Don't Go It Alone

You are not alone.

This is a very important fact to remember when trying to establish, run, grow, and promote a HEMA club. It can be a hard one to remember because it’s so easy to feel utterly and totally alone, but you truly are not, and the more you're able to connect with other HEMA practitioners the more you can accomplish without having to bear all the burdens yourself. 

One obvious place to begin lookig for others in on line, where there are several excellent options. First, there is the obvious and impressive help the HEMA Alliance can provide people. HEMAA is an excellent resource for information, for finding and meeting other practitioners, for planning and promoting an event, and just in general as a place to get support -- and this of course says nothing about the Wiktenauer page!

Another way in which one can feel connected with other HEMA practitioners is via Facebook. One of the definite strengths of that platform is the way it can connect people with shared interests from all over the world, and HEMA is a prime example of this. Not only is the HEMAA Facebook page itself a great place to find others, but there are numerous other group pages based upon specific interests -- pages from Montante to Messer, pages about getting stronger to improving HEMA language skills, and pretty much everything else.

But these resources aren’t even what today’s blog post is about, excellent and useful as they are. Today is all about the realization that you don’t need to do everything by yourself and that involving members from other clubs to present at yours helps makes both stronger. It takes a great deal of pressure off you and can make everyone achieve more together than either could alone.

This month at the Black Wolf things have been very busy in a wonderful way, and much of that activity has been through shared classes with people from other clubs. Earlier this month we had the first class in our “Being a She Wolf” series, which was taught by Rebecca Glass from NYHFA. Just this past weekend we hosted Patrick McCaffery and others from L’Arte Della Bellica to teach his infamous “Fiore Dagger Hell.”

Neither of these classes are something that we could have pulled off. Being a She Wolf is all about using HEMA as a means of women's empowerment, and I reached out to Rebecca specifically because I knew she could develop and present something that would benefit many -- but also because I knew I couldn't. There was no way I could have presented anything with legitmacy, and trying to do so would have been an abject failure. Likewise, Patrick and the others from L'Arte are dedicated Fioreists who have already presented this marathon workshop six times. Our focus is entirely on the Lichtenauer tradition, so for us to pull off this class would never have happened. 

By reaching out to others to coordinate these events we were able to bring people to our place, make connections with others, bring in some profit for the club, all without having to do everything. It can be exhausting to bear all the burdens of your club, and you simply don't have to. 

So obviously having others present classes at your club helps reduce your burden and allows you to offer things beyond your scope of practice, but it also makes clear business sense to involve other clubs in your activities. While there will be a certain price involved for having another come to your club, you have the chance to charge to attendance, sell T-shirts, patches, or whatever else you want. 

Also, this is an excellent method for introducing yourself to other clubs for future events, which is another business reason to cooperate. It can be hard to pull off a regional tournament or seminar or even a spar day if no one knows who you are. So, lay the foundation for future success -- and build your HEMA family -- by sharing your space with others. And though the focus on this blog has been on you and your club, obviously most of these things are true for the visitng presenters as well. This is definitely one of those instances in which the more we share the more we have. 

What are some ways your club has had shared events? Are there any specific classes or skills you'd like to invite others present at your club? If so, do you plan on making that happen?

OK, everyone, stay loose and train hard!

-- Scott