If you are reading this blog it's likely you're involved with a HEMA club of some sort or another. Maybe you're the founder, the lead teacher, a scholar, or you just started because you like swords. Doesn't matter, you're most likely part of a club/school of some kind, and regardless of any details, you want to see your group grow.
And who wouldn't? The part you play in your club is irrelevant because most folks will still want to see their club grow, thrive, and attract new students. Having more students to teach or more fellow students to learn with and spar against is good for everyone, so growing your club is everyone's concern. But the problem is that's not always easy. People's time is limited, their attention is easily distracted, and their financial resources are always scarce.
So what to do?
We can offer some advice. Please understand, our club has grown neither so quickly nor so massively that we're beating new students off with a stick, nor are we necessarily experts on marketing or management. But we've gone from three admittedly somewhat goofy guys practicing Longsword in a local park -- where we were looked at oddly by more than a few Little League parents! -- to giving regular classes and attracting brand new students in less than a year. We're no experts, but we have had some success growing our club.
Take our advice to the degree you wish, but this is what worked for us.
From the club context that is a bit more complicated than it appears on the surface. For instance, what weapons will you study? Are these weapons related in some way -- by which I mean are you easily able to transfer techniques from one to another -- or are they wildly different? Once you know what weapons you will study, from which Masters and which historically valid sources will you work? If studying Longsword, will you follow the German or Italian traditions? If you're studying rapier, will it be more Italian or Spanish? Polish saber? Bolognese sword and buckler, or MS I.33? For what reasons do you choose the traditions you do?
Then once you've defined yourself by weapons and traditions, you need to define yourself by style. Are you going to be more of a social club with swords, or a study group, or do you plan to offer clearly defined classes with an intentional curriculum? Will you compete as a club, or allow individuals to do so, or not at all? If going to school route, is there one person in charge of teaching or will you take more of a group-teach approach? How strictly do you plan to run the classes? Will you drill calisthenics in class or focus solely on the weapons? Can people get kicked out of your classes or club?
By answering all of these questions before you take even another step forward you get to immediately stake out a piece of HEMA territory. And remember, people interested in your club will want to know this. Some folks might want to just hang out and spar once in a while; if you're running a traditional school with high expectations, regular calisthenics, and drilling, they will need to know that before they show up.
Being able to say, "We're a club that primarily studies the Spanish rapier Masters with a little bit of the Italians, and Bolognese sword and buckler just for fun" is far more attractive than "We're a club that's open to whatever as long as it has a pointy end." While a very relaxed attitude might fit a few people, most folks join a HEMA club because they want to learn how to fight with historical weapons, and if all you're going to do is hang out they will go elsewhere. After all, they can just hang out at home.
Remember this is about growing your club; if all you want to do is play at swords with friends that's your prerogative, but if you want to grow your club you will want to have a very clear definition of who you are.
But wherever you choose, have a place to use. If you're going to attract people to participate in HEMA of any kind, and to your club in particular, you're going to have to have a regular place to meet for training. If you're always canceling because the space isn't available or switching places every training day, you're going to look an awful lot like a teenage band who can't practice today because mom has company over. To build your club you're going to have to be seen as serious, and one of those things is having some kind of space you can use to train regularly.
And please note, at this stage, it need not be fancy. Training outside at a park isn't special, nor is doing it in someone's barn. But in the early stages, you just need someplace to train regularly. Once you grow a bit and have some money in the coffers (and I would recommend some kind of regular dues) then you can worry about finding a better space.
One of the easiest and most effective ways do this is by using the HEMA Alliance club finder. This is perfect because it puts you on the radar of people who already have an interest in HEMA. Plus of course it's cheap and easy, so really all you have to do is submit your club or individual information and wait.
Another way in which to put yourself out there is to create a website. Luckily there are options that provide you various templates from which to choose, guide you on where to put pics and text, and basically create the site for you. The need to be able to build a website is not as necessary as it once was. There are free options, such as Wix, and paying options, such as Squarespace. Whatever option you choose, putting yourself out into cyberspace is an absolute must if you want to let people know you exist.
