2019 Live Deliberately

"I went to the woods because I wished to live deliberately." Henry David Thoreau, Walden

Every year, in one way or another I have some sort of motto, something to live by and something to focus on through the year. Some years it is a mantra, usually over complicated but it starts out as something to focus on, sometimes it works for a time, sometimes not, but it is at least a good thought to start with.

So what does 2019 look like, what is my focus this time around?
Back in June, I was going camping and made a label for my camp cup that said "Live Deliberately". It was a play on Thoreau's "I went to the woods because I wished to live deliberately" since I was taking it camping.

As I came into this year however I gave it some close thought. What does it mean to me?
Living deliberately means living with intention. It is about right action, and doing things on purpose. Right eating, right sleeping, right speech, right actions, it is about doing things on purpose. Intermittent fasting is like that for me, it is not mindless eating to fill time, or do something while I am driving, it is making the choice to eat, or not, but being conscious about it. Living deliberately for me is about living my intention, living in choice, millions upon millions of choices, actions on actions, all made consciously.

In the last 2 days since deciding that this was where I was going, I have written more, taken more deep breaths and generally gotten more done because I am paying attention. I am making notes to myself while I work so when I get home I know what I want to get accomplished. I changed my alarm tone from an annoying one to a bell, which reminds me to take a deep breath and be present. Sure, it is some dumb notification from some company trying to sell me something, but I am using it as a random reminder to be present, take a deep breath and be grateful I am alive.

Living deliberately is about choice and so I am going into 2019 in choice, consciously choosing where my focus is, and knowing that I get to make up the meaning of things along the way. I do not have to go to the woods to live deliberately, my life is here, and if I have to go somewhere, or do something special to get that, there is a good chance I am not bringing it home with me. Now is the only time we have, here is the only place to be. I have many things I wish to accomplish in 2019, but the only place to start them is here and now, and the only way is with intention.

Reflections on the motorcycle crash

It has been 4 weeks since my motorcycle accident.
As of yesterday I was finally cleared by my doctor to go back to work.
All of this time away from work, and sword training and mostly staying at home healing has given me a lot of thought about life, priorities, and the way in which I live.
A few insights:
When I crashed my motorcycle for a moment there was a silence, a calm, things were happening I had no control over. I could not stop the bike from rolling, I was just hanging on and going for the ride. Some days life is like that things are happening that are out of our control and all we can do is control our responses.

As I stood up, struggling to breathe, standing on the side of the road both knees bleeding, pants torn, bike laying on its side, and overall in pain, I had some insight. I hurt, but I was alive. My son was not without his father. As much as I knew that the next little bit would hurt and suck, I could debbal with it because there is something inside me that is more than the pain, and that was still here. I did not know what the damage was, to the bike or to myself but what I did know was that I was here, the part of me that really mattered was still here, and I would live to fight another day. Sometimes life beats us up. Sometimes physically, sometimes emotionally and we have 2 options, the first is to lay down and let it win, the other is to stand up and tell the god of death, "Not today".

The ride home hurt, it hurt to breathe, I felt like I could not bend my knees without pain. The nights were testing. We have a small house, but I never felt like the bathroom was SO far away. For a few days I used a walker just so I could get there. (Thank god for upper body strength.) There were trials, and I was not sure some days that I would get past them, but I was alive, so at least there was that. Pain sucks, but death meant I would not get to experience anything else, and that makes me truly sad.

In this I found allies, people who would help me. Doctors who wanted me to heal, family who were willing to help me, and yes sometimes push me to get where I needed to go. My wife brought me food for a day or so, then it was up to me to get up and walk to the kitchen to make a plate. This was not out of spite, but rather she knew that if I sat, and let myself just sit all day and night that I was not going to get better any faster. Some days were harder than others, some days I needed a cane to get around, but she was willing to care for me by helping push me to get better. My doctor had me go to the wound care clinic. The first time I went, they cleaned my wounds by cutting off dead skin and making it all bleed but that bleeding was needed for new, good tissue to grow. It was probably as painful as the accident itself, but it helped so that pain was worth it. Sometimes you have to have allies who are not just going to let you get away with things but are there to push you, or encourage you to push yourself. This includes my physical therapy team who encouraged me to push myself so I could be back 100% sooner.

