At San Diego Swordschool, safety is our absolute top priority. Counter to many other schools, our take on safety is slightly different. We do not believe that safety starts with gear; safety begins with the wielder of the weapon, whether this weapon is a sword, a dagger, or anything else. As they say in the firearms community, "The most important safety is between the ears."

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Because of this philosophy, we don't always train with fencing helmets; much of our training time is spent in regular street clothes with no additional gear. This is because much of the "safety gear" creates an appearance of safety when no actual protection is provided. Blows to fencing masks with longswords cause CTE over the long term, and hard hits to hands in gloves break bones and cause micro-fractures and there are many other cases like this.

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Because of these tenets, we need to look at safety through the lens of what protects and what creates this semblance of safety that entices unsafe behavior. 

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​Sports Goggles / Glasses

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The first and most important piece of safety gear, and the only one that is required at San Diego Swordschool is sports glasses or goggles; these protect the eyes in case of a mishap but do not provide enough "perceived safety" to make people swing at each other's heads any more than without them.

 

Students can buy whatever type of safety glasses they want, but SDSS has an affiliate relationship with RecSpecs, a brand of sports goggles Ian has used since the late 90s.

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All students need a pair of these within the first few weeks of enrolling at SDSS and you can either buy them at the studio, or directly from RecSpecs using the link below. Almost any pair will do, so buy whatever is comfortable to you.

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