Yet another good option is attending local street fairs, health fairs, and things like that. This can be especially effective because it allows you to meet many people in a short amount of time, most of whom most likely already live near you. It's a great way to get emails for future contacts, to sell merch (once you have some), and to explain to people what exactly it is you do.
Two things to be aware of. First, this is, obviously, time intensive, and it could require putting out some funds to buy set up stands, tents, displays, etc. Second, the given fair might have strict rules about what counts as a "weapon" so displaying sharps would likely be out, as might showing your feders or other training swords. Just something to keep in mind.
A great many people's social contact revolve around Facebook and there is no reason you shouldn't use that fact as a platform for promoting your club. It's free, easy to navigate, you can use it to announce meeting times and special events, and so easy to connect to others. If you wish you can use funds to promote your club or an event you can do that too for a very reasonable price.
One thing to keep in mind about running a club Facebook page is that you need to stay on top of it. It might not really matter to anyone if on your personal page you go weeks without posting anything. But if you stop posting for any amount of time people stop looking your way, and when it comes to growing your club that could be devastating. There is a certain amount of "Hey, look at ME!" going on with Facebook in general, especially when it comes to things like club pages, but that's the nature of advertising.
The utility of Facebook should come as no surprise to anyone, so make sure to tap into that power and use it regularly.
And don't miss just how many people you might reach for free! Depending on the size of the market, your local media could potentially reach thousands or tens of thousands, advertising that would that would take a significant amount of money to pay for.
Plus it gives you a chance to explain what HEMA is, a significant hurdle to growing anyone's club. Let's be honest, someone opens up a place offering lessons in kung fu, or karate, or BJJ, or tae kwon do, everyone already knows what those arts are. HEMA, not so much, so before we can attract the average person to us they need to know what we're offering. A story in the paper or appearing in a TV piece can give you the time to explain while still reaching many people. It's a great resource you need to be tapping to grow your club.
Shirts also provide a form of low-cost, highly mobile advertising. The more shirts you can get on to people the more they can potentially become something akin to walking billboards for you.
Imagine this scenario: Someone is sitting at a coffee shop thinking that they need to be more active, or they need to get out more often, or they really need to change up their exercise routine, and they spot someone there wearing your club shirt. Perhaps they'll approach the person wearing it, more likely they'll just take note of the name. As most people are wont to do they'll get on their phone and look up the club, even just to satisfy their curiosity.
New student? Perhaps, all made possible by one shirt. Whether this scenario even happens or not, one thing you should definitely do to help grow your club is find someplace to get shirts printed.
We've already noted the importance of getting your own space. Like I said earlier, this might be a barn, a garage, a field, a park, whatever. These spaces are excellent places to begin with, but if you really want to grow your club you'll need a regularly available indoor space with AC during the summer and heat in the winter.
We started at a park, as I've already said, and I can't tell you how many times we had to cancel training because the weather was just too cold. Then there were the days in the summer that I wished we'd canceled because the heat was so oppressive. Add in the occasional rainy spells and lightning storm and you can begin to imagine how inconsistent things were for a while.
Once we were able to secure our current indoor space we were able to begin training regularly, which I believe also allowed to train more seriously. It also allowed us to begin having regular classes, which would be the next logical step in building your club...
So whether you like it or not, whether you really want to or not, if you want to grow your club that means new people need to be taught what it is you're studying.
Now, "classes" is one of those words that actually has a pretty flexible meaning. You can make your classes in a very structured, formal manner, in which there is a definitive start date and a specified end date, and you work through a given curriculum. You can essentially have an open class, in which during this time the new folks will meet, and if brand new people join they'll just start with whatever is being studied, getting to everything eventually.
It's your club, your classes; structure them however you want. Bottom line is, however, that if you want to grow you will need to teach classes to one degree or another.
Want to make connections with others in the community? Cyberspace is great for that, but there is nothing like sword fighting someone to connect with them on a whole different level. Do you have an event planned, and you want to reach people? By all means, put it on Facebook and all that, but also go to other clubs' events, get to know people there, and tell them about your event. Stay for the after-event dinner if you can, to enjoy the community even more.
This is one of those steps in growing your club that is not only beneficial, it is indeed quite enjoyable, so get out there and meet people!
