17th May 2021 – Update about returning to indoor sessions!
As of this week we are now able to return to indoor training on Wednesday evenings. We will continue to run the Sunday afternoon sessions outdoors as well, so that we have two sessions a week, for at least the foreseeable future.
Here is our formal news announcement with more information about the Wednesday sessions reopening:
https://www.liverpoolhema.com/news/2021/05/17/updates-reopening-for-indoor-training/
27th April 2021 – Update
Thanks to BMABA (our overbody) agreeing a Return to Play policy with Sport England, our club is able to move forward in terms of how we can meet and train.
I’m speaking with our venue managers at the moment about being able to get back into the hall on Wednesday evenings. Hopefully this shouldn’t be a problem.
We’ll keep doing the Sunday afternoon sessions outdoors for a little while longer, because we can, and a bit more gentle practice right now can only be a good thing for most of us.
In our practice, however, whether indoor or outdoor, we can now begin to incorporate a few contact exercises into our training. We are not yet able to do sparring, but we are now able to progress to phase 1 of the DCMS roadmap, meaning that limited / medium risk activities are now on the cards.
We are still going to error on the side of caution, and will do our best to keep all activities “low risk” and suitable for phase 0. However, the BMABA policy provides some useful definitions about how to assess the risk of any exercise in these terms, and so we should be able to start clashing swords pretty soon!
If you have been thinking about getting a fencing mask, so that you have head protection in your size and so that you don’t have to share a mask with other people (a really bad idea right now!), it might be sensible to make the purchase sooner rather than later. We do have a few fencing masks of different sizes here in Liverpool, available for purchase, so if you would like to buy one through the club please let me know and we can arrange the sale quickly and easily.
https://www.academyofhistoricalarts.co.uk/shop/category/protective-equipment/
26th April 2021 – Update
Since we are slowly starting to get back into training in-person again, I thought it might be nice to offer some ideas and coaching for getting back into fencing-related motion.
Last year, I created this video course of exercises for the longsword, intended to work through different fencing skills and relevant technical motions. From today, until the end of May, I’d like to offer club members (and guests and friends, if you can see this post!) a 50% discount on purchasing access to the course.
https://academy-of-historical-arts.teachable.com/p/longsword-warming-up-exercises
Just use the code LHEMA50WARMUP and you will be able to access the course for half the usual price. I hope some of you will take me up on the offer – if you do start working through these exercises, and have any questions about technical points, please feel free to get in touch and ask me for help. I’ll be more than happy to offer some further advice and suggestions.
13th April 2021 – Update about returning to outdoor sessions
We now have the opportunity to do some outdoor HEMA training on Sunday afternoons, until we can get back into the hall for our regular indoor training (most likely in May).
The focus of these outdoor sessions will be “moving gently”: we need to take care with how we ease ourselves back into physical activity again, after so many breaks over the last year. The sessions will be quite gentle and the intention is to “warm up” again so that our bodies remember how to move when we are allowed to re-open our indoor sessions again.
Day and time: Sunday afternoons, from 1-2pm. Please make sure you arrive in advance so that we are ready to begin at 1pm sharp. We only have one hour, so we want to make the most of it!
Venue: The venue is the Liverpool College, as usual, and for the outdoor training we will be using the outdoor pitch nearest the usual gym – probably the pitch right in front of the car parking area.
Covid safety: All the exercises will be socially-distanced, non-contact, and outdoor. Liverpool College will have an NHS Test and Trace poster with a QR code, if you want to check in. We will be keeping detailed attendance records in any case. DCMS no longer requires that we wear face masks during training. Please do still bring a face mask, in case there is a need to go indoors (to use the toilet, for example), but while we are outdoors there should not be a need to wear it. Needless to say, if you have any symptoms of Covid, if you suspect that you might have it, or if you are supposed to be self-isolating, please stay at home.
Price: For those Liverpool HEMA members who pay monthly, these outdoor sessions will be covered within that payment you are already making, along with the weekly online sessions. For everyone else, the price will be £7 for the hour. This can be paid on the day in cash, or in advance through our website.
