Who are we?
Johann Matzke - Class Leader - Johann has over 16 years of experience with martial arts and began studying Historical European Martial Arts (HEMA) with Schola Gladiatoria in 2006. He has a Masters degree in Experimental Archaeology and is currently a PhD candidate in Forensic Archaeology. His passion in HEMA is in experimenting with techniques, and he encourages his pupils to look into all aspects and traditions of HEMA.
Jonathan Middleton – Class Leader - Jon has a background in a variety of martial arts and self-defence systems and continues to train and bring this experience to his HEMA practice. He began training with Johann in 2008. He is interested in all aspects of HEMA but is currently focused on improving his knowledge and practice of Fiore's longsword and dagger techniques.
Classes
We run a regular class each week on Monday evenings 7-9pm at St. David's Church, Hele Road, Exeter. The cost is £5 per class. The first session is free.
Classes consist of a warm-up, followed by technique practice and drills, and usually conclude with sparring. The Iron Door Collective has always maintained a very practical approach to training: A vital component of our training regime consists of both cooperative and uncooperative sparring. To this end we use sufficient body protection in conjunction with modified shinai and nylon wasters to achieve a balance between freedom of movement and protection.
The classes are quite physical but no particular degree of fitness is required and you can train to whatever level you wish. Wear comfortable clothes and shoes that you can move in and bring something to drink. We practice contact martial arts and as such there is a certain amount of risk involved but every effort is made to ensure everyone's safety.
