A new exercise craze has women and non-binary people picking up swords and learning combat drills in a fantasy-themed class that started in Newcastle and has expanded to 35 members per session.
From BookTok to Battle Drills
In February, 25 women attended the first-ever ‘A Court of Battle and Burn’ class at a Newcastle dance studio. The immersive workout was founded by best friends Annie and Rebekah, both in their 20s, who were inspired by romantasy novels like Sarah J Maas’ A Court of Thorns and Roses and Rebecca Yarros’ Fourth Wing.
‘We sat down at the start of the year and said “what have you been doing?” I’ve been reading a lot of fairy smut,’ Annie told Metro. ‘I’ve also been reading dragons, and castles, and witches.’
Both Annie and Rebekah were trained in stage combat as part of their musical theatre degrees. They added the themed class to their wellness and community initiative NCL Wellness, which aims to bring women and non-binary people together.
Immersive Combat Experience
‘We thought we could make this other world we only visit in our minds happen,’ Annie added. ‘It might be a bit janky at first, but if anyone can do it, it’s us.’
The pair purchased 30 plastic swords and hosted their first battle initiation. The event sold out, with attendees spending an hour practicing sword drills under the premise of being under attack by dragons.
‘It was amazing, but we were terrified, because we were trying a new thing,’ Rebekah explained. ‘We’re like, this is how you use a sword and here’s a drill – the drip of sweat that was coming off of us was crazy.’
‘Muscles that I didn’t know I had were hurting. It was crazy. From there it’s just snowballed.’
Growing Popularity and Future Plans
Classes now take place in a music venue with lights, a projector, and an interactive map showing where the enemy is coming from. Tickets cost £9.50 each.
‘Our interactive map started as a piece of A4 paper with some rubber ducks pretending to be the dragons and people they’re trying to defeat,’ Rebekah added. ‘We’ve made it immersive, we’re the commanders and it’s just gone from strength to strength. We now have girls coming in, buying their own swords for our class, they’re dressed in full gear like “I’m ready to be a Valkyrie”.’
The classes have been popular online, with women sharing they’re desperate to attend. ‘I would sign up to a Valkyrie class so fast, oh my god,’ wrote one girl on TikTok. ‘Stop it right now, I need one of these near me,’ said another.
Members have said the class takes them ‘back to playing with their brothers in a field with sticks’ and that they’re embracing doing that again as a 30-something woman.
‘It’s not serious, it’s not that deep. And actually, we can just do things for fun,’ Annie pointed out. ‘It’s bringing that inner child back, and looking after them, and just being like, hey, you can have fun, and it’s safe to have fun,’ Rebekah agreed.
‘At the end of the class, there’s a really special moment when everyone has let everything go, they’re sweating, they’ve screamed, they’ve done things they didn’t think they would do outside of their bedroom in front of the mirror, pretending,’ Annie said. ‘And we say to them, “Yes, you are now a Valkyrie. Yes, you have defeated the enemies, and you are part of the army, but the warrior has been inside of you all along. That hasn’t changed.”’
‘Their chest rises, their chin lifts, and it’s just the most beautiful, rewarding experience.’
The pair have had calls from Australia and America to do the classes and have plans to expand their UK offering.
‘Women and non-binary people go through so much, but they can get through anything, and if it takes them holding a sword in their hand and doing drills to realise that, then we are over the moon, we’ve done our job,’ Rebekah said.
