Blog

  • Funding to help people start HEMA at the Vanguard Centre

    The Vanguard Centre has received some grant funding to help people start attending HEMA classes.

    Arnold Clark has been running a Community Fund during the pandemic to provide grant funding to charities and local community groups to run projects that will be helpful to people in the local area. The Vanguard Centre has partnered with Triquetra Services (Scotland) to deliver a small project with assistance from the Community Fund.

    As a result, if you have not visited one of our HEMA sessions before, this grant funding will subsidise your first session so that you can attend free of charge! When booking your place through our website, please indicate in the dropdown menu beside the calendar that it is your first session with us, and the discount will be applied automatically.

    We hope that this project will make it slightly easier for people to become involved with physical activity via sport. After the long Covid-restrictions in Glasgow, we all need a bit more movement and happiness in our lives, and this is one small thing that we are delighted to be able to offer, to try to help people recover from the long months of enforced inactivity.

    Please do share this announcement with any of your friends or colleagues who might be interested in having a go at historical fencing!

    (Boring small print: this funding has been earmarked for newcomers, to try to help people become more physically active. If you claim the discount and it is not your first HEMA session with us, we reserve the right to cancel the booking or to chase you up for the correct attendance fee! The grant funding will subsidise a certain number of participants, but we may be able to offer some additional places over and above what the funding covers, to prolong the time for which this project can run.)

    September update: the funding has now finished for this project, so there are no further subsidised places available. You can still book in to attend our HEMA sessions as normal.

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  • 5 year anniversary for the Vanguard Centre!

    5 year anniversary for the Vanguard Centre!

    Scottish Broadsword in Glasgow
    HEMA in Glasgow: broadsword and targe lessons at the Vanguard Centre!

    I am writing this today with incredible happiness at being able to share the Vanguard Centre’s 5 year anniversary with all of our members and friends.

    Five years ago, on Friday the 11th of September 2015, we received our keys to the venue and opened our doors for the very first time. A few hectic days later, after moving everything out of our storage unit and into the venue, and after countless hours of trying to impose some kind of order on the new place, we ran our very first session: a Thursday-evening longsword session!

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  • February at The Vanguard Centre

    The New Year is well under way and we are back into our routine here at the centre. All the usual archery, sword fighting and blacksmithing goings on as well as private tuition and party bookings. Read on to see what is happening at the Vanguard in February.

    Archery

    Archery is still one of our most popular activities here at the centre. We have regular scheduled sessions on Mondays, Wednesdays, Thursdays and Saturdays. All sessions provide full instruction for anyone new to the sport, as well as all the equipment needed. There are a maximum of 10 spaces available at each 90 minute session. We have a good mix of archers from young and old, complete newbies and seasoned archers.

    Get yourself booked in to one of our sessions through our online booking system. You can book your slot here.

    Blacksmithing

    As always, Paul the blacksmith is available to teach you how to manipulate metal into something different. We have a variety of different forging workshops available. Take a look here to see which of out forging sessions you would like to do. If you would like to book a session, you can contact us to arrange a date that suits your schedule.

    We will be adding some new forging workshops soon, so keep your eyes peeled to see what Paul has in store for you all.

    Scottish Fighting Arts

    The Scottish Fighting Arts classes at 8 o’Clock on Tuesday nights takes a different weapon for study each month, and in March we have chosen to explore the sword and buckler.

    This flexible combination of one handed straight sword and small shield (typically between 15cm and 30cm) was commonly used for self defence and dueling in the medieval period and beyond, and was known to be popular with the aristocracy of Scotland after an education on the continent.

    The buckler was also a common sight in the raiding parties of the border reivers in the 17th and 18th centuries. In these sessions we will be learning the medieval German method shown in manuscript known as 1.33 or Tower Fechtbuch, which shares a lot of concepts with later German fighting traditions, but with some changes in tactics to make use of the shield, and some very fancy footwork! Scottish Fighting Arts (buckler), Tuesday nights in February, at 8.00pm!

    HEMA Classes

    We have a variety of different HEMA classes happening throughout the week. Tuesdays at 6pm, start off with an Introduction to HEMA class. This is a free class, so just come along and find out if HEMA is for you! All equipment is provided, just wear something comfortable such as a t-shirt, jogging bottoms and trainers and our instructor will give you your first taste of historical European martial arts.

    8pm on Tuesdays we have out Scottish Fighting Arts class. This class covers various different weapons systems and changes from month to month.

    Wednesdays we have our broadsword sabre class at 8pm and Thursdays we have our German longsword class at 6pm. All of our HEMA classes work on a drop in basis, so no need to book, just turn up and learn some awesome sword fighting!

    You can find more information on HEMA classes here.

    Private tuition and group bookings

    Throughout the week, we have availability for private tuition and group/party bookings. Monday to Friday from noon until 5pm, Jonathan is available for archery or HEMA lessons, either one to one, or perhaps you and a few friends fancy coming along to try shooting or swords? If you are interested in arranging a lesson the get in touch!

  • December at The Vanguard Centre

    It’s that time of the year again! It may be cold outside, but you will always find a warm welcome here at The Vanguard Centre. This year has been great thanks to all you wonderful archers, sword fighters and blacksmiths! From all the team here at The Vanguard Centre, we wish you all a very Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year!!