As of yesterday my knee mobility is back to 100% and I will return to work on Tuesday. I am amazed at what a relatively healthy body can do to heal itself. (I am not in the best shape, but even for being overweight I am pretty good.) The last real revelation I had was this: there is a big difference between pain and discomfort. When I started doing physical therapy, it was uncomfortable. I did not want to bend my leg that way, some staircases looked hard and I was not sure I could do it but I knew that as long as I accepted those limits, it would take me longer to get where I needed to be. In the words of Richard Bach, "Argue for your limitations, and sure enough they are yours." I am now less than a month from the accident and with the exception of some healing on my right knee, I am back. I may not be as fast yet, I may not be as strong yet, but I am back, and that feels pretty damn good.

Combat Con 2018 Alive

This past weekend I was in Las Vegas for my 4th Combat Con. Combat Con has a special place in my heart as it was the first event outside of my local club that I ever attended and many of my favorite people in the HEMA community come to this event.

This year I was able to ride my motorcycle down (more on that later) The ride down was warm, the weather was nice and though it took longer than driving the car, it was an awesome experience. With me was my friend, and co-instructor Jack who has done this trip several times before.

I spent evenings with some of my favorite people, took classes from some of my favorite people and even assisted in teaching a class or two. I think what stood out to me was in the classes that I took after all these years, though some of the material was new, it did not take me long to understand or pick it up. In my tournaments I made it out of pools into eliminations, and though I was frustrated at the end of my matches, a really neat thing happened.

My wife watched a match that I shared on Facebook. She normally does not watch me fight but she looked at that match. When she watched it at first, she said that she noticed how much better I had gotten over the last few years. I went back and watched a few of those and she was definitely right. My form was better, my movement was better, and though for a second I was upset about how my match went, after looking at that, I felt like I have gotten better over the years. In one way in particular this struck me. At one point in time I had many exchanges when I was not protecting myself when I attacked the opponent. In my pools of 3 matches I had 0. In my elimination match,  I had 1 double. I have a long way to go, but I am proud of my progress there.

I had several fighters locally who did very well as well and I am incredibly proud of them for how they did in tournament. One of the local guys took Bronze in the advanced steel tournament, and one of our women took bronze in the women's tournament. In Salt Lake we may be 3 clubs but when we travel we are one big team and I am proud of everyone who came down, gave it their all did great. Not everyone will win everything every time, but they came down, some of them for the first time and really showed good sportsmanship and it makes me proud to call them my team.

The thing I love about Combat con is the people. Some of my favorite sword people come to this event. These people show me what it really means to be a community. There is not anyone who I have met or sparred with or taken a class with who is not willing to help you learn, or show you what they know, or help you train so that next time, you can get better.

There are clubs from all over the world, several of which are teaching historical fencing or knife work, or other things that I just do not see practiced in the community at large. I can take a class on clearing the line from a classical point of view and take that concept and use it in my fencing. Or I can take a concept taught with long sword and be shown how it applies to grappling or dagger or what have you. I am amazed at how my knowledge and comfort in these things has grown over the years and that is in large part a result of the mentor-ship, friendship and support of my peers, many of which I have met though this event.

I am alive
I rode my motorcycle down to Combat Con and it was a great experience. I have never ridden so far since learning to ride years ago so this was a very cool thing.
On the way back however as I went to stop for fuel in Cedar City, I hit the off ramp too quickly slid off the road and crashed my bike. My leathers, and helmet probably saved my life as I got some road rash on my elbows, bruised my ribs on the right side, and had to get 6 stitches in my right knee. My jeans tore, my new Chaps ripped but I walked away alive at least. My wife came down with my father in law and picked up the bike, she will need some work, but is not a total wreck. I had a very nice couple stop and take me to insta-care, then when I was discharged they let Jack and I stay at their home until my ride got there. I am broken but not dead and the last few day or so when I hurt, or have had a hard time walking (Stitches in the knee suck) I had to remind myself that I a hurting but I am not dead and that is what really matters. Parts can be replaced, I can replace the things that were messed up even if the bike had been totaled, I am alive and I am incredibly grateful for that. I am grateful that my father in law drove the 3 hours down and 3 hours back with Cindy to pick me and the bike up. I am grateful that my mother in law let me borrow her walker and cane, just so I can get around the house easier for the next few days.


