukowski
Acting Provost, Scholar
Tristán has had a lifelong interest in historical swordsmanship, and has an avid interest in medieval European material culture. He spent a year in Prague teaching English, and has visited several dozen museums, castles, and armories in the Czech Republic, Germany and Switzerland. He is the leader of NYHFA’s Poughkeepsie Study Group. Contact: nyhfa.psg@gmail.com





Brian Hook
NYHFA Instructor
Brian is responsible for NYHFA's ringen (wrestling), dagger and messer curriculums and teaches beginner longsword to new members. He is a living historian focused on late 15th century Germany and is the founder and director of the Kompanie des Schwarzen Windes.