A historical European martial arts (HEMA) school ... United Kingdom
York
Hello, my name is Chris (he/him).
I started my martial arts journey by training in Tae Kwon Do for a total of 12 years, achieving my 1st degree black belt at 16-years-old. After teaching TKD for several years, I decided to look for new challenges, and tried out BJJ, capoeira and boxing before I found Historical European Martial Arts (HEMA) and the Exiles.
The Exiles are a HEMA club dedicated to learning the martial arts system of Fiore which includes: Wrestling, Dagger, Sword, Spear and poleaxe fighting. HEMA was a perfect fit as it combined my two loves of martial arts and history. Now, I have been studying Fiore with the Exiles for nearly 10 years, and been teaching my own sessions in York since 2021. I currently have 23 students across two classes.
During my study of Fiore, I began looking into WW2 Combatives and found many interesting similarities between the techniques and methods both systems employ. I pursued this interest further by completing a combatives coaching course in 2024. I absolutely loved the content, and I passed the course hungry for more.
After more reading and independent study, I decided to start Battalion Martial Arts in order to share my passion for and love of historical combat. I’m really excited to make this idea a reality, and hopefully a success!
If you are interested in Battalion Martial Arts, please contact me with any questions using the details on our contact page.