Blog

  • What’s on in August?

    What’s on in August?

    Kettlebells in Glasgow

    August is going to be a busy month at the Vanguard Centre, with bookings for all sorts of parties, plenty of private tuition, and of course our regular classes!

    FightCamp

    From Thursday 16th until Monday 20th, several of our staff and members will be away at FightCamp in Coventry. This is one of the biggest HEMA events in the country and there will doubtless be plenty of new information and skills coming back up to Glasgow afterwards! There may even be new toys if people have treated themselves to something shiny on their travels…

    Thursday 16th

    Due to this slight interruption to the usual schedule, there will be no longsword on Thursday the 16th, and there will be two archery sessions instead: 6:00-7:30pm, and 7:30-9:00pm.

    Longsword lessons

    This week’s longsword lesson is going to involve some recap of last month’s material, and quite possibly some sparring games. For the rest of this month we will be focusing on the Zwerhaw – this is one of the most important strikes in the German longsword sources, and it’s one of the best ways to reach out and smack someone upside the head. Longsword is running on Thursday evenings from 6:00-7:30pm.

    Scottish Fighting Arts

    In the Scottish Fighting Arts lessons, the focus is going to be on broadsword and targe. Jonathan Spouge is going to be teaching his method at FightCamp, and is well-recognised across the country for his work with this discipline, so you are in good hands when you come along to work on it! Scottish Fighting Arts runs on Tuesdays from 7:30-9:00pm.

    Book yourself in for something!

    As always, if you fancy arranging a blacksmithing lesson for yourself or a friend, or if you would like some private tuition to improve on your fencing, then get in touch with us and we’ll add you to the diary!

  • What’s on in July?

    What’s on in July?

    Keith Farrell

    There are some exciting things happening in July at the Vanguard Centre. We’ll have a week with a guest instructor, we have an open sparring day, and we can now begin to offer archery sessions for younger children!

    A week of lessons with Keith Farrell

    Keith Farrell, a well-known instructor and one of the founders of the Vanguard Centre, will be visiting the school between Tuesday the 10th and Saturday the 14th of July. We have asked if he would be willing to teach the regular drop-in sessions during the week, as well as run a few additional things, and happily he agreed to our request!

    Therefore, the schedule for the week beginning the 9th of July will depart a little from normal, and will be as follows:

    Monday 9th 6:00pm-7:30pm Archery drop-in as normal
    7:30pm–9:00pm Archery drop-in as normal
    Tuesday 10th 6:00pm-7:30pm Intro to HEMA (with Keith Farrell) FB event page drop-in as normal
    7:30pm-9:00pm Scottish Fighting Arts (with Keith Farrell) FB event page drop-in as normal
    Wednesday 11th 6:00pm-7:30pm Common Fencing Longsword (with Keith Farrell) FB event page drop-in as normal
    7:30pm-9:00pm Broadsword & Sabre (with Keith Farrell) FB event page drop-in as normal
    Thursday 12th 6:00pm-7:30pm Longsword (with Keith Farrell) FB event page drop-in as normal
    7:30pm-9:00pm More Longsword (with Keith Farrell) FB event page drop-in as normal
    Friday 13th 6:00pm-9:00pm Cutting Seminar (with Keith Farrell) FB event page book a ticket
    Saturday 14th 11:30am-4:00pm July Sparring Day FB event page book a ticket

    If you are interested in booking some private tuition with Keith while he is in Glasgow, please contact us or speak with Samantha, and pencil yourself in. Private tuition will be available between 1pm and 5:30pm from Tuesday to Friday, and the rate will be £30 per hour (can be paid in advance or on the day).

    July Sparring Day

    We had scheduled the July Sparring Day to run on Saturday the 7th, but due to some unfortunate last minute demands upon Jonathan’s time, the sparring day is being moved back a week, to Saturday the 14th.

    Doors will open at 11:30am, and the hall will be open for sparring until 4pm. This is a great opportunity to put your practice to the test, and see how well the lessons are sinking in! The price is £15 if you choose to pay on the day, or £12 if you book in advance through our website.

    Archery sessions for children

    We have been investing in our archery equipment, and now we have some additional bows suitable for younger or smaller children. If you would like to book a family outing for yourself, your children (aged 8+), and any friends who might wish to come with you, then please contact us and book yourselves a timeslot.

    Archery

    Summer is here! If you are looking for something  fun to do in the afternoons, why not try some archery? The range will be open by appointment Tuesdays, Wednesdays and Thursdays beginning on the 17th of July, so don’t be shy! Give us a call and get booked in for some shooting fun.

    Sword fighting- Private tuition

    We also offer private tuition in a range of different sword fighting disciplines. This service is available Tuesdays, Wednesdays and Thursdays, weekends are available if booked in advance. If you would like to book an hour or two then get in touch with us.

    Parties

    Here at The Vanguard Centre we like to offer something a little different so if you have a stag or hen party planned, birthday or other special occasion, why not book us for some archery and sword fighting? Get in touch for booking availability and pricing.

    Blacksmithing

    Have you ever fancied trying your hand at forging? We have availability this summer for you to wield a hammer in the forge! Come along for a forging session at the centre and we will take you though all the steps to make some useful household items. Appointments can be made for weekdays and weekends from 10am until 3pm.

  • We now have a news feed

    The Vanguard Centre

    The website now has a news feed!

    We have been making several updates to the website recently, to improve its loading speeds and reliability. Now that these tasks have been dealt with (and now that the site is now much faster and more stable than before!), we can turn some attention to improving the features and services on offer.

    We will use this news feed for announcements about the Vanguard Centre and our activities, including blacksmithing, archery, and HEMA in Glasgow. This will make it easier for us to communicate with people who do not use Facebook, and will also let us reach more people in the local community.

    The intention is to make updates around once a month on average.