Equipment: Please do bring your own longsword if you have one. The club has plenty of loaner swords that can be borrowed. Since all our exercises must remain non-contact for now, there will be no need for protective equipment such as fencing masks or padded gloves. Please make sure you bring a bottle of water and any long-sleeves or sun-hats or sun-cream that you might need to protect yourself from the weather.
Are beginners welcome? Yes, beginners are welcome, although please be aware that these outdoor sessions will not be particularly representative of how we normally train in the hall. We can help you pick up some of the basic movements so that they don’t come as a surprise to you when more normal training is able to resume.
Questions: If you have any questions, please do ask, and we’ll do our best to answer them for you!
8th April 2021 – Update
There haven’t been any Covid updates for the club recently, because there hasn’t really been anything that will affect our current situation. But, in the interests of making sure that everyone is on the same page, here’s a quick summary:
Returning to indoor training: I would expect that we should be able to get back into the hall on Wednesday the 19th of May (since indoor exercises classes will be permitted from Monday the the 17th of May). Still a little while away, but at least it’s coming closer.
Outdoor training: We could return to in-person group training sessions outdoors at the moment. The only difficulty is arranging permission to use an outdoor venue – we have permission in principle from our usual venue to use one of their outdoor pitches, but they aren’t responding quickly to emails at the moment, so no further details have been agreed. If possible, I’d like to organise a weekend-afternoon session or two over the next few weeks, but it will all depend on being able to work out the details with the venue.
Private tuition: We can’t do this indoors yet, but if you are willing to come and train in my garden, I can offer some private tuition, and this is already permitted. Please get in touch if you would like to arrange something!
Online sessions through Zoom: Until we can get back into the hall, I think the Wednesday evening sessions are likely to remain online, so there will probably still be a few weeks of Zoom sessions. Remember, if there is something you would like us to talk about at one of these sessions, please just ask!
Conclusions: We aren’t quite allowed to get back to normal yet, but the dates are coming closer. I’m really looking forward to seeing you all again soon!
5th January 2021 – Update about the new English lockdown
Unfortunately, we must suspend our in-person training sessions once more, due to the new lockdown in England. The lockdown begins on the 5th of January and is due to run for about 6 weeks until the 15th of February, although it could continue for longer.
With group training in the hall suspended once more, we will return to running weekly online sessions through Zoom, where we spend some time talking through points of history and theory, or discussing issues relating to modern training and instructing, and then do some physical exercises to help keep up our fitness during this time.
To stay abreast of the online sessions, please “like” our Facebook page, where each of the online sessions will have a separate event page through which we can describe the topic and provide the details and link for accessing the session.
Private tuition
It is worth observing that the new lockdown rules do allow for exercising every day, including permission to exercise with another person from outwith your household, as long as you both meet outdoors in a public place.
Therefore, there is some scope for arranging some private tuition if you would like to continue to do some kind of physical activity related to fencing, or if you are unable to participate in the online Zoom sessions. Please contact Keith if you would like to discuss it further.
Online material for solo training
If you would like to use some video resources to help with training by yourself, we do have a few online courses that should give you some useful material to train in your garden during the lockdown.
30th November 2020 – Update about opening in December
Good news!
With Liverpool going into tier 2 after the English lockdown lifts, it means we can return to training in-person in the hall. I have spoken with the venue managers and they have confirmed that they will be open on Wednesday the 2nd, meaning that we can indeed meet for a session this week.
We will be back in the hall at Liverpool College, from 7:00-9:00pm on Wednesday evenings for the duration of December. Remember to bring your face mask/covering!
As before, please book and pay for your attendance through the website before arriving: https://www.liverpoolhema.com/shop/single-session-attendance/
Please provide your telephone number for NHS Test and Trace purposes, if you haven’t already done so: https://forms.gle/ZDBojupd94Qr5ob19
The venue has a poster with their NHS Test and Trace QR code somewhere near the front door to the building, so if you use the app and want to “check in” at the club instead of submitting your phone number through our form above, you are welcome to do so by using the venue’s poster.
