Staff at Hilt & Helm
Management Staff
Chris Shelton (He/Him)
Jarl of Hiltenhelm (President)Lord of Webs (Website Manager)Lord of Ceremonies (Events CoordinatorAs President and Founder of Hilt & Helm, Chris serves as face of the club, head instructor, leads the Board of Directors, directs club tournaments and events, and about a million other things! He’s one of Pittsburgh’s most decorated fighters across weapons in medals, a prolific D&D’er, tattoo enthusiast, the lists go on.
Ryan Leonard (He/Him)
Hand of the Jarl (VP)Lord of Lessons (Instructor)Lord of Ceremonies (Events Coordinator)Ryan started practicing longsword in 2023 and never looked back! You can find him not only on Mondays Longsword class, but also running around tournaments in an immaculate tuxedo keeping things running smoothly!
Eric McChesney (He/Him)
Hand of the Jarl (VP)Lord of Lessons (Instructor)Eric originally learned how to fence “wrong” in college, probably because his German teacher thought it was funny. Don’t let his charm and Shakespearean cantor fool you, though; he’s one of Hilt & Helms best saberists, and you can find him teaching on Tuesdays!
Saoirse Nies (She/It)
Hand of the Jarl (VP)Lady of Arms (Armorer, Facilities Manager)Lady of the Forgotten (Gender Minority Coordinator)Saoirse is easily one of the handiest fencers at Hilt & Helm. A self proclaimed Jane of all trades, she can fix anything from a broken pipe to a rusty sword. She has taught messer, sword and buckler, and plans to add more rare weapons to the course catalogue!
She runs HEMA Fundamentals on Saturday, and the monthly Gender Blender on the last Sunday monthly!
Sarah recently moved to Pittsburgh and has been practicing longsword for over a year. She's here to check you in for class, make sure your waivers are signed, and DJ for our Thursday night class. Her training mantra is "Armed & Fabulous," and she will tell absolutely anyone that she is learning the way of the sword.
Lord of Coin (Treasurer and Business Manager)Lady Chamberlain (Volunteers Manager)Lady of Lessons (Instructor)Lady of Ceremonies (Events Planning Staff)
Sarah Beals Sager (She/Her)
Shawn Howering (He/Him)
As Lord of Coin, Shawn bravely takes on challenging duties of bookkeeping and compliance. He monitors the incoming revenue generated by the club, club expenditures, and ensures that any new prospective expenditures will not jeopardize the club’s ability to honor its debts.
Instructors
In order of class schedule
Tony Cavalline (He/Him)
Lord of Lessons (Instructor)Tony was the first person in the club to obtain a medal in an official tournament (beating Chris by just one day). As the club member instrumental to finding our Squirrel Hill space, he has been granted the honor of 4th Thane of Hiltenhelm, as well as instructing Longsword on Mondays!
Morgan Redfield (He/Him)
Lord of Lessons (Instructor)Morgan came to Hilt and Helm in 2024 from Seattle where he studied Scottish Backsword and Basket Hilt Sword. Although we didn’t have many of either of those around, he quickly adapted his skills to military saber and brought home medals from local tournaments. He has now risen to the rank of Master of Lessons and teaches Saber on Tuesdays with Eric.
Fìonn Kusnir (They/Them)
Liege of Lessons (Instructor)Fìonn was one of the first cohort of fighters to join the club on Wednesdays. After fighting their way all the way up from “Easy to Kill” to “Damn You Scary”, Fìonn has proven themself more than proficient in rapier, sword & buckler, and saber. As a full instructor, we’re proud to have them as our Wednesday night Italian Rapier instructor!
Keith Datum (He/It)
Lord of Lessons (Instructor)A member of the club since 2024 when we first moved into our Squirrel Hill location, Keith came with an Olympic fencing background that seamlessly transitioned into small sword. Since then he’s brought home a medal in rapier from the 2025 Scotty Scuffle and risen to the height of “Master of Lessons”
Clementine Cuspard (She/They)
Lord of Lessons (Instructor)While Clementine is primarily a mixed martial arts athlete rather than a fencer, the good vibes and community focused culture at Hilt and Helm has made her fall in love with HEMA as a practice. Her focus is in Italian rapier, smallsword, and dagger fighting. You can find them on Wednesday nights running a fitness class and helping out with the Italian rapier class. Whether you want to get bigger, faster, stronger or just need a friend to vent to, Clem is here to help!
Connor Stewart (He/Him)
Lord of Lessons (Instructor)Connor ran the show up at RIT’s HEMA club when he was a student. Now that he’s graduated and lives in Pittsburgh, he’s gonna be running the show here at Hilt and Helm’s Thursday Longsword classes!
Joshua Derby (He/Him)
Lord of Lessons (Instructor)Josh has practiced HEMA since 2019, with a background in LARP including Dagorhir and and Belegarth before that, as well as teaching at Waterfront Historical Fencing since 2023 before coming to us (Just don’t be surprised when everyone talks about “Derby”).
Specializing in rapier and longsword, you can train with him in Advanced Fencing on Thursday.
