Image: Page 247r or Image 563 at History and facts of the nine braves and the nine knights

Welcome!

In honor of Pride Month, Capital Kunst des Fechtens is offering this beginner session exclusively to women and members of the LGBTQI community. Our club is dedicated to providing and maintaining a safe training space for Historical European Martial Arts (HEMA). All are welcome, and we do not tolerate discrimination based upon gender, gender identity and expression, race, sexual orientation, disability, nationality or national origin, ethnicity, age, or religion. If you are interested in reconstructing medieval martial arts, historical swordplay, or modern HEMA competition, then our club is for you.

This course consists of three classes meeting each Thursday during the Start and End date listed above. This course focuses on the unarmored use of the medieval sword (longsword) in the German tradition to give attendees an idea of what to expect as members of CKDF.

If you are interested in attending this three-week intro course, review the information below prior to purchasing a ticket.

Attire, What to Expect, Etc.

This course is for novices - you do not need to be in shape, know any martial arts, or have any knowledge of historical fencing experience whatsoever. To get the most out of this course, all you need is a positive attitude and an open mind!

You must be 18 or older to sign up.

The intro class runs concurrently with our Kunst des Fechtens class. Instructors will draw your group to the side for instruction and will provide loaner training swords, fencing masks, and gloves as necessary.

Please wear comfortable athletic attire that is appropriate to the prevailing weather conditions, and do not forget a water bottle. Please wear the correct groin protector to class - we won't be targeting the groin, but accidents can happen. Although there is no air conditioning in the gym, is is very well ventilated and you can expect a breeze.

COVID-19 Rules

Before purchasing a ticket, review our waiver which includes important COVID-19/coronavirus-related information. https://ckdf.tidyhq.com/public/pages/ckdf-liability-waiver. Classes are held in a well-ventilated gym.

1. You shall not attend class if you have a fever or other COVID-19 symptoms.

2. If you have symptoms of or have tested positive for COVID-19, you shall follow appropriate guidelines for preventing the spread of respiratory viruses. Persons with symptoms should stay home consistent with CDC criteria.

3. Vaccine Policy. Only persons who can produce their vaccination card or a copy of it may participate in class. We will check vaccination cards prior to each class, so please bring a digital or hardcopy of your card, or the original, to class with you or else you will not be able to participate in that class. Please reach out if you will require a waiver of the vaccination requirement - we are eager to make all reasonable accommodations and will keep your information confidential.

4. Mask Policy. Class participants are required to retain a mask on their person at all times during class and don their mask upon request of their training partner. You may opt out of wearing a mask in all other circumstances during class, but please be ready to honor the request of a training partner to mask up. As prevailing covid transmission rates change, we will revisit our mask policy but hope that transmission remains low in our region. We tie our decisions to CDC data: https://covid.cdc.gov/covid-data-tracker/#county-view

Location & Directions

Class is held indoors at Brazen Fitness located at 607 S Ball St, Arlington, VA 22202. The venue is a short walk from the Pentagon City and Crystal City Metro stations, or feel free to park anywhere in the Brazen's lot, or on-street. Enter from Ball Street and proceed through to the gym space - when you see people with blue CKDF shirts and swords, you have found the right place and should approach them because they're friendly.

Restroom facilities and running water is available.