Nashville junior Alexander Brindley, clad in black gloves and a helmet, steps back to block his opponent by thrusting a brown wooden sword directly in front of his body. This move, the “master strike,” means Brindley knew exactly how his opponent would attack him, and he attacked back with this same move.

Brindley isn’t in a medieval court wearing a suit of shining armor. He’s in the basement of the Christian Student Fellowship building competing against fellow members of the Swordsman Club.

The students in this club are reviving traditional European swordsmanship from the 1400s and 1500s. Brindley started the group about two years ago. The five to 10 members meet about once a week.

Many people associate swordsmanship with what they’ve seen in movies, Brindley said.

“People think of swords being these big, clobbering weapons,” he said.

The sport requires agility, speed and strength. It is made up of precise moves of attacking and guarding that require a lot of control of the sword.

Brindley describes swordsmanship as “a methodical system of the most effective way to use the weapon to kill someone.”

While no one actually gets killed when the club practices, the members still practice moves that would kill their opponent had they been fighting during medieval times. They call this sparring, which means the intent is to learn rather than fight.

Each way a person holds a sword is designed to protect an area of the body. The intent of the club members is not to win, but to improve their skills.

Henderson senior Wayne Stewart joined the club about a year and a half ago when he saw Brindley practicing on campus.

“Pretty much our advertising is us being outside on campus,” Brindley said.

Stewart practices many different kinds of fighting, such as combat, mixed martial arts and Jiu Jitsu, so he thought he’d give swordsmanship a try. He feels that it’s a good way to stay in shape and have fun at the same time.

“I just figure that if you’re going to exercise, you might as well learn something,” he said.

Hendersonville sophomore Nicki Brown attended the club’s practice for the first time last Thursday night. She’s always enjoyed fantasy movies such as “Dragon Heart” and the “Lord of the Rings” series. Her interest in the sport started with films like these, she said.

“I’m just fascinated by fighting, particularly sword-fighting,” she said.

She took up the sport back in high school for fun and practiced with a medieval fantasy combat group. She had taken some time off from the sport until last week.

She’s a theater major, so having random skills like sword-fighting can never hurt, she joked.

Hendersonville junior Kasey Bell also came along with Brown to the club’s practice for the first time Thursday. He’s always enjoyed history and he thought it would be a good way to bring it to life.

“You’re learning something and you’re not just sitting around all day,” he said.

He also enjoys the esteem and mythology of the “heroes of old.” He owns three swords, he said.

He said people should approach the sport with an open mind and be willing to learn new things.

Reach Nina Bosken at diversions@chherald.com.