Blood and Iron Martial Arts Victoria

I have been training at Blood and Iron since September 2018. I am a shy person, but everyone at the club, was very welcoming and friendly. I also did not feel that stereotypical bravado that you associate with a martial arts club. The medals and accolades of club members are displayed on the wall, but you do not hear anyone brag or speak down to others. I was surprised at how diverse the club population was. I trained martial arts in the past, and back then it was mostly men. At Blood and Iron, they foster inclusiveness and the students come in all shapes, sizes, ages and backgrounds. What unites everyone is how friendly they are, and their passion for the sport. The classes themselves are a great workout and there has been a noticeable increase in my fitness since attending. I generally leave each class having gotten a good workout and soaked with sweat. The classes generally consist of a warmup, followed by drills, then demonstrations of a few techniques before solo and then partnered practice and ending with sparring. Some classes historical context is provided with techniques as well. As a new student I often need to ask the more experienced students for help and never once was I made to feel stupid. They have always been very patient and helpful. Compared to my past martial arts experiences you move into sparring very quickly, but the instructors make sure you are comfortable first and fight with you themselves in a very toned-down manner for the first while. The other students, once they realize I am new, take it easy on me while still punishing me for mistakes. The school is very supportive of their students’ improvement in the sport and I have been encouraged to train and enter events in the future. There are several levels of membership at different costs, but the unlimited membership is a very good value. A new student like myself can attend 7 classes a week if my body could handle it. There are two training spaces in the facility so for larger classes they can easily accommodate all the students. There is plenty of parking at the school itself, or on the street right beside. I can tell the school is ran as a labor of love for the sport rather than a quick cash grab. I strongly recommend checking out Blood and Iron if you are interested in swords, historical fighting techniques, or just looking for something different to get a good workout in.

I joined Blood and Iron Victoria taking a private lesson for a date night with my boyfriend. Not only was the date the best date that we ever had, it lead to us learning a lot, getting back into a healthy lifestyle, and meeting an amazing community of like-minded, geeky, and accepting group of peers and friends. We are so thankful to all of the instructors and fellow students for accepting us and being patient with us while we became a part of the community and look forward to our next class! P.S: finding the salle (gym) can be a bit difficult the first time you go, so I recommend calling if you can't find it and giving yourself a bit of extra time to find the unit that we practice in. :)

Great school with great, knowledgeable teachers. They work hard to provide a fun and engaging class.

A great place to play with swords and awesome people in Victoria!

No better place to hit people with swords on Vancouver Island! :)