Study the sources. Learn the technique. Test it in practice.
HEMA is the reenactment of real European fighting systems from the manuscripts that recorded them — a martial art, a research discipline and a physical practice at once.
The masters of the 14th and 15th centuries left behind a substantial written record of how they fought. Our task is to read that record honestly, rebuild the technique it describes, and put it under the pressure of a resisting opponent — which is the only way to know whether the interpretation holds.
We train hard, but we are not a fight club and we are not a combat sport franchise. What distinguishes HEMA is the constant return to the source: the manuscript decides the argument, not the loudest voice in the hall.
Choose the weapon you've always wanted to learn
A celebrated legend and a classic of HEMA fencing. The longsword (also known as the 'hand-and-a-half sword') is a type of European sword popular during the Late Middle Ages and Renaissance (14th–16th centuries). Characteristic features: a long, double-edged blade and a cross-shaped hilt. It appears both in medieval fencing manuscripts (treatises) and in modern film, games, books, and more.
This is the base, the foundation, the bedrock — a weapon dating back to the days of mammoth hunts. Everyone from the rough-and-ready peasant to the professional warrior, across different eras and peoples, has encountered a tool like the spear. You hold the shaft, you strike with the point. Despite its simplicity, the spear can surprise you with its range of techniques, its maneuverability, and its combat potential.
An excellent foundation for fencing with almost any one-handed weapon. The dusack is a type of sabre with a short, broad blade. It served as an inexpensive weapon for common people (and sometimes doubled as a large knife). Its close cousin in our lands was the kord — a dagger with a long blade and a wooden grip peg. Kords are also part of our arsenal, since the techniques are very similar to the dusack.
| Monday | 19:00–21:00 | Longsword | Bohdan Ostroushenko |
| Friday | 19:00–21:00 | Longsword | Bohdan Ostroushenko |
| Wednesday | 19:00–21:00 | Spear | Vadym Rubtsov |
| Saturday | 18:00–20:00 | Dusack | Vadym Rubtsov |
At weekends we also run free sparring (senior group), tournaments, medieval dance, board games and other activities by arrangement.
What to bring
Comfortable sportswear, clean indoor trainers, drinking water; light gloves (e.g. work gloves) optional. We provide the rest of the equipment.
Club membership and HEMA training are paid separately.
| Membership fee — required for all club members. Covers the hall, club property and equipment, events, trips and club development | 600₴ / month |
| Plan | Price | Total with fee |
|---|---|---|
| Economy — 1 group class a week | Price1600₴ | Total with fee2200₴ / month |
| Standard — 2 group classes a week; storage for your own weapon, shoes and mask | Price2200₴ | Total with fee2800₴ / month |
| Full — unlimited; priority use of club equipment, wooden sword for strike practice | Price2800₴ | Total with fee3400₴ / month |
| First trial class | Free |
| Single group class | 500₴ |
| Private lesson with a coach | 1000₴ / hour |
| Club weapon rental | by arrangement |
If you only do reenactment or take part in club life without HEMA, you pay the 600₴ membership fee only.
Bring a friend: if someone you invite buys the same plan as yours or higher, you get 50% off your next plan of the same type; two friends — your next plan is free.
Scheduled group classes run when at least 4 group members and a coach are present.
Pay in cash or online. Details after your trial class.
Already been to a trial or have experience? Sign up for training or membership →
While we build toward regular in-person HEMA training in Ireland, we've been forming real connections with the established Irish HEMA community. In June 2026, our Kyiv coordinator Bohdan visited Dublin HEMA in person, presenting the club with a certificate marking the connection between our organisations. The visit included a joint training session, and both clubs agreed to stay in touch and support each other going forward — including occasional joint online sessions as opportunities arise. This is an informal, ongoing relationship rather than a fixed schedule, and it's one of the first real links between Atira Ruthenia and Ireland's HEMA community.
Beginning
I
Eight weeks of footwork, guards, cuts and the vocabulary of the sources. Equipment is provided.
II
Weekly technical classes, drills and controlled free play with a permanent training group.
III
Reading groups on the fight books, with interpretation tested directly on the floor.
IV
Public demonstrations, festival appearances and, for those who want it, tournament fencing.
No experience is required to start, and loan equipment is available at open sessions in Kyiv.
