You will not need any equipment in order to attend classes. BSIS can provide you with loaner protective glasses, gloves, and a rapier until you become overwhelmed with the desire to own your own. We also have gloves ($1.50 to $3) and glasses ($3 to $10) available for purchase.
The primary weapon for BSIS is the rapier. This is a civilian rather than military weapon, used for single combat rather than battles. You will begin training with the rapier alone, adding off-hand companions and other types of weapon as you progress to more advanced student grades.
The weapons we use are modern reproductions of the appropriate historical period, with blunted edges and capped tips for safety.
If you do own a rapier, bring it along and show it to an instructor to check if it is suitable for use with BSIS.
For ideas on where to buy gear, see Gear & Weapons Suppliers. It’s a good idea to check purchases with us before you make them, to ensure they can be used at the club. For example swords can be rejected for having insufficient flex, or being made out of a material that breaks.
At Scholar, our more experienced fencers are introduced to a variety of off-hand weapons: dagger, buckler, cape, rodela, bracer, and gauntlet. On occasion, we have an all-in class in weapons such as the massive montante, or replica three-headed flail.
The frontispiece from the Resumen de la verdadera destreza de las armas en treinta y ocho aserciones (Handbook of the True Skill of Arms in Thirty-Eight Assertions), by Miguel Perez de Mendoza y Quixada, published in 1675. The author is pictured with the weapons he discusses in the book.