"This is going to come across as egocentric, but I’d like more people like me. I teach, I volunteer in HEMAA, I research, I have advanced degrees...The co-founder of the Phoenix Society, John, is like me, a visionary, leader, fencer, teacher, and so forth. We need more people like us, and we often say this, not because we’re arrogant, but because we really believe that HEMA needs more good role models...We’re too small for that and more people need to produce content and encourage the community not try to police it."
So, in other words, offer to the HEMA community the best you have. Volunteer with the HEMA Alliance in some capacity. Write an article on something you find interesting. Make some YouTube videos. If you feel capable, write up an interpretation of something, or if you're really capable a translation of something new. Write a blog, do research, present at Longpoint or some other large event.
The point is, get involved. Not only does this allow you -- and your club, by extension -- to develop the reputation of a competent HEMA leader, but it also allows you to build networks within the community that can pay rich dividends later.
Alright, folks, this has been a long one but something I've been wanting to write about for some time. So where are you or your club in terms of growth? Are you a lone scholar out there all alone, looking to begin something since there is nothing near you? If in a club, are you satisfied with where you are or do you have some work to do? If in a big, successful club, what do you do to maintain growth?
Stay loose, and train hard!
-- Scott
And who wouldn't? The part you play in your club is irrelevant because most folks will still want to see their club grow, thrive, and attract new students. Having more students to teach or more fellow students to learn with and spar against is good for everyone, so growing your club is everyone's concern. But the problem is that's not always easy. People's time is limited, their attention is easily distracted, and their financial resources are always scarce.
So what to do?
We can offer some advice. Please understand, our club has grown neither so quickly nor so massively that we're beating new students off with a stick, nor are we necessarily experts on marketing or management. But we've gone from three admittedly somewhat goofy guys practicing Longsword in a local park -- where we were looked at oddly by more than a few Little League parents! -- to giving regular classes and attracting brand new students in less than a year. We're no experts, but we have had some success growing our club.
Take our advice to the degree you wish, but this is what worked for us.
Define yourself
Before you can even be a club, you have to define who you are. Whether you take this to mean the singular, you as an individual working all alone, or in the plural, as in you and a few of your friends who study sword fighting together, it doesn't matter. You have to define what you means.From the club context that is a bit more complicated than it appears on the surface. For instance, what weapons will you study? Are these weapons related in some way -- by which I mean are you easily able to transfer techniques from one to another -- or are they wildly different? Once you know what weapons you will study, from which Masters and which historically valid sources will you work? If studying Longsword, will you follow the German or Italian traditions? If you're studying rapier, will it be more Italian or Spanish? Polish saber? Bolognese sword and buckler, or MS I.33? For what reasons do you choose the traditions you do?
Then once you've defined yourself by weapons and traditions, you need to define yourself by style. Are you going to be more of a social club with swords, or a study group, or do you plan to offer clearly defined classes with an intentional curriculum? Will you compete as a club, or allow individuals to do so, or not at all? If going to school route, is there one person in charge of teaching or will you take more of a group-teach approach? How strictly do you plan to run the classes? Will you drill calisthenics in class or focus solely on the weapons? Can people get kicked out of your classes or club?
By answering all of these questions before you take even another step forward you get to immediately stake out a piece of HEMA territory. And remember, people interested in your club will want to know this. Some folks might want to just hang out and spar once in a while; if you're running a traditional school with high expectations, regular calisthenics, and drilling, they will need to know that before they show up.
Being able to say, "We're a club that primarily studies the Spanish rapier Masters with a little bit of the Italians, and Bolognese sword and buckler just for fun" is far more attractive than "We're a club that's open to whatever as long as it has a pointy end." While a very relaxed attitude might fit a few people, most folks join a HEMA club because they want to learn how to fight with historical weapons, and if all you're going to do is hang out they will go elsewhere. After all, they can just hang out at home.
Remember this is about growing your club; if all you want to do is play at swords with friends that's your prerogative, but if you want to grow your club you will want to have a very clear definition of who you are.
Get your own space
Once you know what you means in the individual or club context, you will then need to find a space of your own. During the initial stages, this will most likely mean someone's backyard, garage, barn, fields, basement, or, if in a more urban setting, in a public park (but get ready for those Little League parents!).
