About Us

Canterbury Medieval Combat was borne out of a desire to study medieval martial arts.  There were no groups in East Kent that offered any form of HEMA at the time. Having started a traditional Japanese Martial Arts school, we found a location where we could practice. We started as a study group.

Having attended some workshops and reading lots and lots of books on the manuscripts, we chose the German system as it offered a wide range of support and joining the KDF as a Fechtschule (fight school) has meant we have connections with some great coaches across the UK and Europe.

We also get access to see the manuscripts and weapon handling sessions at the Royal Armouries as well as get to train there.

The group over the last two years has started back up again in Canterbury, as we were able to secure hall space much easier than going to back to our School Hall in Broadstairs. 

Our focus is to emulate the techniques that are provided in the Manuscripts and use them as they were used in the medieval period.  The aim is to use the early available manuscripts as these look to be more combat or self-defence focussed and used by the new middle classes.  This is not military combat.

While our focus is on German longsword techniques, we also practice a range of other weapons at either workshops or extended training sessions. 

These include:

• Dagger
• German Long Knife
• Staff
• Polearms (Halberd / PoleAxe)
• Sword and Buckler

Canterbury Medieval Combat is led by Chief Instructor Jason Hulott, who brings around 25–30 years of cross-discipline swordsmanship experience to the club. Alongside German longsword in the Liechtenauer tradition, Jason has trained in Japanese Iaijutsu and Kenjutsu, Chinese sword (jian and dao), Bartitsu, First World War trench-fighting systems and English quarterstaff.

That breadth matters. Studying how different cultures solved the same problems with a blade helps us read the medieval manuscripts more clearly, and it means our members benefit from a wide toolkit of training methods, drills and teaching approaches.

Jason is also a published historian, writing for Medieval World Magazine and Tudor Times, and has presented at the University of Kent’s MEMsFest. He gives historical talks and handling sessions at English Heritage sites, universities and local history groups, is a member of EXARC (the international network for experimental archaeology), and has served as a trustee of the Combined Military Services Museum. He also advises museums, TV, film, games studios and authors on the historical accuracy of combat.

Our regular classes take place at St Dunstan’s Church Hall in Canterbury. Some of our outdoor workshops and activities, such as archery and knife throwing, run at Betteshanger Park in Kent.

Beyond our regular longsword classes, we run a programme of workshops and themed sessions that dig into other weapons, sources and periods. These have included:

• English quarterstaff, drawing on George Silver and Joseph Swetnam
• Ladies Longsword sessions
• Chinese historical knife throwing (monthly)
• First World War trench hand-to-hand combat, based on Western Allied training manuals
• “The Heroine’s Journey” – a sword-fighting workshop for fans of romantasy fiction

Keep an eye on our events page for upcoming dates.

We see historical martial arts as living history. As well as training, we take our swords out to the public – exhibiting at events such as Renaissance Faire UK, supporting museum and exhibition displays on medieval arms and German HEMA, and delivering talks for heritage organisations.

Canterbury Medieval Combat sits alongside two sister projects: SwordTribe (swordtribe.net) and the East Kent Warbow Society, which keeps the tradition of the English longbow alive in the county.

Whether you’re completely new to swords or have trained in another martial art or HEMA club, you’re welcome to come along. Book a session through our events page or get in touch with any questions – we’d love to see you in the hall.