Some of the familiar faces at CSHF!
Lacey is the founder and coach for Cleveland Steel Historical Fencing.
Lacey has competed in sports her entire life, but started her martial journey in 2019, at a local fencing club. She began with epee but transitioned to HEMA in 2021 where she quickly established herself as a strong competitor and multi medalist. Recently she has begun to compete internationally, having traveled to Helsinki twice. Her passion is teaching and training longsword fencing. She was an assistant coach for a couple of years before leaving to forge her own path to help grow the HEMA community in NE Ohio. Giving her students confidence and independence in their fencing are what drive her teaching style.
Outside of the salle, Lacey is an advocate for Underrepresented Genders (URG) in HEMA, developing a committee with ORVL to create guidelines for inclusivity within the league. Lacey has also been an RN for 13 years and uses this knowledge to assist with the safety committee as well.
She is currently in the process of obtaining her Personal Trainer and Nutrition Certs through NASM.
Brienne is a founding member of CSHF, as well as the resident silly goose and occasional feral barbarian of the Cleveland Steel squad.
An artist, teacher, animator, armorer, and friend. Once she picked up the blade she couldn't go back. She is a constant around Cleveland Steel and an easy find of you need a helping hand. Just look for her crazy hair.
Weird tangents, cartoon quotes, and wild golden retriever stories are always in her repertoire. And willing and ready to spar longsword or stab a dagger in your face any day. Or hand you a handmade armed otter sticker.
Salena is a music teacher who enjoys many interests, especially those regarding anything medieval or medieval adjacent! For many years she had participated in the SCA to learn more about historically accurate practices, such as archery, fiber arts, and of course anything regarding music & dance! She also for many years has immersed herself into the glorious worlds of Game of Thrones, Harry Potter, and so much more! When her friend extended an invitation to attend class one day, she knew from that moment that this was something she had always wanted to do but never knew existed! When she is not swinging metal around and getting bruised, Salena enjoys reading, crafting, spending time with friends & family, and being active in many other hobbies in her spare time.
Raven is a founding member of CSHF
Raven was born the same year as MTV.
Consequently, she was immersed, from birth, in an animated, and live action deluge of various super types swaggering about and fighting with swords. Happy accidents of fate insured full color illustrations of historical art, depicting people with swords, were ubiquitous. And of course, the formative soup, and sandwich combo of heavy metal, and D&D did the final bits of forge welding swords into her psyche. Combine this with the innate energy level of an espresso fueled squirrel -never give a squirrel espresso- and the practice of HEMA is a happy inevitably for Raven.
Cierra is an avid Legend of Zelda fan and wielder of many a stick and plastic sword as a kid, picking up HEMA seemed like a natural fit. A chance to wield real swords? What's not to love? The friendships with fellow nerds have only made it all the better. Cierra also cooks for a small nonprofit and shelves at their local library.