Cassius Nelson (He/Him)
Lord of Lessons (Instructor)Cassius has been studying swordplay in various forms for over 10 years. Formerly the president of both the HEMA team at CMU and the Northeastern Intercollegiate HEMA League, he now teaches at several clubs around Pittsburgh. Specializing primarily in rapier and smallsword in the style of La Verdadera Destreza, his Friday class is the place to be to learn to dance around your opponents with Spanish style!
Tan Nguyen (He/Him)
Lord of Lessons (Instructor)Tan reigns among the most fabulous among Hilt and Helm’s instructors, flowing locks and flowery jacket in mind. He has an extensive background in Wushu and Chinese Martial Arts, as well as 4 years of teaching experience at Waterfront Historical Fencing prior to coming to our club. He specializes in Longsword, Sidesword, and Jianfa, and you can find him assisting teaching and assisting on Saturdays as well as filling in for instructors of all weapons!
Casey Brienza (He/Him)
Lord of Lessons (Instructor)Casey was one of our first students to join us at our Squirrel Hill location. After showing up to a potluck, he signed up for knight school, got his “Damn! You Scary!” sticker, and has graduated all the way up to being a Master of Lessons in the art of Sword and Buckler!
Matthew Melonuk (He/Him)
Lord of Lessons (Instructor)Matt has been practicing HEMA since 2018; his fencing focuses on fundamentals and structure, stemming from his background in Harnischfechten and armored combat with the SCA, as well as longevity to support a lifetime of combat.
Events Planning Committee
Devon Christman (She/Her)
Lady of Ceremonies (Events Committee Member)Scribe of Lessons (Assistant Instructor)Devon started out learning longsword in 2023 before seeing the light and switching to saber in 2024. Possibly related to fencing master F. C. Christmann (unproven, but fun to imagine). You can find Devon assisting the beginner saber classes on Tuesdays with Eric and Morgan, as well as coordinating events and tournaments.
Julia Blurton-Jones (She/They)
Julia has been studying saber 2 years now, ever since she spotted our staff bringing weapons into the Squirrel Hill location and immediately needed to know more. They haven’t mastered the blade yet, but she’s pretty good with a pen! They’re now putting their skills to use creating illustrations and marketing material for Hilt&Helm’s tournaments and other events. When she’s not busy giving herself carpal tunnel, you can find her playing D&D, reading genre books, or riding around on her moped trying not to fall into a pothole.
Court Artist (Illustrator/Graphic Designer)Lane McClain Rowe (They/Them)
Liege of Ceremonies (Events Committee Member)Coming Soon
Mae Boyer (She/Her)
Mae is your local blonde saberist and event planner. She joined Hilt & Helm in 2024 and has been trapped in the basement ever since. She's responsible for your event registration pages, assisting with event coordination, hair wafts drifting on the floor, and other tomfoolery throughout the club. Ask her about Star Trek.
Lady of Ceremonies (Events Committee Member)Special Events Staff
Paul Wintruba (He/Him)
Master of Whispers (Photographer and Social Media Manager)Paul is not only Hilt and Helm’s most proficient image maker and owner of Scrimshaw Media (found two doors down from our own club), but also a proficient fencer of longsword, rapier, and saber! We have him to thank not only for all the amazing photos populating our website, but also for maintaining our online presence through social media.
Pete May (He/Him)
Earl of Levertine
First Thane of HiltenhelmPete was awarded his titles due to exemplary service to the club for his donations of back of the head protection, foam swords, and his home for FunFecht 2022 (our first sponsored event). The timing and immensity of his actions have had an indelible mark on our organization. As thanks, he has been granted a seat on the small council which oversees the direction of the club leadership.
Board of Directors
Chris Shelton (He/Him)
PresidentRyan Leonard (He/Him)
SecretaryShawn Howering (He/Him)
TreasurerAbout our founder:
Chris Shelton - Jarl of Hiltenhelm
Jarl Chris Shelton of Hiltenhelm looking cool as hell with (what scientists would call) a dope ass katana!
Chris Shelton has been doing Historical European Martial Arts (HEMA) since 2014. He has “mastered” (if that’s what you want to call it) German Longsword, Saber, Rapier, Sword and Buckler, Rapier and Dagger, Side Sword, Martial Recital, and Fashion Show. Recipient of 28 medals and numerous awards, he infuses the teachings of several sword masters including Johannes Liechtenauer, Fiore dei Liberi, and Joachim Meyer with his own eccentric flair to produce a sword fighting style that is most certainly “one of a kind”.
Awards
I’m gonna be real with you, updating the list lately has been a chore so I’m just gonna put this picture here and update it when something new pops up. The current award/medal total is 28. Come check them out in person if you’re curious.
What People Are Saying
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Fencing is very cathartic! You can’t think about your personal problems when someone is trying to stab you in the face
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— Arnold S. A guy Chris stabbed in the face.
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I won’t pass my sword SAT’s any time soon. Or get into a good sword college. Or get a good sword job with a sword 401k and sword benefits… but I’m having loads of fun!
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— Kenny G.
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Watch out for his hand strikes. The guy is like a textile mill from the 1920’s.
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— Justin C.
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Everything he does is just wrong! My mentors have warned me for years about doing the most of the things he does. And yet somehow when he does them they always seem to work against me.
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— Victoria G.