As always, if you think you might possibly have any of the symptoms of Covid-19, please stay at home. We all need to be part of keeping each other safe.
What are we doing in December?
More quarterstaff! But also more longsword. We’ll do things with both staff and longsword during these sessions.
Due to the tier 2 rules, we need to operate as an “exercise class”, remaining socially distanced, with no interaction between participants. This means that there will still not be any contact drills or sparring.
We will continue to work through some of the quarterstaff material of Paurenfeindt, but we will also begin to do some of the slightly wacky staff material from the Codex Guelf that we often draw from in our lessons. We shall do our best to link the movements and skills so that everything we do with the staff will support our longsword fencing.
f you purchased a staff just before we had to close, then no worries, I can bring your staff with me for you to collect on Wednesday evening. If you borrowed a staff from the club during lockdown, please do remember to bring it back and swap it for your own new toy!
What about Christmas and New Year closures?
The venue will be closing for Christmas and New Year. I think it is likely that we will be closed on Wednesday the 23rd and 30th, but we should be open again by Wednesday the 6th of January. However, I still need to confirm these dates with the venue.
Is it possible to buy Christmas presents that will contribute something to the club?
Yes it is. You can take a look at our club’s online shop or at the Academy of Historical Arts online shop – for the latter, if you sign up an account and you have an up to date club membership, let me know and I will apply the membership discount to your account, so that you always see the correct prices.
Club shop: https://www.liverpoolhema.com/shop/
AHA shop: https://www.academyofhistoricalarts.co.uk/shop/
Worth noting is that we have some fencing masks in stock here in Liverpool. Although we don’t need them right now, we will be using them as soon as contact drills are allowed again next year, and you will definitely appreciate having your own mask if you don’t yet have one. We also have a variety of other relevant bits and pieces in stock up in Glasgow, that can be posted down to you quickly and easily.
There is also the option of signing up for some online courses, if you would like to have some video resources to help your training: https://academy-of-historical-arts.teachable.com/courses/
And finally, there’s always the option of private tuition. We are currently allowed to do private tuition outside (and this seems to include contact training now!), but we can also do it online over Zoom if you would prefer. Just get in touch and let me know that you are interested, and we can talk through the details.
Conclusions
I am excited to be back in the hall for training in-person again, and I’m looking forward to seeing as many of you as possible in the near future 🙂
See you soon!
3rd November 2020 – Update about closing again
It is ridiculous that we need to post another update about this so soon, but the government has decreed that England will be entering a national lockdown as of Thursday the 5th.
Wednesday the 4th – still training in the hall!
The hall will still be open on Wednesday evening, so we will meet for a physical session as normal. We will continue to work on our introduction to the quarterstaff. Please remember to bring your face mask; but please do remain at home if you have any of the symptoms of the virus.
If you are a beginner, you are welcome to take this opportunity to come along and see how we do things.
Will there be virtual sessions again?
Yes! We’ll move straight back into running things online, as we did during lockdown. People who pay monthly will receive the links to these sessions free of charge, as usual.
Is there any resources we can study while we are unable to attend the club?
Yes. We have a growing library of video courses, with more in the works. Take a look at the options here and sign up for anything that seems interesting! AHA video courses
Can we still support the club with donations?
Absolutely. Thank you very much! We would still appreciate some financial help at this time: make a donation to support us
26th October 2020 – Update about reopening
After two weeks of being closed, sports venues in Liverpool are allowed to reopen again, and indoor sports may resume. (source) That means we will be back in the hall again on Wednesday evening, on the 28th of October, from 7:00pm to 9:00pm as usual.
Coronavirus rules at the club
Most importantly, if you notice that you have any of the symptoms of the virus, or if you think you might have it, or if any member of your household might have the virus, please remain at home and do not give the virus an easy opportunity to spread.
We will be continuing to observe the “rule of 6” when entering and leaving the hall: please do not congregate in groups of more than 6 people when socialising, arriving, leaving, or taking a break.
We will still need to wear face masks (such as you would wear into a shop) while indoors. Please make sure you bring a face mask with you!
