Jeff Lord

Jeff Lord has been practicing and teaching various martial arts disciplines for over 40 years. A certified Moniteur D'Armes and Moniteur D'Escrime Historique (USFCA/AAI), his experience includes over 30 years as a Head Fencing Coach at Amherst, Hampshire and Smith Colleges; his students have medaled in all six weapon categories.  He has provided instruction in stage combat at numerous theaters and schools throughout New England, and has been a certified member of the Society of American Fight Directors with over sixty productions to his credit.

Lord spent two years in Japan studying Japanese sword arts, and there earned the Shodan (first degree) rank in both Kendo and Iaido. He has taught Meyer's German longsword technique at the Higgins Armory museum in Worcester, MA, and was a co-founder and lead physical instructor of the museum's "Sword Guild." He holds a master's degree in Medieval History from the University of Massachusetts at Amherst and is an Associate Curator at the Kinney Center for Interdisciplinary Renaissance Studies, creating and managing an online collection of historical combat treatises. Currently, he also serves on the Scientific Committee of the Acta Periodica Duellatorum. In 2018, he was the recipient of the Lifetime Achievement Award for Excellence in Historical European Martial Arts Studies from the HEMA Scholar Awards.

Lord has been a member of ARMS since its founding in 2001. In his capacity as Director of Interpretive Studies, he has overseen both the physical and academic aspects of the Association's work.