FAQs | The Sword Conservatory | Holly Springs, NC

No! We recognize that there are many priorities and activities that you want to participate in, so you can pick back up where you left off. Though you will build skills as you go, in general we don’t have a strict progression where you will be “behind” if you miss classes.

The Medieval 8+ and 15+ classes in particular are designed so that anyone can start at any time, take a break at any time, and resume classes later.

Medieval 8+ and 15+ classes: No purchases are required in the first few classes. We provide the safety weapon(s) that you need, but if you are planning to be with us a while, you will need to purchase a fencing mask and some sort of gloves.

A fencing mask can be purchased online from any website which sell fencing equipment. There are three main types of masks available: foil, saber, epee. Any of these will work; purchase the cheapest available. Avoid any mask that is wired for electronic scoring – they are unnecessarily expensive.

Gloves can be anything that covers the entire hand and fingers. Gardening gloves, work gloves, batting gloves, and welding gloves are good options. The primary purpose is to prevent bad cuts from hand-on-mask contact: the metal mesh of fencing masks easily removes skin. For added protection against impact injuries to the hand, a padded glove can be used, such as lacrosse, hockey, or MMA (Mixed Martial Arts).

Fencing Classes: No purchase of equipment is needed to begin. We will have some loaner equipment that will get you through the introductory lessons. If you decide to continue with us, you will need to purchase a fencing starter kit (mask, glove, weapon). See the instructor for which weapon to purchase (foil, saber, epee).

Competition Class (Armored Medieval): You will need to have your own armor in order to fully participate in this class. However, you can still begin training without armor. The instructor will inform you about the requirements for your armor, and you will have the opportunity to see how other students have constructed their kit.

It depends upon what the event’s requirements are. Most festivals will have a particular theme (Knight, Viking, Scottish, Pirate, etc.) to shoot for. Often any outfit that looks vaguely historical will work fine, though some require strict historical requirements.

For workshops and other educational events (such as at schools or pop-up classes), a school shirt is often all that is needed.

The lead for the event will provide the specifics of what is needed for the event or festival.

As much as possible, we utilize surviving historical documentation as the basis for what we teach. However, not everything that was taught or practiced historically was written down, so we need to fill in the blanks by leveraging other martial traditions and our own experimentation. So, while no one can purport to know exactly how swordfighting was done in a certain time or place, we can be quite confident that we have a close approximation.

All that said, one of the things that we do not do is utilize sharp weapons, for the obvious safety reasons.

Medieval 8+ and 15+ classes: We cycle through a different weapon or style every three months. The standard weapons that we teach are:

Dagger

Single-handed Sword

Two-handed Sword

Sword and Buckler

Sword and Shield

Axe

Staff

Pike

Pole Arm

Unarmed vs. Armed

Sometimes we’ll throw in something different that we’ve been working on. For instance, Roman Infantry bootcamp.

Fencing Classes: We typically being with Sport Saber, then progress through historical and sport forms including:

Sport Foil

Sport Epee

Smallsword

Historical Sabre

Maritime Cutlass

Scottish Broadsword

For more advanced students, the use of weapons in the off-hand (non-dominant hand) is also incorporated, including:

Dagger

Belaying Pin

Cloak

Axe

Staff

Boarding Pike

Students may also have the opportunity to receive additional instruction in forms such as:

Irish Stick Fighting

Bayonet

Competition Class (Armored Medieval): A variety of weapons are taught, though the focus of this class is on tactics, speed, and conditioning. Due to safety considerations, the most common weapons in use are:

Dagger

Single-Handed Sword

One-and-a-Half Hand Sword

Two-Handed Sword

Axe

Bucker

Shield

Staff