York School of Defence

It is a excellent place to learn about different styles of sword fencing. There are people who have not alot of experience to people who have been going for years all of them helping each other understand and enjoy the lessons while having fun.

If you want a friendly martial arts club that covers a huge range eof disciplines, YSD is for you. From Swords to Staffs, and Pugilism to Wrestling. There is plenty to learn and enjoy.

I have been doing HEMA for a while now and have been taught by a whole range of talented folks. The YSD guys are up there as some of my favourite instructors. I initially went along as someone experienced with KDF but soon took to their wresting and hand to hand classes.The lessons are clear, informative and fun. The team that run YSD are really knowledgeable, friendly and welcoming. The students that train there are equally nice and it is a pleasure to train with them.If you are a beginner or a seasoned practitioner looking to learn more I highly recommend you check them out!

Great people and a great place to train, the instructors are patient and no-one takes themselves too seriously. Friendly, happy and fun!

If you're looking for HEMA, boxing or grappling, York School of Defence is a great choice.Staff are friendly and incredibly accomodating whatever your skill level, and the classes are always both informative and genuinely fun.I can't recommend this group enough.

I have been a member of York School of Defence since September 2021, which has been nothing less of a delight.I was interested in joining their Catch-As-Catch-Can Wrestling classes where I was able to talk to Owner and Trainer, Chris about what I would expect from this experience. Chris was very accommodating, which is a trait I would see repeated when seeing new members with different capabilities and backgrounds join the class.Over my time in YSD up to current date, I have learned a lot of different techniques and the reason of why these techniques are important or how to use them in context. The space allows us to get creative when experiencing free play where we spar using the techniques that have been taught to us, though we also get opportunities to ask what if scenarios during training and explore alternatives in sequences and how and why this technique may or may not work within the boundaries of the lesson.I have not experienced other lessons than the Catch-As-Catch-Can classes with addition of some one-off combined sessions though I have heard nothing but good things from these other classes.In December 2022 I was off injured and during this time the YSD team were always there to ask if I needed anything or help in any way going above my estimations of what I would expect a trainer to do. The Business holds a strong ethos of equality and diversity which is really refreshing to find within Martial Arts especially, which only encourages you to be yourself while doing the activities you love doing and are paying for making you feel more like an individual than just another student.If you have any questions I recommend getting in contact and you may just find your new favorite activity!

I'm a HEMA practitioner from the other side of the country but I've trained with York School of Defence on numerous occasions at their school in York, at major UK events like Fight Camp and online via Zoom throughout the COVID lockdowns.Chris and Lauren really know their stuff and the group have always been a very welcoming and friendly community.Overall a wonderful level of well taught, well structured martial arts without losing the fun of I want to learn to sword fight!". ⚔️"

I started as a complete beginner having always wanted to learn to sword fight since I was a kid. I've now been attending the English longsword classes for just over a year and I absolutely love it, it's engaging, challenging, interesting and helps keep you fit. I've just started attending the basket hilted sword class as well. The people are lovely and the knowledge is huge within the room. Fully recommend it!

I've been training with YSD for some years now, and can heartily recommend it for having the right balance of taking things seriously (actually learning, and being safe while doing so) while having fun and being a welcoming & friendly group no matter what your level of experience/ability/fitness is.A range of classes is available to suit varied tastes: martially sound training with various weapons (mainly messer, but also sometimes long-sword, polearms, staffs and other) and unarmed, as practised in the medieval period, Victorian & later self defence, and the old sport of catch wrestling. You can do as much or as little as you are interested in - I do as much as the rest of life allows time for!Slightly separate from the HEMA activities, there is also a modern self defence class covering real situations you might encounter in normal life today: how to avoid them, how to deescalate them, and what to do to protect yourself and others when avoidance and deescalation are not options.

Great group of people interested in studying a variety of fencing masters. Friendly and welcoming, supportive of all stages of learning and generally just nice people.