But wherever you choose, have a place to use. If you're going to attract people to participate in HEMA of any kind, and to your club in particular, you're going to have to have a regular place to meet for training. If you're always canceling because the space isn't available or switching places every training day, you're going to look an awful lot like a teenage band who can't practice today because mom has company over. To build your club you're going to have to be seen as serious, and one of those things is having some kind of space you can use to train regularly.
And please note, at this stage, it need not be fancy. Training outside at a park isn't special, nor is doing it in someone's barn. But in the early stages, you just need someplace to train regularly. Once you grow a bit and have some money in the coffers (and I would recommend some kind of regular dues) then you can worry about finding a better space.
Put yourself out there
Just as you cannot meet people if never go to where people are, so too will people not come to you if they don't know where to find you. Whether you are a solo practitioner looking to form a club, or a handful of people who just formed one and now want to grow, you need to get yourself out there in any number of ways.One of the easiest and most effective ways do this is by using the HEMA Alliance club finder. This is perfect because it puts you on the radar of people who already have an interest in HEMA. Plus of course it's cheap and easy, so really all you have to do is submit your club or individual information and wait.
Another way in which to put yourself out there is to create a website. Luckily there are options that provide you various templates from which to choose, guide you on where to put pics and text, and basically create the site for you. The need to be able to build a website is not as necessary as it once was. There are free options, such as Wix, and paying options, such as Squarespace. Whatever option you choose, putting yourself out into cyberspace is an absolute must if you want to let people know you exist.
Yet another good option is attending local street fairs, health fairs, and things like that. This can be especially effective because it allows you to meet many people in a short amount of time, most of whom most likely already live near you. It's a great way to get emails for future contacts, to sell merch (once you have some), and to explain to people what exactly it is you do.
Two things to be aware of. First, this is, obviously, time intensive, and it could require putting out some funds to buy set up stands, tents, displays, etc. Second, the given fair might have strict rules about what counts as a "weapon" so displaying sharps would likely be out, as might showing your feders or other training swords. Just something to keep in mind.
Get on Facebook
All of the above options for getting yourself out there are excellent. However, probably nothing can compare to the effectiveness, ease, and overall utility of Facebook to reach many people.A great many people's social contact revolve around Facebook and there is no reason you shouldn't use that fact as a platform for promoting your club. It's free, easy to navigate, you can use it to announce meeting times and special events, and so easy to connect to others. If you wish you can use funds to promote your club or an event you can do that too for a very reasonable price.
One thing to keep in mind about running a club Facebook page is that you need to stay on top of it. It might not really matter to anyone if on your personal page you go weeks without posting anything. But if you stop posting for any amount of time people stop looking your way, and when it comes to growing your club that could be devastating. There is a certain amount of "Hey, look at ME!" going on with Facebook in general, especially when it comes to things like club pages, but that's the nature of advertising.
The utility of Facebook should come as no surprise to anyone, so make sure to tap into that power and use it regularly.
Use local media
Keeping up with the theme of getting yourself out there, don't ever underestimate the power of using your local media to help you. People in local media, whether print or TV, always have content to find and deadlines to meet. When someone comes along and says, "I run a club doing an activity not many people have heard but that is a ton of fun," they will absolutely be interested in doing a story on you.And don't miss just how many people you might reach for free! Depending on the size of the market, your local media could potentially reach thousands or tens of thousands, advertising that would that would take a significant amount of money to pay for.
Plus it gives you a chance to explain what HEMA is, a significant hurdle to growing anyone's club. Let's be honest, someone opens up a place offering lessons in kung fu, or karate, or BJJ, or tae kwon do, everyone already knows what those arts are. HEMA, not so much, so before we can attract the average person to us they need to know what we're offering. A story in the paper or appearing in a TV piece can give you the time to explain while still reaching many people. It's a great resource you need to be tapping to grow your club.
Get shirts
Get shirts, hoodies, patches, and whatever else kind of club gear you can think of. Not only do these help create a sense of club pride, togetherness and, indeed, a club identity, they give you some kind of merchandise you can sell.
Shirts also provide a form of low-cost, highly mobile advertising. The more shirts you can get on to people the more they can potentially become something akin to walking billboards for you.