I may not be sparring for a bit but I am going to spend some time making sure that my curriculum is where I want it so that in a year from now I can test and become a certified HEMAA Instructor. it has been a long time coming and I feel like it is time to do it. I may be hobbling about for a week or so, but I am alive and that is what really matters.

A gathering of Kin, 2018

Sometimes, kin is people you do not know, but with whom you share a part of your past. This weekend among all other things was about kin to me.

A bit of history: 

Growing up, we always went to the Utah Scottish Festival. The festival is in June and it has always been right around my birthday so to me it was always something cool to do for  my birthday. Every year we would go, see the pipers, see the athletics, and look around to see if we could find a clan where we belonged. Our family names never were the major clans, I did not have a Wallace or Donald or Scott anywhere that I knew of. We were Clarkes, and Martins on my mothers side after all and we did not see any or those names in big letters on a banner telling me that these people were MY kin. At the end of the day, though I did not know who my clan was, or where I fit, I knew that I these crazy Scottish people were who I had come from. I always teared up hearing the pipes play Scotland the Brave, and Highland Cathedral, and I knew that somewhere in this madness was a place I belonged. Growing up I felt it in my bones, so when it came time for my  prom in High school, instead of a tuxedo, we rented a kilt and that was the first time I had ever worn one. 

Somewhere in the back of my mind I wanted to find my place, but for prom, it was a stop gap and I was excited to at least be wearing a kilt for this. Finding my place would come later. As I got older, the idea sat in the back of my mind that one day, when I was ready to get married, I would find my place and maybe, just maybe, I would wear a kilt, rented or otherwise to my wedding. 

In the spring of 2012, this happened and the tartan I wore was the tartan of Clan Leslie. I had searched, and looked at my history and finally decided that this was the one, and that was where I fit. There was only one problem, as far as I knew, there were no other Leslie's in the state besides my immediate family. In June of 2012 I set up my first tent at the Utah Scottish Festival representing my Clan, shortly there after I joined the Utah Scottish Association board and have helped make this festival happen ever since. Of course there were times when it was lonely, it was my immediate family after all who was holding our booth, but I was here and I had finally figured out where I belonged. 

2 years ago I was approached about hosting the Clan Leslie Gathering at my festival in 2018 and I was nervous, but at the same time excited to have this opportunity. The gathering is when the people from your clan come together, enjoy the festival, have a business meeting and generally get to know each other. Last weekend, I had 26 members of the Clan Leslie Society Intentional, including our clan Chief come to our games as the honored clan. 

It was strange, every time I looked around my booth, there were kilts just like mine, and people who knew some of the same clan stories, and things I had read about over the past few years. Here were people who wanted to help me do what I do better, and all of them were willing to step up and teach me things I never knew about hosting a tent, or talking to new members. These were MY people. I ate, drank, laughed and nearly cried with people who live many miles away but are in one way or another related to me. In this moment, it was not just me and my family it was family I never knew who were here with me. 

It is hard to know how to judge the success of an event. Some may say that it is all about how many people you have show up, or how many names you get on a list,  or if things went smoothly. In this case we had our hiccups, but it all worked out. Sure, we rewrote the script a couple times, we marched last when we should have been first, but we did it in style we did it as a family. We all had a good time as kin,  we had some laughs, a drink or two,  but at the end of the day, I found my people. 

There is something else that happened this weekend that just makes me light up on the inside. At one point, a dear friend, and kinsman from another side of the family told me he wanted to talk to our clan chief. He told the chief of our clan just how much he appreciated me, how proud he was of me, and how good of a guy I was. He did not have to tell him this, he felt it was important, and that touched me deeply. This weekend I found my people, I found where I fit, and no matter what I know I have friends and kin who want me to succeed, I do not have to be alone. 

