The Vanguard Centre

The Vanguard Centre The Vanguard Centre offers HEMA (historical swordfighting) and archery, close to Glasgow city centre!

The Vanguard Centre is a converted railway arch in the city centre of Glasgow. Just south of the Clyde, within 10 minutes walking distance of Central Station, We are well-situated and easy to reach. Our attendance fees are very competitive, and we have an onsite shop where you can see, handle, and try on gear before making any commitments to purchase anything. We have our own indoor archery range, letting us offer archery in Glasgow city centre. We also teach various forms of medieval and renaissance sword fighting, as part of the British historical fencing community. Our instructors are experienced and well-recognised across the UK, and even further abroad. Wouldn't it be cool to arrange a stag party for a friend, spending an afternoon learning how to fight with swords? Look at our website and find out more about our activities and lesson schedules here! www.vanguardcentre.com

The Vanguard Centre is located at:
63 Commerce Street
Glasgow, G5 8AD

Anyone over the age of 18 may participate in any of our activities. We welcome both men and women, and tend to have people from many different nationalities and backgrounds.

Ahoy sabreurs! Last reminder to get yourself booked in for tomorrow for intermediate sabre!This class will be bridging t...
17/09/2026

Ahoy sabreurs! Last reminder to get yourself booked in for tomorrow for intermediate sabre!

This class will be bridging the gap between our Wednesday classes and our tournament training one offs.

As an intermediate level class there won’t be any basics being taught so it’s ideal for fencers with a solid understanding of sabre and broadsword.

In addition this class requires as much kit as you can bring. This is a steel or synth class.

The first class we will be looking into some of the mechanical and tactical limb strikes for an opponent in motion. Tell your friends, spread the word and get yourself booked in!

— Equipment Requirements —
Fencers will need to have, or be able to borrow, steel sparring level HEMA protective equipment, and a suitable steel sabre, backsword, or broadsword.

Attendees will also be advised to bring a water bottle and a change of clothes, as we are planning to make it a very active session!

16/09/2026

It's a good week for Broadsword and Sabre!

We have our regular Wednesday lesson tonight from 7.30pm, with a look at guarding the low lines to wrist and body from Roworth, with some distance games to match - get booked in on our HEMA booking system now!

We ALSO have a more advanced Intermediate level lesson on Friday 18th at 7.30pm, with tickets for members and guests available from our online shop. In this lesson, Thierry will be guiding more experienced sabreurs through some tricks and challenges from Geoffrey Sinclair - this lesson will be more complex, more intense, and more demanding than our usual Napoleonic era classes!

We also have a few spots left in our archery classes for the next few days, so get check that out as well if you're more of a shooter tha n a slasher...

10/09/2026

Ahoy Thursday!

Bit of a mixed bag tonight, we have classes for all skill-levels, since we will be busy over the weekend.
• 6.00pm Open Archery 🏹
• 7.30pm Mixed Longsword ⚔️

Tonight's HEMA Intermediate Longsword Class will be available for all our members, and especially the Saturday afternoon regulars, to mingle with the more advanced crowd a little and increase the intensity somewhat. We're carrying on with Meyer's Hierarchy of Defenses and looking at guards which enable an efficient follow-up attack... the Parry-Riposte of the 16th century!

Get on the website VanguardCentre(dot)com for the booking systems, and we'll see you in the tunnel 😀

09/09/2026

Ahoy, Wednesday!

Mid-week motivation time: get yourself into class! We have our usual two evening classes on, the 6.00pm Open Archery Session followed by 7.30pm HEMA Broadsword & Sabre!

The Archery session will be beginner friendly but good for all our archers to keep the skills fresh and get some mild exercise and entertainment in the range.

Tonight's Napoleonic Broadsword & Sabre class will focus on Parries & Parades - more active defensive techniques to help you get back to the enemy more effectively!

Jump on our website to get booked in for Open Archery or HEMA tonight!

Ahoy Tuesday! One for the members and the more experienced folks again tonight, Tuesday has our Member's Archery Session...
08/09/2026

Ahoy Tuesday!

One for the members and the more experienced folks again tonight, Tuesday has our Member's Archery Session from 6.00pm, and our Fight Arts Rotation is in its 2nd week of Buckler from I.33.

Jonny and Angus will be in all evening to help you achieve perfection in your perforations at both melee and missile distances!

Jump on the website to get booked in now 😎

Congratulations to our winners of the Autumn 2026 No Nonsense League! Next League event is the 15th November and your l...
06/09/2026

Congratulations to our winners of the Autumn 2026 No Nonsense League! Next League event is the 15th November and your last chance to get on the yearly ranking list for 2026! Year rankings will be published on New Years Eve and will give you a chance to see if you have risen up the ranks or need to get more practice in. ❤

02/09/2026

No Nonsense League Autumn Collection 2026 06/09/26 @ 11:00
Come along and see how you shape up with competition standard indoor shooting rules. Get scored for the year and earn bragging rights or just test your archery for the day. ♥️🏹 🎯 🏹

31/08/2026

Bank Holiday Monday Archery! 🏹

We have our usual Monday sessions at 4.30pm and 6.00pm today, with some spaces left in both. Great for regulars, members, and complete beginners!

Jump on the website to get booked in!
🎯

27/08/2026

Ahoy, villains, buffaloes, and jugglers!

Making the most of Meyer tonight in our Intermediate HEMA Longsword class, looking at the method we need to follow to fight safely, strongly, and dare we say... stylishly.
We'll be focusing on bringing credible threats to our enemies' openings, closing the targets around ourselves, and frustrating our opponents' efforts to humble us. ⚔️

This will be a great jumping in point for existing fencers looking to move from Fundamentals to Intermediate level classes to increase the complexity or intensity of their training, and a good test of core fencing principles for our regular team to keep themselves in tip-top shape.
Get into class on the website, either for Intermediate class tonight, or regular Longsword Fundamentals on Saturday 29th August, now!

Ahoy, Fools!It's Parry-Riposte-O-Clock tonight (actual time 7.30pm) in Broadsword and Sabre as we build up the essential...
26/08/2026

Ahoy, Fools!

It's Parry-Riposte-O-Clock tonight (actual time 7.30pm) in Broadsword and Sabre as we build up the essential techniques and mechanics for the safe rhythm to win an exchange quickly.

Combine your cuts with your thrusts, switch from defence to attack in the blink if an eye, and set your opponents up for failure with some cunning plans...

Get booked into HEMA: Broadsword & Sabre, in our website, for tonight, 7.30pm!

Address

63 Commerce Street
Glasgow
G58AD

Opening Hours

Monday 2pm - 9:15pm
Tuesday 2pm - 9:15pm
Wednesday 2pm - 9:15pm
Thursday 2pm - 9:15pm
Friday 2pm - 9:15pm
Saturday 11am - 6pm

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