THE CENTER FOR BLADE ARTS
New Student Information
What to do before your first class at CBA
CLASS REGISTRATION
You are welcome to visit the club to have questions answered and enroll.
Email or call us if you can't find the information you need here.
Returning CBA students
Returning CBA students may rejoin at any time without orientation. You may need to confirm your payment information before resuming classes. Contact the front desk if you have any questions.
Students with Prior Experience
Students with prior experience can join any time after an orientation session with one of the coaches. Please join us for one of our orientation sessions listed below to get started. Email us if you have any questions.
Orientation and Newcomer Sessions
Your onboarding experience is very important to us, and we ensure you are provided with needed attention. All students with no experience will be welcomed with an onboarding class; you do not need equipment.
Here are our orientation class times:
Olympic Fencing
Children's Fencing (Age 8 and under)
Wednesdays 5 - 6 p.m.
Youth Fencing (Age 12 and under)
Saturdays 1:30 - 2:30 p.m.
Teen & Adult Fencing (Age 13+)
Saturdays 1:30 - 2:30 p.m.
HEMA
Youth HEMA (Age 10 - 14)
Saturdays 10:30 - 11:30 a.m.
Intro to HEMA (Age 14+)
Sundays 1:30 - 2:30 p.m.
We have newcomers in fencing and HEMA almost every week. Students can enroll on the day they arrive and start right away. If you are not sure about joining, feel free to watch any classes and jump in when you are ready. Please email us if you have any questions!
Kendo Classes for Newcomers
New Kendo beginners (Age 8+) are accepted during the first two Thursday and Saturday practices in January, April, July, and October. The orientation times are Thursdays 5 - 6 p.m. and Saturdays 4 -5:30 p.m.
By grouping new beginners, we hope to make it an easier and better experience, as people learn the basics at the same time.
If you have questions, please email Travis Stronach.
Tameshigiri Classes for Newcomers
Beginners are welcome at any time, but it is recommended that newcomers watch as class first and then join on their next visit. In addition, before visiting, please email Seth, and the group will check their calendar to ensure they are not at a tournament or other event.
Beginner Tameshigiri classes are taught on Sundays from 3 - 5 p.m.
CLASS & LESSON FEES
All beginner Olympic and HEMA classes require at least a Gold Level Class Package—priced at $110 per month with auto-pay enabled.
Private and semi-private Olympic and HEMA coaching is available to currently enrolled students based on instructor availability. This coaching service is also kept low-cost and can be individual (1/1 with coach) or semi-private in groups of 2 to 6 students.
Please email us if you have any questions about a particular class.
Kendo and Tameshigiri classes collect their own fees; email if you have questions.
EQUIPMENT
We have a limited amount of loaner equipment available for beginners. If available, we can lend beginner equipment for your first few sessions, but we ask that students get a few items as soon as possible. We are happy to help students get measured and assist you with placing your order at your earliest convenience.
FENCING / HEMA MASK
Headgear is the most in-demand loaner item at CBA and is what we recommend everyone buy right away. The recommended budget options start at $77 and can climb over $300 for the most premium options. This is the one piece of safety equipment we never recommend buying second-hand. A brand new budget-level mask is what we recommend for most beginners.
FENCING JACKET AND GLOVE
Jackets and gloves are one of the most individualized pieces of equipment a fencer will own, and is the hardest for us to lend out in a correct size. Recommended budget jackets start at $79 and go up to $380 for the most premium offerings. Gloves start from $12 and run up to $89. We recommend that most beginners buy a budget-level glove and jacket with their fencing mask purchase to save on shipping costs. Please note that fencers only wear one glove.
HEMA GLOVES
Hand protection is important for Longsword students while in class and doing light sparring. We recommend a pair of lacrosse gloves from either a second hand shop or on sale at an online retailer, which can be found under $50 in many cases. Avoid buying expensive lacrosse gloves. HEMA-specific gloves start around $140 and can be found on sale for even less.
HEMA TRAINING SWORD
The Knightshop Synthetic Training Sword is $89 with the extended pommel option. Practically every HEMA student owns one of these at some point. While students are very enthusiastic about buying a sword right away, we have a fair number of these to lend out and the aforementioned safety gear is in much shorter supply.
USED EQUIPMENT
Generally we do not recommend beginners buy used equipment. However, buying used can offer a great value if you know what to look for and what to avoid. Staff can help assess whether a used piece of equipment would be worth purchasing, but it can be difficult to determine without the item in hand. Let us know if equipment cost is of critical importance and we will help.
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