The root of the word kindred is kin, and this weekend I found some truly kindred souls with whom I share a history, it is may not be a near one, it is not in the past century, but it is a shared history. In my heart I know where I belong. But there is something more, I know that my son will grow up knowing where he belongs and that is worth the world to me. 

I want to take a moment to thank my mother, my wife, and my sisters for everything they did to make things go smoothly. Without their help, none of this would have come together. They worked long hours to help me make things work as well as they did often working behind the scenes so it all came together and I could not have done it without them.

Lastly, for my Leslie's I have to say: What?!?!

Goal setting

Setting goals that are SMART?

There is a school of thought that all goals need to be "S.M.A.R.T." that is Specific, Measurable, Attainable, Realistic, and Trackable/or timely. Honestly, I heard about this in corporate culture years ago but have come back to it lately.  While I agree with the sentiment, I knock it down to 4 because I feel like it is redundant for the sake of being a pretty acronym. So the steps as I see them:

S Simple, Specific- If a goal is not specific how can you measure it? The question is how do you know you have arrived there? To that end a SMART goal is not: I want to do better at sword and buckler. Whereas: I want to get to a place where most matches, I can score on my opponent at least 4 times

M Measurable- Just like specific, this one is all about how you know you got there. In this way a goal of saying that you can run a mile is measurable. One of you can just run more could be if you define where you are so you can see improvement, but I want to run a lot or do a bunch of drills is not unless you define what that means FOR YOU. Trackable/timely are really a subset of measurable, but it is a question of a smaller timeline. How can you prove to yourself that you are making progress? Timely is fine, but that really falls into the next category.

A Attainable and Realistic- If you set a goal to be the best sword fighter in class by your next competition and this is your 2nd month of practice, that may be a stretch, unless you have a very bad class. Attainable and Realistic are a good question of "Is this goal realistic for me given my time and energy I am willing to devote to this?" If you are willing to go to the gym 5 hours a day, getting to a point that you look like an Olympic weight lifter is not out of the question on a long enough timeline. If you are only willing to give it an hour a day, this will take longer. Asking "What am I willing to do to get there?" is huge here. What are your resources, what will it take to do that, and are you willing to do what you have to in order to reach it? Timeliness comes into play here as well. "Is this reasonable in the time I am giving it?" If you can be honest and realize it is not there is nothing wrong with changing the timeline just be honest about it.

One more thing is to realize that at times you may fail on the way to getting there.  If you are not willing to stick with it do not be surprised if you never reach that goal. In the example of sword and buckler, if you are not willing to stick with it, lose a lot initially, and then use that experience to improve, then it is not a good goal for you. You have to be willing to fall on your face in pursuit of your goals, but that is the only way you get better. If you are only practicing with people who you have no problem beating, you may not be the best, but rather you are a big fish in a little pond and it is time to move on to something bigger where you are actually challenged. If you have a trick that always works with people who know you but does not with those who don't then it is only a trick to those who know you, teach them how to beat it so you are not relying on it.

Lastly, be willing to tell people your goals and surround yourself with find people who will keep you accountable. A practice partner that lets you get away with sloppy technique and only doing half your speed or skill is not your friend; they are doing you no favors by letting you get away with it. You may be the best of friends outside of practice, but they are not a good training partner for you. The best partners I have had both in terms of sword and out are the ones who push me to do better. Often that means kicking my butt so I know what I need to work on. In that way your greatest friends, are those who are willing to call you on your crap, and who are your hardest opponents inside the ring. If they say they want to practice or reach a goal and then do nothing to reach it, call them on it. If you do the same, be willing to be called out on it. Accountability is not a bad word, and those people who are not willing to keep you to your word are doing you no favors, even if they think they are. 

Why go to any events at all? A reflection and review of SoCal 2018

John Donne famously wrote "No man is an Iland, intire of it selfe; every man is a peece of the Continent, a part of the maine" Though I agree with his sentiment, that each persons voice adds to us and each lost diminishes us, in the world of HEMA It is easy to believe that everything that we do we do in Isolation, separate from the whole. Where that sentiment crumbles is when it comes to events where we gather, compete, learn, and share what we have found in our study of the art. 


