Today we’d like to introduce you to Baer Kenney.
Hi Baer, we’d love for you to start by introducing yourself.
I have been sword fighting my whole life in many different forms. Just over ten yearas ago my wife and I were working out how to schedule the people that wanted to train with me and she suggested that I just bite the bullet and start a school.
In the first two years we worked through three locations that weren’t great, but we got things together enough to move into our current location and start really focusing on the classes.
Three years ago we also started SwordStrong KC, one of the biggest HEMA tournaments in the country and it has grown every year.
We now teach 12 classes a week in a wide variety of sword types. We have 7 instructorsand over 150 students and we’re getting new stude3nts every week. We’re living the dream!
Would you say it’s been a smooth road, and if not what are some of the biggest challenges you’ve faced along the way?
Things are always chaotic when starting something like this. We chose to do this with no loans, so we had to invest a lot of our own money into it before it started to pay for itself. That was a juggling act all on it’s own.
Then, right when things were looking smooth, Covid hit the world and knocked everyone for a loop. We had to shut the gym down for 7 months during the lockdown. We tried Zoom classes, but you can only learn so much when you’re imagining where your opponents sword should be.
Luckily, as things slowly came back to normal our loyal students flocked back to us and we were saved from financial ruin. We’ve kept the door open and the lights on consistently ever since.
Can you tell our readers more about what you do and what you think sets you apart from others?
At Baer Swords we primarily teach HEMA sword fighting. HEMA stands for Historical European Martial Arts. We primarily teach sword combat methods from 400 BCE to about 1750 CE. Long Swords, Sabers, Rapiers, Sword and Shield.
All of the swords are steel, but they’re blunt and we make certain that everyone is safe. Whole we get our share of bumps and bruises, we’ve never had a serious sword injury (knock on wood!). We work very hard to wear quality protective gear and use safe well made swords, spears and shields.
Above all, though, we focus on the Joy of Sword Fighting (the name of my book, in fact). Any martial artist will tell you that when you learn some technique, fighting someone who wants to test themselves against your skill and doesn’t want to hurt you is probably the most fun you can have anywhere!
What matters most to you? Why?
Keeping all of my students safe is always the most important thing. Groups of people fighting each other can easily get out of hand if we don’t keep a close handle on things. After that is making everyone feel safe and accepted in our school. We work to make it a comfortable place where everybody knows your name and you can drop off some of the craziness of the world at the door.
This was one of the biggest things that I wanted to build when we started the school. Just a great place to get away from the world and have fun while you’re learning new things and even getting in shape! I cherish my time at the school and I think many of the students do as well.
Pricing:
- $10 for your first class, $20/class after that
- Free, clean loaner gear is always available
Contact Info:
- Website: https://baerswords.com/
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/baer_swords/
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/Baerswords
- Twitter: https://x.com/BaerLlc?mx=2
