Beginners

It is quite reasonable to wonder what you might expect when you come to visit us for your first session, so we have put together some information for beginners.

Archery

Beginners who are attending an archery class for the first time will need to go through a safety briefing with the instructor before you get started. This shouldn’t take too long and is important.

Since archery is often quite a stationary sport, you might do well to bring something warm to wear while you are waiting for your turn to shoot.

Book in here for archery sessions.

HEMA

If you are coming to a HEMA class as a beginner and would like an idea of what happens in these sessions: it typically begins with a warm up, and then you will do some drills and exercises, perhaps solo and perhaps with a partner, building in complexity over the course of the session. There may be sparring at the end.

Your instructor will make sure you have protective gear and a training sword before you get started.

We would recommend bringing a spare t-shirt to get changed into at the end of the session, because you may well find yourself breaking a sweat!

Book in here for HEMA sessions.

What to wear?

Please come wearing loose-fitting, comfortable clothing and sensible indoor footwear, so that you can move easily.

We would recommend bringing a sweater or hoodie, or other warm clothing as well, because the venue can become quite cold.

Where possible, please come changed and ready for your session. We do not yet have any dedicated changing area, and there is just a single lavatory cubicle, so there can be a wait before busy classes.

Is there drinking water available?

Please do bring a bottle of water from home. There is a tap for water in the bathroom but filling from it is a bit of a faff!

However, we have a tuckshop with tea and coffee, bottles of water, and some soft drinks available if you would like to buy something while you are here. The tuckshop is cash-only at present.

How to find us

Our address is 63 Commerce Street, Glasgow, G5 8AD.

We are a ten minute walk south from Glasgow Central Station, and just around the corner from Bridge Street subway station.

Is there parking?

There is no free parking at all in the area before 6.00pm, Monday to Saturday.

There is some on-street parking in front of the venue, but please be aware that you need to pay and display, and there is also no guarantee that any spaces will actually be available. There are other spaces on the nearby streets, but you might need to circle the block a few times – we recommend Nelson Street, Centre Street, and Wallace Street.

There is also the Bridge Street park-and-ride carpark around the corner from us.

When to arrive

Our classes often run back-to-back and the venue can be packed quite full at times.

Please try your best to arrive NO EARLIER than 10 minutes before your session time, even if you are a beginner and this is your first time coming to the venue. If you do arrive early for your first visit, please be patient and let our instructors finish teaching their sessions before coming over to say hello to you.

Need to reschedule?

You can cancel up to 24 hours in advance and receive a full refund, or we can move your booking to another date. If you cancel within 24 hours of the session, however, then a refund or rebooking cannot be guaranteed.

We do want to be helpful, especially with beginners, so please do just reach out and talk to us!

Any other questions?

Just use the contact form below and we will get back to you as soon as we can.