Jeannette Acosta-Martínez is a traditional master of arms, teaching classical and historical fencing. She began her training in 1982 under the tutelage of Maître d’Armes Frederick Rohdes, and after his death in 1984, continued with his protégé Maestro Ramón Martínez. In all, Maestro Acosta-Martínez has spent over three decades studying traditional fencing, both classical and historical. In 1995, she became an instructor at the Martínez Academy of Arms, the Academy’s business manager, and the chief assistant at all Maestro Martínez’s demonstrations and seminars.
In preparation for her Provost and Master certification, Maestro Acosta-Martínez devoted herself to learning the art of teaching, as well as extensively researching the fencing treatises of the classical and historical periods. In January 1999, she was instrumental in orchestrating a historical fencing exposition at St. Peter’s College, New Jersey, which had international participation and featured demonstrations not seen in public for more than 100 years. In May of 2000, she received her Master’s certification from the International Masters at Arms Federation and a second certification from the Martínez Academy of Arms the following November, thus becoming the only other Master certified to teach the Rohdes system of classical fencing and the Martínez system of Spanish rapier fence. Maestro Acosta-Martínez is also on the Board of Directors of the Association for Historical Fencing and was one of the original founding members of the International Masters at Arms Federation.
Maestro Acosta-Martínez has annotated and translated various works of classical and historical fencing over the years. She collaborated on the translation of Capo Ferro’s Gran Simulacro, published by Greenhill Press in 2004. She annotated and created some additional illustrations for the appendix of The School of Fencing by Domenico Angelo, published by Greenhill in 2005. In association with Palpable Hit Productions, in 2009 she created a three-volume instructional DVD on the French school of small-sword, L’École Française: A Practical and Combative Guide to the French Small-sword.
In addition to being a master of arms she is also a professional restorer of antique furniture who specializes in works of the 17th and 18th centuries. This, together with her interest in antique weapons, led her to the study of fencing.

Jared Kirby first became involved in Western Martial Arts and Combat for Stage & Screen in 1995. Beginning his studies of historical fencing in Minneapolis, Minnesota, Mr. Kirby moved to Scotland in order to study with Maestro Paul Macdonald. He then moved to New York in 1999 to study at the Martinez Academy. In December of 2003 he earned his first instructor ranks, becoming Provost of Arms in November 2013 and Master of Arms in November 2016.

Mr. Kirby has traveled extensively to assist the Maestros at seminars and workshops. He teaches in the tri-state area and is currently the fencing instructor at SUNY Purchase and Sarah Lawrence College in NY. He teaches a variety of workshops across the US and around the world including Canada, England, Scotland, Australia, Finland and Italy. He has taught at the Paddy Crean International Art of the Sword Workshop, CombatCon in Las Vegas, the International Swordfighting and Martial Arts Convention (ISMAC), Redwoods Rapier Camp and the Western Washington WMA Workshop just to name a few.

Mr. Kirby also teaches Combat for Stage and Screen class in New York City and is a Fight Director who has worked Off-Broadway, Regionally, in London and Australia. He is the editor and one of the translators of Italian Rapier Combat, the first complete, professional translation of Capo Ferro. He wrote the introduction for, and edited The School of Fencing, one of the most popular fencing treatises of the eighteenth century, authored by Domenico Angelo and annotated by Maestro Jeannette Acosta-Martínez. Most recently Mr. Kirby edited "The Gentleman's Guide to Duelling: Of Honour and Honourable Quarrels" which is an updated version of Vincentio Saviolo's original work featuring the most comprehensive biography of Saviolo ever published.

Andy Baiman, a former New York City high school English teacher and former owner/operator of an industrial hardware and mill supply business in Manhattan, now resides in Connecticut, where he divides his time between road cycling, X-C Skiing, sea kayaking with an emphasis on traditional ancient “qajaqs” and techniques (always the traditionalist,) and teaching classical fencing.

Following his introduction to the ubiquitous Olympic-style fencing via an undergraduate Physical Education class at Queens College, Mr. Baiman pursued fencing in various venues, including several years at a local YWCA under the tutelage of a former Pan-American Games champion, who was himself schooled by one of the last classically-trained masters of the previous age.

At about this time, in pursuit of something with less of a sporting aspect and more of a martial one, Mr. Baiman began what was to be a three-year study of Tai Chi Ch'uan with noted New York-area Tai Chi Master C.K. Chu. It was here that he met Maestro Martínez, himself then a student at the Tai Chi school, who was giving classical fencing classes in space provided by Master Chu. Mr. Baiman has studied with Maestro Martínez ever since then, a span of over two decades.

Prior to earning the rank of Provost in January of 2001, Mr. Baiman had assisted Maestro Martínez in several demonstrations and exhibitions including the Cloisters Renaissance Fair and a demonstration for the Brigade of the American Revolution in Huntington, Long Island. He became an instructor at the Martinez Academy in 1998.