Exercises must remain non-contact for the foreseeable future. Therefore, there’s still no need to bring protective gear such as fencing masks, padded gloves, or any of that.
Working with the quarterstaff
For a bit of a change of pace, we will begin working with the quarterstaff. The club bought 20 staffs during the lockdown, and it’s probably a good time to put the new toys to use!
Please do bring your sword with you as well, if you have one (there will still be the usual loaner swords available to borrow). It will be a good chance for us to use the staffs to support the longsword training – it is not going to be a completely separate discipline, so you should notice plenty of similarities and parallels.
Are beginners welcome?
Sure, not a problem! In fact, this will be an ideal opportunity to come along, since everyone is going to be learning something new. Please send us an email to give us a heads up to expect you, purchase your attendance ahead of time, and provide your telephone number so that we can meet our NHS Test and Trace obligations.
Can we still support the club with donations?
Absolutely. Thank you very much! We would still appreciate some financial help at this time: make a donation to support us
13th October 2020 – Update about closing again
Due to government rules, the club is now closed again for in-person sessions. We will move straight back into running online sessions instead!
Liverpool City Region is now in tier 3 of restrictions, with additional local rules including the closure of all sports venues. (source) This means that our venue has to close and so must we.
This will probably remain in force for a while, with a review in about 28 days. It may then remain in force after that, or sports venues may be allowed to reopen.
I will make more announcements as soon as there is any new information.
Will there be virtual sessions again?
Yes! We’ll move straight back into running things online, as we did during lockdown. People who pay monthly will receive the links to these sessions free of charge, as usual.
Is there any scope for private tuition?
The rules aren’t entirely clear on this. Imagine that. However, to play it safe, our current policy is no private tuition in-person.
That being said, I am quite happy to offer private tuition over Zoom. We can arrange this quite easily to suit your schedule – just drop me a message by email or Facebook and we can discuss the details. The online tuition can be a little cheaper than the usual price for private tuition.
Remember, if you pay monthly, then you are entitled to an hour of private tuition for each set of 5 sessions that you have missed at the club. If you have missed a number of sessions over the last few months, talk to me, and let’s see if we can arrange you some online tuition to help you catch up!
Is there any resources we can study while we are unable to attend the club?
Yes. We have a growing library of video courses, with more in the works. Take a look at the options here and sign up for anything that seems interesting! AHA video courses
Can we still support the club with donations?
Absolutely. Thank you very much! We would still appreciate some financial help at this time: make a donation to support us
28th July 2020 – Update about reopening and new venue
Good news – we will be able to reopen the club very soon!
When do we reopen?
We are reopening on Wednesday the 5th of August from 7:00-9:00pm.
Are beginners welcome?
Not on Wednesday the 5th, sorry. We need a bit of time to get used to the new venue and how to keep everyone safe before we can allow newcomers.
However, beginners will be welcome from Wednesday the 12th of August.
Where is the new venue?
We will be moving the club to the LC Sports within the Liverpool College.
Address: LC Sports within Liverpool College, Queens Drive, Mossley Hill, Liverpool, L18 8BG.
It is not too far away from our previous location at LJMU.
More information?
For more information about reopening and the venue, please see our formal announcement.
10th July 2020 – Update
The government announced on the 9th of July that indoor sports would be able to resume in England on the 25th of July. We are only about two weeks away from being able to reopen!
However, our main venue (at Liverpool John Moores University) is not going to be opening up the sports campus for public bookings immediately. This means that although indoor sports can start back on the 25th, we will not have access to our usual venue until they decide to permit this again.
I am in the process of looking for alternative venues that will let us get back to training in person again. Hopefully there will be some opportunities at other local sports halls. As soon as I have more information about this, I will make another announcement.
From the guidelines released by the government, it looks like we won’t have to worry about reducing class sizes, because their attempts to limit proximity is to require at least 100 square feet per person – my rule of thumb for working out how many people we can fit into a hall is at least 110 square feet per person, so we are actually exceeding the government’s requirements for distancing during a class.