Imagine this scenario: Someone is sitting at a coffee shop thinking that they need to be more active, or they need to get out more often, or they really need to change up their exercise routine, and they spot someone there wearing your club shirt. Perhaps they'll approach the person wearing it, more likely they'll just take note of the name. As most people are wont to do they'll get on their phone and look up the club, even just to satisfy their curiosity.
New student? Perhaps, all made possible by one shirt. Whether this scenario even happens or not, one thing you should definitely do to help grow your club is find someplace to get shirts printed.
Get an indoor place
We've already noted the importance of getting your own space. Like I said earlier, this might be a barn, a garage, a field, a park, whatever. These spaces are excellent places to begin with, but if you really want to grow your club you'll need a regularly available indoor space with AC during the summer and heat in the winter.
We started at a park, as I've already said, and I can't tell you how many times we had to cancel training because the weather was just too cold. Then there were the days in the summer that I wished we'd canceled because the heat was so oppressive. Add in the occasional rainy spells and lightning storm and you can begin to imagine how inconsistent things were for a while.
Once we were able to secure our current indoor space we were able to begin training regularly, which I believe also allowed to train more seriously. It also allowed us to begin having regular classes, which would be the next logical step in building your club...
Start having classes
One way or another, we need to teach people coming to HEMA what we're doing. Our art is just too unique for most people to come to us with any experience -- some folks do show up having trained elsewhere, but statistically, they're in the minority. Folks just don't get exposed to HEMA until they come to your club.So whether you like it or not, whether you really want to or not, if you want to grow your club that means new people need to be taught what it is you're studying.
Now, "classes" is one of those words that actually has a pretty flexible meaning. You can make your classes in a very structured, formal manner, in which there is a definitive start date and a specified end date, and you work through a given curriculum. You can essentially have an open class, in which during this time the new folks will meet, and if brand new people join they'll just start with whatever is being studied, getting to everything eventually.
It's your club, your classes; structure them however you want. Bottom line is, however, that if you want to grow you will need to teach classes to one degree or another.
Plan and go to events
HEMA is, thank goodness, a community. It is a community of like-minded individuals who share a very unique passion. So not only do you owe it to yourself to meet this wild bunch of wonderful, weapon-wielding crazies that is HEMA, you owe it to your club to make contacts.Want to make connections with others in the community? Cyberspace is great for that, but there is nothing like sword fighting someone to connect with them on a whole different level. Do you have an event planned, and you want to reach people? By all means, put it on Facebook and all that, but also go to other clubs' events, get to know people there, and tell them about your event. Stay for the after-event dinner if you can, to enjoy the community even more.
This is one of those steps in growing your club that is not only beneficial, it is indeed quite enjoyable, so get out there and meet people!
Get involved, research, write, present
I can't say this any better than Richard Marsden did in my interview with him from last month, so I'll just quote the Tyrant here:"This is going to come across as egocentric, but I’d like more people like me. I teach, I volunteer in HEMAA, I research, I have advanced degrees...The co-founder of the Phoenix Society, John, is like me, a visionary, leader, fencer, teacher, and so forth. We need more people like us, and we often say this, not because we’re arrogant, but because we really believe that HEMA needs more good role models...We’re too small for that and more people need to produce content and encourage the community not try to police it."
So, in other words, offer to the HEMA community the best you have. Volunteer with the HEMA Alliance in some capacity. Write an article on something you find interesting. Make some YouTube videos. If you feel capable, write up an interpretation of something, or if you're really capable a translation of something new. Write a blog, do research, present at Longpoint or some other large event.
The point is, get involved. Not only does this allow you -- and your club, by extension -- to develop the reputation of a competent HEMA leader, but it also allows you to build networks within the community that can pay rich dividends later.
Grow
The only thing left to do is continue to positive energy you've put into your club and keep growing it, not unlike planting a garden. And, like a garden, you'll be able to enjoy so much once it comes to fruition.Alright, folks, this has been a long one but something I've been wanting to write about for some time. So where are you or your club in terms of growth? Are you a lone scholar out there all alone, looking to begin something since there is nothing near you? If in a club, are you satisfied with where you are or do you have some work to do? If in a big, successful club, what do you do to maintain growth?
Stay loose, and train hard!
-- Scott
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