#hema4all

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How to get more women in your HEMA club

I get asked this question a lot, and it seems to be cropping up more and more lately: perhaps because more clubs are popping up or looking to recruit more members. HEMA is definitely growing. Here’s my top three tips:

1. Have only women in your advertising materials.

Yes, just women. And I’m not talking about sexy scantily clad models posing with swords, just regular women fencers, doing what they do or wearing their fencing gear. Why just women? The guys will come to your club no matter what you do, just the word “sword” will have them staggering like hungry zombies in your direction. Girls need to see, clearly, front and centre, that this is for them.

2. If you can, have women instructors or women assistants to help with any introduction classes.

Almost all of my female students have said that seeing a woman instructor made a big difference for them, it reassured them that they had made the right decision in choosing this activity. Women always seem to have nagging doubts at the back of their mind, whatever they do. In the case of HEMA that can sound like: “what am I doing here?”, “is this right for me?”, “am I too old/unfit for this?”, “shouldn’t I be doing Zumba or something?”. But that’s conditioned bullshit, they need to let that crap go.

3. Inspire them with a passion for the art.

This goes for all students of HEMA, but particularly for women students because they tend to fill out beginner groups and then drop off as their peers progress. You very rarely find advanced female students in a club. I’m not going to go into the details of why I think this happens, there are many social and economic and psychological factors play, however if you can continually sustain and inspire a love for HEMA, in whatever aspect drives each of your women students, give it your damned best shot. Find out what that is, remember it, give them your time and support them.

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Wessex League Bristol is a wrap. Fantastic weekend of fighting with friends old and new. Roll on Reading!

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“"It is a great mistake to suppose that women cannot learn fencing as quickly as men…the fact is the women are much the quicker pupils. They are more flexible of body; their limbs are more supple and elastic—that’s one advantage. Their mental brightness enables them to pick up the strategy of the art quicker—that’s a second advantage. And, thirdly, they have more nerve—it’s a fact; I don’t know why, but it’s a fact.”

This is a quote from Thomas Hoyer Monstery, a 19th century swordsman with a ridiculous combat record, who trained arguably one of the greatest swordfighters of her age, Ella Hattan.

He knew his shit.

EDIT: Ella Hattan was not the greatest "female swordfighter” of her age, she was just one of the best, period. In fact she ran out of opponents because men were afraid they would lose to a woman and refused to fight because they couldn’t handle it.“ Jon Mills

Pic: @enaidonthewing

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Good times sparring at wsg this morning and filming for Astolat 2017 rulesets. Congrats to Smashas and James for their successes at Red Dragon Tourney longsword open today as well.

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Lots of fun at http://sword.school tonight where we worked on the lunge, as well as unarmed vs single rapier. Packing for Dublin tomorrow.

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I forgot my mask but managed to get some fencing in all the same at waterloosparring.com this morning.

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I need elbow protection so my elbows don't look like boobs: any recommendations for non bulky small sizes? Also sots/Wsg made a huge medal haul this weekend: bronze in sabre, bronze in rapier and dagger and gold in rapier and dagger at the Swedish HEMA open, as well as gold overall and overall in the Nordic Historical Fencing League; and gold once more on the other side of the continent at HEMAC HEMAthlon in rapier and dagger. A brilliant first ever medal for Apollon, in his home town no less. Meanwhile I've been fencing at wsg and sots this weekend, feeling pretty virtuous!

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Some pell work this afternoon.

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Wednesday's class at http://sword.school

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This mornings funsies. I did: smallsword, sword and buckler, longsword and case or swords.

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Lizzie doing Figuereydo montante at By the Sword.

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Fidgeting fencers at Waterloo Sparring Group this morning.

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Fun morning at Waterloo Sparring Group

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Today was a goddamn good day

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Congrats Pim and Sasha!