Hutton's pioneering advocacy and practice of historical fencing included reconstructions of the fencing systems of several historical masters including George Silver and Achille Marozzo. He delivered numerous lectures on, and practical demonstrations of these systems during the 1890s, both in order to benefit various military charities and to encourage patronage of the contemporary methods of competitive fencing, which had hitherto fallen out of popular fashion in England. He also used these lectures and demonstrations to advocate his own theories about military sabre fencing.