How do we get here? 

My story of my first event was a long one from years ago when I moved from the idea of I can't make it to the event to thinking about it as a challenge and finding a way. No man is an Island, that is true, but short of the local groups to me, (there are 2 depending on how you count it) I am more than 6 hours from any other local club. No man may be an island, but it hardly feels like it at times. That is where the importance of events comes in. Before my first event I had a lot of excuses. All of the events were far, they were expensive, I did not have the gear for it, I was not even sure I was that good, besides, why go? What was the reason to go and take classes or meet people I already talked to online? To that end I am going to review my experience from last weekend at SoCal Sword fight. 

HEMA is family.

I just got back from SoCal sword fight and it was a fantastic time, I met a lot of really great people, I got in some great training, taught a class, and felt like things went as well as could be expected for me. Overall it was an awesome weekend and I learned a lot. 

The people: 

SoCal sword fight is put on by an awesome group of volunteers some of whom I have known for years. An event will not go smoothly unless you have good people and this event had great people. There were problems but there always are things that come up and it is the people who make sure it gets worked out in a timely fashion and this crew was awesome for that. All of the people who are running this event want people to do better. I drove down to SoCal from my house, a 10 hour drive in good traffic. I left home at 5:45 on Thursday morning, and by Thursday afternoon I was near enough to the event that I was invited over to spend some time working on my cutting technique, and learning how to properly sharpen my sword so I could cut with it in the right way, as well being invited to South Coast's class that evening. Again, these people were under no requirement to help me out. some of them were going to be competing with me in events throughout the weekend, but a raising tide lifts all boats. 

The Review:

A few years ago I went to my first large HEMA event and learned a lot, both about myself, as well as the community at large, and am constantly amazed at how that continues to be the case every time I go to an event. A lot of people talk about how an event is all about the tournaments, but to me it is really about the people. Maybe that is because I have never won anything major myself, but I don't think so. I cannot count the times that people have offered to come out to my club or have me out to theirs to work on something or help teach my students something. I have had people stand in my corner and help coach me, even when doing so put me at odds with their student. (I have also done this to be fair.)
Here is the deal, you cant teach HEMA well when you are living as if you are an Island. I do not care how big and awesome you feel like your club is, if all you know is your club, you can only get so good. I am a solidly middle of the pack fighter. In my tournaments this weekend I fell about the middle of the fighters in the events I did (with the exception of cutting, but I will talk about that). At home I am probably one of the better half of fighters so it would be easy to feel like I was super awesome and did not need to get better. Events help burst those bubbles. so there is a huge reason to go out and play with other people to see where your weaknesses are. Even if you are the top, there is always something to work on and going to events help you see just what those things are. This weekend I placed 18th in the open long sword and 17th in single stick, but looking at my scores there is a good narrative of what I was doing well and what I was not. 

This weekend was also my first class teaching something HEMA related outside of my local clubs. This was a stretch to me, as it was something I was nervous about. Before this event I had run this test. All along I had people in my corner cheering me on. It went well, and I have some work to do for next time, but it is amazing to know that you have a team behind you cheering you on because they believe in you. I did terribly on my cutting competition, but I had some great people help me and work with me so next time, I will do better.

All said and done, I did not bring home any medals, I did not walk away with anything to show for my time, but that is not the reason to go to an event. Making connections with other people is the real reason we get together a few times a year. If you can't make it to everything, that is OK. Get thee to a HEMA-ry! What matters is that you do what you can to meet people in the community. I found out this weekend that I have friends who read my blog for example, and people who get inspiration from some of the things I am doing. When you live so far away from these people it is good to know that you have people cheering you on from a distance. It is good to know that I can take a class and learn a different way of looking at things I have been looking at and if I have questions or want to talk about it, those people are willing to bounce ideas off of so we can all rise.