Now residing full time in Connecticut, he teaches classical fencing at a local fencing club, where he has seen some significant success in sharing the Martínez classical fencing wisdom with those new to fencing and experienced “sport fencers” as well, some of whom have seen their “future in fencing in the past”, and some of whom continue to excel in the sport competitive venue and yet unstintingly give credit to the newly acquired classical technique which informs and improves their fencing.

Aside from his particular interest in the small-sword, Mr. Baiman takes special interest in discovering solutions to the mystery of guiding students through that troubling transition between academic knowledge of technique and practical application in the bout, long a source of consternation for teacher and pupil alike.

Instructor Hogg began his fencing career in 1993 in El Paso, Texas, training in the modern competitive sporting form until 2000. In 2003, Russell became a student of traditional fencing at the Martinez Academy of Arms. He was drawn to the Academy because of the way it honors the deep heritage of fencing. He has served as Chef de Salle at the Academy, where he has earned the rank of Instructor of Arms in classical French foil and dueling sword as well as French small-sword. He has also assisted Maestros Martínez and Acosta-Martínez in a number of workshops and demonstrations. He currently resides in the Naples/Ft. Myers area in Southwest Florida, where he runs the Côte du Golfe School of Fencing and is also available for private lessons.

Although he has a broad interest and background in traditional fencing weapons and styles, Russell’s primary interest lies in the evolution of French fencing from its appearance as a distinct school in the mid-17th century. He thus devotes much of his attention to French foil, dueling sword, and small-sword, as well as rapier. He continues to research fencing of the baroque and classical eras, and has published articles on fencing in the 1800s and early 1900s. As a researcher and professor of anatomy he is also very interested in human anatomy and kinesiology as they relate to fencing (especially the teaching of fencing) and the martial arts in general. He is currently an Associate Professor in the Department of Physical Therapy and Human Performance at Florida Gulf Coast University.

After visiting the Martinez Academy of Arms in 1989 at a friend's suggestion, Kim found himself taking classes from Maestro Martinez on a regular basis. A freelance computer consultant, he was also the designer and webmaster of the Academy’s first website.

Mr. Moser spent the first several years of his training acquiring a thorough comprehension of French foil, later studying French dueling sword and Italian dueling sabre. He has also studied French small-sword and Spanish rapier. Mr. Moser has performed demonstrations of classical and historical fencing at several public events and on national television.

In February of 2000, Mr. Moser earned the rank of instructor in French foil and dueling sword (épée), and, since then, has been teaching privately in the West Palm Beach area of Florida, including Palm Beach Gardens, Jupiter, Tequesta, and Greenacres. He currently offers fencing instruction at Palm Beach Classical Fencing.

Mr. Bruce Sielaff began the study of classical and historical fencing in January 2007 at the Salle Saint-George, under Maître Cecil Longino. Having previously studied sport fencing at university, Mr. Sielaff found that he was much more drawn to the classical forms of the art, in particular to the French Small-sword. He was impressed with the twin goals of conveying a martial skill, while simultaneously imparting noble form, bearing and temperament. While studying at the Salle Saint-George, Mr. Sielaff served as Chef de Salle from 2010 until 2013, when he was accepted into the Martinez Academy Instructor In-Training Program. He was certified as Instructor in both French foil and Small-sword on December 11th, 2015.

While Mr. Sielaff’s focus has been on the study of fencing weapons, he is more broadly interested in the western martial tradition. He has studied traditional pugilism for several years under Tim Ruzicki, and since 2010 has been actively training in La Boxe Francaise Savate.

Mr. Sielaff holds a Master Of Arts Degree in Philosophy from Indiana University. He currently lives and teaches privately near Southampton, UK.

Michael Wen-Sen Su began studying Classical and Historical Fencing with Maestro Ramón Martínez and Maestro Jeannette Acosta-Martínez in 1996. He took his first fencing class in high school, then competed for his university fencing team for several years. Always drawn to the elegant precision of fencing, Mr. Su’s fencing education only truly began upon his discovery of the living legacy of Classical and Historical Fencing at the Martínez Academy.

Michael was born in Taiwan, raised in San Francisco and Pasadena, and then moved to New York City. In 2008, he earned his rank as Instructor of French foil at the Martinez Academy. His long involvement with Classical and Historical Fencing led Michael to take on a bigger role within the fencing community as Treasurer of the Association for Historical Fencing. As a member of several AHF committees, Michael has worked on the organization of numerous AHF events. Now, as AHF Treasurer, Michael draws upon his experiences of acting as university-residence treasurer for 2 years and running a real estate management business for the last 15 years.

In addition to being a fencing instructor, Michael is also Visiting Professor and Thesis Coordinator in the School of Architecture at the Pratt Institute in Brooklyn, New York. Although he has studied and acquired multiple degrees in Physics and Architecture, Michael finds his continuing study of fencing to be the most spiritually rewarding discipline in which he is engaged.