This is the question that stops a lot of people before they ever walk into a HEMA club. They look up the kit, add up the mask and the jacket and the gloves and the sword, and decide it is not for them. It would be a shame if you did the same, because the honest answer is: you need almost nothing to start.
What You Need on Your First Night
Comfortable clothes you can move in, trainers or indoor sports shoes, and something to drink. That is all.
Almost every HEMA club lends beginners a training sword for their first sessions. The first weeks of training are paired technique: learning guards, cuts and plays with a partner, slowly and with control. You do not need armour for that. Safety glasses are usually enough.
What Clubs Usually Lend
Most HEMA clubs lend some kit, usually a mask, a pair of gloves and a synthetic training sword. That is enough to try things out. What most clubs cannot afford to lend is a full set of sparring protection for everyone, because it is expensive: a good mask, jacket and gloves alone can easily run to several hundred pounds per person.
So in most clubs there comes a point, a few months in, when you have to buy your own kit before you can spar properly. For a lot of people that is where they drift away.
What Our Club Lends
At HEMA Penzance we are lucky. Our official sponsor, Wilderness Interactive, bought the club a full loaner armoury in 2026, so every member can borrow a complete sparring kit:
- a HEMA-rated fencing mask
- padded sparring gloves
- a padded HEMA jacket
- a throat protector and a chest protector
- plated forearm, elbow, knee and shin protectors
- synthetic longswords for paired practice, and steel sabres
As far as we can find, no other club in the UK lends a full sparring kit to every member. The whole list is on our equipment page.
That means you can spar in your first weeks if you want to, and keep using the club's kit for as long as you like.
When to Buy Your Own
When you are sure you love it, and not before. Most people buy in roughly this order:
- Gloves, because your hands take the most knocks and gloves that fit you properly make a big difference. See our guide to choosing your first pair of HEMA gloves.
- A mask, because a mask that fits your head exactly is more comfortable. See the best fencing masks for HEMA.
- A jacket, once you know what you like. See choosing your first fencing jacket.
- A sword of your own, usually a synthetic first. See choosing your first HEMA longsword.
Before you buy anything, ask the people at your club. They have made the mistakes already, and they will be glad to save you from them.
Come and Try It
If you are near Penzance, come along on a Tuesday. Your first lesson is free, and everything you need is on the rack.