SoCal was not a revelation to me, but it was a great event. I learned a lot, got a lot of good feedback and know where I need to work to do better next time. For example, I did not win a lot of my matches, but many of them ran out of time. This says to me that I am defending myself better. I still need to work on attacking with that defense but that is an area I can work on, and it is great feedback to have. Some of my cleanest matches this weekend came out of getting in the ring with some of my friends. This weekend left it's mark and I will not move forward the same. That is what these events are about. If you come home with nothing new, I feel like you are missing something. This past weekend I brought home no medals, but I brought home all kinds of things to try and work on so next time I can do better.

One final note.
Events like SoCal, and Combat Con are about community. They are about spending time with friends who live hundreds or thousands of miles away. We have 3 local classes, but when we travel we are one team. It may be small, we may not have all the people of larger clubs, but we leave our footprints. If you come to an event and have no one in your corner, I will stand behind you. I do not care what club you come from, we are all one community. At the end of the day, that is what it is really about. It is not just about the medals, or just the classes, it is about the shared beer, or late night conversations on the finer points of a technique, or the funny stories that you will always have with you. HEMA is family, and this past weekend, while I missed my family at home, I had a great chance to stand with my brothers and sisters and work on this art we all love.

Creating a club culture through a Code of Conduct

Every group of people has a culture.  Whether that is a HEMA club, or a bunch of friends hanging out, as social animals Humans create culture. But what is culture, how do we create it, and how do you form your culture in such a way that it supports your goals and objectives?

Lets start with Culture, what is culture? 
Miriam Webster defines Culture as: the customs, arts, social institutions, and achievements of a particular nation, people, or other social group.

So who creates culture in a club setting?
The short answer is everyone in the class contributes to the club culture. The long answer is a bit more complex. A clubs culture is dictated by its membership but that can be molded by the actions of its leadership. If inappropriate actions are not dealt with they dictate the culture. If there is a negative perception from an outsiders view, this can dictate the culture or even growth of your club.

It all starts at the door. Before someone has walked in the door, how do you look to outsiders? Are you welcoming and friendly? If they walk in the doors do you talk to them, or just keep doing your own thing? Just to be clear, this does not need to be the place of the instructor to greet people, but someone should talk to them at least initially.
Now that you have talked to them, and find out they want to start class. What steps do you take to include them in the club culture?
In my own club, along with their signed waiver, I have a club waiver that includes emergency contact information, medical issues we should know about, as well as a code of conduct that outlines what things we expect of our students, as well as what actions are unacceptable. I also add this information into a google spreadsheet so I do not need to have the physical form with me at all times and can access someones emergency contact info on my phone in case something happens and we need it.

The code of conduct section for my club is as follows:

As an accepting organization, the UCSA wants all members to feel welcome. We strive to ensure that within the realm of  being a martial arts school who practices with full contact, that you feel safe, emotionally and physically. If during your time as a member of our group, you feel you are being harassed, discriminated against or feel uncomfortable with anyones behavior, (instructor, classmate, or observer) please let a member of the council,  or your instructor know.

UCSA Code of Conduct:

I will treat everyone with respect regardless of their age, sex, gender identity, race, or sexual orientation using appropriate language, and appropriate physical conduct in all official events.  If I have concerns I will address them to the person they involve, or if I feel unable to do so, I will address them with the instructor, or a member of the U.C.S.A. council. I will follow instructions in all class activities but will ask questions as appropriate. If I become frustrated and need to take a time to calm down, I will request to do so. If at any time I feel I am unable to follow this code of conduct, I will remove myself from U.C.S.A. activities until I feel I am able to do so. If my instructor feels I am in violation of any of these agreements they will speak to me directly about it so that I may remedy it. If I refuse to do so, I may be asked to leave class and forfeit all paid dues until I am willing to follow this code of conduct in all U.C.S.A. events.  The U.C.S.A. retains the right to judge any and all incidents that may occur on their own

merit.    Initials_______

Now that you have that you have to make sure you stick with it. If someone acts inappropriately, how do you handle it? Do you have them sit class out, do you let them know that they are not welcome in the future, what kind of action is appropriate. If you are not willing to take some action if people act out, that creates a culture. If you allow some joking and fun in class that creates a culture, How you act and how people are treated in class reflects the culture you have created.