When we start back, we will probably need to be wearing a face mask of some description. We probably won’t be doing contact exercises with each other for at least the first few sessions, so we won’t need to worry about wearing both a face mask and a fencing mask together; but please do make sure that you have a face mask or at least a cloth scarf or similar covering.
In the meantime, if you want to start doing a bit of training in your garden to prepare yourself and get rid of the rust, you could take a look at our online video courses about flourishes for German longsword and for warming up and technical longsword exercises.
1st June 2020 – Update
It has now been two months since the last update. The reason for this radio silence is that in general, nothing much changed in terms of what sports clubs have been allowed to do. It is only within the last week or so that there has been any movement about martial arts clubs getting back into the swing of things.
When do we start back?
We are not yet able to return to regular group classes indoors at LJMU.
However, there is some scope for small groups of up to 6 people meeting together outdoors to do some socially-distanced training together. I do not yet have a plan for this, but I am thinking about how best to implement something!
Is private tuition available again?
Yes, yes it is! If you would like to book some private tuition, in my garden, then this is now permitted again. Please get in touch with me directly if you would like to arrange something.
Can newcomers join in?
In group sessions: not yet, sorry. We don’t have any access to club equipment as that has been locked in our training venue for the last few months, so we don’t have swords or masks to lend (not that lending masks would be a great idea right now anyway).
For private tuition: I can probably accommodate newcomers for private tuition, as it will be outdoors and easier to keep safe. We can go through some of the basic movements to give you an introduction, ready for when the group sessions can reopen at some point in the future.
Is there some way to support the club at this time?
If you are willing to pay your attendance fees via the monthly payments, then you can continue to support the club this way. Furthermore, for every five sessions you miss, I will give you a session of private tuition free of charge once we are allowed to do things like this again. (Please note that, as above, private tuition is available again if you would like to visit my garden. if you would like to redeem these sessions, just get in touch!)
There is a donations page on the website so that you can contribute a little something to the club if you are able and willing to do so. I am so incredibly grateful to each and every person who has donated to the club. Thank you.
Finally, if you would like to purchase access to some video training lessons, we have a course about historical flourishes for the longsword, and a course about warming up and technical exercises with the longsword. These will help you with your solo practice until the club can reopen.
31st March 2020 – Update
Since it has been a couple of weeks since the last update, I thought it is time to check in with another update, to make sure that all the information is as correct as possible.
When do we start back?
Since we have another two weeks of lockdown before the government revisits the idea, I would suggest that we are unlikely to start back inside the next three or four weeks. I expect that it might be most feasible to look at May as a potential starting back date.
Is private tuition still available?
At this time, no, since the government has been quite clear that is really wants everyone to stay at home, and has prohibited both indoor and outdoor sports.
Is there some way to support the club at this time?
If you are willing to pay your attendance fees via the monthly payments, then you can continue to support the club this way. Furthermore, for every five sessions you miss, I will give you a session of private tuition free of charge once we are allowed to do things like this again.
I have also set up a donations page on the website so that you can contribute a little something to the club if you are able and willing to do so. Some people have been asking if this would be possible, so here it is!
To each of you who have been so kind and generous with your support over the last few weeks, you have my sincere thanks. The financial support really has made a difference.
16th March 2020 – Update
The venue managers at LJMU have been in touch to say that:
As of Tuesday 17th March all booking on IM Marsh have to be suspended. The length of the suspension of our facility hire service is at the moment not clear, and will be subject to severity of the ongoing C-19 national outbreak.
This now supersedes our previous policy of remaining open, since we no longer have a venue in which to remain open. My apologies for swift about-face with the policy, but our hands are tied in this matter.
When do we start back up?
Right now, I don’t know. Sorry!
What about the dussack event on Sunday the 22nd?
Since we don’t have a venue in which to hold it, I’m afraid we need to cancel it. I will be in touch with everyone who has placed a booking already to offer either a straight refund or to keep the booking on file for the next event that we are able to run.
What about if we pay monthly?
