Gear Requirements

When you look to get gear

Here is a starting package offered by Purple Heart Armory for gloves, mask, and sword simulator. You can of course buy gear over time and individual pieces as opposed to a package. 

Order of priority for acquiring gear

First set

The first things you will need to purchase are soft gloves for drilling, flat soled shoes, and groin protection 

• Gloves: padded leather gloves for hand protection during drills.  Popular choices are Purpleheart Armory's padded leather or rapier gloves. While the latter are still protective, students have found in the last year that the rapier gloves suffer from poor durability. We also recommend Purpleheart's High Guard Gloves; these are bit more expensive but provide sufficient protection to take a beginner from basic drilling to internal club sparring clearance. These gloves are not sufficient for hard sparring/tournaments, so please speak with the Instructor about making this choice. 

• Groin protection (male and female types): we suggest those designed for MMA or BJJ

• Shoes: wrestling, boxing, soccer flats, Converse Chuck Taylor All Stars (available in custom widths), and Feiyues are all popular choices.  Closed-toed shoes are required in order to participate in all aspects of class including warm-ups, drills, lessons, and sparring.

Second set

The next set of gear to acquire are a mask, gorget, and hard chest protector

• Mask: a Hema-appropriate fencing mask is required.  Many also buy a back-of-head protector for the mask at this time, as it is required for both boffer (padded sword) and steel sword sparring clearances

• Gorget (throat protector): there are many styles of gorget available, some common ones include the Purple Heart Gorget or the Red Dragon

• Chest protector: Some people with breasts use a flat style protector, and some prefer domed.  It is worth noting that sometimes the domed style protectors can drive thrusts into the sternum.  While the friction of a fencing jacket mitigates some of that issue, there are times when people drill without a jacket.  There is an option from MAC Armour that eliminates the problem altogether, but comes with its own drawbacks including price and the lack of an extender over the lower abdomen.

After that

Once you have these basics, please talk to us about individual items before purchasing.  

Remaining gear to be purchased includes (to be invited to Advanced Techniques you must have all of the above plus a sword simulator and back of the head protection):

• Sword simulator (see note below regarding blunt swords vs. feders)

• Back of head protection on your mask

• Heavy gloves If you have Purpleheart's High Guard gloves as your "light" gloves, those will work for getting cleared for in-club steel sparring.  Talk to your instructor about force modulation or upgrading gloves if you want to spar harder.

• HEMA appropriate fencing jacket

Not required for our club, but required for tournament competition:

• Leg protection

• Hard forearm protection

• Hard knee and elbow protection

Gear Requirements by Weapon

In order to be cleared to spar, you must acquire the appropriate gear for each weapon.  

Club loaner gear is not to be used for sparring.  

This is what is required for each level of clearance:

Dagger sparring

Hema appropriate fencing mask

Gorget (throat protector)

Groin protector (for everyone)

Soft gloves

Hard chest protector OR Hema appropriate fencing jacket

Boffer sparring

Hema appropriate fencing mask

Gorget (throat protector)

Groin protector (for everyone)

Soft gloves

Hard chest protector OR Hema appropriate fencing jacket

Back of head protector for mask

Steel sword sparring

Hema appropriate fencing mask

Gorget (throat protector)

Groin protector (for everyone)

Hard chest protector

Heavy gloves

Back of head protector for mask

Hema appropriate fencing jacket

Wrestle sparring

Groin protector (for everyone)

Gum shield

See note below regarding wrestling gear