At the end of the day, the Instructor of a club sets the tone, but the clubs culture is perpetuated by the members of the club. If you feel like your club's culture is toxic or does not work, no matter what your role in it, work to improve that. If you do not want to create a code of conduct that is fine too. I find that it has helped in my club to lay out what we expect and what is not OK in our club. You could say that club culture can go as far as your fliers, or signs, or whatever promotional material you have, and I will explore that in the next blog entry.

Growing your club: Why teach a beginners class?

This is going to be another of my HEMA Club running specific posts so if that is not what you are here for, read the last one or another blog this time.

I have been teaching my HEMA club for a little over 2 years and back when I took class over I started something that has been a real perk to my club. Just after I started teaching we began a beginners class as a way to give new students a way in. For years I would tell people to come check out class, and for years they asked when a good time to start would be. Often the answer was that we would tell them that we would always teach them basics whenever they came to class. For years this worked on some level, but what I found was that people did not feel real comfortable with just showing up and having someone teach them basics on the side since they were not participating in class.

How did we fix this?
Originally we started with the concept that once a month we would go over the basics and that would be a good time to have new people come and check things out. In addition to this, it became something we could promote on our website, or in community calendars, or potentially with a press release. This was a way of telling new students that we wanted them there. This also gave some of my more experienced students a place to help teach, as well as refreshing them on the fundamentals of the sword that we teach. Our initial turnout was pretty good, though some months were better than others. On weeks that we did not have new people we simply worked on the things we had been working on previously.

How often is too often?
Initially i set this class up to meet every 1st Saturday of the month, meaning that in months when we only had 4 weeks 1 week at least was focused on teaching this class. Where I found this to be a challenge is that we would be making progress going through the class material and find that we had to stop that progress every month for the beginners class. Eventually we moved to holding it every other month, and this helped some but them we had the problem of people who had just missed it and telling a new student that they should show up, in a month and a half for this thing they were excited for. Most of those students I never saw in class even when it was close to their beginners class.

What works?
Really what I found works is you have to ask what works for you.  If your class is small, you may not want to teach a beginners class every 4 weeks, because unless you split class, you may not be able to take the new people through the material without making the more advanced students bored or feeling like they have done X too many times. (You can only talk about how important muscle memory is so many times.) There is a balance. Like I said, You have to figure out what works best for your club and your situation, but you also do not want to put new students off too long or you risk them going other directions and never coming to class.
As for my class, beginning this month we started a monthly rotation of 4 week beginners classes that are designed just for new students. This way they can meet other new students, they do not feel like they are missing something their fellow students are not getting, and we have a chance to get through more material since we do not feel like we are dragging all of class behind to get them up to speed. For our beginners class we are asking that they attend all of the weeks before joining the intermediate classes we hold so that we give them the best chance to learn things before being thrown in with the rest of class.

What does the beginners class look like?
For our most recent classes we have looked at things from a very basic point of view. Take the first part of class and just teach footwork, then measure as it relates to that, then a few plays or drills that work on that, a huge thing here is to look at how much time you have and make sure you are not trying to cram too much into 1 class or you risk overload and people not remembering what you have taught them. Sometimes this can be helped with review but if you just took the last 3 hours cramming them full of info, retention is going to be minimal.

I also encourage my new students to make some friends in the class. When I first started in my class years ago, these people were not just my friends, they were some of the best friends I had. Obviously, you can't force people to be nice to each other or to make friends but when they drill, ask them to tell each other their names. It is a start and the more your students feel a part of something the more likely they are to stick around. No one wants to be the new kid who knows no one and has no friends in the class, so encouraging that is key.

Why is any of this important?
Basically what it comes down to is this, a beginners class gives people who are interested a good place to join class without feeling like they are the outsiders. This is a great way to expand your student base and can be very easy to advertise. People will come and go with class and that is to be expected but a beginners class gives you a way to acculturate your students and welcome them to your club culture.  No one wants to feel like the outsider who is not welcome and beginner classes are a great way to create that community as long as you are willing to take the time to be warm and welcoming in your teaching. Answer questions, take some extra time with the student who keeps having problems doing what your are talking about. It will pay dividends in the long run.