Tempus Fugitives do not stand on coloured belts or seniority. Instead, we look for dedication and aptitude. If someone attends their classes diligently every week and shows steady improvement through focus and home study, then they will qualify for the advanced classes much more quickly than someone who may also attend regularly, but who does not make the same investment in time and effort.

Gradings are not meant to be easy, but we want to help you to advance through these levels without pushing you beyond your comfort zone. Learning cannot be rushed, and people learn in different ways, so it is not a bad thing if some people take longer than others. The instructors will invest as much work into your progress as you are willing to invest yourself.

The gradings on offer to students are based on the same grade structure used by the “Company of Maisters” established under Henry VIII in the early 16th c. This followed the same structure as that of the other, older, London Companies – which was that of a medieval guild. Many of these London Companies are still active today, the oldest of which go back to the 12th century.

The biggest difference between our gradings and those of the Company of Maisters, is that we allow gradings in individual weapons. This allows for faster progression through specialisation.

  • Scholar

This is not so much a rank within the school, as a designation given to someone who has successfully passed the application to join the school. To achieve this, the applicant is required to pass an examination in front of a panel of judges, demonstrating control of the weapon and of footwork. The exam is not designed to be difficult, but we have to see that the lessons have been learned and internalised.

  • Free Scholar

This grading indicates an understanding of the principles of the weapon, as well as an innate grasp of terminology. The scholar should be halfway through their development (in the past, this would take approximately seven years. And the same amount of time again to progress. But the student would have been training in all weapons of the school, explaining the lengthy development period), and will be tested in both sparring and demonstrations. They will have to provide a thesis on a related subject of their choice and then defend this to the panel of judges. At this stage, the student will be expected to use their own weapons, and to wear their own full protective equipment. They can now assist a Provost in instruction and potentially be certified to open a study group (not a school, but a group of students engaged in independent research).

  • Provost

At this point the scholar is no longer a student, but an invested member of the school. They are expected to discourse clearly and fluently across the breadth of the corpus, including using correct terminology. Once passing their examination, they will get much more say over what they are studying and the direction they want their own studies to take. Scholars can specialise and focus their attention as they see fit, diverging from and reinterpreting the work of their instructors.

The rank within the school is that of “Provost”, and could be interpreted as ‘senior scholar’. They will be expected to run classes on their specialisation, as a fully paid instructor.

Those who express an interest in following the instructor path will be assessed over time through observation. Practical or competitive ability do not make someone a good instructor, but to be a good instructor one must first demonstrate competence. Reaching this level means true dedication, and a complete grasp of the complexity of their chosen weapon. They may be put through external qualifications to help develop their understanding of teaching methodology. They will also be required to study original source material in their own time. This process has no set timescale, and develops organically. One day the Provost will be asked to move on to open their own school.