    Christmas Parties

    Looking for some fun ideas for your office party? Why not book your team in for some festive archery or sword fighting fun! If you would like to try some of the activities here at the centre before heading out to dinner and drinks on the town, then give us a call or email us to book your party!

    Gift Vouchers

    Gift vouchers are a great way to give your friends and loved ones an experience they will never forget. We offer gift vouchers for private tuition in both archery and HEMA, and blacksmithing courses and sessions. You can also purchase session passes  or membership as a gift.

    Beginners Longsword Course

    Beginning January 11th 2020, we will be hosting another  6  week long Beginners Longsword Course.  An ideal Christmas gift for anyone looking to get involved in HEMA. This course can be booked through our online shop or at the centre. If you would like to purchase this as a gift, get in touch with us and we can arrange a gift voucher for you. The course includes a copy of The Academy of Historical Arts German Longsword Study Guide.  

    Archery

    As always, we have plenty of range time for you keen archers! We will also be adding some Friday evening archery sessions this month, check out our online booking system for dates and times.

    Scottish Fighting Arts

    Bartitsu in Scottish Fighting Arts in December

    For a bit of gentle fun in the last few weeks of the year, the Tuesday night Scottish Fighting Arts classes will feature some Walking Stick and Cane self-defence, taken from the school of Bartitsu – the original mixed martial art!
    Invented by world traveller, engineer and student of fighting, Edward W Barton-Wright in the late 19th Century, this odd melting pot of judo, jiu-jitsu, pugilism, French kick-boxing and Swiss Cane fighting was trained and promoted in London’s Soho and attracted many great figures of the era. It was popularised as the fighting style of Sherlock Holmes in fiction, but also had many examples of real world use such as the “suffragitsu” of the Suffragette movement that allowed the protesters to wrestle with the police on even terms.

    For the 3 regular Tuesday nights in December, we will have a brief exploration of the cane fighting portion of the art, illustrating the self-defence principles that a gentleman or lady about town could use to protect themselves in a mugging or rowdy drinking den. Participants are encouraged, but not required, to bring a brimmed had such as a bowler, boater or topper, and canes and walking sticks can be used at the instructor’s discretion, but all weapons and safety gear will be provided.

    Bartitsu, and magnificent moustaches, on Tuesday the 3rd, 10th and 17th of December at 8 o’clock!

  • November at The Vanguard Centre

    It’s getting a bit frosty out there! Time to come to the Vanguard Centre and do some archery, blacksmithing or HEMA. No matter what the weather, we are here for classes, cups of tea and plenty of banter. Keep reading to find out what’s on at The Vanguard Centre in November.

    Scottish Fighting Arts

    Medieval Street Fighting in Scottish Fighting Arts classes

    After the runaway success of the street fighting in August, we are bringing multi-man team fighting back for November! Rather than looking at the sources or techniques of one particular weapon, we will instead be practising fighting in a very different environment.

    In historical context, fighting was only rarely one-on-one duelling, more often committed in gangs or small units of combatants beyond the battlefield or even in civilian streets, so for a bit of fun in November we will be trying to recreate the feeling and the fury of armed self-defence and turf warfare of the 14th and 15th centuries.

    These lessons will be less strict about individual performance and mechanics, although those will always be helpful and will be coached as necessary, and the classes will instead look at the tactics and method of fighting groups – there are considerations of movement, footwork and angles of attack that are more or less helpful in a multi-directional fight, and better or worse still in a confined space! Learn how to cover or rescue your friends in a brawl, stand alone against multiple foes, fight back to back when surrounded by your enemies, and the most useful of all, how to do the bare minimum to run away!

    These classes will make use of common weapons of the period such as single sword or messer (fighting knife), sword and buckler, and the two-handed longsword. Anyone with at least some experience in these systems is welcome to give them a try in these stressful group situations.

    We will also take the opportunity to practise some rarer forms of engagement like escort duty, bodyguarding, snatch-and-grab a prize, and the famous tavern brawl… Team Deathmatch, Last Man Standing, Domination, Capture The Flag, Juggernaut, and other game modes available!

    Medieval Street Fighting will be hosted on Tuesday nights through November at 8.00pm.

    Blacksmithing

    Fancy making your loved ones some hand forged gifts for Christmas? Then why not book in to one of our forging sessions this November.

    Our blacksmith, Paul, will be here at the Vanguard forge with hammer in hand to teach you how! We have a range of pendant forging sessions available, fire pokers, toasting forks and fire strikers also make great gifts. We also have gift vouchers available for forging sessions if you have a friend or family member that fancies forging their own!

    Get in touch to arrange a session or gift voucher.

    Archery

    Archery classes have been busy!

    We love having you all along to theses sessions and with 7 sessions available throughout the week, you have ample time to come for some target practice. Whether you are a complete beginner or a seasoned archer, we have plenty of range time for you. All the kit you need to get started is right here at The Vanguard Centre, so if you are an aspiring toxophilite, book yourself into one of our archery sessions here.

    Christmas parties at The Vanguard Centre

    Our diary is now open for Christmas party bookings! If you fancy some archery or sword fighting before you hit the pub, get in touch and get booked in.