Good question. Since we don’t know if this is just going to be a two-week closure or a two-month closure or what, I will not be offended if you choose to cancel your monthly bill so that the next payment doesn’t come out. You will then be more than welcome to start it again when we reopen!
If you are in a position to be able to afford it, keeping your monthly payment open will be beneficial for the club and the Academy of Historical Arts. As a small, local business, we do have ongoing bills and overheads to pay, and any support during this time will be incredibly helpful since we won’t have our usual income available. We are not at risk of going out of business quickly, don’t worry, but I will be very grateful for any financial support you are able to offer the club during this time.
Please remember that if you pay monthly, you are entitled to a private lesson free of charge once you have missed five sessions since beginning your monthly payments. If you would like to redeem this, then please get in touch, and I will be more than happy to make good on that part of the agreement!
Is private tuition still an option?
Yes it is. I am quite happy to give private tuition during this time, as per the private tuition details on our website. If you would like to get in touch about this, please drop me a message through the website or through Facebook, and let’s discuss it.
Is there anything I can do to practise at home?
I will be trying to put up some new resources (written and video) over the next few weeks, so that you have something you can do on Wednesday evenings.
Other than that, please take a look at my website KeithFarrell.net and look at some of the HEMA lesson videos I have there, or read your way through my written articles, of which the following about solo drills may be most helpful right now:
- Five solo practice drills: longsword
- Five solo practice drills: Scottish broadsword
- Meyer’s four openings drill (aka Meyer’s square)
You could also settle down with some fairly serious reading material on paper, purchased through our club’s online shop.
When will all this be updated?
I will update this information as soon as there is anything new to say.
14th March 2020 – original policy
The current government advice about the coronavirus is that:
- sports clubs and venues should stay open and continue running activities with small class sizes, and to make sure everything is as clean as possible;
- you should feel able to continue attending sports clubs and activities without worrying too much UNLESS you are suffering symptoms (in which case stay at home), and make sure everything is as clean as possible.
Club response
Therefore, we are remaining open, although our activities will be undergoing some temporary changes in our efforts to make the club as safe and healthy as possible during this time.
If you are feeling unwell and have any of the symptoms of coronavirus (fever, high temperature, itchy eyes, coughing, shortness of breath), then please stay at home and begin self-isolation.
If you are feeling well and come to a session, and begin to develop symptoms during the session, please speak to the instructor immediately.
If you or someone you live with or see regularly is immuno-compromised in any way, or has underlying health problems (especially respiratory issues), or have regular contact with the elderly or other immuno-compromised or vulnerable people, please stay at home. We’ll miss you, but please don’t take the risk.
When you arrive at the LJMU venue, they have requested that you use the hand sanitiser dispensers as you enter and exit each building. The LJMU venue is remaining open as normal and they will inform us if this changes.
Temporary changes to the activity
We encourage regulars with your own equipment to bring it to each session, and to keep it clean in between sessions!
At this time we will not be accepting any new students who have not already attended a session. We hope that we can open up attendance again soon, once the worst of the coronavirus situation has passed.
Sessions will focus largely on non-contact exercises (since not everyone will have masks), although participants with their own protective equipment may be allowed to make contact.
Participants who need to borrow loaner gear may borrow swords, but masks and gloves will no longer be provided due to the difficulty at this time in keeping them sufficiently sterile. Masks and gloves can be purchased from our shop if you would like to equip yourself to be able to continue training with contact.
You will need to wear gloves (of any sort, even cheap gardening gloves will be fine) when handling any club equipment (sweaty hands are going to make it rather difficult to keep club swords sufficiently clean).
Please see this as an opportunity to work on improving your form, structure, and other important parts of your practice. Non-contact sessions are still immensely valuable, and the instructors and advanced students have the skills they do because of the number of useful repetitions they have done over the years – solo drills and exercises to improve form and structure are an important part of this kind of training!
Further reading
Public Health England – what you need to know (updated daily):
https://publichealthmatters.blog.gov.uk/2020/01/23/wuhan-novel-coronavirus-what-you-need-to-know/
Government publication – Stay at home guidance for people with confirmed or possible coronavirus (COVID-19) infection: