BASSC Film Fighting Foundation: Unarmed 2nd - 6th March

Who Is This Course For?

Absolutely everyone. No experience needed!

This BASSC Film Fighting Foundation: Unarmed course is perfect for:
• Beginners wanting to dive straight into unarmed stage combat
• Actors refreshing skills learned at drama school
• Performers adding unarmed combat to their professional toolkit
• SPACT and stunt performers building rock-solid foundations in theatrical technique
• Anyone looking to learn a thrilling new skill, boost coordination, make friends, and have a ridiculous amount of fun

If that sounds like you—this course is made for you.

What Will You Achieve?

This course focuses on unarmed techniques for film fighting. You will learn the basic foundations for good fight technique, performance, and camera awareness.

By the end of the course, you’ll confidently perform safe, dynamic unarmed combat, gaining a strong foundation for stage and screen performance.

You will learn how to:
• Perform and interpret choreography like a pro, spotting rhythm, landing beats, and reading fights
• Identify good and poor practice, ensuring safety for yourself and your scene partners
• Perform a fully choreographed unarmed fight
• Integrate text, character, and storytelling into your combat scenes
• Adapt quickly and work effectively with partners
• Boost timing, coordination, physical awareness, and control
• Increase confidence, employability, and earning potential

Walk away with real, performable skills, taught by working industry professionals.

Course Structure & Assessment

This is a BASSC certificated course. The course will include:
• One-to-one choreography
• Group work
• Theory sessions
• On-set scenarios

It culminates in a performance-for-camera assessment with a BASSC examiner.

Unlike other BASSC exams, this assessment will not include scene work. Instead, you will perform action for camera with more than one partner.

Please note: This course does not provide a showreel. Our focus is purely on training and skill development.

Industry Expertise & Instructor Support

These courses are essential training for anyone wishing to work as an action actor, stunt performer, or special action extra.

Designed and taught by working fight coordinators, the course provides students with the knowledge and skills required in the industry to sell dramatic, exciting, and powerful fight scenes.

With a wealth of experience across all media and genres, our instructors guide students through exercises and on-set scenarios to teach, improve, and consolidate the techniques needed to effectively fight on screen.

Instructors also share valuable tips and tricks from their working experience to help students troubleshoot, adapt, and impress in a variety of scenarios and curve-balls that may occur on set.

Outside Class Work

None.

What to Bring

• Comfortable movement clothes
• A spare top (you will get sweaty!)
• Reusable water bottle
• Something to take notes with

We will do some pad work. If you have your own boxing gloves, feel free to bring them, but we have gloves for everyone.

Entry Requirements

This course is open to all.

No previous experience is required, but students may benefit from some basic theatrical unarmed experience beforehand to get the best learning experience.
• BASSC Unarmed provides a great introduction to unarmed fighting and are recommended for those new to theatrical unarmed combat.

Industry Relevance

BASSC qualifications are recognised by Equity and taught at top UK drama schools:
• RADA
• Royal Central School of Speech & Drama
• Royal Conservatoire of Scotland
• Royal Birmingham Conservatoire
• Drama Studio London

Unarmed combat skills give actors a versatile, industry-ready toolkit. These skills are highly transferable to theatre, film, TV, and motion capture, and provide a strong foundation for learning other weapons.

Next Steps

You’ve laid the groundwork—now it’s time to level up with further BASSC training:

Unarmed Progression
• BASSC Unarmed
• ID Fight’s Foundation in Stunts

Weapon Progression
• Knife
• Swashbuckling
• Sword & Shield
• Broadsword
• Smallsword
• Quarterstaff
• Rapier & Cloak
• Rapier & Dagger

Supportive Skills
• Combat Lab
• Falling
• Reactions
… and more!