We tend not to put weapon reviews on our site (but we do have book reviews). A better place for weapon reviews would probably be myArmoury.com. While we do have a lot of training materials and study tips in our members' area, you don't need that material to follow our method. As long as you focus on...
Hi, Don't let non-membership stop you from training or beginning a study group. You'll be able to follow our methodology and approach to training even without being a member. As for a good source of wasters, finding one that approximates the feel of a particular steel sword may not be possible, just...
Hi Adam! Whereabouts are you located? It is possible that there are groups in your area and you just haven't run into them yet. As for your application, JC handles all of the applications himself along with all of his other responsibilities, so you may just need to be patient for a bit. Do you have ...
Fencing is a very tactile and experiential pursuit, so explaining things over text necessarily loses a lot in translation, but here goes. Your sword actually bounces? What kind of sword do you have (make/model)? Are you striking with the edge? When cutting with a sword, remember swords are for cutti...
Hi Robert, It sounds like for the most part your approach agrees with ARMA's, with the exception that we definitely stick with the "historical." There are those out there who stick with one master or one "tradition" (less so one single source, anymore), but our approach tends tow...
Hi Rob, For starters, you can try reading this chapter from the recent book "Late Medieval and Early Modern Fightbooks." The chapter title is "Common Themes in the Fightint Tradition of hte British Aisles." https://archive.org/stream/LateMedievalAndEarlyModernFightBooks/Late%20Me...
Welcome, Octav! When I first heard about ARMA, I was in the same position as you: there were no other members near me, so my training would be alone. However, I did not let that stop me. I have been a member of ARMA for a long time, and most of that time I have been a lone practitioner. If you pract...
You can try swordforum.com. They have a subforum for Japanese sword arts. You can also try myarmoury.com. People at either of those may be able to help you.
Also, apart from the lack of hilts, you should also do just fine with the sticks (broom handles, shovel handles, whatever). When sparring, be very cautious of your faces. Fencing masks, even inexpensive ones, are very highly recommended.
The cut and thrust wasters should suit you just fine. Just bear in mind that the weapons used by Giganti and Capo Ferro are better suited to thrusting and less suited to cutting than the weapon those wasters represent. While both of those guys teach some cutting, they are thrust oriented. Conversely...
A bind is when the sword's make contact with each other (or for that matter whenever you or your sword makes contact with any part of your opponent or their weapon). From there comes "winding" and "feeling." Winding, simply put, is when you move your weapon to find the most oppor...
Hi Sara, As far as "disciplines" go, we tend to categorize our sources by nationality, though admittedly this becomes inaccurate and anachronistic when you look closely enough. Hence you will hear people talking about the "Germans," the "Italians," the "Bolognese,&...
