Safety
All members must adhere to the HEMA Alliance Safety Policy during official club events.
All active members must also have a membership in the HEMA Alliance. This is a requirement of our insurance.
Treasury
Monthly dues will be set at an amount agreed upon by the voting members. Money collected may be used for general maintenance, equipment, handouts, IT resources (e.g. websites), and insurance.
Members may donate gear in lieu of dues upon agreement of the voting members.
Minor purchases may be made by the treasurer without a vote. This is to facilitate restocking first aid kits, maintenance supplies, handouts, etc.
Major purchases must be agreed upon via a vote of the active scholars and free scholars.
Hosting Events
Only Free Scholars may officially host events in the club’s name.
Official events must be registered with the HEMA Alliance. This is required for our insurance.
The Free Scholar hosting a practice must provide a first aid kit and blank insurance waivers. It is recommended that non-hosting Free Scholars also have the same.
Titles
Club members can hold one of a number of titles, pertaining to their level of experience and role in the operation of the club.
Advancement is by consensus of more experience members that the member has met the expectations of the title and has shown skill and good conduct during drills and sparring.
The titles that member can hold are as follows:
Initiate
Initiates are members new to the club who have yet to complete a course on any of our main weapon styles. Loaner gear will be preferentially available to Initiates, so that they may begin training as soon as possible.
An Initiate is expected to:
- Interact respectfully and safely with fellow members.
- be willing to learn and eager to participate.
- have fun!
Sparring is limited only to Initiates who have received introductory lessons, and have demonstrated that they can conduct themselves safely during drills as determined by consensus of more experienced members. To ensure that sparring is both safe and educational for the Initiate, s/he will be limited to sparring with partners of Scholar or Free Scholar titles. So that Initiates may get the most out of sparring, the Scholar and Free Scholar partners are expected to fight at a level commensurate with the Initiate’s skill and provide coaching as needed.
Journeyman
If a guest or new member has sufficient experience with fencing in other HEMA or reenactment groups, they may be granted the title of Journeymen. A journeyman is granted all non-voting rights available to Scholars.
Scholar
This member has completed a course of study in one or more of our main weapon styles and demonstrated a consistent ability to spar safely. A scholar is expected to:
- Have a good grasp on the basics of fencing
- Be able to read period texts and arrive at a workable interpretations
- Assist less experienced members in drills and sparring
Scholars may freely spar with any member of the club.
While not an absolute requirement, it is recommended that Scholars own much of their own safety equipment and training weapons, so that loaner gear can be made available to newer members.
With approval and/or assistance of club organizers, an experienced Scholar may put together and lead a study section on material they have begun to research on their own.
Scholars and above are automatically granted a vote on all other issues. Initiates and journeymen, though non-voting, should still be consulted on matters that concern them.
Free Scholar
Independent research and practice has allowed this member to put together a course of study for a particular historic weapon or style, and has shown proficiency in running a study section of their own.
A Free Scholar is expected to:
- Possess a firm grasp of the fundamentals of fencing.
- Be proficient in one or more of our main weapon styles.
- Able to accurately read and interpret plays from period manuals.
- Show proficiency in teaching the material and can run a study section if required to do so.
Free Scholars may host events in the club’s name.
Only Free Scholars may vote to alter the bylaws.
Dissolution
Though we hope these next two rules are never needed, it is important to recognize the possibility that unforeseen events may occur.
Donations of equipment may be rescinded if the member leaves the club. In such an event, the former member may reclaim any item they previously donated to the club.
In the event that the club dissolves, donated gear will be returned to the donor. Any gear that isn’t returned to a donor is assigned to the person responsible for its storage and maintenance. Any cash will be distributed evenly among the members.
Drill Book Policy
If you wish to modify, translate, distribute, etc. our drill books then you must follow these rules.
- Ask for a copy of the MS Word files. Don’t just try to work off the PDFs.
- If you add anything new to it, tell us so that we can add it to our version too.
- When you finish, give us a link to post on our website.
- Make sure you say “Based on the work by the Scholars of Alcala”. (You don’t have to list every person’s name, but it would be nice.)
- You are granted an unlimited license to sell non-English versions. No royalties or other consideration is expected.
- Only Alcala can sell an English version. You can give away English versions that you modified for your club.